Businesses using social media marketing report a greater ability to reach their audiences and engage current and potential partners. As such, 58 percent said they plan to increase their investment in the channel in 2012, Elite Email recently reported. Social media marketing has helped businesses improve their overall integrated marketing efforts by allowing for sharing of website ... [more]

As email has grown to become a primary form of communication for consumers and enterprise workers, businesses of all sizes have successfully leveraged the medium to reach new prospects and nurture relationships with existing clients and customers. According to a report from Elite Email, 63 percent of businesses will boost their investments - both financial and time - in email marketing ... [more]

The Google Operating System blog recently reported that those looking to create accounts on any Google service must also make a Google+ account as the company continues to integrate all of its services into one platform. For marketers considering the platform for social media marketing, the fact that all new Gmail or Picasa users will have Google+ accounts may provide a strong impetus ... [more]

A new report Dan Zarrella indicates that businesses see different levels engagement in their web marketing campaigns based on which day the content is posted, shared or sent. Dan Zarrella of Hubspot analyzed email, social media and content marketing campaigns. In terms of Facebook engagement, Like activity spiked to 40 percent engagement rates on Saturdays, when users spend more ... [more]

Responsys recently reported that the volume of email marketing newsletters sent by top retailers reached an all-time high in 2011. According to its analysis, Responsys found that the volume of marketing messages sent by the companies it studied rose 16 percent in 2011 over 2010. In addition to sending more, it seems marketers tried to send better emails in 2011. In the past, subscribers ... [more]

The integration of marketing channels is poised to be a top trend for 2012, and marketers may want to start with email and social media marketing content. A new report from GetResponse found that weaving social sharing features into email marketing can improve response rates and engagement. The company analyzed its massive database of client campaigns and found that adding social ... [more]

A report from Emailvision found that many businesses using email marketing are looking to improve their 2012 campaigns. According to the study, 43 percent of businesses are satisfied with their ability to target newsletter content, but just 14.7 percent recognize much room for improvement. While this is likely a good sign - essentially showing that businesses are not growing complacent ... [more]

Market research firm comScore reported on Tuesday that American companies have earned nearly $20 billion from holiday shopping sales. In the first 34 days of the most hectic two months of the year for merchants, retailers earned $19 billion and the figure will continue to grow at a similarly rapid pace. ComScore's report highlights six separate time periods during the holiday shopping ... [more]

Email marketing, traditionally a numbers game of open rates and measured clicks, is evolving thanks to the influence of social media and other relatively new online marketing channels. At ad:tech NY, Robyn Peterson, senior vice president of product at Mashable, explained that the key to the company’s success with its recently launched email marketing effort is a proprietary interests ... [more]

If they aren't already doing it, businesses hoping for a successful holiday shopping season should consider using SEO to appeal to consumers, according to Experian Marketing Services. The market research group found that consumers begin scanning the web for potential discounts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday weeks prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. Ecommerce websites have seen ... [more]