This article was written by Sean at SONARconnects.

“I’ve talked about the tools we use with our clients in the past, segmenting them as social networking tools (sharing conversations) or social media (sharing content). The reality is that on social networks you can share content and with the social media tools you can have conversations. The one that splits the difference is Twitter. Its the one that many business people don’t get.”

Read the rest of this article from Social Media Sonar.

This article was written by Brette Borow.

“There are over 56 million women using Facebook in the United States, and for marketers this means one very important thing – if you have a brand, product or company that targets women, FacebookFacebook is the place to be.”

Read the rest of this article from Mashable.

This article was written by Meryl Evans.

“The first rule of social media is that there are no rules. The second rule is what works for one person doesn’t always work for everyone else. Peeking into another person’s social media approach can give you ideas on how to adjust yours to get the biggest bang. So in this post, I’m going to share my social media process.”

Read the rest of this article from Web Worker Daily.

This article was written by Adam Ostrow.

You’ve most likely had an email newsletter for your company for much longer than you’ve had a presence on social media sites.  But now that you do both, the two can go hand-in-hand, with email creating an opportunity to extend your presence on social media sites, and social media sites providing a way to get more email subscribers.

At the moment though, most marketers aren’t connecting the dots.  According to a recent study published by eMarketer, 48% of marketers include “forward to a friend” features in their emails, but only 13% include features that make it easy to share content on social networks.  Here’s a look at how to close the gap, and why it’s so important that you do.”

Read the rest of this article from Open Forum.

This article was written by Manjo Jasra.

“Real Time search has been a major focus of many startups and search giants such as Bing and Google. Twitter, Facebook, blogs, Podcasts, YouTube Videos, and Flickr all have taken the user generated content to a whole new level. This has put a lot of pressure on the search engine giants to efficiently track/index content for their users. But, the rate of content generation is so overwhelming that real-time social search engines make more sense than the traditional methods of searching for information.

Besides, Google and Bing who have integrated social search concept, there are lots of startups who have invested their resources in leading the way for new paradigm of search. Here are the top 10 search engines for especially Twitter, that are making their way to the future.”

Read the rest of this article from Web Analytics World.

This article was written by Shawn Butler.

“Have you ever walked into the middle of a conversation and suddenly had the awkward feeling that everyone was talking about you?

Motrin has. About a year ago, they became a trending topic on Twitter when Moms, one of their key customer groups, were talking about the insensitivity the company displayed in a recent ad campaign. The consumers summed up Motrin and its use of social media this way: “They don’t get it.”

One year later, we see Motrin exerting an active presence on Twitter and other social media sites and doggedly determined to become “Part of the Conversation” rather than the “Topic of It.” But just “Being” on social media does not necessarily mean you are “Doing it Right.”

Read the rest of this article from Green Buzz Agency.

This article was written by Merritt Colaizzi.

“At Gaspedal’s Word of Mouth Supergenius conference in Chicago this morning, Spike Jones outlined a few lessons learned from Brains on Fire’s work with Fiskars — the orange-handled scissors company that has successfully ignited a crafters movement.

Spike’s basic premise: Don’t talk about marketing campaigns (us v them); talk about movements (we’re in this together).”

Read the rest of this article from Smart Blogs.

This article was written by Sharlyn Lauby.

“Over the past few months, we’ve talked about whether you should have a social media policy and what should be included in that policy. It only seems logical to discuss the next step in the process, which is what to consider when implementing a social media strategy in your workplace.

Just having a policy isn’t good enough — you need a plan to put it in place. Here are five areas to discuss when implementing a social media strategy.”

Read the rest of this article from Mashable.

This article was written by Jay Baer.

“Before you begin, commit to worrying about social media tools last, not first. Why? Because tools will change. They always do. There was a time when Netscape seemed invincible. Yahoo, too. Myspace also. If you fall in love with tools, you’ll constantly be changing directions, with no real plan to guide your way.”

Read the rest of this article from Convince and Convert.

This article was written by Jay Baer.

“In nearly every speech or Webinar I conduct, someone in the audience asks “But all this social media stuff doesn’t apply to B2B right?”

Yes, social media applies to B2B. In fact, social media can be MORE transformative for a B2B company than a B2C company. This is because B2B has a smaller potential customer base, a higher average price point, and a customer decision funnel that is more influenced by word of mouth and reputation. Turning your customers into advocates and marketers on behalf of your brand pays off a lot more when you’re selling $10,000 pieces of manufacturing equipment, than it does when you’re selling $3 cans of Pringles.

Are there differences between B2B and B2C in social media? Of course. But those differences are at the tactics layer, not the strategy layer. Creating and calibrating a social media strategy for any company should follow the same process. You need to determine why your company should be social, for whom your efforts are intended and where your audience is in the buying cycle, and how you’ll measure success. None of that is impacted in the slightest by whether you’re selling to consumers or other businesses.”

Read the rest of this article from Convince and Convert.