Email marketing is an integral part of business marketing. Consider this Forrester Research finding: “In 2011 United States firms alone spent US $1.51 billion on email marketing and will grow to $2.468 billion in 2016.” Furthermore, Forrester suggests “Nearly every enterprise marketer uses email marketing as the workhorse of her interactive mix.” So how can you build your email marketing list? Read more>>

In 2011, GigCoin has shared a range of articles on online marketing and social media tips with readers. Our posts have included a plethora of research findings, interviews, how-to’s, and resources to help businesses master and become successful with social media marketing.

In reviewing our posts of the past year, we took a look at the ones which created the most buzz, and were read and commented on most. In case you missed any of them first time around, they’re listed here with a brief description.

Social media marketing continued to make significant headway in 2011 and is expected to move full steam ahead in 2012. More specifically, what trends can we expect to see in the coming year? We checked in with five marketing pros who shared their insights with us. Joining us are Sergio Balegno, Shama Kabani, Cindy King, Joe Pulizzi, Mike Volpe and our very own Julie Diaz-Asper

Sharing useful content is an important part of a social media marketing strategy. Regardless of whether people follow you on Twitter, like you on Facebook or have you in one of their circles on Google+, you want to make sure you not only share your content but you want to pass along links to posts that speak to you and that you think will speak to your followers and readers as well.

I can’t begin to tell you how many times a week I must hear the question asked, Does Social Media Marketing really work for generating leads and new business? What I’ve learned about social media marketing and seen first hand is that like any other marketing plan a business embarks upon, in order to be effective, social media must be well-planned, targeted and strategic. Sure, you can create presences and tweet and post updates ‘till the cows come home, but will you get the results you’re hoping for?