These articles were written for Social Media Week.

5 Tips For Creating Engaging Social Media Content

Before Facebook cut down on engagement bait, it was common for companies to tell fans to respond to be entered into a contest or to ask a question. These questions were along the lines of “What do you think of this new law?” If you agree, respond with the like button. If you disagree, click the angry face icon. The goal was to prompt a response, which would show engagement on the page. Many times this was successful.

While that kind of engagement was always meaningless, it made everyone feel good because it showed activity. Now, most social media platforms frown on engagement bait, so it’s not wise to continue the practice.

Because the rules are always changing, creating engaging social media content is a never-ending challenge. There is no magic content that is guaranteed to increase your social media engagement rates. However, there are general guidelines that will put you on the right track.

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Can I Get Verified?: Verification Guidelines for Social Media

Getting verified on social media is one way brands build trust with their customers. However, each social media platform has different requirements. Keeping track of them all is confusing, so we’ve created a handy guide on how to verify your account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest.

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BBH’s 10 New Rules For Bringing The Social Back To Social Media

Advertising campaigns are no longer brand driven and companies fall into the trap of relying too heavily on data. In essence, the metric has become the goal. This makes social media less social. It also causes brands to lose sight of what really matters: engaging their audience.

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The Business Of BuzzFeed: How The Media Giant Builds Brands

Explore the business side of BuzzFeed and how they bring new brands like Tasty and Bring Me to market.

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From Chat Rooms to Snapchat: The History of Social Media

When we think of social media, we tend to list off the most popular sites of the moment. However, social media has been around in some form since the beginning of the Internet. Over the years, social media has taken the form of chat rooms, networking sites, and microblogging. For every, Facebook there are hundreds of Orkuts. Instead of going through every social network ever created, we’re going to take a walk down memory lane and revisit some of the most notable innovations in social media technology.

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Finding The Right Social Platform For Your Brand

According to the Pew Research Institute, in 2016, around 70 percent of Americans had at least one social media account. That alone is a solid reason to start investing in a social media team for your brand. However, there are currently an overwhelming number of platforms with an endless number yet to be created that you may not know where to invest your time and money.

While it would be nice to have a dedicated staff for every social media platform ever created, it’s simply not feasible. Instead of spreading your resources thin, it’s important to figure out where you should be dedicating those resources. Fortunately, a brand only has to focus on a few major players, which vary based on what you are trying to sell.

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Why Your Brand Needs A Blog

Every brand needs a blog. You may think that no one will care about your brand’s new product launch or what goes on behind the scenes, but that is not the case. Consumers want to know the story behind their favorite brands and feel confident that they are making the right choice when they strongly identify with a brand.

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Be A Leader, Not A Follower: 5 Don’ts of Twitter Following

Everyone wants more Twitter followers, but not everyone knows the unwritten rules and etiquette associated with Twitter following.

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History of Hashtags: How a Symbol Changed the Way We Search & Share