Rather than killing off email, social media is extending email’s reach. The click-through rate (CTR) of an average email is 2.4 percent without social sharing capabilities. Add social icons in the email, and the CTR jumps to 6.2 percent. GetResponse, an email marketing solutions provider, put together an infographic that highlights this and other data.

In 2012, 29.4 percent of email marketers included social sharing icons in their emails, up from 18.3 percent in 2011 (a 61 percent increase). The data shows that this is a technique all email marketers should employ.

Klout is a tool that ranks the personal influence of social media users. A new service, Klout for Business, has just been added. Businesses that use the tool will receive analytics that reflect how and where influencers are engaging with their brands.

Businesses can access a dashboard that is designed to show where they are engaging key fluencers on social networks and where they are most active. Klout also indicates which topics audiences influences others on.

The ease of today’s digital communications doesn’t mean you’re excused for rude, or outright harassing, behavior. Maybe it’s unintentional, maybe you’re in a rush, or maybe you’re not aware of the important presentation your friend is giving when you send them a message about a happy hour event down the road. Maybe. But maybe doesn’t excuse you from due diligence and proper digital etiquette.

Need some help? Well, here are four tips for communicating in the digital age.

 1) Know your Medium

As Marshall McLuhan famously quipped, “the medium is the message.” Now the popular interpretation of that axiom may be a subject for scholarly debate, but to say that there’s a tonal difference between Twitter and Facebook, or between text messages and e-mail, isn’t a controversial statement. Communicating effectively over various digital mediums means you need to recognize the tone of that medium, and adjust your message accordingly.

Take the time to figure out the common practices of your chosen medium — digital or physical — in order to effectively communicate. On Twitter, use hashtags; on Facebook, keep it personal and private; on email, be sure to write the topic of your email in the subject line; in mail, always sign. These tips can help you to not just focus what you communicate, but also help your recipients to track, prioritize, and rate the importance or relevance of your message. Keep in mind that an important email, where clarity is tantamount, shouldn’t be typed out on a typo-prone smartphone. Avoid flooding inboxes with corrections by taking the extra time to be accurate and clear in what you write.

Finally, we’ll have consider the growing trend of communications sent from mobile devices. It’s certainly not a new phenomenon, but it is one absent of established norms. If you’re going to send an email from your phone, be sure to note that in your signature (it helps to explain missed typos and inaccurate autocorrected words). Also, be wary of email chains; a previously expressed opinion could very easily wind up before the wrong eyes.

2) Know Your Audience

Okay, so we established that the medium of communication accounts for a lot in digital communication, but what about your audience? As with any type of communication, having a clear image of who you’re communicating with is crucial to getting your message across.

A business email ought to have a different tone from one addressed to your friends, while an email to your friends ought to consider their sensitivities and the time they can commit to reading a lengthy message (which ought to be a rarity in any medium). Age, too, is an important factor when communicating online; if you’re talking with individuals from older generations, then follow up emails and thank-you notes are encouraged, but flooding both email and voicemail boxes of those in a younger generation is strongly frowned on. Remember: there’s no hard-and fast rule in person-to-person communications, so if you want to know the best means of addressing an individual, ask.

Finally, as The New York Times notes, don’t waste the time of your recipients. If you can find the answer to your question through a search engine, or through a different service, then don’t waste their time by asking unless you absolutely have to.

3) Be Patient

One of the biggest assets of digital communication is also one of its biggest liabilities: immediacy. Increasingly, it seems the price of immediacy is patience. Yes, most individuals today have access to a mobile device, but being able to send immediate messages doesn’t mean you’ll get immediate results; other people could be, as Freshtightdesigns.com explains, busy with work, on the phone, or giving a presentation.  Don’t assume your messages are being ignored; your recipients could be busy with something else.

