Do you remember the last thing you shared online? There’s a good chance it was a photo or a video.

It has been proven that Facebook users ‘like’ photos twice as often as they do text updates. Even more, they share videos 12x more often than photos and text updates combined. Brands are quickly quite learning that visual media is one of the most effective means of storytelling and visual content is becoming a huge priority among content marketers.

Check out the following infographic produced by communications company M Booth and social analytics company SimplyMeasure exploring user engagement with photo and video.

Content marketing is a great way to engage your audience and promote your brand online. Most content marketing is being done on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and various other social networks and, following article posting, social media content marketing is the second-most popular way today’s marketers are promoting their brand’s content. (Of course, you already knew all this.)

What you may not know is that a whopping 90% of B2B marketers engage in some type of content marketing. In addition, 60% of B2B marketers plan on spending more time on content over the next year. If you haven’t hopped on this bandwagon then you’re missing out!

Today’s B2B marketers invest an average of 26% of their total budgets on content marketing. Moreover, 62% of companies go above and beyond and outsource their content marketing to qualified agencies. Everybody’s doing it! And why shouldn’t they? As a marketer, content marketing can help you realize all your dreams: brand awareness, customer acquisition, lead generation and customer loyalty!

Still not convinced? Created by BlueGlass Interactive, this infographic explores how B2B companies are using content like tweets, blog posts, videos, newsletters and case studies to promote themselves online.

Moms are an important part of offline life, so it’s no surprise that they’re a pretty big deal online, too. Whether they’re connecting with friends, family or brands via social media or they’re sharing the latest product reviews or recommendations on the web, there’s no denying that online moms are an active and influential market.

The Social Space

Did you know that one in three bloggers are moms? It’s true! In fact, 52% of all bloggers are parents with children under the age of 18. Moms are frequent social media users as well. Compared to the online average, moms are 38% more likely to follow or become a fan of a brand or celebrity on Facebook or Twitter. And almost 5 million moms – over one third of their unique visitors from home computers – visited Pinterest in March, 2012.

Surfing the Web

In order to save time and money, many moms are also avid online shoppers. According to Neilson data, moms are 35% more likely to shop for clothes, 50% more likely to buy toys, 29% more likely to buy music, and 23% more likely to purchase e-books online.

Going Mobile

But moms don’t just limit their online and social media practices to the house. They take it everywhere! According to a study by NM Incite, 54% of moms own smartphones and 50% of moms access social media using their mobile devices, compared to only 37% of the online population.

Check out the infographic below for more interesting tidbits about the American Media Mom.

Infographics are visual presentations of data or information that use elements of design in order to attractively display content. If you’re looking to make your content more appealing and interactive, infographics are definitely the way to go.

Here are a few reasons why we think you should integrate the infographic into your overall content strategy:

They’re eye-catching & engaging

We’re not talking about your everyday bar graph, here. Infographics take all that mundane and complex data and turn it into colourful, appealing and unique works of graphic art. Infographics are all about telling a story. Images and words work together to share information and facts relevant to a certain topic.

The format piques interest and demands attention. As Internet users, we read until we’re blue in the face. An infographic, which breaks up the text while still communicating valuable content, is definitely a welcome change. It makes research, learning and discovery more entertaining and, dare I say, fun!

It’s everything you need to know, simplified

Sure, you’ll be impressed by the design, but you’ll be even more blown away by what you’ll learn. No need to rack your brain: infographics are super easy to understand. You could always read the whole 200-page report, but who has the time?

We’re busy people with busy lives and infographics provide access to all the important stuff in a convenient and efficient manner. They deliver the message quickly and clearly in one compact, interesting and appealing package. Because of this, infographics actually enhance comprehension of the content that’s presented.

Leave them wanting more

Infographics are so easily digested because they address the valuable ideas, facts and statistics that people want to know.

It’s true, you can’t relay as much information in an infographic as you can in other information marketing materials. However, infographics can function as a kind of teaser or call to action; encouraging users to read or download the extended e-book or whitepaper.

Unparalleled shareability

Because they are so easy to understand, infographics are also easily shared. Infographics often explode via social media and, in some instances, even go viral.

Be sure to share your infographic with relevant influencers and infographic aggregators to generate the most impressions.

Have you discovered any awesome infographics? Share them in the comments below!

Both social media and your website should be working together to promote your online brand. Unfortunately, most brands aren’t fully leveraging the power of social media on their websites and, as a result, they’re losing out on potential interactions, impressions and sales.

Avoid making these mistakes. This post will outline how your brand’s website and social media platforms can work together to maximize online exposure and increase brand awareness.

1. Placement of Social Media Buttons

I know, I know. This one’s obvious. But you might be surprised how often social media buttons are lost among crowded content. The best buttons aren’t necessarily the biggest and the boldest, but should definitely stand out and catch your eye.

Buttons should be placed in visibly obvious locations or integrated among Contact information. Keep in mind, your audience is now just as inclined to reach out to you on Twitter and Facebook, as they were to phone and email you. Furthermore, Facebook’s new Timeline for Brand Pages permits a user to contact the brand/business directly.

2. Be Consistent

Your social media buttons shouldn’t only be found in one place, either. Make sure they are consistent throughout your website and can be found in the same places when moving from page to page. Social media buttons that are locked in the navigation bar or menu are best.

3. Use Common Sense

Only integrate social media where it logically makes the most sense. Just because you’ve signed up for every social platform out there, doesn’t mean you have to link to all of them. If you haven’t touched your Twitter account since you created it, there’s no need to draw any attention to it. If the platforms aren’t updated frequently or actively managed, there’s no reason to link to them.

4. Include Social Feeds

If you’re an avid Facebook or Twitter user, why not add the feeds directly on your website? Including your social feeds gives visitors a taste of the kind of content you publish. It also shows website visitors that you are engaged and offering value through interesting, shareable content.

5. Incorporate Share Buttons

If you use your website to publish useful and valuable resources, articles, blog posts or other helpful content, don’t you want as many people as possible to see it? Share buttons allow website visitors to share or tweet your content to their social networks with a simple click of the mouse.

This isn’t just a great idea for content publishers; share buttons give brands selling products or services via their websites a great opportunity to increase social impressions, too. With share buttons, online shoppers can share great deals or hot finds on their social platforms.

6. Track your Success

Make sure to use analytics so you can discover how often website visitors are using your social media buttons. Google Analytics is a great tool. It allows you to see how many people are actually clicking on your outbound social media links. If you don’t see the results you were looking for, perhaps you need to consider a change in your button design or location.