Today, one of the biggest challenges marketers face is finding the right social media channel for their companies. With dozens of options to choose from, finding the one that resonates with your audience and drives results can be tough. And it’s only made worse by the fact that modern wisdom seems to tell us we should be everywhere, all at once. Fortunately, this isn’t true. To be successful, you’ve got to find the handful of social sites that appeal to your users and provide the right platform for your content. And if you’re an eCommerce site, there’s a good possibility that one of those platforms is Pinterest ... read more

How Social Media Will Evolve in 2017

Many of today’s marketing efforts rely solely on social media while others focus directly on it. Regardless, it’s a force for small businesses, and those who ignore it hardly ever lead the pack. Social media is such a crucial cornerstone to most small business revenue that it becomes integral for owners to stay connected to the latest developments. If you are one of the many who respect the medium and desire to stay in-the-know, you’re in the right place. Here are six trends to watch for on social platforms in 2017 ... read more

The Hottest Social Media Trends of 2017

Social Media continues to grow at an incredible rate despite its already immense size. In 2017, the number of social media users is expected to increase by roughly 200 million more individuals. Social media’s user growth is a fairly predictable social trend year over year. But what is on the horizon for those who leverage social platforms as marketing channels? ... read more

The Top Social Media Trends for 2017

Influencers List the Top Social Media Trends for 2017 ... read more

Why You Can’t Afford to Ignore Instagram

Instagram is one of the highest-potential social platforms out there ... read more

6 Social Media Tips For Any Platform

Here are six social media tactics that can be leveraged on almost every major platform ... read more

5 Ways Pinterest Can Boost Your Business

Social media is awesome, isn’t it? You can reach out to your clients via Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ and even meet new people, bringing them in and turning them into customers. There are so many excellent social channels out there that you might start to feel a bit overwhelmed and wonder just what else, outside of the social media trinity, you should use. Well, I am here to tell you about an incredible social channel that you might just be overlooking – Pinterest. That’s right! I am going to show you why you need to add this channel to your mix, as well as how you can use it successfully for your business ... read more

How Twitter’s New Character Limit Affects You

For virtually as long as Twitter has been around, its devotees have been doomed to express everything that’s on their minds in 140-characters or less. While this is one of the things so many people love about Twitter -- its expediency and brevity -- it’s also been a massive source of frustration for many users, enough that some people have migrated away from the platform for social sites that allow long-form content ... read more

Snapchat: A Powerhouse Tool for Your Business

For years, we’ve all heard why it’s critical for marketers to interact on Twitter. There’s a new kid on the block today, though, and it’s called Snapchat. The viral photo- and video-sharing service has been exploding in popularity for some time now, but it recently obtained a major milestone: it surpassed Twitter in user numbers. While Twitter averages 136 million daily users, Snapchat recently soared to 150 million daily users – a jump with significant implications for consumers and marketers alike ... read more

Your Business’ Guide to Instagram Success

If you’re a social media user, chances are you’re familiar with Instagram. Known far and wide as a photo-sharing platform, Instagram allows individuals and marketers around the globe to share photos and videos with their followers. While millions of people use Instagram for fun, very few marketers have incorporated it into their marketing strategy. This is a massive oversight, though, because Instagram has the potential to be one of the most effective social media marketing platforms in existence ... read more

Tips to Boost Your Pinterest Engagement

Right now, Pinterest is the fastest growing social media platform when it comes to user numbers. Compared to Facebook’s six percent member growth, Pinterest experienced a huge 57 percent jump in members last year and many sources are projecting that the site will hit 50 million active users by the end of 2016. Currently, Pinterest boasts more than 30 billion pins and more than 80 percent of them are re-pins from another source. With all of this in mind, it’s obvious that Pinterest is the ideal place for marketers who want to produce engagement ... read more

Updated Instagram a Powerhouse for Business

Instagram is a social beast in terms of growth and engagement. Recently, Instagram has made some updates to its platform and implemented new features that are a potential goldmine for marketers and business owners alike. If your business has yet to incorporate Instagram into its social media efforts, it’s time to change that. Here's why your company needs to be on Instagram ... read more

Is Snapchat the Next Must-Use Social Platform?

