In recent months, Pinterest has gained significant traffic, raising questions about its long-term viability for advertisers. I don’t have a crystal ball in front of me—in fact, it’s packed away with all my other prognostication devices, but according to my recently downloaded ‘Magic 8 Ball App’, I should “Ask again later.”

For now, I’ll tell you a little about the service, and the potential behind it. Pinterest is a collaborative photo sharing network that allows users to create, share, and manage … Continue Reading

Since 2007, Tumblr has been rocking the world of online media. After all, with over 15 billion posts by its 40+ million bloggers, it has earned the right to brag.

It’s served as a mecca for internet creativity, housing such famous memes as Foul Bachelor Frog, Paula Deen Riding Things, and the troll face. Tumblr has also been the birthplace for blockbuster blogs (and now books) including Texts from Last Night and FML.

Conjured up by then 20-year-old homeschooler David Karp, Tumblr … Continue Reading

I have to say I am a bit perplexed when I read blog posts that gush about Google+.

Marketers are urging companies to hurry up and set up a Google+ page for their businesses.

One marketer writes, “Wow, the new Google+ Company Pages are very cool!”

They are not.

They are dull, even by comparison to Facebook company pages, which, because they must live within the confines of Facebook, are relatively dull.

“We have, since its inception, been huge Google Plus fans, even though its [sic] been a bit of a ghost-town compared … Continue Reading

The advent of social media as a way-of-life has created a new reality in marketing: word-of-mouth, peer based reviews, testimonials, and complaints now carry an unprecedented amount of weight.

All it takes is a quick stroll through Facebook, twitter, Google, Yelp, and countless other sites to see the staggering amount of content & conversation dedicated to brands.

In fact:

• 92% of buyers have more confidence in info found online than they do in anything from a salesclerk or other source
• 90% of online consumers trust recommendations from people they know; 70% trust … Continue Reading
  
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I believe some of my blogs have become a mix of confessionals and interesting advertising tidbits. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I’m here to confess again. And with this one, I’m more abashed to admit.

Here it is…I take part in geosocial networking!

Alright, it’s not all that horrible. But as someone who firmly opposed all of that trendy geosocial mumbo-jumbo, it saddens me to own up to it because, gosh darn it, I was proudly geo anti-social!

You see, once upon a time, I did not own what I call a “fancy phone” or … Continue Reading

Contrary to many people’s beliefs, there is more substance to the world of online videos than the following:

Online videos also have the ability to educate and inform consumers, and more importantly, they can motivate these consumers to work with your company.

People spend a considerable amount of time watching videos, probably more than they’d like to admit. According to Arbitron and Edison Research, the weekly audience for online video has tripled in the past five years. Research also showed that the typical respondent spends 3 hours … Continue Reading

Facebook marketers were thrown into a tizzy last week by the suggestion that using 3rd party apps can be detrimental to your post’s EdgeRank.  If that sounds indecipherable, you are not alone.  There’s a lot to know when it comes to making your brand voice heard on Facebook.

Let’s look into the brouhaha more deeply.

Last week, EdgeRank Checker released a study outlining the influence of 3rd party application programming interfaces (“APIs”, more commonly referred to as “3rd Party Apps”) on Facebook engagement.  These apps are commonly used to schedule … Continue Reading

Mashable reports that the Nielsen Co. will soon offer ratings service for Facebook campaigns. Nielsen will be able to assess the impact of Facebook marketing campaigns in the same way it has gauged the audience reach for television advertising.

Nielsen’s system will use “gross rating points” (GRPs) to assess the reach of an ad by means of the frequency that the audience sees it. Unlike traditional online metrics like click-through rates and impressions, gross ratings points will let marketers buy online ads in the same way that they buy ads for … Continue Reading

Bing announces “Liked Results” shortly after Google’s increased social emphasis

Microsoft’s Bing has followed Google’s example by changing their search results to emphasize social results.

Bing, who recently partnered with Facebook, has created “Liked Results” which will show links that friends have shared or liked on Facebook.

Both Bing and Google are placing more emphasis on social for similar reasons. Social aspects of the internet enhance the user experience and users will want this social data available … Continue Reading

Google search integrates elements from Twitter, Flickr, and Quora

Back in 2009 Google launched Social Search which utilized an individual’s Google account to integrate search results from friends.

Recent changes have been made to Google’s Social Search to make the social experience more prominent.

The social results will now been seen throughout the page rather than only at the bottom of the search page. Twitter, Flickr, and Quora are now also a large part of the social experience on Google search; … Continue Reading