Underground Elephant Trumpets Performance-Based Marketing by Erik Sass

For my second weekly start-up profile, I'm returning to Southern California, my own stomping grounds -- and an appropriate choice of words for a profile of Underground Elephant, a three-year-old performance-based digital marketing company based in San Diego. ...Read the whole story

The Future of Paid, Earned and Owned Media is Social

One proven way to increase effectiveness and lower your costs is earned media coupled with social optimization. With the social share button being one click away from spreading good content, the connection between "earned" and "paid" is undeniable. Intent is everything, if someone shares, tweets, comments, etc., it all hits the graph and spreads to friends. That's gold! Where brands fall short is the follow through engagement, re-posting the best-trending content means not just your super fans become your evangelists. Without good content the engagement that drives reach will not happen and social has become the best way to integrate ...More

  • What A Stew: The Recipe For The New Facebook by Catharine P. Taylor

    I've been watching the new Facebook stewing in the crockpot since yesterday morning, and have discovered the recipe for making it: To a base of existing Facebook friends and surfing habits, add three tablespoons of Google+ Circles along the left-hand margin, a pound of Flipboard to the News Feed, and a heavy dollop of Twitter along the right hand side. Then, add a raft of user complaints, simmer for a while, and behold: it's the hotly controversial new Facebook! What a stinky stew ...More

  • Not-So-'Glee'-ful Trends In Social Media And TV Ratings by Wayne Friedman

    Look closer at social media numbers and TV ratings. Can you draw any conclusions? Exclusions? Fox spent much on marketing and public relations efforts for such new shows as "The X Factor" and "New Girl." Returning shows typically don't need as much. But perhaps "Glee" should have had a bit more. ...More