Social Media Marketing

Online video has come a long way in a short period of time. In the last year alone, the use of video on websites has moved from an interesting anomaly to a critical feature that boosts search engine result standings, increases stickiness and improves conversion rates. The number of companies making ...

Social networking technology has found a solid niche in the business world. Facebook and Twitter are proving to be powerful -- and cost-effective -- tools for connecting with customers and promoting products and services. Major corporations like Pepsi and Procter & Gamble have been so happy with...

Has there ever been an easier time to reach an international customer base? And has there ever been a more complex time to optimize for global reach? Certainly, the Web and social media platforms make it easier for brands to reach prospects in virtually every plugged-in region of the world. However,...

Groupon is likely to select Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to be the principal underwriters for an initial public offering later this year that could value the company between $15 and $20 billion. J.P. Morgan Chase is expected to have a co-manager role in the IPO, and at least two other banks want...

2010 was the year of social media: Mark Zuckerberg was named Time's Person of the Year, "The Social Network" seemed poised for Oscar glory, and Facebook exceeded Google's daily traffic. Certainly there were hiccups along the way -- privacy settings, ease-of-use and the Google Buzz debacle -- but no...

Social shopping site Groupon clearly had bigger aspirations in mind when it spurned Google's $6 billion acquisition offer last year. The company is in discussions with Goldman Sachs about going public -- at a $25 billion valuation -- according to a Bloomberg article citing unnamed sources in the kno...

IBM unveiled a new service on Monday that will help companies market and sell their products online. The new division, called "Smarter Commerce," offers IBM customers real-time marketing analytics and brand assessment tools for Facebook and Twitter. Smarter Commerce also offers consumer-behavior ana...

Microsoft's search engine, Bing, added a Facebook integration feature on Thursday that will let searchers see which results their Facebook friends have liked. After users connect Bing with their Facebook account, pictures of friends will appear below any relevant results generated in a search. They ...

Numerous sites supporting some form of mobile photo sharing have popped up over the past few months, ushering in the next big social media trend. While the press coverage of these sites generally has been positive, they also have been subject to a fair amount of criticism in online forums. The commo...

Despite Groupon's recent high-profile missteps, enthusiasm over the daily deal site's anticipated initial public offering doesn't seem to be dissipating. That's unfortunate, at least in my opinion -- and my thoughts have nothing to do with Groupon running what were widely perceived as culturally in...

Anyone in the technology industry not captivated by recent events in North Africa and the Middle East needs to consider a change in career. First in Tunisia and then in Egypt, Internet-connected mobile devices and social networking sites were reportedly leveraged by protesters to effectively exchang...

Facebook is tracking your comments for ad opportunities. On Tuesday, Facebook announced its new advertising platform, called "Sponsored Stories." The new ads will be integrated near the user's news feed. Advertisements can be prompted by words that appear in apps, statuses, check-ins and "likes." A ...

While marketers have long pursued the mobile or "third" screen, this channel is just now becoming a realistic option for most brands. Meeting consumer demand at the precise moment of that demand is not just push marketing, either. The new mobile environment empowers consumers to initiate the interac...

Sometimes it's best to say you're sorry. Groupon's CEO, Andrew Mason, released a subtitled video on YouTube apologizing for problems Japanese customers experienced during a New Year's promotion. Groupon's deal-of-the-day site offers promotions and discounts to local markets. The company emphasizes s...

A major source of Facebook's success is its "social graph," a term coined in 2007 by company founder Mark Zuckerberg to describe the network of relationships between Facebook users. Facebook's social graph is a valuable component of the Facebook platform. The robust mapping of relationships and pref...