Who do many companies and marketers approach social media in a backwards fashion? How can you determine which social media platforms are best for your brand? What should do you to separate your personal and corporate social personas? How are some big brands using social media effectively?

Find the answers to these questions and others here in still more of the best posts of the last year on social media marketing.

3 top tools for branding in a Web 2.0 world by iMedia Connection

John Gray explains how to use Facebook, Wikipedia and Twitter as components of an integrated Web 2.0 branding strategy. His recommendations on using Facebook as a CRM tool are an interesting twist, and he astutely notes that while Wikipedia is appealing to marketers because of its incredibly high traffic, it is also challenging because the site is actively monitored by an army of "editors" freakishly hostile to any content that could even remotely be considered promotional.


Branding Strategies for Your Social Media Profiles on the Web by SEOmoz

The wise and prolific Rand Fishkin provides thoughtful guidance on choosing a name, avatar and strategy for personal or corporate social media branding and online reputation management.


Video SEO Tip: How to Create Your Own YouTube “click-to-buy” Link – for FREE by ReelSEO

Grant Crowell describes a clever trick for integrating a free call to action with any video you place on YouTube, and even a way to do A/B testing for video and landing page variations.


16 Examples of Huge Brands Using Twitter for Business by Search Engine Journal

The brilliant, enigmatic Ann Smarty reports on how several major consumer brand companies are using seven different strategies to reach out to customers on Twitter, including direct promotions and coupons (Dell and Starbucks), customer service (Comcast, Home Depot), customer interaction (Southwest Airlines, HRBlock) and sharing company news (Ford, Samsung).


5 Spheres of Social Media, Guest Post by The SEO Review

In this thought-provoking post, Jason Keath proposes a five-part model of social media: networking (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn), publishing (WordPress, YouTube... Twitter?), linking (Mixx, Reddit), interactive (Second Life, NameThis) and niche (Kirtsy, My Church). It's an interesting taxonomy, a bit different from the social media landscape previously described here, but certainly worthy of consideration.


The POST Method: A systematic approach to social strategy by Groundswell

Forrester's Josh Bernoff outlines the POST (for People, Objectives, Strategy and Technology) method for approaching social media. Rather than starting with tools, technologies or tactics (e.g., should we write a blog? should we be on Twitter?), Josh advises marketers to begin by figuring out where members of their target audience congregate online, identifying specific objectives in reaching out to them, and developing a strategy to achieve those objectives. As he puts it, "It's time to stop doing social because it's cool. It's time to start doing it because it's effective."


Is YouTube the right pipeline for you? by iMedia Connection

In this insightful missive, Matthew Pollock elaborates on two essential points about social media. The first is that marketers need to choose the right social media platforms to support their business objectives rather than focusing merely on traffic numbers. YouTube generates enormous views, but isn't appropriate for every brand. Second, achieving results with social media takes time, because it is about building relationships rather than landing the quick sale. The biggest challenges CMOs face in social media are therefore establishing the right metrics for evaluating success and maintaining the effort over time.

Previous posts in this series:

Best of 2008: SEO Guidance, Part 1
Best of 2008: Interactive PR, Part 1
Best of 2008: SEO Tools, Part 1
Best of 2008: Search Engine Marketing
Best of 2008: Web Analytics
Best of 2008: Email Marketing Tips
Best of 2008: SEO Keyword Tips & Tools
Best of 2008: Sales & Marketing Copywriting
Best of 2008: SEO Link Building
Best of 2008: Website Design
Best of 2008: WordPress Tools and Tips
Best of 2008: Web & SEO Copywriting
Best of 2008: SEO Guidance, Part 2
Best of 2008: Social Media Optimization, Part 1
Best of 2008: AdWords Tips and Tactics, Part 1
Best of 2008: SEO Tools, Part 2
Best of 2008: SEM Landing Pages
Best of 2008: Blogging for Business, Part 1
Best of 2008: Interactive PR, Part 2
Best of 2008: SEO Guidance, Part 3
Best of 2008: Social Media Optimization, Part 2
Best of 2008: AdWords Tips and Tactics, Part 2
Best of 2008: Strategy and Branding, Part 1
Best of 2008: Cool Web Tools, Part 1
Best of 2008: Blogging for Business, Part 2
Best of 2008: Random but Interesting, Part 1
Best of 2008: SEO Guidance, Part 4
Best of 2008: Social Media Optimization, Part 3
Best of 2008: Strategy and Branding, Part 2
Best of 2008: Cool Web Tools, Part 2

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Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom