Social Media Marketing and Branding

Brands are moving from simply being present on social networks to taking a more active role on the sites

Companies and marketers are more comfortable on social networks and have started to engage more authentically and build communities with other users on the sites.

Burson-Marsteller, one of the leading PR companies, looked at the FortuneGlobal 100’s activities on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, corporate blogs and other local microblogs and social networks around the globe for its “Global Social Media Check-Up 2011”. 25% of these companies worldwide are using all four major social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs – an increase of 25% from 2010 – and 84% are on at least one platform.

Percent of FortuneGlobal 100 Companies With Social Media Accounts, (c) BURSON – MARSTELLER

Most companies are on Twitter, which saw a major growth compared to 2010, as 77% of companies around the world have Twitter accounts, up from 65% last year. Twitter might be emerging as the predominant social media platform used by corporations, although corporate Facebook pages have more “likes” than Twitter accounts have “followers.” Continue reading "Study Reveals: More Marketers Move Toward Engagement on Social Media" »

The Pentagon has closed down its social media desk, transferring one worker to cybersecurity work and deciding not to replace another worker who left the service.

Image via Wikipedia

The Defense Department will continue to operate several Twitter and Facebook accounts, but will delegate responsibility for maintaining the accounts to less specialized workers. “It’s important for people in press operations, community and public outreach and communications and planning to be able to know how to use and access Facebook, Twitter and the other social media tools, rather than just have a single unit or single person do nothing but social media,” says public-affairs chief Douglas Wilson.

Related articles

• Unfollowed: Pentagon Deletes Social Media Office (wired.com)

Social media
While in some ways social media has made communication easier, it’s made many digital lives — and digital marketing — infinitely more complex with Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, YouTube, Quora and myriad other platforms and tools competing for time, attention and dollars. But 2011 is the year it gets a little simpler.

Gaming
When it comes to the big consoles, we already expect them to fuel a new combination of TV, gaming, social media and movie-watching. But Aaron Greenberg, chief of staff of Microsoft Interactive Entertainment, said that biggest opportunities will be in controller-free entertainment.

Mobile
While 2010 was undoubtedly a giant year for mobile, that’s not likely to slow down anytime soon. Nielsen expects 2011 to be the year more Americans carry smartphones than non-internet connected mobile devices.

Read more on AdAge: http://4dm.in/aa11_1

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• 6 Predictions for Social Networks in 2011 (mashable.com)