The challenge of marketing against social media grows. A recent study by Knowledge Networks and MediaPost show brand perceptions and purchase decisions for 38 million in the U.S. are now influenced by social media. The study reported high levels of influence: 23.1 million discover new brands or products through social media (up 22% from 2010) 22.5 million use social media to learn about unfamiliar brands or products (up 9%) 17.8 million...

Radian6 released a GREAT new eBook titled “Social Media Listening, Measurement, and Engagement Primer“. Below are some of our key takeaways. Make sure to download the full eBook, or read through the embedded version below. Why Listen? Consider “listening” as your market research. It will inform the development of your social media strategy, including optimal audience, prime network, and key technologies to help...

Flowtown recently released a great infographic (see below) depicting how some of the largest companies are using social media. It is no surprise that the vast majority of these companies are on social media platforms (like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube), but what is also interesting is HOW these companies are using Social Media. While it certainly varies from company to company, it is evident that most of these companies are using Social...

Ed Bennet compiled a wonderful list of how Hospitals are using social media. As can be seen on the graph below,  of 540 Hospitals that have a social media presence, there are 227 YouTube Profiles, 419 Twitter Accounts, 316 Facebook Pages, and 67 Blogs. While some hospitals are on multiple social media platforms, others are on none. More often than not, a Hospital with a Facebook page, YouTube profile or Blog also has a Twitter account....

Google introduced Google Buzz today, successfully integrating social media into email. This seems like a perfectly logical combination, and in fact, GMAIL is not the first to attempt this. Currently, Facebook is working on an email client to rival GMAIL by integrating email into its social media platform. Google co-founder Sergey Brin on hand for the launch of Google Buzz Photo: REUTERS Naturally, the launch of Buzz creates a flurry of...