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Each week, the team here at Flair Interactive rounds up five of the top news articles on a relevant marketing, social or SEO topic. This week, we're talking inbound marketing. By the time you're done reading, it'll be a little bit closer to the weekend (and you'll be up to date with the latest in inbound marketing news)! You're welcome.

Have you been staying on top of the latest trends and news in the world of content marketing lately? Summer is a busy time, we know. The team here at Flair Interactive has gathered the top five content marketing news updates for this week, so read on to get your fill of industry news. 

1. How do you set smart SEO goals for your team/agency/project? - Whiteboard Friday (Moz)

When it comes time to make SEO goals for your company, project or otherwise, are you gung-ho to get right in there and start crafting your actual SEO goals right off the bat? If that's the case, you're doing it wrong, according to Rand Fishkin on this Whiteboard Friday from Moz. He recommends a different approach that he explains in this blog. 

Like everything else digital...the world of social media is always changing. With new platforms and tools being developed all the time, there's a lot to keep up with.

The fact is, your customers are already using social media. And we all know you want to be where your customers are. But where do you start?

To help you stay on top of your game, the team here at Flair Interactive has gathered the top 5 social media marketing news updates for this week. 

If you want to stay in the know on the best ways you can help your brand, check out our list of the top 5 search engine optimization news updates for this week.

1. Google confirms it shortened search results snippets after expanding them last December (Search Engine Land)

Have you been spending extra time crafting longer meta descriptions for Google search results? It may have been time wasted after all—Google recently confirmed they've shortened the snippets they show in search results, after having increased them just last December.

But if you're already thinking of going back to shorten all your longer meta descriptions, Google says don't worry too much about it - many of the snippets they choose to include in search results are dynamic, pulling from your content on your site rather than from your meta descriptions anyway [TAKE AWAY: content is STILL important...do you need help optimizing strategic onpage content? See how Flair can help you!]  

In this week's #TBT post, we take a look back at Digital Marketer's 2013 blog "They won't buy without these 3 elements (and they won't even know why)."

What are those three magical marketing strategies?

Have you been staying on top of the latest content marketing news updates? If not, the team here at Flair Interactive has you covered. Here are five of the latest content marketing news updates for this week:

Stay in the know about content marketing with these helpful infographics that have gone viral this month. 

1. How to choose a content marketing platform or marketplace (and what's the difference?) (MarketingProfs)

2. A brief history of content marketing (The Content Strategist)

Have you been staying on top of the latest social media news updates? If not, the team here at Flair Interactive has you covered. Here are five of the latest social updates for this week: 

• 12 overlooked Facebook features That Help Marketers (Social Media Examiner)

Just about everyone and their mother (and their grandmother, at that) is on Facebook, or at least has used it at some point. But do you know all the helpful tools and features you can use on Facebook as a marketer? This article takes you through 12 such features that might be helpful to you in your social media marketing.

• 4 Social Media Hacks You Overlooked That'll Skyrocket Your Traffic (Neil Patel)

Overlooked features seems to be a theme this week. But this article doesn't just talk about Facebook; it talks about how to make sure your marketing is effective among ALL social networks you choose to use in your social media marketing strategy.

Back in 2014, we wrote a blog post that offered a few social media tips. Four years later, social media is as important as ever. 

In our last blog post, we noted that the majority of marketers use social media for:

• customer loyalty
• improving SEO
• brand recognition and
• to drive sales

Social media can also be a great way for your potential customers and leads to get to know you and your company. Often, potential customers may be interested in what you do and want to know more, but they don't feel comfortable enough to reach out yet. When you give them a little peek into your company, they'll start to get more comfortable and may reach out themselves to start a conversation.