2010 was a big year in terms of businesses starting to establish a social media presence, and 2011 expanded on that with an explosion in the number of businesses that started taking social media seriously as a marketing tool. Now that we've done an adequate amount of setting things up, it's time to start thinking of 2012 as the year when we really push forward and begin to innovate in terms of using social media in the best possible way, and customizing the experience so that each business is serving its own customers in a manner that suits their particular situation.
The world of social media can often seem like a free-for-all. Sure, social media gives customers a venue to sing your praises, which can lead to higher sales and a stronger reputation. The danger, of course, is that unhappy customers or visitors can take it upon themselves to post negative feedback about your business in a way that could be very damaging. This is one of the major reasons to monitor your brand very closely online.
If you are working with partners, associates, or employees in your business, there's no point in trying to pretend that the use of social media won't get complicated at some point. It's one thing when someone in the organization says something unacceptable in the office and it is dealt with internally, but when someone in your company says something unacceptable on the internet, the implications are much greater. Not only does it have the potential of being seen by millions of people, but it can have long-lasting consequences. Once an ill-advised tweet or Facebook update is out there, it's out there, and even if it gets deleted, often by that time it's too late and the damage is done.
If you spend any of your free time on the internet, chances are you have a personal Facebook account, Twitter account, and maybe a few other accounts here and there. If you're also using social media for marketing your business, then you probably have separate accounts set up under your company's name, as well. Regardless of whether you're a sole proprietor or have an office full of employees, someone has to be running your social media accounts, updating and responding to activity. That someone may be you, or it may be an associate.
I frequently give talks to various business groups on the best way to use social media to build awareness around your business 
and drive targeted leads to your website. When I begin, I see a few (okay, many!) skeptical faces in the audience and most of that skepticism is because of the technical overwhelm many feel when starting out in this new digital frontier. Many just don't know where to begin and get stuck in analysis paralysis and then end up not doing anything.
A great article from Marketing Profs on how marketers are using web data to make their marketing campaign decisions...
I often look to other seasoned marketers for guidance and insights and one of those mavens is Marcia Yudkin. See below for what she had to say about building trust with customers:
Today’s CEO is not social. So says Forrester Research’s CEO George Colony. Very few of the CEOs at top companies in the U.S. and the rest of the world have any material presence on the popular social media sites. Read more
6.) Business Exchange – Network with Industry Leaders and Become the Thought Leader
5) SlideShare – Present Your Business to the World
4) StumbleUpon – Traffic Generating Community
Facebook has long been known as the top choice for business-to-consumer (B2C) social media marketing. But which social networking sites and social media sites are effective marketing channels for business-to-business (B2B)? How can B2B leverage social media to strengthen customer service, engage with customers and prospects, and differentiate themselves in a competitive marketplace? Starting this week, and over the next few weeks, I’ll share some of the top 6 social networking tools for B2B success in the social sphere compiled by Neal Schaffer of Windmills Marketing.