Are you thinking about what your strategy should be for 2009?

While your competition is sweating bullets deciding how they will participate in the “recession”, take a proactive step and do what they don’t and probably won’t do… implement a strategy to benefit from Social Media.

Here’s our first article we liked entitled: “What Is Your Company’s Social Media Marketing Strategy?” -  Social media websites have become some of the most profitable and powerful locations on the Web. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and others are keeping internet users linked by age, preferences, interests and many other qualifiers – and our SEO company has certainly benefited from using social media as part of our overall online marketing plan.  If your business is not tapping into that market by now, what are you waiting for?

You can develop a strategy to interact with your customer base on the social media websites they use most often, or you can reach out to prospective customer on niche networks that suit your brand.  You can also use the functions of social media to enhance your customer service by responding to and remedying problems as soon as they arise.  This can help nip potential problems in the bud, and your customers may feel better served and more connected when this is an option. Read more of this article at:  http://seogroup.com/blog/what-is-your-companys-social-media-marketing-strategy/370/

(Make sure to download the PDF available in this article.) Our next post we liked is entitled: “The 7 Must-Haves In Your Social Media Strategy.”
It’s fantastic that interest in social media is so high, but I’m alarmed at the number of brands and agencies that are ready to jump into social media to take “advantage” of audience concentration in Facebook, Twitter, and other fast-growth outposts. What’s lacking in most social media programs is an actual strategy.

If you don’t know precisely why you’re in social media, with whom you want to engage, and how you’re going to measure success, you’re not ready to start.

I use a 7-step Social Media Strategy Worksheet to create a framework that governs what the initiative aims to accomplish.  (Click link to download.)

Read more of this article at: http://www.mpdailyfix.com/2008/12/its_fantastic_that_interest_in.html

At Social Marketing Expert we always to remember that Social Media should be used with the long “haul” in mind. Unfortunately, many mistakenly see and use it for one-time, quick shots of exposure.

Jay Zaltzman quotes Jenka Gurfinkel who says, “Really effective social media strategy is about integrating methods for generating exposure through social media and online communities into the campaign strategy from the beginning. ” More of Jay’s insights can be found in this article:

Effective Social Media Marketing
Social media is a hot topic nowadays. Most marketers know it is important, but many are unsure how social media should fit into their marketing strategy. First, let’s define what social media is: typically, social media refers to … 

And if you’ve got a strategy, in today’s economy, it’s gotta be affordable, right? Author of the next article, Marc Meyer says “In other words how can they (small bizz) drive traffic and sales and leads and eyeballs to their sites and products on the cheap.”

Guerrilla marketing and social media marketing-an imperfect perfect union
If done right, guerrilla marketing can and has been very very successful in growing brands, creating viral buzz, and driving sales, eyeballs and traffic to products or companies. Why mesh guerrilla marketing with social media marketing …