Sink your teeth into our Top 50 Food Blogs list!

This is a guest post by Beth Blanchard, manager, electronic media, and Stone Hansard, supervisor, internet media.

Grandma’s secret meatloaf recipe, once neatly tucked away in a dark cupboard, is now available for the world to enjoy. Whether you want to try your hand at Vietnamese pho soup, Romanian chiftele meatballs or simply spruce up a frozen dinner for the kids, the Internet provides more inspiration than any cookbook could ever hope—and at no cost.

With services like Pinterest and Yelp dominating the social web, gastrophiles can boast their latest concoctions and dine-out obsessions in real time, foodie to foodie. It’s an exciting time for curious palates, so to fete the ever-growing trend we have compiled a list of the top 50 food blogs in North America, using proprietary research from Cision’s media database, ranked by Cision Digital Reach and inbound links. So take a bite out of these, won’t you?

If you’re hungry for more coverage of the food and beverage scene, download our free pitching kit!

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Photo of Amanda Yang, courtesy of ShopClearThePath.com

This is a guest post from Amanda Yang, media statistics specialist at Cision and founder of Clear the Path.

This Monday, I gave a talk to a group of about 70 investors, innovators and business owners at the Start Up Lightning Round hosted by Entrepreneurs Unpluggd in Chicago, where a fantastic community comes together for one night of drinks and honest tales of successes and failures in entrepreneurship.

Along with fellow startup founders Todd Jones, Lisa Russell, Tim Jahn and Chris Campbell, I talked a little bit about my cycling apparel company, Clear the Path. Currently, we are in the process of building a brand and product line of apparel and safety tools to make cycling a more enjoyable experience and to encourage a sustainable lifestyle.

Aside from developing a solid product, it’s equally important to make your presence known by successfully publicizing your new company. Free is key for bootstrappers like me, when it comes marketing a startup. With limited time and money to be spent on marketing, here are Four Tips on Marketing Your Startup for Free-Ninety-Nine (that means free):

Create content to complement your brand. Startups are about creating meaningful connections with loyal consumers and brands. Engage with businesses who complement the mission of your company to further your company’s mission to make your customer’s experience tops.

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This is a guest post by Beth Blanchard, manager, electronic media, and Stone Hansard, supervisor, internet media.

Ever since Jay Krall compiled the inaugural list in 2009, our top 100 social media and internet marketing posts have been among CisionBlog’s most discussed, shared and trafficked content. Along the way, we’ve made some changes, from Valerie Lopez’s introduction of Compete metrics in 2010, to the addition of SEO as a topic for consideration the following year. Much like the social Web itself, our lists are constantly evolving, and this year is no different. Rather than ranking by traditional metrics, we’re using our new in-house UVPM measurement, Cision Digital Reach.

Given the social nature of this list, the change is quite fitting. Cision calculates Digital Reach by aggregating the number of quarterly shares a website attracts on Facebook and Twitter, then multiplying this sample by an average number of visits per share. This new method better reflects the way real Web users view and share content. Increasingly, the traditional concept of “reach” in media measurement is intertwined with online sharing activity, and no longer based solely on website traffic.

To create the list, we mined Cision’s media database and found nearly 700 blogs in the U.S. and Canada covering social media, online marketing or SEO. From there, we winnowed it down to blogs that primarily focus on these topics. Finally, we ranked the blogs based on both Digital Reach and inbound links. Without further ado, here are the results:

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This is a guest post from Gina Joseph, social media community manager at Cision.

Photo courtesy of Alea Sherrill

Remember YM magazine and Delia’s? We do! And so does today’s Fashion & Beauty Buzz featured blogger, Alea Sherrill, who turned to fashion blogging after feeling like she was losing her “fashion voice”. Read more to find out her career challenges, her favorite blogs and where she finds inspiration.

Q: You say in your blog that you have a degree in fashion marketing from the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago. What made you decide to go into fashion?
A: From as far back as I can remember, I have had a love for clothes and shopping. I remember when I was younger I would get YM, Seventeen Magazine and Delia’s catalog and obsess over what I was going to buy! So, when deciding on a career it was natural for me to choose fashion. I didn’t have any sewing skills, but I knew I could be successful in marketing and business which is why I chose to major in Fashion Marketing.

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Are you getting the most from your press releases?

This is a guest post by Vanessa Bugasch, SVP of Global & Product Marketing, Cision US.

As head of the PR and Marketing department at Cision US, sending out a press release is always exciting but, quite frankly, a little nerve-wracking.  I want to make sure it’s targeting the right audience at the right time, and there are multiple platforms to hit.

Most outsiders think we hit a button and presto, a press release is instantly posted all over the place. You and I both know it’s never as easy as it seems, but now it can be.

That’s why I’m really excited about Cision’s latest Connect enhancements. Yes, we do drink our own champagne at Cision and we use CisionPoint to distribute and share our press releases.  The difference between how we used to send our news compared to today is dramatic.

I used to have to get my web developer in early to update our website with a press release, have my agency take care of the outreach to the influencers via email, upload the release to my social newsroom, let my social media manager know to post it on Facebook and tweet it, and heaven forbid there was a change, updating it in 6 places was a nightmare!