If a message requires a timely response, highlight that fact near the top of your message. A 24-hour notice is typically appropriate, though this time frame can be shortened if a particular topic requires an immediate response. If you need to talk to someone through instant messaging, be sure to ask if they’re available before going into the details of a given topic.

4) Video Etiquette

An increasing amount of business and communication is being done over video conferencing services like Skype and Apple’s FaceTime. While a convenient stand-in for face-to-face meetings, you should be aware of a few unwritten rules surrounding video conferencing. As Entrepreneur.com notes, you should be aware that six to seven people will be watching you, even if you’re not speaking, when you’re video conferencing.

That awareness should also fold into other actions during a conference: multitasking, for example, can be painfully obvious; the same goes for checking your phone, searching for information online, and the fact that your children want you to make them lunch. You can prevent any of these unnecessary distractions by preparing for the conference meeting well ahead of time and finding a quiet room to talk shop.

The basic rule of thumb for video conferencing: don’t do anything you wouldn’t do at an actual in-person meeting — including not wearing pants.

Thanks to Angie Picardo for this guest post. Angie is a staff writer for NerdWallet. Her mission is to help consumers stay financially savvy, and save some money with the best checking account.

Today I blogged at Online Career Tips about how to tap into storytelling traditions to communicate effectively.

Contact forms van be created build and earn trust quickly.

• Give it a Professional Look
  Make sure your form looks like a part of your website. Give it the same look and feel as the rest of the web pages and elements.
• Don’t Ask for Unnecessary Information
  One surefire way of driving users away quickly is to ask them to submit excessive or sensitive information. Decide the minimum amount of information and ask for no more.
• Tell Users Clearly What Will Happen with Their Information
  Explain why users should fill out the form.Make users fully aware of what you are going to provide them by gathering their information. If users have no idea what happens next or why you want their information, they’ll never trust you. Inform users that their information will never be sold or shared with any third party.

Multiple Accounts

Post to your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and App.net accounts easily and quickly from wherever you find great content.

Analytics & Insights

Free, detailed analytics on all your posts to every social network. See how many likes, shares and retweets you get at a glance.

Team Members

Invite your whole team to make consistent sharing easier.

Browser EXTENSIONS and mobile

Using the Buffer button and browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Safari share any page in seconds. Native apps for iPhone and Android that make sharing on the go quick and easy.

news Reader support

Buffer offers integrations and compatibility with all of the major news reader apps.

For a great case study on using video at an event, see Event Video Will Set the Tone You Want on the MiniMatters Web Video Blog.

PRSA-NCC is offering a workshop to help you think through the need to move to mobile. Making the Move to Mobile will be held May 22 from 8-10 am in Washington, DC.

Mobile is key to any organization – whether you are an association, government agency, nonprofit or corporation – and, mobile technologies enable your organization to build online financial revenue, grow and retain your constituent base, increase your reach and engagement, and influence public policy.

Experts will discuss the strategies and tools to transition your organization to a mobile-first approach. Panelists will provide tips for organizations already involved in mobile including

• how to build a strategic mobile road map
• how to make the appropriate architecture assessments for your mobile tools
• how to embrace mobile trends
• ways you can leapfrog ahead of your competition by making strategic investments in staff and technology

The world’s top 100 brands generated 56.7 million online and mobile social media mentions from July to December 2012, while global social media impressions totaled 83.59 billion in the same period. Brands with strong worldwide appeal generated more online and mobile conversations, with 57% of conversations starting outside the US.

Restaurants consistently scored the highest throughout the second half of 2012. Seven of the top 10 brand categories generated more mentions from males, such as automobiles, while only three categories were dominated by females, including personal care. Restaurants, beverages, and consumer technology generated over 70% of social media share of voice in the second half of 2012.

More consumers joined social media conversations throughout the second half of 2012, as impressions per mention reached 1,646 in December, up 35% from July, concludes the report.

The PQ Media/uberVU study includes data and indices on social media spending, and leading brands by product category, mentions, impressions, sentiment, gender and region.