It's the most wonderful time of the year, and, no, I don't mean the one from the Andy Williams song. It's time to update the social media slides in our presentation decks as we, with hope in our eyes and longing in our profit margins, look forward to the promise of new business ushered in by the coming new year.

Yes Virginia, this will all be on the test, so study like your job depends on it. Because it just might.

(Via Erik Qualman.)

This infographic summarizes the findings from a survey of 1,000 social media users​ who were asked various questions about liking and interacting with brands on Facebook.

It's worth noting that the number one reason people gave for unliking a brand on Facebook was that the brand posted too frequently. Also, the top reason given by people who say they do not like brands on Facebook was that updates from brands clutter their newsfeed.

Our friend Kristien​ said it best, "Always tell [brands] to post with purpose!"

Via Contently.

If we had it our way the entire world would be wirelessly connected. Unfortunately, this is not yet the case. From a profit and customer satisfaction standpoint, there are many places that should be wirelessly connected.

With the increasing popularity of smart phones and mobile applications, consumers today are using smart phone as a personal shopping consultant and more. But what happens if the consumer is unable to connect to this "personal shopping consultant" while in store? Will they decide not purchase? Is this a missed opportunity for the retailer?

Interestingly enough,  a consumer survey by Deloitte found that "37 percent of shoppers who tried to use a mobile application in-store were unable to because they didn't have connectivity." There are many reasons why this is a missed opportunity. It leaves the consumer unable to search for online ratings, connect with online sales promotions, and social share any content or feedback. It also leaves the consumer unable to engage with the retailer's own mobile application while in-store. The survey also showed that "while mobile shopping increased from 43 percent to 50 percent in the past year, internet connectivity did not."

Surely it does not matter how robust your mobile application is if your customer can't access it while in store. Personally, if I'm able to research the web, leverage mobile apps, and social network while shopping; I'm likely to stay longer and buy...

The Hispanic market remains an important segment for most all vertical product and service sectors. As the Latino population grows and their socioeconomic power expands, the potential for increased profits exists for all companies. While major corporations are marketing at many levels to Hispanics, other marketers are still taking shots in the dark on how to best reach Latinos. Utilizing precious multicultural marketing dollars at optimal levels is important in getting the most out of those resources.

At BFG, we have been exploring Millennial Hispanics (Gen Y) and how they may or may not differ from older generations of Latinos. In an in-person, large-scale study BFG found that the Hispanic tradition of seeking product and service recommendations face-to-face has shifted among Millennial Hispanics ages 21-26. While younger Gen Y Latinos still seek face-to-face recommendations from family and friends, they more often go to the Internet.

More importantly, BFG found that the age 21-26 Hispanics look very much like Non-Hispanics in the same age cohort on numerous behavioral metrics. The 36+ aged Hispanics still rely mostly on family and friends as evidenced by significantly higher dependence compared to Non-Hispanics in the same age group in seeking product and service recommendations.

This introduces the question that if continued findings indicate that the youngest of the Millennial Latinos look and act very much like their Non-Hispanic friends, is there a need to break out marketing dollars into multicultural buckets for Millennials? Or, can you focus those dollars on older Hispanics and use general market approaches in marketing to younger Hispanics?

If there’s one old adage that applies to social media engagement, it’s that “timing is everything.” Engagement is usually higher at certain times and identifying those times is relative to a slew of variables. When scheduling Tweets, do you often find yourself wondering if you've made it for the best time possible? Perhaps there is an easier way.

Buffer is an app that allows you to schedule posts for your social networks based on times that they have calculated as being your most engaging.

What is Buffer? from Joel Gascoigne on Vimeo.

Loading posts into Buffer is extremely easy, as the app has plug-ins for any browser. Once you've found an article or post that you’d like to share, you can let the app do the scheduling for you and send it to your Buffer feed, or you can choose to manually post it yourself. Regardless of how your posts get sent, Buffer keeps a running tab of analytics for each one. Basic (free) accounts are able to see how many clicks, retweets, and potential reach each post receives, while upgraded accounts get additional stats like @mentions and favorites.

Try it for yourself via their website, iPhone app, or Android app.

While scheduling content is convenient, it's important to remember that no substantial relationship can be built from automation. Content can certainly be enriched by...