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This is a guest post from Gina Joseph, social media community manager at Cision.

Courtesy of Thien La

We were super excited when we heard Emily Maynard – of ABC’s The Bachelorette fame – started a new fashion blog, Lifestyle and Fashion by Emily Maynard, as well as her own line of jewelry. So we were even more elated when she offered to do a Q&A with us! Without further ado, it’s time to talk fashion and beauty with Emily!

Q: When did your love for fashion and beauty begin? Is this something you passed down to your daughter, Ricki, as well?
A: My love for fashion and beauty began as soon as I could start dressing myself. My mom would let me wear whatever I wanted to as long as I looked clean and put-together. Fashion and beauty are ways for Ricki to figure out what she likes and doesn’t like. It’s fun for me to see her personality develop through her choice in clothes. 
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Be brave, and other tips to build business relationships.

This is a guest post by Sam George, intern at Cision.

Sometimes our lives take us on adventures, to new places, new cities, with new people. I recently made a move, from London to Chicago for a year. No matter your reasons for making the step – summer internship, first job, big career leap, or a fresh start in a new industry – you’re bound to have a huge to do list.

One item that is a catalyst for a lot of what you do is making new contacts. Ideally you want to build as large a local, personal network as possible, but one with substance and quality. This is essential in creating a new home and an environment you want to be in – both professionally and personally. But how do you know who to talk to? What to get involved with? What if you don’t know anyone? Here are a few pointers to help you get on your feet, out the door, and ensure you are taking advantage of all networking opportunities.

Be Brave
If you are generally a shy or introverted person (as I am) don’t let this be confused with disinterest. I’m not saying change who you are, but ensure that you don’t come across as rude or bored. This can be a huge turnoff for your more professional connections. If you are not sure what to say, then turn up with an arsenal of five questions that will help to determine your own and others interests. People love to talk about themselves; let them talk, and ensure you are listening!

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Photo courtesy of James Sarmiento via flickr

This is a guest post from Gina Joseph, social media community manager.

This week I had a chance to talk to some students in the Department of Communications at Lewis University. I joined via Google+ Hangout, and was privileged to be able to share some of my experiences on how I went from a journalism degree to a career in social media. Later, I asked The Flyer Newspaper editor and president of the Lewis social media club, Alex Veeneman, about his thoughts on joining the communications workforce, and how students like him are preparing for careers in PR and journalism.

Q: In what ways has the curriculum changed for journalism, PR and marketing in recent years?

A: I think because of the rise in digital journalism and the shift in consumption it has changed the focus that students need to look at. The curriculum at Lewis emphasizes it, and I think it’s crucial for others to emphasize it.  Read it all..

This post is by Michael Perulli, account executive at Cision.

Each year, industry professionals coin new terms and phrases to describe trends in their respective industries. Some stick around for a while and some get so overused that you’re sick of hearing them by August. Today’s post will highlight some buzzwords that you should be aware of in 2013 and will also call out a few that need to be laid to rest.

Buzzwords you’ll hear in 2013

Growth Hacking – In Brian Solis’ post last month about thinking like a startup, he mentions the term “growth hacking.” Some people might find this term confusing if they’re hearing it for the first time because the phrase “hack” is usually associated with cyber criminals trying to steal information; however, the term has evolved to also mean “do more with less.” A good example of this would be the informative and brilliant post, 50 life hacks to simplify your world.

Growth hacking is used primarily in the startup business. Startups usually have fewer employees and therefore, they are tasked with taking on multiple roles. A growth hacker is someone that “hacks” the traditional way that marketers grow their business by doing more with less.

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This guest post is by Lyndsey Ellis, Support Specialist, Broadcast Services at Cision.

It’s no secret that broadcast has come a long way. From the dim, spotty images of extinct analog systems that blurred your grandparents’ first color TV set, to the mainstream standard digital systems you grew up eyeing, it’s clear that television broadcasting has come a long way and developments in this industry are rapid.

High-definition content currently reigns in television and video. Premium efficiency and quality are the main components of this fairly new system. Simply put, it’s the Holy Grail of resolutions in the broadcast industry.

The World Before HD

Life was much simpler before HD made its lasting mark across the eyes of television viewers and movie goers. Although there were less technicalities, broadcast offered limited results when it came to fine-tuning images on the tube.

High-definition’s emergence dates back to the late 1960s when it was first produced through a Japanese broadcaster. However, it wasn’t introduced to the United States until more than a decade later. The invention caused a lot of controversy and was rejected several times because of bandwidth restrictions before it was finally approved by the Federal Communications Commission in 1996. Two years later, its public exposure revolutionized viewing pleasure as we knew it.

What It Is

High-definition is a television broadcasting system that’s considered better than standard definition television because of its higher digital signals. It features horizontal to vertical scan lines of resolution that amplify the quality of images on the screen. To date, minimum resolution is 1080×720; maximum is 1920×1080.

Why Its the New ‘It’

1. Sharper Picture

HDTV has up to 2 million pixels and easily puts analog TV’s ½ million pixels to shame. The result is narrower gaps between scan lines which are more compatible with the naked eye. Images are more crisp and vivid with incomparable color accuracy. Every viewing experience is an Avatar moment, minus the blue cat-people.

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