Resources for building your social media marketing plan

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Many small businesses are turning to social media marketing as a faster, cheaper way to reach a broader audience. There are many social media tools out there: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to name a few, not to mention innumerable blogs. Setting up a Facebook or Twitter account for your company is a pretty simple process; using these social media tools to realize your marketing goals requires planning, organization, time, and effort.

Social media are allowing smaller companies to reach out to marketing audiences on scales that only big corporations with extensive marketing budgets had access to in the past. They are leveling the playing field. Facebook has more than 300 million users, LinkedIn nearly 50 million, and they are all your potential audience. As Sharon Berman writes, “Seizing turf is as simple as taking advantage of the tools the web has to offer, but it does take a willingness to learn the tools and apply them.”

Social media tools are only as effective as your ability to use them and the effort you put into doing so. Luckily, there are a lot of resources out there to help businesses create their social media marketing plan and run it successfully. Listed below are links to a handful of useful articles and blogs on how to be successful when using social media.

"Creating Your Social Media Plan" written by Outspoken Media’s Chief Branding Officer, Lisa Barone, details the essential steps involved when creating and pursuing a social media strategy.

"10 Small Business Social Media Marketing Tips" on Mashable discusses how small businesses can use specific social media tools to increase their visibility and follow online discussions about their business or related topics.

"Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses" on SocialMediaTrader explains the benefits of social media marketing, things to consider, and tips on running a successful campaign.

"In Business, Early Birds Twitter Most Effectively" This BusinessWeek article by author of Twitterville, Shel Israel, examines ways in which businesses have found Twitter to be a useful tool from marketing to customer relations.

"What Can Facebook Do For Your Company?" This blog article posted on Small Fuel Marketing’s site covers some of the basics of how a company can use Facebook to reach a targeted audience or draw broader attention to its business.

Special thanks to Elissa Leonard, research assistant and writer at The Law Office of Delida Costin.

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