bet you’ve heard plenty about the importance of conversation in social media. But is conversation the most important thing in social media? What’s The Value of Conversation? Few will question the value of conversation. But does conversation improve the bottom line? Case studies suggest social companies do better than their non-social competitors. If we’ve proven conversational companies are more profitable, is it because conversation made them more visible? Is it PR or is it marketing? MORE >>

If you follow me you know I talk a lot about the ROI of Social Media since I happen to have stumbled on a great ROI using Social Media in providing support for our customers at Avaya. Social customer support I would argue is the single best place to focus your social media efforts since it can reduce customer churn and increase your retention rates faster than any other program I have ever seen before thereby delivering a strong ROI. But I think there are 3 more ROIs out there where you can build a great business case with Social Media. MORE >>

For anyone in marketing or PR being asked to make “data-driven&# decisions “based on the numbers&# (and doesn’t that include pretty much everyone in marketing and PR these days?), the sources below provide a vast wealth of data, statistics and research results, as well as a bit of interesting social media trivia. How are consumers and b2b decision makers using social media in their buying processes? Which social media platforms are most effective at influencing buyer behavior? Social Media Facts and Stats. MORE >>

US businesses have definitely accepted that social media has to be a part of their  marketing and PR activity -  four in five US businesses with at least 100 employees will take part in social media marketing in 2011, says eMarketer. That’s a big jump from the 42% who used social media in 2008. eMarketer expects the  number of marketers using the channel will continue to rise through 2012. Conversions. Conversions                              8.  # of page views. Top 10 Metrics used by CMOs. Site Traffic. MORE >>

The ongoing conversation about the ills of the A-List produces the opposite effect than desired. Instead of creating a correction, it builds a stratosphere of influence, and creates a perception of unworthiness for the rest of the social web. In some ways the “ A-List &# conversation is fostered by leaderboard systems of top bloggers (Ad Age 150, Technorati) and influencers (Klout, Empire Avenue). Usually, this type of influencer is a content creator or social network personality — the dog that barks the loudest. 2) Give up trying to converse with them. MORE >>