With thousands of headlines and tips being shared on Twitter alone each hour, we think it’s helpful to share our favorites—the articles and blog posts from 2011 that really stood out as being most relevant, interesting and insightful. This month we’re sharing our thoughts about the top news, social tools and more for the year. Browse the list and then tell us about your favorite news from 2011.

Melissa Lion: I think this article from Venture Beat pretty much sums up 2011 for me: Surprise hit Pinterest a top 10 most trafficked social network. Go ahead and click that link so you can see for yourself that Pinterest (or as I fondly think of it—crack) has more users than both Google+ and Tumblr. Here’s to more inspirational quotes in pretty typefaces, cupcakes shaped like pandas and nail polish/messy bun/smoky eyeliner tutorials in 2012.

Darcie Meihoff: My favorite re-read of 2011 is not new, nor is it from an online source (although there is a Kindle version). Now in its fourth edition, The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, remains the authority on clear and concise writing. In a world where bad prose can be summed up in as little as 140 characters, this book promotes and celebrates such ideas as, “Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating and noncommittal language.” Cheers to Strunk and White, whose fight to improve the quality of writing rings as true today as ever.

Erik Sebellin-Ross: TechDirt does a great, thorough recap of the Ocean Marketting [sic] debacle that proved to be this week’s cause de jour, driving hardcore gamers to rage. What lessons can we gain from this? 1) Your parents gave you good advice when they said you should be polite to people; 2) Don’t plagiarize; 3) Pretty much anyone can call themselves a marketer, so check credentials before you hire someone to represent your brand.

Sarah Biedak: My favorite reads this year haven’t been individual posts as much as daily digests from my favorite sites: Mashable.com and Incredible Things. There is a reason articles from Mashable get tweeted and quoted over and over. The content is timely, relevant and interesting to anyone with an interest in social media. Mashable recently posted a series of 2011 wrap-up/2012 prediction articles; here’s one of my favorites: 5 Tech Trends to Watch in 2012. Incredible Things delivers what the title promises: unique, clever, odd and amazing people, places and things. I look to this site as both an entertaining break from the social media news feed as well as a pulse on what is happening on the fringe of consumer culture. I mean, where else would I find out that the Human Slinky is now available for sale, or that there is a toy that will tweet every time your cat plays with it?

Stefanie Week: One of the most interesting articles I came across this year was a bit of an investigative piece, The Dirty Little Secrets of Search, from the New York Times about J.C. Penney’s search optimization practices. The article gives a great introduction to SEM and also some clear warnings about how to play by the rules.

Along comes a reference book that stands a chance of changing this thinking. Paul Gillin and Eric Schwartzman are carrying the torch for the benefits of social for B2B marketing with Social Marketing to the Business Customer ($18.72 at last check). They’ve put forward a solid reference text that can help communications professionals get up to speed quickly in this rapidly changing space.

The book is divided roughly into thirds, and its first part is aimed squarely at communicators who may be new to social marketing. Part one focuses on building the case for social marketing and setting up the policy infrastructure to govern the use of social media within an organization.

I’ve certainly talked with many managers in the last three years who feel pressure to adopt social media, yet the speed and exposure brought about by these marketing tools overwhelmed them at first. Gillin and Schwartzman have clearly been there too. They put forward practical advice and a framework for organizing efforts that help make sense of the space for those who are starting out.

Part two dives into tools and tactics. I heartily agree with the authors because they advise listening to customers intensely before any “talking,” or marketing, begins. Schwartzman is an SEO guru, and I appreciate the overview of search best practices presented in part two. These tips truly benefit any online marketing activity, regardless of the specific components.

Another benefit of part two is the “non-techie’s guide to choosing platforms.” This is a skim of commonly used content management systems (CMS) and community platforms, such as Jive, that a communicator will want to add to his or her social marketing toolkit at a mature stage.

The last portion of the book runs through several quick case studies that describe uses of the major social networks, such as Twitter and LinkedIn, wholly in a B2B context. Kudos to the authors for looking deeply at the activity online and finding unusual B2B case studies, such as an interactive game launched by Cisco.

