Corporate Social Media Reading List

I’m a huge fan of social media. I joined Twitter on June 30 2007 and after a few bumps in the road, I was addicted and even wrote a set of top twitter tips. I try to follow the trends and news around social media as best I can. Really more of a hobby and fascination to me than anything else. I would have loved to get a job in something social media related but that quest always evaded me. That is until recently. I work for a growing software company and they don’t have much of a footprint in the social media world. Like many companies, they didn’t know the difference between Twitter and a blog or that Facebook was for more than keeping in touch with their friends and family.

Knowing that getting into social media and doing it right was needed, especially for a technology company, someone had to step up to the keyboard. That someone was me. I created the Twitter profile and a Facebook page and started looking for inspiration. I know my way around the popular sites. I’ve grown a healthy network of friends and followers. What I needed was a crash course on corporate social media tips so I did what any self respecting geek would do and typed it into Google.

What I found were a collection of sites and posts that spoke to my social media needs. I’m not Howard Stephen Berg but I could probably learn a few things from him. After scouring the internet for information, this is the super list of social media posts that I came up with as a reading list.

1. Building an Effective Business Profile on Twitter
   From TwiTip: As the popularity of micro-blogging continues to grow, it’s going to become a tool used by advertisers and marketers. In the same way that running a corporate or business blog is different from running a personal blog, running a corporate or business twitter profile is different from running a personal twitter profile.
2. Building a social business
   I find that most companies especially InsideView customers want to become social businesses in one way or another. What I mean by that is companies understand the need to open up social channels in places like Twitter and Facebook. They understand that their prospects and customers are increasingly leveraging social networks to share information and communicate with eachother. It will eventually be fatal for a company to disregard these channels of communication.
3. Why Brands ABSOLUTELY DO Belong on Twitter
   From Mashable: Article discussing the benefits and value of brands using Twitter.

   

1. Social Media Marketing News, Tips, Videos, Articles, Tools and … http://bit.ly/4xx54q
2. 2010: The Spotlight on Social Media ROI | Mark Evans Tech http://bit.ly/4AA20H
3. Four Social Media Marketing Lessons | Lava7 – A Digital Engagement … http://bit.ly/4oUD5f
4. HOW TO: Build Community on Twitter
   From Mashable: 10 tips for using Twitter to grow a community which benefits you (and your audience)
5. 10 Traits of Highly Effective Twitter Users
   From Twitip: Some habits of effective Twitter users that beginners can use to help expand their network.
6. FOLLOW FAIL: The Top 10 Reasons I Will Not Follow You in Return on Twitter
   From Mashable: List compiled by a Twitter “power user” regarding the major reasons why he will or will not return a Twitter follower’s follow when it happens.
7. 99 best social-media and PR posts of 2009 – Holy Kaw! http://bit.ly/85IsrP
8. The Art of Social Media Optimization http://bit.ly/7dwoMb
9. 8 Social Media Marketing Tips for Companies http://bit.ly/6DMxfD
10. 5 Low Cost or Free Social Media Monitoring Tools – Online … http://bit.ly/7RB62U
11. How to Convince a Company that Social Media is the Way to Go http://bit.ly/5dp9Nw
12. Social Media Marketing – Who, What, When, Where, Why and How?
    From Louis Gray: Another great getting-started post from Louis….if you’re just looking to get started in social media or deciding if it’s right for you and/or your business, he helps you ask the right questions to make your decisions.
13. The Essential Guide to Social Media
    From Brian Solis: Download this comprehensive PDF ebook that provides an executive guide to Social Media for PR, Customer Service, Product Development and Marketing.
14. Social Media Marketing Campaigns: How to Set Goals and Define Your Target Market
    From DoshDosh: This article talks about the most common goals for social media marketing and includes suggestions on how you can determine your target audience.
15. 10 Secrets of the Best Social Media Users
    From Digital Labz: Here are 10 steps to creating a successful social media marketing strategy.
16. How Social Media Marketing Can Build Your Business | Blog Fully http://bit.ly/4DgCqm
17. Social Media Marketing- the Top 10 Mistakes People Will Make in … http://bit.ly/8sNZ1G
18. Social Media Marketing- 11 of the Most Critical Words to Use in … http://bit.ly/5PMa8c
19. Why B2B Companies Should Be Using Social Media | Socialmedia.biz http://bit.ly/5SP34s
20. Starting a Social Media Strategy | chrisbrogan.com
    From Chris Brogan: Solid advice and ideas on things to consider when starting to plan your social media strategy.
21. Social Media Starter Pack
    From Chris Brogan: Advice on the most important social media tools you’ll want to use when getting started in social media.
22. 50 Ways to use Social Media, listed by Objective
    From Forrester Analyst Jeremiah Owyang: 50 ways marketers can use social media to improve their marketing segmented into Forrester’s 5 social computing objectives (e.g. Listening, Talking, energizing, supporting and embracing).
23. 35 Tips for getting started with social media
    From Mike Fruchter’s blog- My Thoughts On Social Media: Useful steps and advice for those just getting started with social media.
24. 40 Key Elements to Getting Started In Social Media
    From Louis Gray: Social media is more than just the tools, it is about the human element. This post touches upon 40 key elements to aid your success.
25. Practical Guide to Social Media | Small Business Marketing Blog … http://bit.ly/6Z3YRs

