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Twitter announced the first part of a plan for monetizing the social networking service: “Promoted Tweets.” These sponsored status updates will appear in keyword search results by advertisers. This is great for three reasons: – Offers value to community. Twitter users can benefit from knowing the latest deal from favorite businesses. I personally have searched Read on

What do you think of when you hear “trade shows?” A free business trip to a usually nice city? Sore feet from walking around a large building multiple days in a row? An overwhelming sea of new products, business pitches and opportunities? An open door into the activities of competitors? The exhibitions allow businesses in Read on

There has been a lot of discussion and opinions circling since the release of the FTC’s revised guidelines around endorsements and testimonials in advertising online. Zócalo Group President/CEO, Paul Rand, provided some initial insights on the topic directly following the FTC’s announcement last week and continued the dialogue at a panel hosted by the Publicity Read on

A recent article on eMarketer asked “Are Women Really Ignoring Social Network Marketing?” providing statistics revealing that although women are active in social networks, 74.8% of them reported that social networks do not influence their purchase decisions. Seen as a prime target, brands have been throwing themselves at women online in recent years and figuring Read on

The increase in celebrities that now use Twitter was especially apparent this week after the MTV Video Music Awards. When Kanye West rudely interrupting country-pop singer Taylor Swift’s ‘Best Female Video Award’ acceptance speech, they took to the social media site with their opinions. Celebrities from all categories were commenting on the incident, and all Read on

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the Southeastern Conference banning social media to secure their revenue in media partnerships. Since the outcry of negative responses, they have revised their policy and are going to allow most social media participation.  Now, the National Football League is announcing modifications to its social media policy to Read on

Monday, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) announced new rules regarding the distribution of photos, videos and updates at or about college football games by fans and attendees through social media. Basically, you can’t share them – anything related to the game. According to the policy, ticketed fans can’t “produce or disseminate (or aid in producing or Read on

The Twitter outage from last Thursday evoked some very strong reactions among members of the social media community. Voices both on and offline all shared similar expressions. “I actually found it harder to get my work done.”“I picked up a book, read the first 140 characters and then lost interest.”“I had to get on MySpace…how Read on

Most large organizations realize the power of using social media to generate customer word of mouth. But this article in The New York Times shows how a street food vendor catapulted to an in-demand crème brulee man through Twitter. Word of mouth recommendations have always been key for small businesses to get off the ground. Read on

Word-of-mouth isn’t just about social media tactics. Conversations about brands develop through effective online and offline strategies to engage and interact with real people. This week, The Macallan Distillers Ltd. company, a distributor of one of the world’s leading whiskey brands, The Macallan, did their research and hosted a successful conversation-generating event. Macallan hosted a Read on