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The explosive success of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ (and many more) can be overwhelming when you really think about it. Almost everyone is online, and most people act like it's their day job. From toddlers to adults, social media can provide companies with a large target audience. And, since the popularity of these social networking sites is constantly growing every day, small business, internet marketers, and even large corporations are beginning to understand the opportunities within this digital marketing space.

It's no surprise that video marketing is gaining popularity ever since Youtube, Vine, Instagram, and other social media outlets made sharing and production so easy. Luckily for the marketing industry, video content can be a great way to capitalize on attracting new leads, connecting with your visitors, or engaging valued customers.

Someone asked me the other day where I get my news from, and “Twitter” was my automatic response. While I still get the content from news-worthy sites like CNN or AP, it’s not like I’m combing their homepage anymore but rather clicking a quick link to exactly what I’m looking for. And I don’t have to search far for the public’s comments. Simply by exiting the article, I can see how my friends and even people I don’t know are responding to the story through Twitter as well. Since Twitter is acting as a “second screen” for me and many other consumers, brands should be aiming to become part of this social commentary and push out their messages to the millions of users using real-time marketing. And that’s exactly what Oreo is doing.

Last week Instagram and Facebook launched their new video service, Instagram video, in order to compete with Twitter’s Vine app. Instragram’s video offers the user 15 seconds to shoot a desired subject and is completely editable. So, while we’ve provided you with tips on how to use Instagram video for your marketing advantage, should you continue with Vine? Will users stay loyal to the infantile platform or switch over to Instagram, which was delivered to them in a simple app update?

By now you probably already know that Video on Instagram is the newest social media debut since the popular video Vine app was released. The new video feature allows Instagram's 130 million users to create and share up to 15 seconds of video. According to Mashable, within the first 24 hours of Instagram video availability on June 20, users uploaded more than 5 million videos.

This past week I was lucky enough to stumble across two real tickets to game 4 of the Stanley Cup between the Boston Ruins and the unstoppable Chicago Blackhawks. (Side note, this article might be slightly biased). Two hours and $400 later, I was sitting in the balcony watching the puck drop. While I expected the Hawks to win, I unexpectedly picked up on some parallels between the NHL’s sporting strategies and some always-important inbound marketing tactics.

Since its creation in 2006, Twitter has become one of the strongest and most powerful platforms that companies have at their disposal. As inbound marketers, you know how to use Twitter to push out content, drive traffic and create user engagement. And now Twitter is bringing out the big guns by making the site even more useful.

Since it’s official launch in 2006, Twitter has attracted over 200 million active users and is one of the most popular social networks on the Internet. Chances are you’re one of those users and you probably think you’ve got Twitter all figured out.

The advantages of Twitter can be seen when businesses or individuals communicate online the same way they would in face-to-face interactions. Social media has revolutionized the way people connect, and maintaining these connections through two-way communication patterns can lead to a larger following.

Many marketing managers have come across a stubborn CEO in their office who refuses to believe in social media and inbound marketing. Do you have senior management that won't buy-in to anything besides traditional marketing strategies? Businesses everywhere are leveraging social media for marketing purposes, and those that don't use social media are being left out in the dark. As a leading CT Web Design Company, we've put together some ammo to help make the case.