For years, social marketing was largely spurred by brands. But now, a company can’t just push a message on Facebook and expect its fans to buy into it. As social customer engagement platform Get Satisfaction points out in its newest white paper, creating a cohesive network of fans who are willing to talk to each other about the company is the next step for brands to succeed both on Facebook and other social networks.
In the digital age, businesses must get social or they'll get left behind. Learn how to give your business an extra edge over competitors at AllFacebook Marketing Conference, June 5 in San Francisco. You'll hear from social media strategists and brand managers at Toyota, UNICEF, and Starwoods Hotels & Resorts. Register today. 
Facebook users can currently subscribe to other users, as a way to read status updates but not enter into an invasive Facebook connection (Mark Zuckerberg has this setup). Now, Facebook is testing the subscribe feature for pages. But what would that do to likes?
In social marketing, as the saying goes in Hollywood, it’s not always what you know, it’s who you know. A new social graph released recently by Reachable allows professionals to mine their Facebook friends (and their friends’ friends) for sales leads and new contacts.
Still trying to figure out how to make your company’s page shine with timeline? Maybe you’re not getting the click-through rates you were hoping for with your Facebook ads. Buddy Media, which provides social business solutions, has you covered. The company recently released some tips and guidelines for greater success marketing through Facebook.
Medtronic Diabetes, a diabetes management solutions company, is using its Facebook timeline in a pretty inspirational way. Through social media marketing firm Likeable Media, it invites those living with diabetes to share success stories and photos of life events.
After General Motors pulled its Facebook advertising, other car makers have said they recognize the value of social marketing. The latest? Nissan, which Advertising Age reports is heavily including Facebook in its marketing plans for the upcoming year.
Teenagers make up a sizable portion of the Facebook population. So when “Be Smart. Be Well.,” a Blue Cross program, wanted to gain awareness of Safe Teen Driving Day — today — they chose the social network to get the word out.
A ranching executive recently presented an innovative plan to promote the benefits of beef: social media.
While some question the effectiveness of advertising through Facebook, two major American companies say it works. Coca-Cola and Ford recently told The Wall Street Journal that they’ve had success on the social network.
Pretty much every small business could use a little extra cash and some guidance with social marketing. Luckily, Facebook and American Express want to help. By entering the “Big Break for Small Business” contest, smaller companies can win $25,000 and house calls from American Express and Facebook branding experts to help them launch a sound social marketing campaign.