1. Social Media Isn’t Enough: Why You Need a Dedicated Web Presence … http://bit.ly/7qfNXi
2. How Dell handles customer service and sales through social media … http://bit.ly/55eZzL
3. Best Practices in Social Media
   From the Society for New Communications Research: 6 Best Practices Tip Sheets for: Developing a Social Media Policy , Corporate Blogging, Co-creation, Blogger Relations, Online Press Releases and Using Social Networks
4. Social Media Strategy- The Planning Stage
   From Chris Brogan: Good list of elements to consider when building a social media strategy for your organization
5. Twitter for Business Reading List
   From Pistachio: Excellent selection of articles covering toipcs you need to know about Twitter for your business.
6. How Companies Use Twitter to Bolster Their Brands
   From BusinessWeek: Good article that is part of Business Week’s CEO Guide to Microblogging.
7. Superlist of What Not To Do In Social Meda
   From our own collection of casestudies and articles about what not to do in social media- mistakes, blunders, failures, etc. .
8. Comparing Six Ways to Identify Top Blogs in Any Niche
   From ReadWriteWeb: A comparison of the pros and cons of six different services to identify top blogs for your business.
9. Social Media Strategy – Aligning Goals and Measurements
   From Chris Brogan: Discussion of importance of aligning goals and measurements to social media strategies.
10. Defining Twitter Goals: A Tip for Successful Use of Twitter
    From Twitip: Useful advice and thoughts on setting specific goals for your use of Twitter.
11. 10 Easy Steps for Twitter Beginners
    From Twitip: Not sure where to begin with Twitter? This article provides simple step by step advice to become Twitter savvy.
12. The Top Ten Reasons for Building an Online Community in 2009
    From Vovici: If you don’t currently have an online community, and you are not thinking of building an online community next year, you should be. Here’s the Top 10 reasons why.
13. Comparing Six Ways to Identify Top Blogs in Any Niche
    From ReadWriteWeb: How then can you identify the top blogs in a particular niche field? There are paid services you can use to identify influencers online but they are expensive and not appropriate for quick hits in a new topic. Here’s a comparison of the pros and cons of six different options that are fast and free.
14. The Social 7
    An informative (and fun!) weekly video newscast/conversation that covers the week’s top 7 stories in social media marketing from Nick Mendoza, Alex Miller and Andrea Nowack.
15. Secret Underground Guide to Using Social Media for Organizations
    From Colin McKay of Canuckflack.com: A free PDF guide for exploring the world of social media and building support for social media in a large organization.
16. Twitter Handbook
    From Deb Micek and Warren Whitlock: Get this free PDF e-book, a comprehensive introduction and overview on Twitter and how you can use it to improve the way you do business and market online.
17. Developing Your Twitter Muscles
    From Twitip: A few easy ways to bulk up your Twitter presence that don’t require much, if any, heavy lifting.
18. Five Ways to Use Social Media to Reach People Who Don’t Use Social Media – ReadWriteWeb
    From ReadWriteWeb blog: Great advice on five strategies for using social media to reach people who don’t use social media along with a list of specific tools you can use to do it.
19. How To Identify & Target The Right Niche Social Media Sites
    From Search Engine Land: How to identify these sites and make sure that you won’t just be wasting your time.

