Failure is An Important Part of Social Media Strategies
My thoughts on this subject remain pretty strong - no matter how much advice a person can read or hear, failure is the best teacher when it comes to a Social Media Strategy, And as for determining if failure is in your future, there's really only one way to find out - you need to try first.
Here is another take on this idea (orginally posted on LoudClick.net).
Social Media: Try It, Fail, Try Something Else
Article Excerpt: ...(this) plan points out a very important axiom regarding social media: Try. It really is that simple. I've run into several people who are not yet convinced that social media is important. I can't decide if it's because they are not willing to try or not willing to fail. In either event, they miss the opportunity that comes from expanding your box and learning something new. Read more
Social Marketing is a customer-expectation more and more each day. Businesses are acknowledging the value SM brings but have taken differing paths implementing how they are getting there. Some are "doing" social while others are "being" social. Which are you?
While good intent remains incredibly valuable, the meaning of your content has rising value that may someday eclipse intent. Meaning is the collective value that is placed upon your content. Collective being the filter of people placing value on your content by listing it or sharing it.
7 blogs that have impacted my view of online marketing in ways I cannot begin to describe - nor give proper thanks for sharing what they know. Trust me on this one, my friends, if you don't subscribe to these blogs, you will miss out on some of the best online marketing information available.
If you haven't followed Google search lately, you are in for a couple surprises. Not long ago, Google announced implementation of Instant and Place Search - both of which will impact your site's search results in pretty big ways.
I recently sent my 1000th Tweet, an occasion allowing me to revisit the 
SaveOurStarbucks.com played a role in Starbucks' good decision to reach out to its customers with a smart customer trust rebuilding campaign. And further proof that creating an easy way for direct customer communication is critical for success in today's environment. 
When discussing what marketing strategy is most effective, the concept of Content Marketing cannot be overlooked as it is the core for any online marketing strategy. Content Marketing's aim is to provide a resource for your customer so they with engage with you, visit you repeatedly and purchase your goods or services. New research shows how critical this is now and will be in the future.
To prove this point, we created an experiment that tested what Odden calls "frugalism" - in this case we were frugal with engagement time and resources and proved how deadly that sin can be.
The moral of the story is that you need to cultivate your online conversations in a way that reflects your in-person conversations. This means you need to conduct yourself in a way that makes you attractive to others. Don't be a broadcast bore. Don't only talk about yourself, Don't forget to say thank you now and then. And most importantly, think of two way communications as worthy of your time and energy. If you don't, you will lose out on the value of maintaining relationships.
As I've discussed over and over, social media communication should be viewed no differently than real life communication. As such, the basics of people skills will serve you well. 
This 2-part series focuses on making your site's content as searchable as possible. Some may call this Search Engine Optimization (SEO). 
Using social media to distribute the content of your website is a proven formula for success. However, don't just think of adding content as one-way communication - that is so old-school... 
This series of articles were originally published on 
