View Points : Social Media Examiner

By Michael Stelzner
January 14, 2014

Have you got a great idea on your to-do list, but it’s been there for a while?

Is there a podcast, article or video you’d love to create, but for some reason you haven’t?

If so, you aren’t alone.

Most of us struggle bridging the gap between our desire to be creative and the act of actually creating something.

Keep reading as I explore the roots of why we don’t create and to discover what you can do to make stuff happen.

You Shouldn’t Do That…

I remember the day I submitted a draft of a paper that shared my best tips. My editor asked, “Are you sure you want to do this?” With that simple question I let doubt creep in.

More recently I was reviewing feedback from a presentation I gave. Of all the positive reviews, the one that struck a blow at my confidence went something like this, “You don’t really need to keynote your own event.”

Preparing for my keynote at Social Media Marketing World 2013.

By Sara Hawkins
May 1, 2013

Are you confused about the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) disclosure rules and how they relate to your social media activities?

Do you want to know more about what you need to disclose and how to make disclosures on social media to comply with U.S. consumer laws?

In March of this year, the United States Federal Trade Commission released the first update to the .com Disclosures guide.

Here’s a look at the key points in this update relevant to social media marketers today.

Read the .com Disclosures guide for full details.

The Environment Has Changed

First, it’s important to understand the environment in which this guide was published.

With the first release in 2000, the .com Disclosures guide was an attempt to narrow the gray area of how marketing and advertising worked on the Internet so companies could maintain compliance with consumer protection laws.

By Phil Mershon
September 6, 2012

Small businesses can stand out in a big way with Facebook.

If you’re looking for some creative examples of Facebook pages from the small guys, look no further!

More than 1,800 nominations came in from our contest. These represent over 500 small businesses.

Our panel of Facebook experts carefully reviewed the nominees and finalists, analyzing their landing pages, engagement, reader involvement and creative use of promotions (among other things).

None of these businesses have huge budgets, yet they all have achieved amazing success. The following are the winners of Social Media Examiner’s Top 10 Small Business Facebook Pages for 2012:

By Phil Mershon
June 22, 2012

***UPDATE: Congratulations to our winners! Stacie Walker won 2 tickets for her winning comment and Phil Mendelowitz won 1 ticket in the Twitter contest.

Want to win a free ticket to the largest online blogging workshop for businesses?

Social Media Examiner founder Michael Stelzner will be teaching a step-by-step course to help your business thrive with blogging.

And we’ve come up with a fun way to get you involved.

First, what is this event?

Blogging Fundamentals for Business is an online workshop that will empower you as a marketer and business owner to attract quality prospects, elevate your industry prominence and improve your sales with blogging.