    

20. Your Brand’s Checklist for Twitter
    From A New Marketing: A few things that every brand can do to enhance their Twitter account and make sure that they reach their goals with the program
21. How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business
    From Copyblogger: Article reveals how bestselling authors and business professionals use Twitter to grow their business and offers advice on how you can use Twitter to achieve your goals.
22. How to: Build a Social Media Cheat Sheet for Any Topic
    From ReadWriteWeb: Step-by-step instructions, with screen shots, for a process to get up to speed on the social media activity in your field or market as fast as you can.
23. Use Twitter for your Business the Right Way
    From Twitip: Some tips to rub your Twitter followers the right way. Soon you’ll find out how loyal and supportive these people can be if only you took the time to get to know them.
24. 18 Ways To Engage Users Online (A Guide for Community Managers)
    From Angela Connor: A Free PDF ebook with advice on how to get people to engage and interact with your community.
25. Social Media Marketing Tactics By Site
    From SEOmoz: Review of the benefits and drawbacks of 30 of the top social media sites
26. Practical 101s: Tips For New Twitter Users
    From Dave Fleet: 8 suggestions for how to get the most out of Twitter.
27. HOW TO: Win Friends and Twinfluence People
    From Mashable: 10 tips on winning friends and twinfluencing people using for those still somewhat new to the service.
28. Develop a Twitter Landing Page
    From Problogger: A twitter landing page is a page on your blog or website that is specifically written for those arriving at your blog having clicked on the link in your twitter profile. Advice on why and how to develop one.
29. How Do You Build An Online Community?
    From Feverbee: Fantastically rich post on getting an online community up and running successfully with hyperlinks to detailed information.
30. 50 Ways Marketers Can use Social Media to Improve Their Marketing
    From Chris Brogan: List of 50 solid ideas of ways companies can use social media to enhance their marketing and PR efforts

    

31. 10 Ways to Spy on Your Competitors
    From Sitepoint: How to Use the Internet and tools like Twitter, Blogs and Bookmarks to spy on Your Competitors
32. 25 Ways to Build Your Community
    From Chris Brogan: 25 solid suggestions for building your blog and community.
33. Free Report: Twitter Jump Start – The Twitter Guide for Small Non-Profits
    From CorporateDollar Blog: Download a free comprehensive guide to Twitter for non-profits.
34. A Minimalist’s Guide to Using Twitter Simply, Productively, and Funly
    From Zen Habits: Advice regarding different ways you can use Twitter without spending too much time doing it.
35. Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki Maintains a directory of Fortune 500 companies that have active public business blogs. The blogs are listed along with links to reviews of the blogs.
36. Now is Gone List of Case Studies Geoff Livingston, author of the book Now is Gone maintains a list of social media case studies on his blog of the same name.
37. The Corporate Twitter Awards List
38. Forrester’s Groundswell Awards
39. List of 75+ Big Brand Corporate Blogs
40. Ignite Social Media’s 26 Social Media Marketing Examples In Depth
41. The Twitter Brand Index
42. NewPR/Wiki’s List of Corporate Blogs An extensive A to Z list of corporate blogs on this Wiki, a collaborative tool for PR professionals
43. 300+ Cases & Examples of Social Media Marketing
44. Society for New Communications Research Award Winning Case Studies
45. 40 of the Best Twitter Brands and the People Behind Them