5 Emerging Social Media Sites to Watch in 2010
Just as marketers are getting a handle on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, a fresh group of social media networks are poised to make a splash in 2010.
These networks have not reached mass adoption yet, so it’s not necessary to get active on all of them immediately. But remember, Facebook only took 6 years to reach 400 million registered users. You should keep an eye on these five upstarts to see if their innovative services attract large audiences in the near future.
Why You Should Pay Attention
Learning the ropes on new services before they gain mass traction can help you get value from them faster once they catch on. Monitoring the innovations in the social media space also gives you an indication of how the market is changing and will evolve over the next few years. Marketers should stay abreast of broader market trends to assure their messages stay relevant. 
Everything You Need to Know About LinkedIn
Did you join LinkedIn because someone you know invited you and you didn’t want to hurt his or her feelings, but now you’re wondering why you did it?
Guess what? If you wrinkle your nose in disgust when someone mentions “social media,” LinkedIn is for you!
Because LinkedIn is not like MySpace and Facebook. It’s not where teenagers post pictures of their high school prom or their latest beach party.
LinkedIn was built for professionals who want to use their existing and future social networks to build a career. And for companies that want to find qualified employees. And for job-hunters.
3 New Studies Show Value of Social Media & Businesses Slow Response
There are some interesting studies surfacing lately in the world of social media. Here’s a summary of three recent research findings covering the benefits of social media marketing, how forums help brands and how businesses are employing social media marketing.
#1: 50% of Small Businesses Say Lead Generation is Biggest Benefit of Social Networking
According to the “Small Business Marketing Forecast 2010” from Ad-ology, lead generation is the biggest benefit of social networking for U.S. small businesses.
7 Essential Design Elements for Great Business Blogs
When people hear the word design, they sometimes think only of making something look good, using colors and graphics to add interest. But on the web, and especially on a blog, design has a purpose: to grab readers when they arrive, make it easy for them to get what they want, and create trust through a consistent and professional look.
A well-designed business blog:
- Uses visual interest to make posts easy to read
- Brands your business in a consistent way
- Places useful information in places where it is easy to find
- Isn’t cluttered with things that aren’t helping you promote your business
- Makes it easy for readers to do what you want them to do
Is Real-Time Search Good for Businesses?
Real-time search is bringing social media to search engines. And that means a whole new dynamic for businesses using the social web.
With Twitter and Facebook updates appearing in Google search results, many businesses are trying to figure if this is good or bad—and what to do next. Ziff Davis featured this blog post a while back. It got me thinking about the implications of the real-time web and how businesses can navigate through these rough waters.
How MarketingProfs Manages Its Brand on Twitter (an Ann Handley Interview)
In this video I interview Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer for the 358,000 member organization MarketingProfs.
Ann talks about how she manages being the public face on Twitter for her organization. She also shares how her own Twitter strategy has evolved over the last 2 years.
In this video Ann also discusses the challenges of having employees represent your brands on social media and how to approach social media policies.
Facebook Marketing: Everything You Need to Know
I’m guessing many of you are still sitting on the fence when it comes to putting your business on Facebook.
“Let me get this straight,” you may say. “You want me to use Facebook to market my business? Are you crazy?”
Not if you provide products or services to postmenopausal women. Women over the age of 55 make up the fastest-growing Facebook segment, according to Paul Dunay and Richard Krueger, authors of Facebook Marketing for Dummies.
Would your product or service appeal to anyone over 35? “The fastest-growing demographic is the 35- to 54-year-olds… the next fastest-growing demographic is the over-55 crowd.”
