Mike Lewis

Quick: What’s the difference between a company and a brand?

A company is a business organization, while a brand is the gut feeling the public has when they think of a company or product. Walmart and Target are similar companies that are perceived quite differently because of their brand identities.

Creating a company requires paperwork. Creating a brand requires something else entirely.

That something is storytelling.

A marketer must be able to distill the brand’s story, including the problems it solves, the target market it services, and its value proposition, all in a way that is simple, clear, and compelling (and hopefully memorable).

Marketers must be flexible enough to tell this story in a variety of formats depending on the channel used to convey the story (digital or otherwise). But no matter what the format is, there are best practices that always apply.

As finalists in...

Social engagement is both a science and an art. I analyzed data from over 100 companies of all sizes to determine the best ways to maximize social engagement. The findings are telling; for instance: did you know that posting to three or more channels increases engagement by over 40%? Or that posts on Saturday received more engagement than any other day of the week?

Check out the infographic below for more insight into the science of engagement, and pick up my book Stand Out Social Marketing: How to Rise Above the Noise, Differentiate Your Brand, and Build an Outstanding Online Presence for a complete guide to maximizing your social media returns.

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For many brands, one of the appealing aspects of social media is the opportunity to target and acquire new customers. Marketers can also use social to learn more about existing customers and use that knowledge to increase the relevancy of your messaging. But how can you do this effectively? The tools already exist to monitor social conversations and unlock key insights into who to reach, how to reach them, and the right messaging to use.

For an easy two-step guide on monitoring and acting on social media conversations, take a look at our infographic below! It’s time social marketers went beyond simply counting ‘Likes’ and comments, and uncovered the deeper meaning of social conversations.

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As the social media landscape has evolved, so too have the tools that exist to help busy marketers manage it. Luma Partners and Buddy Media, pre-acquisition by Salesforce.com, released a 2012 snapshot of the social media landscape that rapidly went viral:

Busy, that much is clear.

To date, brands have been able to successfully harness the power of social media to improve company awareness. But one segment has been largely underserved, particularly in the small and mid-sized business market, until recently: social customer acquisition.

How is social customer acquisition being addressed now?

To acquire social customers at scale, small and mid-sized business need to turn to technology vendors. Existing options from...