“Influence without context is irrelevant,” says the new TweetLevel how to page , and anyone who has followed my rants and reports on influence measurement knows that is music to my ears. This week TweetLevel launched a new version of its influence measurement tool that adds context to the influencer scoring in two important ways:  topic and influencer types. The topic search tool allows marketers to identify influencers that are relevant to the conversations they care about. The influencer types analysis helps marketers to understand how best to engage with individual influencers. MORE >>

While consumer brand marketers are embracing Pinterest enthusiastically, many B2B marketers are still in a quandary about the visual sharing site. On one hand, it’s highly engaging, rapidly growing, and has more than 11 million users. On the other hand, 80% of users are women and the most popular topics continue to be fashion, cooking, home decor, crafts, weddings and kids. So, is Pinterest worthwhile for business marketing? Does it really help with SEO? How To Get The Most Out Of Pinterest by Search Engine People. Why Pinterest Is NOT Your SEO Miracle Worker by Search Engine Land. MORE >>

The marketing world seems ablaze with so-called "content marketing" ideas lately. Everywhere you turn, it's content-this, content-that. There are conferences that are specifically dedicated to content marketing. I've even been guilty of saying that content is the currency of social. With such ubiquity of content conversations, it should be easy, right? Not so fast. Plenty of marketers are guilty of simply taking their television spots or other existing assets and spreading them across the web, mistakenly believing they're creating content. There are two things wrong with that way of thinking. MORE >>

The consumers are getting wiser and more connected and as we move into the New Year, we as businesses continue to compete for their attention, loyalty and trust. While it’s easy to be on par with the current technology , the real value is on the cutting edge- anticipating the changes and meeting opportunity in the future. It’s all about finding new ways of creating, cultivating and harvesting value on a global scale with the individuals in mind. Here’s what’s in and what’s out, and how you can use the upcoming trends and technologies to your advantage. MORE >>

Image via BigStockPhoto.com. You’ve spent years building your business. You’ve invested time, sweat, and tears. You’ve missed dance recitals and soccer games as you’ve toiled to create it. You finally feel as though you can relax… until the day when the phone calls stop, the new customers vanish, and you can’t understand why. You’re still providing excellent service and your existing customers love you, but your business is struggling. Finally, you learn from an existing customer. MORE >>