Gillin and Schwartzman make you wait for what I consider to be the holy grail of social marketing. The final chapters address lead generation and ROI from communities and other social marketing. Given this year’s merger of listening platform Radian6 and SalesForce.com, lead generation is fast becoming the tip of the spear for many B2B social efforts. To accomplish this, integration throughout all levels of activity is key. To me, that means breaking down silos, working in interdisciplinary teams and much more intense planning.

The authors offer some helpful tips on ROI, but don’t expect mystical answers to the meaning of life here. Like most of the book, the ROI formulas put forward represent practical thinking and require organizations to put a dollar value on customer and fan acquisitions. If social media practice is still the “Wild West,” (debatable, but indulge me), ROI is its Main Street where the duels are taking place. There is as yet no standard that we can all work from, so it’s up to communicators within their organizations to set up logical, consistent systems to demonstrate ROI. This at least gives us a common reference to consider as a community.

What social reference books do you have on your shelf?

Think again. There are more things you can do to optimize your content for the social web. One of the more interesting speakers at Web 2.0 in San Francisco this year was Paul Yiu of Bing. He talked about how to rethink SEO strategies to rise above the noise of social search.

Why is optimizing for social search different than the SEO strategies that have been drilled into us thus far? Well, as we all know from swimming in the social web, everything moves faster now. The popularity, and hence the ranking, of your content may depend not only on regular, old-school content updates, but also on how many people Tweet links to your content within the first *few hours* of posting.

Catch that? Hours. Indeed, Bing’s algorithms measure social references to your content as it takes its first feeble breaths on the Web.

Yiu says that in the past, we planned for useful content. That seems so simplistic in today’s environment. Now we need to plan and create share-friendly content. It’s important to seek out links from trustworthy sites, but add to that seeking links from trustworthy individuals who are influential voices in the social stream. Whereas regular updates were a popular SEO strategy in the past, today’s content managers need to be prepared to turn on a dime, especially to respond if a “mob” (positive or negative) arises.

Some food for thought the next time you’re prepping a piece of content. Before you hit the “upload” button, check out Paul Yiu’s Web 2.0 presentation on Slideshare (posted below).

Do you have a social SEO success to share?

But can it really be done in today’s online culture?

To find out, I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Pat Carew, CMD’s social media video expert and a member of the agency’s film and video department, and ask some questions about what viral video means and how achievable it is as part of a larger campaign. The big question, however, was can you plan a viral video?

“By definition, something viral happens on its own,” said Carew. “The bottom line is you just don’t know if your plans will succeed. They are incredibly hard to do. While you can say you want to produce a viral video, ultimately it’s up to the audience to decide if you have succeeded.”

If you do attempt to make a go at producing a viral video to reach your audience on YouTube or Facebook, Carew suggests a few tips to include in your strategic planning:

Go with humor: Most popular videos contain sex, violence or humor. Since brands tend to stay away from the first two, humor is left as the most-used theme. But, according to Carew, humor is the most difficult to pull off. The most popular videos on YouTube, like this one, simply make people laugh. Be sure to work with professionals on this task to represent your brand well and be tasteful.

Ditch the call to action: A viral video must have a cool factor; it should not be an advertisement. That means no call to action, such as a phone number or email address. This can be the most difficult thing for marketers to pull away from, since it’s a traditional part of video advertising, but remember the goal is entertainment and eyeballs, not direct leads. This Old Spice video is a good example. Notice there’s no call to action. It just entertains while delivering its message in a humorous way.

Monitor for production trends: Stay on top of production trends by researching top videos. Whether they’re stop-frame animation, tilt photography or auto-tuning vocals, there are always interesting production trends that sweep though social media videos that can make them more eye-catching. Don’t worry about the technique being a fad, either. Your goal is to get as many positive impressions as fast as you can. As you can see from this search, auto-tuning is particularly popular right now.

Provide the unexpected: Like the Old Spice commercial, and this video that was produced for Microsoft, the best chance of a video becoming viral is when you provide something unexpected. The viewer doesn’t really know what’s going to happen next in the Old Spice commercial, and although the stunt in the Microsoft video is not real, it provides a “no way” response when viewed. Making the impossible seem real is a big trend now in the most popular online videos.

