101 Social Media Marketing Resources

Here’s a monster list of social media marketing resources to help expand your knowledge of this ever-changing ecosystem. These resources are useful for newbies and social media mavens alike, looking to learn about the field as well as to hone their business skills.

To make it easier to use, this list is broken into sections. There are broad-based social media resources covering social media as a whole as well as more specialized offerings focused on a specific platform or topic.

Now without further ado, here are 101 Social Media Marketing Resources, the 2012 Edition. In the spirit of helping the social media marketing community, please share the link to this page as well as to link to it.

Social Media Top 5 Resources

Here are the top social media focused online resources. These entities provide quality content on a regular basis.

Social Media Examiner. A top Ad Age 150 blog that provides actionable social media tactics. A must-have for anyone in the social media field. (Disclaimer: I write for SME and this blog was chosen as a Top Social Media Blog of 2012.)
Mashable. The brand name in the social media space. It’s useful for staying on top of trends but can be fairly elementary for regular social media users.
Smart Brief for Social Media. This is a great digest of social media content. At a minimum, its daily newsletter gives a round up the day’s top social media stories. Its editorial team boasts Andy Sernovitz, former CEO of WOMMA. (Disclaimer: I write for SBFSM.)
Hubspot. As an Internet marketing firm, Hubspot’s blog, ebooks and webinars provide a wealth of information and social media data. Understand that their agenda is to sell their software. Hubspot is the home of social media data scientist Dan Zarrella.
Who’s Blogging What. This weekly email curates some of the best on what’s happening from the blogsphere. It’s a good overview of current social media content.

Social Media Bookshelf. For those who still believe in books, here’s a short list of some of the gems currently available. These books apply to social media in general.

Bodnar, Kipp and Jeffrey L. Cohen (no relation) The B2B Social Media Book. This for B2B marketers who think that they can’t do social media. It’s written by two guys who’ve learned from inside of two important firms delivering technology for social media.
Dietrich, Gini and Geoff Livingston Marketing In The Round. These two authors provide an actionable plan for integrating social media with other more traditional communications functions.
Dragon, Ric Social Marketology. One of the really smart books of 2012. Ric provides a combination of strategy and tactics with actionable tips and charts.
Kerpen, Dave Likeable Business and Likeable Social Media. Dave shows how to use social media to transform your business from the inside out. Dave, his wife and co-partner Carrie, live social media and word of mouth marketing.
Odden, Lee Optimize. Lee provides a strategic view of how social media, search and content marketing work together. This book gives you bite-size actionable how-tos based on Lee’s 9+ years of blogging at Online Marketing Blog.
Scott, David Meerman The New Rules of Marketing and PR One of the early books on social media. My NYU graduate students either find this book too elementary or they love it. Check out David Meerman Scott’s blog and e-books.
Singh, Shiv Social Media Marketing For Dummies. Don’t let the title fool you. Shiv is one very smart marketer!
Smith, Mari The New Relationship Marketing. This book by one of the social media rock stars provides a road map for stepping into the social media ecosphere and building a following.

Social Media Theory

These books should be on every social media bookshelf. They provide the background and underpinnings behind social media and why it works.

Aaker, Jennifer The Dragonfly Effect. This books shows how to use social media with unusual case studies.
Anderson, Chris The Long Tail and Free. As a lower cost alternative, you can read the original articles on Wired’s site.
Brogan, Chris and Julien Smith Trust Agents.
Evans, Dave Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day. Dave offers a logical plan for your social media efforts.
Gladwell, Malcolm The Tipping Point and Blink.
Godin, Seth Tribes and Linchpin. Seth is a prolific writer and has been cranking out marketing books for years. My personal favorite is Permission Marketing.
Keller, Ed and Jon Berry The Influentials. This book provides explanation for underpinnings of word of mouth marketing and the role of influence.
Li, Charlene and Josh Bernoff Groundswell. Good read about how social media marketing works by two Forrester Researchers. Some may find it more historical now.
Locke, Christopher, Rick Levine, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger Cluetrain Manifesto. Written in 1998, this book is amazing in its foresight. It’s a classic treatise that provides the theory behind social media.
McConnell, Ben and Jackie Huba Citizen Marketing: When People are the Message.
Sernovitz, Andy Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking Easy-to-read book by the former CEO of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.
Shirky, Clay Here Comes Everyone. Very readable book by NYU professor Clay Shirky that approaches social media from a sociological perspective.
Solis, Brian The End of Business as Usual and Engage. Brian Solis’ blog is a must read for marketers.
Surowiecki, James The Wisdom of Crowds. Interesting research that provides insights as to why social media works.

Other social media resources.

This is a selection of digital social media resources worth checking out.

30 Social Media Definitions. Need help defining social media for your boss? Here’s the resource for you.
47 Social Media Facts. Nothing but the facts. Charts included.
Social Media Glossary. 100 Social media terms.
How to Make the Business Case for Social Media. Here’s an easy-to-follow guide to help you make your case.
2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report. Research by Social Media Examiner.
360i, Social Media Handbook. Great free guide for marketers. Download it and see for yourself.
Marekto’s The Definitive Guide to Social Marketing. A corporate written e-book that’s worth downloading.
The 7 Step Social Media Strategy Every Marketer Needs. Short and to the point plan.
50 Questions to Determine Social Media Success. Useful checklist for marketers.

Facebook.

The current 800 pound guerilla of social media platforms.

Facebook. The corporate spin from inside the social media giant that’s worth monitoring.
InsideFacebook. Here’s the unofficial guide to Facebook for marketers and programmers. Include this in your feed (aka RSS) reader.
AllFacebook. Another unofficial guide to help you keep up with Facebook.
Porterfield, Amy, Phyllis Khare and Andrea Vahl Facebook for Dummies All in One. Amy is one of the top Facebook gurus.
Treadway, Chris and Mari Smith Facebook Marketing. Mari is one of the Facebook experts. You can also follow her on Twitter.
9 Surefire Facebook Tips. Examples included.
Facebook versus Twitter. Chart included.

YouTube

Both the largest online video platform and the second biggest search engine so that you can’t overlook this video powerhouse in your marketing plans since it’s a combination of content marketing, social media and search optimization.

Greg Jarboe and Suzie Reider YouTube and Video Marketing Great how-to book to get you started.
8 Ways to Maximize Your YouTube Results. Includes examples.
31 Online Video Branding Questions. Useful checklist to help evaluate the strength of your video campaign.

Blogging

Blogs should be at the heart of any integrated social media marketing plan. They act as a CMS (Content Management System) and help search optimization and distribute content marketing.

Copyblogger. Considered the bible of blogging, especially for business goals. