I’ll be honest – there is a lot to know about social media. I consider myself to be a social media connoisseur but it is hard for me to keep up with the world of Facebook, Twitter, and blogs from time to time. However, when I do come across an interesting or valuable article, I’ll bookmark it to refer to at a later date. I might use it for inspiration, reference, or sharing. Throughout the past few months, I’ve created quite a collection. Now it’s time I share my collection with you.

I have included five articles on social media below. They are in no particular order; each article has just as much valuable information as the next. It is my hope that you will find these articles helpful and relevant to your social media campaign.

HOW TO: Manage Successful Social Media Promotions (Mashable)

Tags: Twitter, Facebook, Social Media Marketing, Promotions
Description: Many companies are using social media outlets to promote sales offers and discounts for their brand or product. However, it’s tough to get social media promotions work properly. If you’re interested in improving the success of your brand on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets, this is a great article to read.

How To Blog With Passion and Purpose (Jeffbullas’s Blog)

Tags: Blogging, Passion, Purpose, Content Creation, Stats
Description: In a world where everyone has a blog, what separates the ideas of one person from the ideas of another? Passion. When you blog with passion and purpose, you create instant credibility for yourself and your words. Communities and formed and lives are impacted when you begin to blog with passion. If you want to have a greater impact with your blog or social media campaign, this article will offer you some guidance.

How to Develop a Niche Blog Content Plan (ProBlogger)

Tags: Blogging, Content Creation, Purpose
Description: People are often disappointed in the success of their blog. Most individuals and companies think that their blog will be an instant hit but that is far from the truth. A “hit blog” takes time, effort, and a community of dedicated readers who are willing to share your content with others. This article posted on ProBlogger will help you transform your blog from a regular website to a site that has meaning.

Twitter Tips: 5 Proven Ways to Get Retweeted (ComputerWorld)

Tags: Twitter, Retweets, Marketing Strategy
Description: Twitter is a tough community at times. If you have used Twitter for any length of time, you know that it is an honor to have a post retweeted. Whether it is a fact, question, or blog post, having your content retweeted gives you a great feeling. However, retweeting doesn’t simply happen. In fact, there is a bit of a science behind retweeting. If you’re looking to step up your Twitter campaign and want to have your content shared, this is an article that will be helpful.

What’s Working for Social Media Marketers? (eMarketer)

Tags: Social Media, Marketing Strategy, Facts, Facebook, Twitter
Description: There are numerous ways to market to customers through social media. However, do you know how effective your marketing strategies really are? According to this article, buying targeted ads and tweeting regularly will only get you so far. This article is a great source of relevant and helpful data that could have a huge impact on your social media campaign.

What are some articles that have proved useful in your quest to make the most out of social media?

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by dhammza

Twitter is a unique and useful tool. Many businesses and organizations are using it to reach out to their customers, prospects, vendors, and donors. Here are five simple things you can do today to get started.

You will need to know a few terms and ways people communicate on Twitter. Assuming that you are already listening – here’s my five steps to getting your business on Twitter. Remember that I’m not talking about marketing, PR, or business strategy. I’m simply going over the basic mechanics of starting with Twitter.

Step 1 – Create an account

Go to http://www.twitter.com to sign up.

Step 2 – Start following interesting and valuable people

Might I suggest you start with @folkmedia as your first follow? Of course I’d love to have your follow us – but it’s up to you. My suggestion is to first follow those who add value to your business or life. After you get the hang of things you’ll want to reach out and begin following people strategically. But to start, pick about 25 people and begin. You can search for people you already know in the real world.

Step 3 – Join a conversation

Twitter can be used for blasting out one way messages to crowds of thousands. But the way to earn the trust and respect of thousands is to converse with people one at a time. When you see something interesting that someone posted, you can Twitter back to them with a simple @ symbol before their username. They will in turn will most likely Twitter back to you. These are how discussions work on Twitter.

Step 4 – Learn how to search

You’ll notice that I mention searching a lot in this article. There is a great Ad Age article that basically asks the question – “is Twitter the next Google?”

We all know the power of search. And we all know how Google has been rocketed to the stratosphere from selling contextual ads against that search. But Google searches what has been. Twitter search allows you to search what is being talked about right now. Talk about a powerful tool for your business. You get to see the pain points for customers and clients. Reporters are using Twitter to gather facts about breaking news from people on the ground.

Step 5 – Be real. Be helpful. Be timely

Twitter can end up being a very warm and personal medium. It allows for conversation. Use this to your advantage and engage your followers by posing questions, linking to helpful articles, and alerting them to special items. Be careful not to “tweet your own horn” all the time. A good rule of thumb is to tweet out about 10 times linking to other people’s work for each time you tweet out about yourself.

These are five tips that can help you get started using Twitter for business. It can be a powerful tool that can drive traffic to your website and create trust and “buy in” from your prospects, customers, or supporters. Stay tuned for more resources about how to use Twitter and other social media tools for your organization.

We are continuing to release more tips and advice on how to drive traffic to your blog or website. Let us know what particular topics would help you grow your business in the comments section or send us an email.

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Joel Mark Witt is a producer, speaker, and new media leader who writes about social media and its impact in the business world. He is also the Founding Director of Folk Media. Send him an email: joelmarkwitt (at) folkmedia.org or follow him on Twitter.