Take a look at a recent webinar I just did with Starmark. One of the many responsibilities that I have with our agency is that of (hopefully) a thought leader. Additionally we aggressively write what we call "eTIPS" every week and I highly recommend that you subscribe to them. While these tips are directed at digital marketing professionals, I think most business owners will get something from the intelligence. We give a ton a great content away. That being said, enjoy the presentation:

Obviously you should pay attention to the number of followers. But more importantly, you're looking for their "true reach." True reach is a metric for those who engage in two-way communication about a trend or an industry. Get a feel for the writer’s “voice.” See if you share the same mindset.

Currently we are a three-feline family: two Siamese brothers named Ricky and Bobby, and a ragdoll/shorthair mix named Niko. I've also had a tabby and a polydactyl American shorthair. What does this mean, other than all my furniture is scratched, and I can't walk out of the house wearing a suit without meticulously using a military-grade lint roller?

Billions of years ago, when the earth was cooling and a few tiny amoebae started their sexy little single-cell dance in a pool of water, Carnegie Mellon University Professor Jesse Schell talked about the future beyond Facebook games. Well, at least two years in Web time seems that long on the evolutionary timeline. Professor Schell is the creative mastermind behind Schell Games, and the guy is an absolute monster when he shares his thoughts on the future of gaming.

There's a simple truth in this concept, it is in this moment where we (as creatives) need to look again at the tools we have at our disposal. We get all very excited about 'kicking the tires' on new technologies. I know I do as I'm as #FOMO as they come. But the truth is that we have yet begun the process of exploiting the potential uses of what we have as this video makes clear.

There are a slew of things to take into account when adding or creating a game-like environment for your site or its content. I'm going to assume that I don't need to tell you that, before any of you determine your goals, you should do a deep competitive analysis and determine the mindset of your demographic prior to spending any real money in this direction. This topic is a bit more than 101 when it comes to the new-world marketer, as it's making rapid changes and not a lot of it has been truly tested...

Well the wiki says "Gamification is the use of game design techniques[1] and mechanics to solve problems and engage audiences. Typically gamification applies to non-game applications (also known as "funware"),[2] particularly consumer-oriented web and mobile sites, in order to encourage people to adopt the applications. It also strives to encourage users to engage in desired behaviors in connection with the applications.[3] ...

Much like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in psychology, there are various levels in social media that are becoming galvanized within the discipline. Therefore, we’ve outlined each, starting from the bottom and working our way to the top. While this document is a generalization, we know that each client has specific needs and we can work with you to create customized solutions to meet them.

Most of you don’t know this, but the beta version of Justice was a far cry from the uber-social techno-dweeb you know today. My “once upon a time” took place in Breckenridge, Colo., circa 1977. I was not part of any clique, wasn’t a trust-fund kid, and didn’t have a huge network of homeboys. My funny name didn’t help. And to top it off, I was in educational support classes because I had to play catch-up after starting in Florida’s rudimentary education system.

Do you want to be one of the “social glitterati?” Do you want the admiration and respect of the impressionable masses that follow your every post, Tweet, update and check-in? Then pay close attention to this list of social media mistakes you should avoid:

I go ballistic every time I read another blog post from someone who provides this frothy bit of advice: "Have a crisis-management plan in place." Gee thanks. That's it? How about a little help with the plan, pal. Otherwise it's like giving someone a smoke detector, but not telling them they need to take it out of the box, install a battery and mount it in the hallway. You've given them a great tool but they're still going to burn.

So yesterday I attended Dan Zarrella's "The Science Of Social Media" that promised just-released secrets to the ways of social media. So I bite. First, things first before I go on a rant about the collapse of the this man's social empire. Dan Zarrella is/was a great mind. He has incredible insight with valuable metrics and information about twitter and Facebook users, and a myriad of other topics. I've quoted him in conversation, I pushed his relationship with Hubspot's services. I still look at Hubspot as a sound leader in the industry with a WEALTH of information that they freely give away. To that I say Hubspot is top-notch – at least at the time of this post. What tomorrow brings remains to be seen.

In my experience with both agency and client I've often heard "well we have a small budget so we can only do this..." Wait, what? Is this a creative meeting or is this a funeral? First, let me tell you what sad little emotional creatures we overly sensitive creative types are. We're a ball of fire that you walked in and pissed on before you told us hello...

I still hear people say 'well I'm not sure if my social media efforts are creating enough traffic to my website.' To that, let me say this: Stop worrying about having every friend, fan and follower use your website as some epicenter of truth. This is ineffective thinking from today forward. Social media is not a direct connect to sales. It's not "buy now." It's "have you heard?" and the thing that people seem to forget is that while pushing product is fine, loyalty to that product/brand/service is going to maintain a long-term customer and make you more money over time.

There's no chronological order to the countless mistakes that I've made over the last twenty years, nor I'm sure the same will be said for the next twenty years. Many of you will look at this list and laugh and think "what a fool." Others of you know that this industry, having been building site since 1994, had no rules, no manuals, no "best practice," just a lot of us 'winging it' and hoping we would make something great.

Subject: "Budget Crisis" Dear Mrs. Adams, I know that this may fall on deaf ears but in all my political ignorance I've only recently come to understand the breadth of the budget crisis through educated conversations with my spouse. I'm not sure what is being done, but I wanted to express my fear to someone with the power to change.