Be transparent: Above all, be honest in your video distribution. Refrain from posting a video from a personal account or trying to promote it without identifying yourself. This is risky in today’s social media world and can potentially be a big problem.

Finally, remember a video can be successful without being labeled as viral. A video with the right message, like this one produced by CMD, seen by the right people, might be more effective than a wide-reaching clip viewed by the masses.

What are your favorite online videos? Would you label them as viral? Share your thoughts and links with us, and we’ll revisit viral videos in future posts. If you have any questions about video best practices, contact Pat Carew at pcarew@cmdagency.com.

What’s the biggest bandwagon for marketing/communications firms in 2010, covering the span of Web developers, creative and advertising agencies and PR firms alike? No shocker here: it’s social media.

Having worked in social media for a few years now with a wide variety of clients, and hearing how different “gurus” sell themselves, there’s no doubt it pays to evaluate as well as ask the tough questions. Here are a few from our perspective that any skilled social media pro would not only be willing, but eager, to answer:

Do strategies and tactics always start with listening/monitoring?
Social media is the equivalent of joining a conversation at a cocktail party. You wouldn’t just burst in and start talking without first listening to know who is there, what topics of conversation are being discussed and what perspective you might be able to lend. Gauge your approach with these questions:
• What industry-leading share of conversation tools have they used, what do they recommend and why?
• How is monitoring information analyzed, shared, reported and utilized?
• Is it considered top priority before embarking on any effort?
• Are recommended strategies based on listening?

What’s the depth of experience?
Social media strategy is much more than deciding when to start a Twitter handle. Consider:
• The variety of brands, products, efforts, projects and the ability to spark word-of-mouth movements utilizing the right combination of solutions is a gauge.
• Determine how long social media has been an integrated core competency (beware if it’s just recently been tacked on).
• Find out what combination of experience the hiring manager prioritizes for the social media team.

How deep is the knowledge about your brand, tone, voice and priorities?
Social media gives voice to a brand. Does your partner understand what tone to take?
• What depth of experience is offered when it comes to knowing internal and external protocol, products and offerings?
• How integrated is your social media partner with the rest of your organization?
• Is there a willingness to team up, help educate and share best practices with internal partners who may be best suited to represent the company?

How are long-term plans/management realities considered?
It’s one thing to start a social media initiative, it’s quite another thing to keep it going.
• What is the game plan for not only building, but maintaining and partnering for the long run?
• What experience is there for not only starting, but fostering and building communities over time?
• Are ongoing costs in terms of time commitment/budget impact factored in up front?
• Does your partner think in terms of social media “campaign” spurts or long-term customer engagement?

Are PR best practices and principles integrated seamlessly?
At the heart, social media is simply a form of how your brand relates to and interacts with the public.
• What experience is offered for building communities, generating news and sparking word-of-mouth movements?
• Is top-level print and broadcast journalism expertise for content generation offered?
• What experience is there for handling online crises/issues?
• Are quality user-friendly ideas and content that compels and attracts audiences prioritized over developing tools, apps and channels?
• Is the philosophy to treat people like people, not marketing categories–tapping into audience passion points and interests vs. simply pushing marketing messages?

How are social media solutions weighted in terms of the overall marketing mix?
Social media should be part of an integrated marketing effort to best reinforce brands and to determine what the most effective communications solutions may be. Find out:
• Will social media be evaluated objectively and appropriately balanced as part of the larger, overall mix? How will this be accomplished?

What’s the biggest challenge/biggest success you’ve experienced?
Social media is a relatively new frontier, and it is evolving all the time. Anyone who tells you they have it all figured out isn’t being transparent (a must for social media, by the way).
• What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned when it comes to projects you’ve worked on?
• How do you set objectives and measure success?

Finally, does the approach follow overall marketing best principles?
Be wary of any social media plan that doesn’t start with research, strategy, objectives, audience identification, tactics, measurement.

