Let's face it: If your marketing approach consists of sporadically touting your company's greatness via the overpopulated social mediaverse, you're about to get absolutely nowhere—except ignored. Or hated. Blacklisted, even.  Frustrated with today's confusing social-media etiquette? Well, don't be! There are sassy methods for making your outreach simply ooze old-fashioned Southern ... more

Apple's share of the smartphone market jumped to 14.4% in 2009, overtaking Microsoft's Windows Mobile to become the No. 3 smartphone operating system, according to Gartner. more

"In the technology industry," writes Morgan Stewart in an article at MarketingProfs, "we are constantly focused on the next big thing." And there's often an assumption that whatever comes next will wipe out whatever came before. Do you remember, for instance, when computers were going to make paper obsolete? Or ... more

In a recent Search Engine Land article, Andrew Goodman predicts that the biggest risk in 2010-2011 for search marketers may lie in working with outdated assumptions about the size and potential of target markets and the paid-search channel. As a remedy, he suggests five investment or expansion "risks" that could ... more

We like to emphasize that mobile is probably the most personalized technology available so far in the 21st century. And these days, finding ways to incorporate yourself into users' daily rituals is crucial to maximizing brand exposure on their up-close-and-personal handhelds. That's one reason for taking a look at GM's new ... more

Nearly one-quarter (24%) of consumers say they regularly play games on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace––and contrary to prevailing stereotypes, the typical social gamer is a 43-year-old woman, according to a new survey from PopCap Games. more

Most consumers (85%) want free online content––and nearly eight in ten (79%) say they would stop using a website that introduced charges, presuming they could find the same information at no cost elsewhere, according to a survey from Nielsen. more

Local small and medium-sized businesses are applying social media to their ad plans: Nearly one-third (32%) of SMBs plan to use a page on a social networking site in the next year, and 39% plan to use customer-generated ratings or reviews on their website, according to a survey from BIA/Kelsey more

Looking to make your brand trendier? Get a load of Trendistic, a clear and simple way to watch the ebb and flow of buzz on Twitter. A visit to the Trendistic homepage gives you a quick glimpse at what keyword is hottest on Twitter right now. In addition to the most current ... more

In May 2009, Omniture and The CMO Club asked 102 CMOs to rate the relative effectiveness of digital-marketing media. The vast majority (78 percent) gave top marks to email marketing, but a sizable minority (33 percent) reported success in emerging social-media channels, too. That's because, these days, consumers "engage with a ... more

Despite the tough economic environment and unprecedented challenges to the industry, consumers' use of digital media climbed to new heights in 2009 as the Internet continued to evolve as an integral component of Americans' personal and professional lives, according to data from comScore. more

Baby Boomers' consumption of media has shifted dramatically to the Internet: 62% of Boomers (age 45-63) spent more time on the Internet in 2009 than they did the year before, and the majority of Boomers had joined Facebook within the previous six months, according to survey conducted by CPH Research ... more

Before you start soliciting links and becoming active in online communities, it's best to first ensure that your site's content, structure, and design are in peak condition, Virginia Nussey advises in a recent post at the Bruce Clay blog: "Before you can expect a site to develop inbound links, you have ... more

Blogging has lost appeal for most teens and young adults in the past three years, but social networks such as Facebook and MySpace are more popular than ever, according to a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. more

Among the 38 brands that ran TV commercials during the Super Bowl this year, 75% reported twice as many blog posts about their brands on Sunday, compared with levels on Sunday evenings over the previous six months, reports Radio Business Report, citing research from Prophesee, the social media arm of ... more

It'd be an understatement to say 2009 was a tough year for Domino's Pizza, what with the awkward employees-abusing-food scandal. A quick recap: two bored employees recorded themselves doing unpleasant things with food, and the video wound up on YouTube. Domino's responded swiftly enough, both terminating the employees and releasing an apologetic YouTube video ... more

More than half of advertisers (62%) say traditional TV advertising is less effective than it used to be, and many plan to shift their attention––and budgets––away from traditional TV to social media, online video ads, and branded advertising, according to a survey from Forrester and the Association of National Advertisers ... more

The Great Recession has certainly not spared nonprofit organizations. With contributions down an average of nine percent, many charitable organizations have been forced to cut services. Some even face closure. Fortunately, though, the news is not all bad. "With the right marketing mix, savvy nonprofits are able to leverage social-media marketing ... more

You'd think that to get half of your subscribers to click through, you might have to give away a million dollars every month. Publishers Clearing House actually does give away millions of dollars, but that wasn't enough on its own to earn a significantly higher-than-average response rate on its email ... more

Here's how Pioneer Electronics earned amazing click-through rates on its targeted online ads. more

"They say an Internet year is … equivalent to seven normal years," says Kevin Gibbon in a post at SEOptimise—meaning that we can witness seven real-world-years' worth of change in one year online. To help search marketers keep up, Gibbon offers seven ways to stay on top of the competition in the ... more

Sweet news, hardcore Twitter users! Hootsuite—the Twitter management tool developed with marketers in mind—just released an app for the iPhone. That means you can now access the handy features of Hootsuite in any old roost! We first covered Hootsuite shortly after Canadian company Invoke Media launched the adorable owl-themed service. It made ... more

Mobile couponing is still in its early stages, yet nearly two-thirds (66%) of younger adults (age 18-34) who own a mobile phone say they are at least somewhat likely to try receiving and redeeming bar-coded coupons via their mobile phones, compared with 46% of all adults who say the same, ... more

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of US consumers have HDTVs in their home, and another 12% are looking to purchase one within the next two years, bringing the potential market penetration to nearly three out of four households (74%) in the US, according to a new study from ORC. more

Americans love their music: 72% of consumers surveyed consider themselves passionate about music,* and one-third (33%) say they "would give anything" to meet their music idols, according to a recent survey from Synovate. more