Social media is the new way to advertise, because it takes the risk factor out of advertising. This is a trend that companies cannot afford to pass up, because people use the internet for much more than just email these days. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and MySpace are just a few of the places that people can advertise their companies without going broke.
However, the fact that social media is a great place to advertise does not mean that everyone who uses this advertising technique is legitimate. In fact, many people who claim to be social media experts are just trying to sell you an E-book filled with information that they stole from somebody else. You should always be cautious when your money is involved, but especially when something sounds too good to be true.
So how do you use social media to further your business? Well, it takes things like time and consistent work. If you provide people with high quality information and advice consistently, you will build a true following. If, however, you try to fake your numbers with friends and family members, your company will not make much progress. So take the time to build your social media foundations with Facebook and Twitter. It might take a little while to figure out what the best tactics are, but it is best to learn by experience instead of looking for a quick fix that will cost you a large chunk of money and possibly not even give you any advice that is relevant to your particular company.
Live Person
LivePerson boasts "a world of experts." They host a multitude of expert marketers from a variety of educational and technological backgrounds. With a few simple clicks you can connect with one of their experts for information about social media marketing as well as other aspects of marketing.
Joel Comm
Joel Comm is a New York Times Best Selling Author and Social Media Expert. He shares a lot of insight and information on his website. Aside from information about social media marketing, Joel invites you to watch his show The Next Internet Millionaire. Watch, learn and put ideas into motion.
Giovanni Gallucci
Giovanni Gallucci is an award-winning new media producer, public speaker and buzz marketer. If that isn't impressive enough for you; he's also an author, technical editor and social media strategist with certifications from leading web organizations. Visit his website for valuable information about social networking and social media marketing.
Dave Fleet
Dave Fleet lives in Toronto and is a communications professional. He has a passion for social media communication. He maintains accounts with LinkedIn, Twitter and del.icio.us and invites you to join him at each site. His other website contains a social media training wiki in which you may choose to participate.
Chris Brogan
Chris Brogan is the President of New Marketing Labs, a social media marketing agency. His blog focuses intently on social media and community. He enjoys working with large and mid-sized companies to improve business communication. He covers many aspects of social media marketing, community platforms and mobile technologies.
Cafe Witness
Justin Kownacki, a self proclaimed social media explorer from Baltimore, MD offers phenomenal social media marketing advice on his blog, Cafe Witness. Justin's matter-of-fact method of blogging is direct and to the point. He'll challenge you to really think about what's important with your marketing campaign.
newmedialisa.com
This website is a personal blog for a Ms. Lisa Hoffmann who has been interviewed for television about social networking. Her blog is entertaining and easy to read, but will also provide people with tips about how to use social media to their company's advantage. Some of the posted articles are less informative than others, but people may find this a helpful (and free) source of information from one of the many social media experts.
searchandsocial.com
Search and Social is a website designed to consult and train others about social media marketing and search engine optimization as well as other business and marketing techniques like online reputation management. Although they have many short articles and an SEO blog, the purpose of the entire website is to convince you to use Search and Social services. The company offers a free custom proposal and lists their 1-800 number at the top of every screen for easy access.
mediapost.com
Online Media Daily offers daily articles about many topics, including several on social media networking. These articles discuss the new field of social media and its impact on current advertising campaigns. Since consumers are spending more and more of their time online using social media networks, it is important that companies seriously consider how online marketing will benefit them. Some of the other topics that Online Media Daily has covered include Google, online couponing, and Facebook laws.