It has been said that, “LinkedIn is for the people you know. Facebook is for the people you used to know. Twitter is for people you want to know.” Then where does that leave places like Instagram and Snapchat? Snapchat is for people who don’t want to obsess over social media posts. Snapchat lets users send “snaps” to individuals, or share with their entire audience through the “stories” feature. No matter where you post your snaps, they won’t stay long as these snippets just stick around for 10 seconds (stories stay for 24 hours) ... read more

Debunking 10 Common Social Media Myths

Social media is the Holy Grail of content marketing. You can generate new clients, maintain current ones, and have awesome strategies. But, are your beliefs about social media right? Or do you believe some of the huge social media myths out there? Let’s take a look at the top 10 social media myths that many people believe. My aim is to enlighten you and help you learn some great things about social media marketing ... read more

How Facebook Reactions Will Affect Marketing

If you’ve spent any time on Facebook recently, you’ve likely noticed that your timeline has gotten a whole lot cuter thanks to the addition of five new emojis that have replaced the old-school ‘Like’ button. Welcome to Facebook Reactions ... read more

9 Ways to Rock Twitter

You can be an awesome tweeter! It won’t happen overnight but, with a little time and patience, anyone can grow an audience and build rewarding relationships with mentors, peers and followers... read more

12 Social Media Rules of Engagement for Small Businesses

Promoting your business on social media can be helpful in extending your brand, gaining visibility, and building relationships with your customers. Done right, it can be an inexpensive way to market your company... read more

The 10 Best Social Sites and How to Use Them

There is no doubt that social media marketing has taken the lead in marketing online strategies. Social media sites have exploded and continue to grow in number and popularity. If you own an online business, it can be very difficult to know where to begin in this extensive marketing arena. There are dozens and dozens of social sites and more popping up all the time... read more

Social Media Map

Overdrive Interactive has released its new Social Media Map. Find out what tools you can use to widen your online branding and marketing channels... read more

Small Business Social Media - Where Do You Start?

Small business social media starts with making the decision to be part of the conversation. Not as easy, or cut and dried a decision, as one may think. What are the factors involved in this process? The pros and cons? read more

The 10 Basic Rules of Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing is the act of using social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) in order to promote a business. Many companies will want to start their own social media marketing campaign and create a Facebook page or Twitter account. The problem with is they don't have a clue on how to run a successful social media marketing campaign. Here, I have listed 10 of the most basic rules when it comes to social media marketing. Follow these rules in order to have successful accounts with Facebook, Twitter, etc... read more

How to Use Social Media for SEO

There are numerous benefits to engaging in social media marketing. Some are tangible (number of Likes, Fans and Followers) and some are not (enhanced customer service, brand recognition and developing lasting relationships). You may not fully "get" social media, but you can't deny that it is important and should be included in your overall marketing campaign... read more

Still Think Social Media Is A Fad?

Social Media isn't a fad... read more

Tips and Tools on How to Grow Your Twitter Following

Growing a large following is something many new Twitter users struggle with. They see all these big accounts with 20, 50 or even 100K followers and wonder how did they ever get there? ... read more

The History of Social Networking

Being connected to the World around us has never been more easy and accessible than it is today. But it didn't start out that way. After the Internet made it possible to reach people around the Globe with merely a click of a button, Social Networking exploded into one of the biggest industries of our time... read more

How to Use Twitter for Business - 5 Tips For Twitter Newcomers

Twitter is a wonderful business tool, not least because it's free. All it will cost is your time (and if that's in short supply, you can hire a social media marketer to manage it for you). Used well, Twitter can provide good exposure for your business, but you can also damage your brand with social media marketing if you're not careful, so it's worth learning the biggest do's and don'ts before you start using Twitter... read more

Rev Up Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

In less than five years, social media has revolutionized not only our communication culture but how we conduct business. The dizzying effect of unlimited and sometimes unfettered-24-hour access to people and information has transformed the various tools into a game changer... read more

Social Media 'Flashback'

If social media existed "back in the day", then it might look a little something like this... read more

5 Ways to Enhance Your LinkedIn Company Profile

As consumers continue to flock to social media websites, marketers recognize the importance of attracting and retaining those users. One of the challenges facing companies today is how to enhance their LinkedIn company profiles... read more

Facebook Business Pages Demystified for Business Owners

Facebook is so popular that business owners can simply no longer consider it a site only appropriate for socializing and game playing. In fact, in September 2010, Facebook surpassed Google in regards to the amount of time users spent on their site. Facebook states that users spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook... read more

