?. We’ve heard from many of you that an ‘end of the month’ deadline for our special Social Mix 2012 early bird discount tickets would be a better fit for you. With that, we’ve very happy to announce that we’re extending our special Early Bird rates until June 30, 2012. We’re bringing together global leaders in the social marketing space such as Gary Vaynerchuk , Amber Mac , Matt Hixson , Geoff Livingston , Gini Dietrich , and our own Danny Brown , so you can hear first-hand how to harness the power of social media marketing for your business. MORE >>

2012 has been the year of many great achievements and little downfall for the social network. Acquirements of around $838M in 2012 alone, hitting the magical 1 Billion mark of active users and the IPO that turned out to be less magical than expected, but which recently has taken a turn for the better. Besides the many improvements to the industry Facebook has become, the platform itself has undergone substantial changes the past year as well, improving the marketing potential for brands as well as the level of relevance to the private users. The average user. The brands. MORE >>

But then I started to think about 2012 and the challenges that most brands will face and thus the basis for this post was born: The challenges for a digital marketer or a digital brand in 2012. 1) Driving traffic -  The challenge in 2011 is the same in 2012. In 2012, it’s imperative that we determine what engagement looks like. Marketers and brands will need to land the plane in 2012. Remember when websites were stuffed with content because marketers and webmasters thought that’s what we wanted? Keep your users focused in 2012. MORE >>

This reminded me of the lesser-known, and rarely-discussed side of marketing. Behind the public side of marketing there are fundamental mechanisms that take place. And, just like cooking, marketing is a process that culminates in a quickly-consumed output. Much too much conversation happens around the output so I decided to put together a list of the “secret sauce” ingredients that will help you improve your marketing efforts, starting with the foundation. Every business needs a website, marketing (old and new), SEO, and PR. marketing calendar is your map. MORE >>

our Social Mix 2012 conference is really starting to sizzle. He’s a seasoned marketeer, professional speaker and consultant specializing in social media and community building. With 15+ years of experience in Web-based application development, product management and marketing, he’s been the architect behind many an exceptional team while building high growth technology businesses. We announced yesterday that we’ve extended our special Early Bird rates until June 30, 2012. Social Media social media social mix 2012Saul Colt. Frank Falcone. MORE >>