Social media isn’t a bandwagon, it’s an increasingly important part of the mix and a great way to build relationships with audiences. We’re interested to hear your perspective on how you’ve vetted the right partners to help build your brand’s presence.

After the release of Microsoft’s latest search engine investment, Bing http://www.bing.com, there was an onslaught of credible and non-credible reviews of everything from its underlying technology to the choice of its name. The most ironic comments were from many a Scotsman; the word “bing” in Scotland can also refer to a wastepile.

In Google’s Technology Overview http://www.google.com/corporate/tech.html, the perfect search engine is defined by co-founder Larry Page as something that “understands exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want.” Anyone who’s recently committed a search query to the annals of Google’s SERPs (search engine results pages) does realize this is more of a quest than current reality.

I’m not here to pore over discovery into the poor makings of a search engine, nor wax poetic on the glorious wonders of search visualization, however, part of what I get paid to do and definitely what drives me as a digital strategist is to understand current technology trends and to glance into the future to identify what brands should be paying attention to.

The reality is that semantic and visual search options are here. And, if you’re a big brand relying on the 90% (and growing) market share that Google and its partners in SERPs Yahoo and Bing hold, you’re playing the right odds. But, for every monolithic corporation there are a handful of visionaries and technologists that are willing to take a risk at making something better and more powerful for the user.

That said, there’s a movement around the creation of common information structures. The W3C has published guidelines at http://www.w3.org/RDF/FAQ on participating in the Semantic Web. It’s also worth looking at Common Tag http://commontag.org and others on the development of an open tagging format. On April 13, 2009, Arun Radhakrishnan wrote a post on Search Engine Journal regarding “9 Semantic Search Engines That Will Change the World of Search,” http://www.searchenginejournal.com/semantic-search-engines/9832/, and I believe he and others are definitely onto something. The crux of the situation is that users still want the fastest route from query to results; but the majority of those users doesn’t necessarily care or understand its relevance. So cycling aficionado that I am, I decided to dive into some searches.

In a quick comparison of Hakia (one of the aforementioned “9”) vs. champion Google for the term “Tour de France,” each yielded similar results. Even though Hakia was developed by looking closer at ontology and semantic rankings, it really doesn’t yet take advantage of many Web assets. And, it’s still text-based, so the results cannot be custom tailored visually.

When I started to play with the visual search engines, the real fun began for this cycling enthusiast (and admitted right-brainer). The power of the visual cloud, like seeing what you’re searching for in Searchme, was compelling.

And, Viewzi offered several different views into its results. The more visually delicious options are the Google Timeline and the Photo Tag Cloud (shown here).

Last on my Tour de Search is Spezify, a search tool utilizing relevant, free and open APIs to generate a more diverse set of results. Although more traditional SERPs have options to view blogs, microblogs, social resources, e-commerce, images, etc., it’s impressive to see the free associated relationships drawn up in a visual mind map based on keywords, tags, titles and content.

So, what’s the real takeaway for a brand navigating the Semantic Web and visual search aggregation?

The answer can be simple: The User Experience. It’s why we have strategists, information architects, user experience engineers, information and visual designers. It can also be complex, as the art of search engine optimization (SEO) is being redefined.

The aficionado of your brand may not use the path most traveled; from a desktop on the leading browser or from the leading search engine. What’s a critical failure? How about when a user, expecting to see visual results from your brand instead receives the “In order to view this page you need JavaScript, Flash Player, or Flash Player 8+” message?

For instance, many of the web assets from one of my favorite personal brands, Nike, are not accessible from my favorite device, the iPhone, using its native OS Safari browser. When I don’t have JavaScript or Flash Player installed on Firefox or Chrome or Internet Explorer, the same falls true. Until Windows Mobile 7, Google Android’s newest native browser, and future versions of the iPhone OS Safari browser are released, I still won’t be able to consume the visual layer or search in this new visual sense.

As to my original Tour de France reference, right now it’s less about seeing who takes the yellow jersey (maillot jaune) awarded to the best overall rider and more about appreciating who wins the white jersey (maillot blanc) given to the best up-and-coming youngster.