of all shares, 60% were of links to published content. Additionally, 36% of shares were of embedded content.

A measly 4%, which is made up of URLs for brands or corporate websites.

while email still leads the pack as the top sharing vehicle for content with 93% of internet users using it, it's not ahead in the race by much. Social networks trail slightly behind at 89%, and sharing through blogs is a close third at 82%.

Email: 91% use email marketing; among them 78% say such efforts are moderately (46%) or very (32%) effective. Websites: 95% have websites; among them 75% say their sites are moderately (38%) or very (37%) effective. Online advertising: 69% use digital ads; among them 60% say those efforts are moderately (39%) or very (21%) effective. Social media: 73% use at least one social channel for business; among them 54% say such efforts are moderately (37%) or very (17%) effective. Blogs: 43% have a blog; among them 47% say their efforts are moderately (33%) or very (14%) effective.

80% have increased slightly or substantially their use of social tools in the previous 12 months.  

Moreover, 81% of those currently using social media expect to increase their efforts in the coming year.

#1: It’s Not Personal, It’s Business

They certainly don’t need to be formal (in fact, usually they shouldn’t be) but they should always be professional.

post photos of events that involve other organizations.

1. 33% of companies have a mobile marketing strategy.

2. 62% of marketers plan to have a mobile marketing strategy within the next 12 months.

3. 82% of companies plan to increase mobile marketing investment over the next 12 months.

100 years is 53 million minutes, which parses out to 5.8 hours per user. Or 12 minutes per day.

the average American spent 8.7 hours a night sleeping. Men spent just 16 minutes a day doing housework (women spent 36 minutes). Exercise? 18 minutes. Religious and spiritual activities? Nine minutes.

. Never Stop Listening

1. Never Stop Listening

Listening is 50% of communication

search for: City name Neighborhood or community name Local landmarks Local businesses Event venues, museums and public locations Local fairs, parades and community events Hashtag identifiers for a local community or event

#1: Find Local People Using Tweets Near You

Search Twitter for your city name.

1 - Claim or Create a Google Places Page

2 - Verify Your Google Places Page

3 - Optimize Your Places Page

A fundamental question when creating your own tribe is to ask yourself, “Whom can I help on Twitter?”

TweetDeck’s Directory

WeFollow,

1. Microsoft Tag is the leading technology used for mobile barcodes.

U.S. tops growth in mobile barcode adoption.

Print materials lead the way for QR code placement.

Those who use social location-based apps such as Foursquare or Facebook Places represent just 17% of the mobile population

48% cited privacy concerns as their primary reason for not doing so. And 50% were merely unable to do so because they did not have a smartphone.

Ninety percent of respondents actively using checkin applications indicated they use Facebook Places

6 Rules of Humanizing Your Brand Be human and humble (this should come naturally). Follow the 80% (value add content)/20% (marketing) rule. Establish Twitter-specific objectives, strategy, and measurement, and optimize. Seek out your advocates and follow them first; don’t make them find you. Interact with customers, like you would with a friend in a coffee shop. Be relevant to their interests, be available to address their needs, and embrace negative comments as opportunities.

It’s an opportunity to peek behind the curtain of a company

as opposed to Facebook’s walled garden. Twitter is about the conversation, in real time. On Facebook, conversations are fragmented over time based on when you access and check the posts within your social circle.

ocial media is not just popular among the younger generation. The use of social media among older faculty (those teaching more than 20 years) is only slightly lower than that of young educators. •Some colleges are now accepting a one minute long YouTube video as a substitute for the traditional college essay. •61% of educators say they have a Facebook account and 12% of them say they use it to communicate with students. •40% of educators report having a YouTube account and 21% of them report using it to communicate with students. •18% of educators say they have a Twitter account, however that is on the rise. •46% of educators play social videos and podcasts as educational supplements to their lectures. •Skype has created opportunities for foreign language students to connect with a native speaker to help further develop their language skills. •Social media has created a new form of communication between students and faculty.

1. YO! Sushi (6.4%) 2. Papa Murphy’s Pizza (2.4%) 3. Denny’s (2.0%) 4. O’Charley’s (2.0%) 5. A&W (1.8%) 6. White Castle Burgers (1.7%) 7. Panera Bread (1.7%) 8. Arby’s (1.7%) 9. Burger King (1.6%) 10. The Melting Pot (1.3%)

Hooters achieves much of its social interaction by encouraging its employees — the company’s 17,000 “Hooters girls” whom McNeil describes as “local celebrities” — to network with their hundreds of personal Facebook friends and have them check out the corporate page or follow their activities at work.