It goes without saying that Social Media has forever changed the way we market our businesses, communicate with customers, and connect with each other about everything from business to personal interests. It’s also an almost universal sentiment that figuring out how to best use Social Media can be confusing and overwhelming. The blogs listed below all present information on how to best use Social Media in your business. If you read all of them daily, you’ll spend more time learning about Social Media than using it, so the best way to use this list is to review each blog and decide which ones resonate with you. Then add those feeds to your reader and stay informed with the information that you’ll use most.
Social Media Mind This blog is attractive, well organized, and offers posts for the beginner as well as the seasoned Social Media user. Covering everything from Twitter and Facebook, to Flickr and WordPress, Social Media Mind presents clear, concise informational posts, and they offer some videos and e-book downloads as well. Twitter: @socialmediamind
Social Media Today With several posts per day from expert guest writers, Social Media Today’s blog delivers a ton of Social Media information. Topics on monetizing Social Media, the future of Twitter and other SM networks, and how to drive traffic with Social Media will have you coming back again and again. Their posts regularly get hundreds of re-tweets, and with a quick look at this blog you’ll understand why. Twitter: @socialmedia2day
Mari Smith Few would argue that Mari Smith is one of the leading Social Media authorities out there. And with post titles like, “How to Attract and Engage Quality Customers with Social Media,” it’s no wonder people turn to Mari by the thousands to find out exactly how to best use Social Media to drive traffic and increase business. She’s been called the “Pied Piper of Facebook” by Fast Company Magazine, and she’s an expert on Twitter as well. No matter how much you know about Social Media now, there’s no doubt you’re bound to learn a lot from Mari. Twitter: @MariSmith
SocialMedia.biz If you’d rather watch or listen than read about Social Media, this might be the blog that speaks most to you, as you’ll find both video blog segments as well as text articles on the SocialMedia.biz blog. The site also offers strategies, case studies, free special reports, and other resources to help you make sense of SM and figure out the right way to best use it in your business. Twitter: @jdlasica
Chris Brogan Chris Brogan is president of New Marketing Labs, the author of Social Media 101, and co-author of the best selling, Trust Agents. In other words, he knows his stuff when it comes to Social Media. In his blog, you’ll find everything from book reviews (some relevant and some not relevant to SM) to quality content on how to capitalize on how to build digital relationships for businesses, organizations, and individuals. You’ll get an education reading Chris’s blog, while being entertained and challenged at the same time. Bottom line: It’s a good read! Twitter: @chrisborgan
Social Media Vision Social Media Vision is the blog of Garrett Pierson, who also runs YourSEOMentor.com. As Garrett comes from a background in affiliate marketing, SEO, web design, e-commerce, Pay Per Click marketing, and much more, he really understands what it takes to drive traffic to your site, and his posts come at Social Media from that angle, making them particularly useful. He posts a couple of times a month, so you can easily keep up with this blog along with whatever else you’re reading. Twitter: @garrettpierson
SocialMedia.com You know how there are talented doctors who don’t take care of themselves and master mechanics whose cars don’t run right? SocialMedia.com (in addition to landing a fantastic domain name) is a company that offers some great information on their blog, even though they don’t really put it into practice for their own company. So ignore the fact (if you can) that there’s no link to a Facebook page or active Twitter account on their blog, and just go there for the information. It’s worth looking at. Twitter: N/A
Ignite Social Media Facebook strategy, content strategy, case studies, and Social Media marketing strategy are just a few of the topics covered in regular posts on Ignite Social Media’s blog. On their ‘About’ page, Ignite says, “The game has changed, the tools have changed and the ways you can talk to your customers has changed.” Yes, they get it when it comes to new marketing. Check them out! Twitter: @ignitesma
Socialnomics The brainchild of Erik Qualman, the Socialnomics blog is packed with information, opinion, reviews and polls on Social Media. Erik is also author of the book, Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way we Live and Do Business, which has received glowing reviews. Check out this blog to get involved in a frank, constructive discussion on how SM is changing the world. Twitter: @equalman
#SocialMedia This blog is written by Jason Breed and is full of topics like, Managing the Effectiveness of Your SM Programs, SM Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing, and What Location Based SM Means to Business. Jason is a good writer, and delivers extremely useful content in a very readable format. Articles are posted about once a week, so this one is easy to keep on your reading list. Twitter: @hashsocialmedia
Social News Watch JD Rucker is the author of this thought-provoking blog. Social New Watch covers a wide range of Social Media news topics, including Digg, StumbleUpon, and Flickr, which many SM bloggers forget or fail to address. As for what this blog is all about, the about page on the site says it best: Social News Watch is designed to get the story behind the stories, digging deeper into the underlying mechanisms that drive the news, the websites, and the people behind it all. We look fleetingly at the history, focus on the present, and speculate about the future. Twitter: @SocialNews
Social Media Blog Much like SocialMedia.com, this blog is another site with outstanding content, but no evidence they’re using any of what they’re talking about. You won’t find a link to their Twitter or FB pages, but you will find some interesting articles about the world of Social Media, so it’s on this list for the content. Check it out, and decide for yourself.
So, there they are – 11 blogs that will help you learn about Social Media and sort out the best ways to use this great medium to promote your business and connect with people all over the world. Do read other blogs that you find useful in this area? Be sure to share your thoughts below in the comments, and on the YE forum!
