Mark your calendars, SocialTimes readers. We’ve got a free webcast happening next Monday, May 6 from 3:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET on Google Tools for Social Media Marketing Success. Monica Morse, the social media lead for SMB Solutions at Google, will be sharing best practices on how to use Advanced Search, Trends, Hangouts, and YouTube to enhance your social media marketing campaigns.
Vine has added sound and motion to the popular microblogging website, Twitter. Learn how to bring your information to life in our Vine webcast on Wednesday, June 19 from 4-5 pm ET. In this one-hour webcast, Gemma Craven (left), EVP, New York group director at Social@Ogilvy will discuss best practices for using the visual social platform and share some of her team's successful vine videos. Register here. 
Matthew Miele’s upcoming film “Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s” is a window into Bergdorf Goodman’s rise from a small ladies’ tailor shop to a Fifth Avenue landmark that’s known for its over-the-top window displays. On the film’s official Facebook page is an is an interactive window dressing tool for you (and the rest of the film’s 20,000-strong fan base) to test your own design skills. Here’s an exclusive first look:
Syfy and Trion Worlds spent five years making “Defiance,” the groundbreaking series that’s part post-apocalyptic drama, part third-person shooter video game. Syfy’s marketing team spent an unprecedented 10 months promoting the show on social media to get viewers to watch the first episode. Was it worth it? Dana Ortiz, VP of brand marketing for Syfy at NBCUniversal, explained how the team set “New Earthly Rules” for introducing sci-fi fans to a futuristic story by starting the conversation in the past.
SocialFlow, a social media marketing optimization company, has received a $10 million round in Series B funding, headed up by Fairhaven Capital, according to the New York City-based company.
In February 2013, MySpace opened in beta a new network for connecting musicians and other artists with the world. But is it right for your brand? Engauge’s latest report, the “Myspace Skinny Paper,” includes a handy checklist to help you decide.
Mobile-First Instagram Brings its Content to the Web (SocialTimes)
Instagram users can now access their photo feeds via the desktop Web, according to co-founder Kevin Systrom. Instagram, perhaps the most successful mobile-first company to date, is nevertheless playing catch-up on the Web.
The digital marketing software company behind companies like Facebook, Travelocity, and Zappos has its eye on international markets and enhanced products. Kenshoo has announced a $12 million late-stage funding round led by Tenaya Capital, with participation from existing Kenshoo investors Sequoia Capital, Sequoia Growth Fund, and Arts Alliance.
If you’ve ever wondered why some brands on social media sound more robotic than others, don’t blame the copywriters, blame the law. For the panelists at Business Insider’s Social Media ROI in New York City, one of the hardest questions to answer when developing a social media strategy was, “How do you bring your lawyers along this journey with you?”
What kind of online presence does an author need to succeed in an increasingly digital world? Literary agent Jason Allen Ashlock talked about the kinds of stories that go viral in his web conference at Mediabistro’s Literary Festival on August 17. His answer may surprise you.
Mayor McCheese removes his top hat, dumps the last of the special sauce from his pockets, and waits at the terminal, grateful that his head was allowed through the security gate. (He had to get rid of his milkshake.) He’s on his way to London for the 2012 Olympics, where McDonalds has set up four Olympic venue restaurants to bring Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets to the cheering masses. As part of its “Best of our Best” marketing campaign, McDonalds has hand-selected 2,000 of its best employees and one fictional character –an Olympic team of sorts — to fly in for the event, giving them time to attend the games and meet the athletes as well as sling burgers and fries. The team has been documenting the action on social networks including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube.
