The latest post on ‘Experian Marketing Forward’ Blog is titled “All roads lead to social”. John Fetto says, “According to Experian Marketing Services’ 2014 Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report, social media Websites are playing an increasingly important role in driving traffic to other Websites, including retail sites and even other social networking sites, at the expense of search engines and portal pages. For instance, as of March 2014, social media sites account for 7.72 percent of all traffic to retail Websites, up from 6.59 percent in March 2013. Further, Pinterest,... [...]

The latest article on HubSpot blog is titled “Proof That You Should Be Open to New Social Networks”. Diana Urban says, “Just like your first step and first word, chances are you can’t remember your very first tweet. But Twitter would like to refresh your memory. In honor of Twitter’s eight-year anniversary, they’ve launched a tool to let you see your debut tweet. Click here to see your first tweet. If you’re not already logged into Twitter, enter your Twitter handle. You can also look up all your friends/parents/coworkers’ first tweets —... [...]

The latest post on ‘Experian Marketing Forward’ Blog is titled “Email and Web top marketers’ list of most effective channels, with social on the rise”. Kassidy Keller says, “As a part of the recently released 2014 Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report, Experian Marketing Services surveyed North American marketers across nine different verticals about their marketing initiatives. Of the marketers surveyed, the large majority are marketing in multiple channels, with almost 100 percent active in email, social and Web“. Email and Web top marketers’ list of most effective... [...]

Marketo has released a free ebook titled “Social Media for Lead Generation”. The Marketo team says, “Using social media to brand your business isn’t a groundbreaking strategy. Been there, done that? And although social is still important for branding and buzz, it’s becoming increasingly important for lead generation. Download our eBook and find out how tapping into social media channels can transform your lead generation efforts. You will learn: How social marketing is shifting away from company-to-buyer marketing Why social sharing is important and how to get your audience... [...]

The latest post on ‘Mashable’ is titled “America’s Most Social Small Business: We’re Down to the ‘Final Four'”. Stephanie Waldeen says, “This round of America’s Most Social Small Business — our March Madness-style challenge presented by Capital One Spark — ramped up in intensity, with each remaining brand bringing its best game-face to the competition. SEE ALSO: 9 Ways Social Media Marketing Will Change in 2014 To narrow it down to the Final Four, round three of the challenge focused on how each brand utilizes visuals storytelling in their... [...]

The latest article on  ‘Marketing Land’ is titled “Report: Only 6% Of Buyers Claim Social Media Impacts B2B Buying Process”. Amy Gesenhues says, “According to a recently published B2B Website Usability Report surveying buyers, social media and blogging have little influence on the B2B buying process. Only six percent of the respondents claimed social media impacted their B2B purchases “a lot” and a meager 22 percent said they were interested in vendor blog content. Conducted by Diana Huff of DH Communications and KoMarketing Associates, the survey focused... [...]

The latest post on ‘Mashable’ is titled “America’s Most Social Small Business: The Sweet Sixteen”. Lindsay Rothfeld says, “As March Madness gears up in the sports world, Mashable and Capital One Spark are on the hunt for America’s Most Social Small Business. This week, we’ve narrowed down our first round of eliminations from the bracket-style challenge, cutting the initial list of 32 finalists down to the remaining Sweet 16. Our seeding system, which is based on a mix of social fans/followers and company size, led to some pretty interesting pairings —... [...]

The latest article on HubSpot blog is titled “How SMBs Use Social Media: 15 New Stats You Should Know”. Amanda Sibley says, “Small- and medium-sized businesses are growing rapidly, contributing over $5.5 trillion in annual revenue to our economy last year. As business grows, so does the “how” of conducting business. In particular, more and more companies are turning to social media networks to market their product, learn about new trends, and interact with customers. LinkedIn conducted a survey in November 2013 of one thousand North American businesses with revenue... [...]

The latest article on ‘The Forrester Blog’ is titled “Agile Teams Are Critical For Social Marketing Success”. Kim Celestre says, “I often ask marketing leaders how they organize their resources for social, and the responses are rarely the same. I hear everything from: “We have one person in PR who does social part-time” to “We have hundreds of full time social marketing managers across the globe.” Despite this disparity, I find that marketers often share the same level of frustration when they try toadvance their social marketing initiatives. Whether they... [...]

The latest article on Business Insider is titled “Social Media Mastermind Gary Vaynerchuk Explains The Biggest Thing Marketers Are Getting Wrong In 2014”. Aaron Taube says, “Social media mastermind Gary Vaynerchuk has a new slideshow explaining how marketers are wasting money by acting like it’s still 2004. Vaynerchuk – who came to prominence by promoting his New Jersey wine store with his “Wine Library TV” video podcast – says marketers spend too much time trying to reach customers via television, outdoor media, and e-mail. Instead, Vaynerchuk... [...]