Neal Schaffer
10 New Features LinkedIn Introduced in 2011 to Better Leverage in 2012
As 2011 leaves us and we begin 2012, sometimes it takes time for us to catch up in the world of social media to all of the new applications as well as new features from older applications that we have been inundated with. Take...
5 Important Things Japan Taught the World about Twitter in 2011
It's been several months since the incredible misfortune and tragic events that have struck my beloved 2nd home of Japan. Although you don't read about it on the news anymore, Japan is still in crisis in both trying to contain a nuclear power...
The 25 Best Social Media Books of 2011
It seems like only yesterday that I was writing my review of the best social media books of 2010, a list that included only 15 selections. Time flies so fast and 2012 is just around the corner, so it's time to reveal my picks...
Facebook Settles with FTC on Privacy Issue: What Does This Bode for Social Media...
Facebook has probably realized what the adage on great power coming with great responsibility really means with what it has gone through over the past year. The social media giant has had to deal with widespread outrage from hundreds of millions of users and...
4 Fresh Reasons Why Social Media is the New Farmer’s Market
I had the chance this summer to speak in rural Japan (Kumamoto, Kyushu for those of you who might have been there to see Mount Aso) at a workshop on social media for the agricultural industry. Whenever I speak, I always mention how...
4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Creating Your LinkedIn Public Persona
Whether you plan to use LinkedIn as an individual, or to represent a business, you will be interacting with and be seen by others without having a chance to meet them. And, while corporate websites give us complete control over how we depict...
Google+ Evolves: Multi-Admin Feature for Brand Pages Coming Soon [Analysis]
With a lot of fanfare, Google released Google+ just six months ago, and less than one month later, it unofficially became the fastest-growing social network with close to 10 million members. The new kid on the block quickly made its presence felt, with...
Is It SEO or Is It Social Media?
There is a popular term in social media circles that "social is the new SEO." The relationship between being active in social media and how it affects your search engine optimization cannot be denied, especially with the emergence of the Google +1 button...
The Final Word on Klout?
To be honest with you, in light of all of the recent blog posts and Twitter conversations about the subject, I never intended to write this blog post about Klout. But as I pointed out earlier in defense of Klout, it is one barometer...
BrandYourself Brings Personal SEO Benefits to Every Professional
In an online marketing world where SEO is critical, businesses and bloggers pay close attention to optimizing content for SEO and strategically choosing keywords to increase their chances of showing up high on Google search results. But what about the rest of us?...
Are You Making any of These 6 Blog Content Mistakes?
I get asked by a lot of companies as well as bloggers as to ideas on what they should be blogging about. My golden rule, as a tool of Inbound Marketing, is to try to blog about topics that my potential clients might...
The 11 Twitter Tools and Apps I Use Every Day in 2011
The secret to success in utilizing Twitter for social media marketing in 2011 is in taking advantage of all of the 3rd party apps that exist for the platform. If you go to a Twitter application directory site you will literally find hundreds if...
4 Reasons Why LinkedIn (and not Facebook) Might be the Better Choice for Your...
Successful social media marketing is about knowing where your customers are and establishing a presence there. It is clear that professionals from all demographics are spending a great deal of time with social media, and that Facebook is the main networking site where...
Why I am No Longer a LinkedIn LION
Want to buy Facebook fans? Why not buy some Twitter followers to boot? There are companies that you can actually pay money to to achieve this. With the recent LinkedIn IPO, now there are companies not only selling LinkedIn connections, but also saying if...
Why I Deleted Foursquare from My iPhone. Have You?
Everyone has their own objective for using social media, but one thing is clear: if you are a working professional, and especially if you have a family, the time that you can spend on the likes of Facebook and LinkedIn is often very limited....
Why I Blog, and Why You (and Your Business) Should Too
Wow. It's hard to believe it's been 5 weeks since my last blog post. This is the first time in many months that I haven't blogged for such a long period of time. It isn't that I didn't want to blog,...
5 Questions to Ask BEFORE Hiring a Social Media Consultant
I believe that many businesses in 2011 are as confused as ever about how to maximize their social media presence. There are some that are finally looking to take social media seriously this year, while many have had a presence for a year...
The 5 Hidden Powers of Business Blogs
Business blogs are becoming an increasingly common way to expand a company's online presence. Six months ago I asked does your business blog? According to Hubspot, the number of companies that blog has risen 17% in the last two years to represent 65%...
Twitter for B2B Marketing Case Studies: Four Ways How Tweets Lead to Business
Twitter is now 5 years old – Long Live Twitter! With an estimated user base that is now double that of LinkedIn at more than 200 million users, Twitter is less about what we are doing now and more about becoming a channel...
3 Winning Examples of B2B Blogs Done Right
Over the last few years blogging has become a recognized marketing tool as a component of a social media strategy. While businesses used to scratch their head as to why they should be fiddling with something that was originally created for individuals, B2B...