Businesses around the world—from neighborhood restaurants to major retailers—are embracing social media to share information and forge stronger relationships with their fans and customers. We know because we are one of those businesses—on Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Indeed, a social presence can complement all marketing campaigns—search, display, video, mobile, offline ads and more.

With this in mind, today we’re happy to share that the Wildfire team will be joining Google. Their co-founders, Victoria Ransom and Alain Chuard, launched their startup just four years ago. Since then, they and their team have built a service that helps businesses like Virgin, Cirque du Soleil, Gilt Group and Spotify manage their social efforts across numerous social websites. It’s a platform for brands to manage their pages, apps, tweets, videos, sponsorships, ads, promotions and more, all in one place.

The ultimate goal is better and fresher content, and more meaningful interactions. People today can make their voices heard in ways that were previously impossible, and Wildfire helps businesses uphold their end of the conversation (or spark a new one)… Read the complete and original post at www.googleblog.blogspot.com

Read the complete and original post at www.copyblogger.com

You can apply my super content creation secrets to mold yourself into better, faster and more efficient writer.

1. Stop making excuses

We’re going to start with a little tough love.

The best tool you have in your writing toolbox is a no-tolerance policy for whining and excuses.

The most important thing you can do as a writer is write. You need to write a lot — every day, if you can — in order to produce great content and become a better writer.

So stop letting yourself off the hook. Stop saying that it’s okay that you haven’t written for a week. It’s not okay. You’re not going to become a better writer if you keep making excuses.

By the end of the six-week writing intensive for my book, I noticed that writing had become a heck of a lot easier. Spending hours working on a chapter didn’t feel like drudgery — it was actually fun.

This wasn’t a magic trick. It was the result of sitting down to write for many hours, every single day, for five solid weeks.

So plan on making writing a practice and shutting the door on excuses and justifications.

2. Decide to be a professional

Author Steven Pressfield gives great advice to writers who are looking to reach the next level in their craft:

What we need to do as writers, artists or entrepreneurs is to turn pro, mentally. [We need to] take ourselves seriously and take our work seriously, and really sort of bear down on it …

He asserts that taking our work seriously, and “turning pro” in our own minds, is the main difference between amateurs and professionals.

While I was writing my book, I didn’t wake up in the morning asking myself, “Should I write today?”

I knew that my job, every single day, was to write to the best of my ability for a large portion of the day. I was a professional — and that’s what professionals do.

As soon as the book was done, I immediately shifted gears and moved into writing guest posts for other blogs. Since my main marketing strategy for my book is to publish guest posts as much as I can, I’m writing three or four substantial articles every week. And I bring my professional mindset to writing my guest post assignments, too.

I take myself seriously and my writing seriously — and so can you. And once you “go pro,” you’ll be amazed what a difference it will make in your productivity.

Read the complete and original post at www.openforum.com

Of all the social networks, women trust Pinterest the most—but it’s bloggers who really hold the power when it comes to influencing purchases.

So says a survey from Jumpthru, a startup that helps women support female-owned companies.

In the poll, 81 percent of women said they trusted Pinterest—trust being a key driver of e-commerce. (“Trust drives action,” noted the study.) Nearly half of women (47 percent) said they’d bought an item recommended using the online pin board.

Twitter came in second, with 73 percent of women saying they trusted it—and 31 percent saying they had gone on to buy an item recommended to them through the micro-blogging network. Facebook came in last of the social networks, with 67 percent of women, erm, liking the network.

But although blogs tied with Pinterest in the “trust” category (81 percent of women said they did), blogs were by far the biggest drivers of purchases, with 61 percent of those surveyed saying they had bought an item after a blog gave it the thumbs up. Forty-one percent said they actively use blogs to find information about new products.

If you think social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are sticky, today’s emerging sites might as well be liquid cement.

As email and instant messaging loses prowess among users, social networking sites are stepping in as a primary communication channel for some users. And while Facebook continues to reign supreme, emerging sites like Tumblr and Pinterest are taking off fast — making them all the more fruitful for social media marketers.

Here’s a look at some of the Web’s rising stars:

Google’s social networking platform Google+ climbed to 25 million global users in less than a month and now boasts more than 70 million registered users. That’s pretty impressive considering it took Facebook three years to attain that number, and Twitter didn’t hit the 25-million-user mark until it had been in business for 33 months… The complete and original post can be found at www.Entepreneur.com

The surprise smash-hit social networking site of 2011 wasn’t Twitter, Tumblr or Google+. In fact, it was a site that, even today, is still an invite-only social network. The Palo Alto site Pinterest has skyrocketed into the top ten most visited social networks of the past year and continues to gain traction and popularity.

The image-based platform is a simple enough concept: Users create and name Boards anything they like (Places I’d Like to Visit, Pretty Dresses, My Cookie Creations, etc.) and post relevant photos on corresponding Boards, while categorizing Boards under one of the 32 general Pinterest categories. Users follow one another based on interests, and photos are displayed in a pin board-type feed that is simple, yet visually stunning.

But how can brands and companies utilize this platform to their advantage? Here are five ways to jump on the Pinterest bandwagon to reach an already established female audience and a rising male audience…

1. Contests

Brands and companies can connect and build buzz among their audiences by hosting various types of contests on Pinterest. Contests can range from creating the “Best Board” to a earning the most Repins. Users could post photos of the best outfits they put together or of sculptures built from products bought at a specific store. Similar to photo contests on Facebook or Twitter, Pinterest offers a way for brands to build visually stunning interaction between themselves and their patrons… Read the complete and original post at www.mashable.com