Social Media Marketing Resources

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Whether or not you completely understand social media or social networking sites, the one aspect you must understand is that they are going to change the way businesses advertise. Facebook, in particular, is constantly evolving and improving its users' experience with new features and applications. As a result, Facebook is trying to change the way businesses market and advertise their products and services to potential consumers.

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What do you get when you combine video, social networking, micromedia, and a very savvy French entrepreneur? You get Seesmic. Seesmic is a social network where the primary content is video. Users record video, post it to the site, and other users reply in video. It's new and it's red-hot. It's also a glimpse of the future.

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LinkedIn doesn't pretend to be MySpace or Facebook. In the face of mounting competition and hype from rival networks, LinkedIn has stayed true to its mission of creating a network for business professionals. In this video tour, Matt Dickman focuses on what LinkedIn does well, and how you can leverage its strengths.

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In a recent blog post, Cymfony's Jim Nail wrote about a study that provocatively proclaimed that spending on conversational marketing will outpace traditional marketing by 2012. Is that even possible? To find out, Paul Dunay chatted with Jim and Pete Blackshaw, executive vice-president at Nielsen Online Strategic Services. What ensued was a very lively debate about whether marketers are prepared to support conversational marketing—and the answer isn't very pretty. As Jim and Pete point out, not only are marketers not using Web 2.0 tools to create a conversation, but to even listen effectively they need to overhaul their infrastructures—big time.

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Podcasting can give your company a new image and personality. And, increasingly, podcasting offers the promise of being another highly effective way to reach and develop potential customers. That's only if you can produce compelling, "buzz-worthy" content, of course.

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If you are someone who is partially or wholly responsible for the long-term direction of your Web site, or the Web sites of your clients, you have to be able to explain Google's OpenSocial in clear and concise terms. So what is OpenSocial? And why does it matter?

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Is microblogging the latest fad or the next big thing? Microblogging is just like regular blogging, except it's limited to 140 characters. The leader in the space is Twitter. To get a better sense of this emerging social media tool, we assembled a micro-panel to discuss it: Jeremiah Owyang, a senior analyst on social computing at Forrester Research and a fan of Twitter, and David Berkowitz, director of emerging media at 360i, who is skeptical about Twitter's application to business. We hope you enjoy the lively debate!

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What is Digg? And how does it work? This pair of videos about social-network site Digg.com is a look at the site from the inside-out... with the goal of educating marketers on this social network. Learn why you should (or shouldn't) care about Digg.

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Should a marketer simply start blogging or wait instead until all of the blogging policies and procedures are established before beginning? In other words: Which comes first the policy or the blog?

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These 18 concepts will give you an edge on your competition—or an edge, period. So if the same old left-brain thinking that everybody else is using just doesn't get you where you want to be, try these creative concepts on for size.

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At a time when business and marketing strategy changes at the speed of light, and competitors, partners and customers have instant access to information, the days of the handler the publicist are numbered.

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Paul has earned his keep over the past 20 years by building buzz for heavyweights like Google, IBM, and Microsoft. These days he's immersed himself in social media, which serves him well as the director of Global Field & Interactive Marketing for BearingPoint. In this one-on-one, he gives us the lowdown on how to use social media to kick-start your buzz marketing efforts.

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If you're responsible for the direction of the online strategies for your company or organization, you've probably been hearing buzz about Twitter, a next-generation instant messaging tool. Even if you're new to Twitter, this article will serve as a guide to educate you to help you make a decision, by linking to resources and providing a starting point for your strategy.

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Many companies have by now launched initial social media initiatives and are looking to move their efforts to the next step. This is where social media experts such as Josh Hallett come in. Here, Hallett helps demystify this form of "new marketing," particularly for those companies who have dipped their toes in the social media waters and are wondering, "What now?"

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If you're responsible for the direction of your online strategies for your company or organization, you've probably been asked by your colleagues to take a look at a social network. If you're new to the Facebook phenomenon, this will serve as a guide for you to get started, link to resources to help, and provide an overview as a web decision maker. But first, what is Facebook?

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By now you've all heard—Internet ad spending is up, spending on traditional media is down. With so much attention given to Web 2.0 and its technology-enabled marketing tactics, marketers using traditional approaches are under increased pressure to become more digital and technology driven.

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Last month, Kwik-E-Mart's opened around the country. You know, the one from the imaginary world of The Simpsons? What's more, the Geico Cavemen have their own sitcom, and fictitious TV-character blogs like Monk's are things that real viewers can comment on. You don't have to be a Twitter-head or a Second-Lifer to see the melding of your real and virtual experiences into one. What's this mean for marketers?

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There is a healthy respect and fear-factor surrounding the blogosphere, een for those of us with some background in online community building. So let's start with some baby steps. Step one: Listen first, and then join the conversation.

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The social media landscape over the last year or so has changed dramatically. Companies that were once skeptical about tools such as blogs are now blogging or considering starting one. Unfortunately, many companies that do so still have little idea of how to grow their blog into an integral part of their marketing efforts. Here are eight easy steps you can take to grow your blog's readership.

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How long will the Second Life media frenzy last? And if not for PR, what is the value of investing time and money with avatars when marketing budgets are under renewed pressure to deliver real returns from real consumers? Joel argues that there is more than meets the eye in Second Life. Indeed, there is genuine value to be extracted for brands that are willing to learn the dynamics of the "metaverse" and play by its rules. Get the full story.