On November 7, Twitter unveiled their new face lift that users feared would leave it unrecognizable, pulling back their restriction of brevity and doubling the character limit to 280. Users immediately responded with criticism, curiosity and cleverness.

SEO is a buzzword in the marketing world, and for good reason: SEO is a critical necessity to ensure your website gets in front of potential clients and customers.

Nearly one in 10 adults have downloaded a podcast in the last 30 days, according to GfK MRI's Survey of the American Consumer. About one in 10 people (21 million total) may not seem like a significant amount, but the demographics of these listeners are impressive.

Teens age 12-17 have an overwhelming influence on their parents’ purchasing decisions, according to a study by YouGov. These include household product decisions: 75 percent of parents’ apparel choices, 78 percent of home entertainment content and 63 percent of cleaning supplies purchases are influenced by the teenager. Even more influential, 95 percent of teens influence which fast food restaurant to eat at, 93 percent make recreational entertainment choices and 90 percent choose which apparel stores for the family to shop in.

Fletcher Marketing PR staff had the pleasure of attending the Women's Fund of East Tennessee's 6^th annual luncheon last Thursday afternoon. Set in between serene gardens with a lakefront view, women from all walks of Knoxville gathered to celebrate the organization and raise donations for low-income women and girls in need. In reflection of the Women's Luncheon, here are some ways to plan the perfect event:

The popularity of various platforms has shifted over the social media age. If there's any app that has stepped up its game over the past five years, it's Instagram. Facebook maintains its users by acting as a population directory to find anyone and everyone, but Instagram and Snapchat have emerged as prime sources of social media entertainment.

Shows like "Mad Men" illustrate the dominating influence of white males during the advertising boom of the 1950s and '60s. Less than 60 years later, marketers are at women's feet. What happened? According to the Boston Consulting Group, women make over three out of four purchasing decisions in the home. Maybe they always have, but now the research is there to validate it. 

Entering the 2016 holiday season, Fletcher client Go Girl Designs' goal was to blast an influencer marketing and social media campaign to increase sales of Busy Girl Bangle products and boost Go Girl's online presence.

If 2016 was a person, it wouldn't be described as a manly year, or even a girly one at that. It would be a fiery, spunky woman. A woman who broke barriers, changed lives and ran the news with her brilliant marketing stunts. Here are some women who changed the game in 2016:

Twitter recently announced its decision to permanently shut down Vine, the iconic six-second video-sharing platform. The release sparked an enormous amount of curiosity among the public but no signs of tears shed. After hearing his creation had been disposed of, Yusupov responded with one simple tweet: "Don't sell your company!"