Add the following websites to your daily reading list and you’ll be one in the know SEO!

1. http://adage.com/: Ad Age is a leading global source of news, intelligence and conversation for marketing and media communities.
2. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/: Bloomberg Businessweek’s technology page covers the latest technology news about computers, software, consumer electronics, the Internet, and wireless technology and provides product reviews on new tech gadgets.
3. http://www.clickz.com/: ClickZ provides expert advice about online marketing, email, brand and interactive marketing, and search engine marketing as well as Internet advertising news, e-commerce market research, Internet statistics and more.
4. http://www.dmnews.com/: Direct Marketing News is an industry leader in coverage of direct marketing, reporting on all channels of direct marketing including direct mail, search, email, multi-channel retail, media, list and internet marketing.
5. http://www.mashable.com/: Mashable is a Social Media news blog covering the latest social media networks, cutting edge web sites and web technology news via RSS daily.

By: Rebecca Rubin

How businesses can leverage the new social bookmarking phenomenon for digital success

Jumping from 40,000 to over 3.2 million users in the last year, niche social bookmarking website, Pinterest.com, is growing fast.  Nicknamed a “Visual Twitter”, the invite-only website allows users collect and categorize images from around the web onto labeled “pin boards” and is on a mission “to connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting.”  As the platform continues to expand (it was just named a Top 10 social networking website by Experian Hitwise), businesses are taking notice.  Here’s a step by step guide for implementing Pinterest into your existing marketing campaign to grow your online presence:

Step 1:

Request an invite either right on the website or get a friend or colleague to invite you.  It is also possible to request an invite on Facebook, Twitter or other social networking platform.  Once you’ve been invited, sign in using an existing Facebook or Twitter account to easily connect with friends/followers from those platforms.

By: Jitter Garcia

We are past the point where social media and technology are used for solely keeping in touch and sharing pictures with friends and family. We have seen it used to announce the birth of a child from inside a hospital room. We have seen it used to boost a business’ customer relations. We have even seen social media used as a medium to overthrow dictators. These are good things—great things, even. But as we all know, good cannot exist without the alternative. Social media is not just a little outlet where teenagers post their feelings in less than 140 characters. It is a powerful tool that can build or destroy relationships, reputations, and lives.

By: Jitter Garcia

The success of your social media community can not only be measured in numbers, but also in the interaction and reactions that you get from the community. Drew Neisser’s recent case study of thriving B2B web hub, The SAP Community Network, offers useful examples of how to go about using the resources at hand to measure the success of a digital community. Below are the ones that can be applied more broadly to any blog or site that seeks customer/user engagement and success.

By: Jitter Garcia

Mashable’s Top Twitter Trends of this week proved that nostalgia sells in the new millennium. Last week’s rebroadcast of old Nickelodeon shows attracted thousands of twenty-something viewers and doubled TeenNick’s prior ratings in the early morning time slot. What they are calling, “The ‘90s Are All That” features episodes from much beloved shows like “All That,” “Doug,” “Kenan & Kel,” and “Clarissa Explains It All.”  

The popularity of TeenNick spiked after the channel responded to many fans’ requests to re-air the episodes. A brilliant media campaign to gain more viewers, the channel’s use of social media had a huge impact on its success. The role of social media helped make the fans’ requests a reality, with a number of Facebook groups and pages being created by twenty-somethings who thought the old Nickelodeon shows of their childhood were much better than shows on TV now. And when TeenNick finally responded with the rebroadcast, status updates and tweets were overtaken by joyful exclamations and reminiscent memories of the fans’ favorite shows. The Facebook page likes and group members have risen to a staggering 15 million after the programming block last week, and according to TeenNick, fans had doubled overnight.