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Hi,
If you copy and paste the article content, make sure you 301 the exact old page to the exact new page.
For your social sites, you could mention that you are moving to a new brand name soon and then the change over will be expected. For Google+ if you have already used a custom URL you currently can't change it (as far as I know) so you would be stuck with the old brand name.
Hope that helps.
Maybe do half and half. Load a decent amount to start with and then you still have some left to keep a trickle of content coming whilst you create more.
If you are sitting on a lot of good custom content you are in a good position.
I agree with Andy - it's not all about the domain authority and one day their sites may gain in DA anyway.
Just don't go for any spam links.
I don't think they rank better but it isn't just used for blogging. You can make decent website but if you know how to code and are happy doing it then probably stick to it.
Wordpress is easy though and you can write a custom theme.
Totally agree with Egol.
If the content is inaccurate it could really harm the client if it is supposed to be written by them.
I would definitely get them to approve anything written in their name but also, before writing it, ask them what key points or facts they would expect it to include so that it guides your research and writing.
Obviously it's easier to write about subjects you know, but if you have a genuine interest in a new subject it makes it easier to learn about and write about.
Good luck.
I would also run their site or their client's site through Moz tools to see for yourself how well they do things.
This may help: http://lifehacker.com/how-to-auto-post-to-facebook-or-twitter-from-google-wi-1352124886
Not tried it though as I prefer to post to each independently so that the content is tailored.
I agree with vzPRO - avoid the mass follow/unfollow tactic and write great tweets that get people to follow naturally.
If people are clicking 'like' just for a discount rather than because they like what you are posting on FB they may not hang around.
It's very easy for them to unlike once they have got the discount and they probably will if your posts are not good.
Better to invest in writing great FB content and adding great pics then people will follow because they want to and these people will be worth more to you then any that click for money. They can even turn out to be brand advocates.
I would select a few key publications and send them a press release - make sure it's actually newsworthy though. Although many people go online for things, plenty of people still read papers and they still have influence. If you have only sent out a small number of releases, the chances of running into duplicate content issues are not that high - they don't all put their content on the web. Often, they will also re-write the info you supply so that it matches their own style, so it won't be the words you wrote anyway (apart from quotes which will not be changed).
If the content isn't on your own site, it is even less of a problem in terms of duplicate content.
A newspaper article can help with brand awareness and even if readers don't type in a URL to go to your website, they may search for you online instead because they remember your brand.
I wouldn't discount papers quite yet. Try it and if it works, keep going. If the time turns out to be not worth it, invest efforts elsewhere.
You should be able to find out the newsdesk email addresses by going to the website of the publication you are interested in.
Firstly, don't pay for them or do a mass 'follow the unfollow'.
Try great content, tweeting pictures, helping people out, joining conversations etc - the growth will be slower but a better quality of follower.
If your content is good, it will get re-tweeted.
Try mentioning others in tweets. If you are saying something good, chances are they will RT and your tweet will then be seen by their followers, some of who may then follow you.
Obvious one is to add your profile name on email footers etc and to link to your profile on any other social media profiles.
Take a look at top tweeters to see what sort of thing they are saying - you may be able to learn from it.
Good luck
Agree with Chris and Dave but it might be worth rewarding top contributors with followed links. It will encourage them to keep writing useful things on your forum and therefore keep others coming back to read it.
Would be up to you to decide who was writing quality things and in a high enough volume to deserve the reward.
Had a nudge from Moz to look at the question again to try and get the answer I need - thanks to those that have helped so far though.
The site our (other and independent) marketing team are trying to send people to is http://www.getmove-in.com/ - specifically the pages about individual developments such as http://www.getmove-in.com/by-development.php?area=Isle%20Of%20Wight&development=Pan%20Meadows. The problem is it's an ugly URL and not good to put on the bottom of printed leaflets.
What they are after is a snappier URL. They have currently 'solved' it by buying a new domain www.panmeadows.info to publish on leaflets. This domain redirects to the internal page http://www.getmove-in.com/by-development.php?area=Isle%20Of%20Wight&development=Pan%20Meadows. It seems an odd way of doing thing and means that they have to buy a new domain each time they want to publicise a new development.
What would be ideal is if they could use www.getmove-in.com/panmeadows as a URL. I suspect that even if they could get a neater URL structure to the site, the URL would be in a longer format such as www.getmove-in.com/development/isleofwight/panmeadows or www.getmove-in.com/isleofwight/panmeadows which is longer-than-ideal for a leaflet.
First question: Should all the pages on the site be re-written to neater URL's? (and I'm guessing in the absence of being able to do a redesign and 301 the pages as Wesley suggested this would be the case).
Second question: If we can do this, would we need to 301 the old ugly URL pages to the new? (guessing you do)
Third question: If we can do that and we get neater URL's, how do we get even shorter ones for the purposes of writing on leaflets (marketing URL's) e.g. www.getmove-in.com/panmeadows. What would be the technical bit behind someone seeing www.getmove-in.com/panmeadows on a leaflet and ending up on the content on the page http://www.getmove-in.com/by-development.php?area=Isle%20Of%20Wight&development=Pan%20Meadows.
Sorry if it's written confusingly 
I wouldn't trust that paying them would be the end of it. As you said, they can just create more.
Don't give them money.
Record all your efforts to contact the sites in case you need to prove what you have been doing.
Good luck - it's pretty low of them to be doing this to you.
I would say tags are useful to readers to help them find more of your content on the same topic.
Unlike Chris, I have clicked on them but people use the web and websites in different ways.
If it's useful to readers then do it.
I would add a link from the home page to the rest of your content (the .com site) but make it clear that people will be taken to a new site.
Redirects not required.