The Rise of Social Networking Ad  Spending

Social network ad spending is once again on the rise, argues a recent study by eMarketer, which predicts that U.S. advertisers will spend nearly $1.7 billion on social sites this year. This estimate is a noticeable increase from initial 2010 projections made by eMarketer, which forecasted $1.3B for this year, as well as a 20% increase from 2009 spending.  Of this spending, Facebook is expected to receive about half of all social network ad spending, at least in the U.S., with MySpace losing ground to the now preeminent social networking site.  These points, as well as the study's other most interesting facts and figures are featured in the graphic... read more

The Top 7 Facebook and Twitter Strategies that are Working Right Now

One of the great things about the work I do is that I have a bird's eye view of what's working and what's not when it comes to social media. Every so often I like to give sort of a "state of the union" on Facebook and Twitter best practices, because as I am sure you know, social media is constantly growing, changing and evolving. As you'll see, some of the strategies I am recommending are tried and true - they have been working since day one and will probably continue to for the foreseeable future. However, there may be a few here that you've not ever considered - or may even be surprised by. But they are what I see as being the biggest keys to success and results for business owners on the two hottest social networks on the planet: Facebook and Twitter... read more

12 Favorite and Little Known Tips for LinkedIn

Most business professionals are on LinkedIn at this point. LinkedIn tells us that:

... read more

5 Steps to a Social Media Avalanche of Customers

"Build it and they will come" the saying goes. Not. You can build a blog or video site and you can still be lacking connections. Connection is the nuclear core of social media. But you must make an effort in order for that to happen. Whether you have a social media home business, traditional brick and mortar business, or an online business, you must get into the social trenches and connect and converse. It is that simple and that plain... read more

5 Must-Do Strategies for Dominating Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is an essential tool for any business. Sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are among the most popular sites regularly visited on the internet and can generate large numbers of visitors and new sales leads. Many businesses are already utilizing social media marketing as part of their ongoing business strategy, but a large percentage of these are not aware of the essentials required to fully maximize social media to its full potential... read more

Top 10 Tips for Using Twitter

When it comes to social media, no one "gets it" as well as Twitter. According to Econsultancy, as of Jan 2010, Twitter has 75 million user accounts, with about 15 million of that total being active users. See "20+ Mind-Blowing Social Media Statistics Revisited". That's a lot of people sending a lot of Tweets. This micro-blogging service makes it easy for small businesses and entrepreneurs to stay in touch with those who choose to follow them, and stay updated on new products, services, specíal offers, industry news and more. It's a win-win for both the Tweeter, and their followers... read more

Building Brand Identity - Marketing With Twitter

Twitter, the net's networking success story, is intriguing and intimidating because of its message limitations: they can be 140 characters, and no more. This is to say; each message sent on Twitter can be no larger than the previous sentence. Not an additional letter, space, period or dash can be added. These limitations have proven to be the greatest asset and the greatest challenge for people trying to use Twitter for any number of purposes... read more

Dummies Guide to Facebook Marketing

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 4 years, you know how popular and widely used Facebook is today. Just a couple of years ago, you had to relentlessly encourage family and friends to join this social networking website (shortly after others had convinced you to join). Nowadays, it's rare to find someone who hasn't got a Facebook account... read more

LinkedIn - Best Practices For You and Your Business

LinkedIn is a professional, business networking tool that is too easily lumped into the social networking service. Even though many of the same modes of operation are employed, the focus is on professionals, professional dialog, professional opportunities, and companies. This list of LinkedIn best practices was compiled from my work with clients, colleagues and friends who are trying to maximize their professional opportunities. I hope it is also helpful for you... read more

Tips and Tricks on Using Twitter for Business

Have you thought about using Twitter to market your business? Twitter is free, and available to small and large businesses. Here are some tips and tricks on using Twitter to promote your business... read more

How to Use Facebook as a Branding Strategy for Your Business

If you aren't already connected to the social media revolution, it is time to get your head out of the sand and harness the power of the digital network. If you want to get out ahead of your competition and make consumers excited about interacting with your brand, social media is the way to go. It isn't an overnight marketing fix, it takes time to build a following, but if done correctly you can use social media to drive people to your website and ultimately to your front door. Are you ready? read more

CMO Guide To Social Media

The CMO's Guide To The Social Landscape: 2010 is the year CMOs will heavily invest in Social Media. Here's a Guide to help you understand how best to leverage major social media sites... read more

What To Include In Your Social Media Marketing Strategy?

Creating a "buzz" around products, services, businesses or events is a requirement from all clients. There is no social media marketing wand that someone will wave and target audience will automatically start coming to your site. And what works for one brand may not work for another... read more

Are Your Ears Burning? – 20 Tools for Tracking Social Media Marketing

Social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter make it easy for people to come together and share opinions, experiences and thoughts on a number of topics. Smart companies understand this and are using the power of social media to connect and inform their customers, and potential customers. Referred to as “Social Media Marketing”, it’s a smart way to open the lines of communication between you and your prospects... read more

Social Networking for Business Guide

It seems like there's an over-abundance of social sites nowadays. For a newbie, it can be quite intimidating when first joining a network or two and building a community... read more

12 Ways to Use Twitter for Social Media Marketing

Twitter is a wildly popular microblogging service. It involves writing Tweets, which are short updates of a maximum of 140 characters that tell your followers what you are up to... Twitter has also become an incredibly important tool for social media marketing professionals. Here are 12 ways in which Twitter can be used in your social media marketing campaign... read more

Size Really Does Matter - At Least When it Comes to Twitter

With the popularity of Twitter and the confines of 140 characters, URL (link) shortening services are in high demand once again. When you have such a small amount of space to work with, no one wants a long URL cutting into that precious real estate... read more

Twitter Marketing Explored

Twitter is growing by leaps and bounds as people begin to appreciate its clean and easy-to-use interface. Twitter, at this point, does not look like one of the many flash-in-the-pan Internet applications that we have seen in times' past. Twitter's 140 character micro-blogging platform has gained a lot of traction... read more

Social Media Puts Fortress Journalism Under Siege

In a recent report by Peter Horrocks, Director of BBC World Service, it is clear that as society becomes more networked, the fortress mentality of the mainstream media is increasingly under siege by social media, but they are adapting... read more

Where's Social Media Headed?

So what is happening in the Social Media world right now? Well, first of all, social media website use has exploded with millions of people using popular Web 2.0 applications such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and dozens of others... read more

How Twitter is Teaching Business the Lost Art of Conversation

So it's happened. Twitter has gone mainstream. As Twitter users, we knew instantly when Mumbai came under terrorist attack. We laughed at the photo of Stephen Fry stuck in an elevator when he tweeted his predicament, we were there when Ashton Kutcher beat CNN to 1 million followers, we caught the first glimpse of passengers being evacuated from the ditched plane on the Hudson River and we all suffered the lag time when Oprah Winfrey sent her first ever tweet on live TV... read more

Social Networking: 10 Steps to Finding Your Target Market in Facebook

Everyone is talking about social networking, and many claim social networking to be the panacea for all of your marketing ills. Marketing on social networking sites like Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter can help you increase the size of your email list and help you grow your business. The key to success with this strategy is making sure that members of your target market are in your network... read more

Athletes keep in touch with Fans by Twittering

Get all you need to know - and then some - from athletes who keep in touch with fans by Twittering... read more

Using Social Media to Boost Search Engine Results

Social media (sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Technorati, Digg, etc.) provide an excellent opportunity for small businesses to not only promote their products and services online, but also to gain significant ground in the search engine results... read more

Twitter Demystified for Business Users

Twitter is the current top "hot property" on the Web, but its popularity and how to use it has mystified many business owners. Many people think that they want to, or should be using Twitter, but simply do not understand the platform, its use, or its place in building web exposure. This article will demystify Twitter and help you to learn how to use it in the workplace and to promote your business... read more

Tweeting helps businesses to fly

Think tweeting is just for the birds? Not anymore. Tweeting is what millions of people are doing daily on the free micro-blogging service Twitter to keep others in the know... read more

7 Things You Can Do Now To Cash in On Social Marketing

Seven is a magic number. Why? Because there are seven simple strategies every small business can employ to jump on the social marketing bandwagon. The best part: most require only a moderate investment of time and/or money... read more

Using Social Media To Drive Traffic

SMO, or Social Media Optimization, helps build website traffic by using social media based websites. The dawning of web 2.0 has seen many different social media websites crop up in an equally large number of different guises. Content sharing, social bookmarking, and collaborative websites form the basis of this initiative and it is these types of website that you need to use in order to leverage the power of the social web... read more

Social Networking with Training Wheels

Look, I don't really think that the MySpaces and Facebooks of the world are that important for the typical small business as they stand today. There may be very practical business reasons for some to actually use these and other, what are called social networks, for business gain, but most people that have jumped on the social network bandwagon have found themselves left with a "is this all there is" kind of feeling... read more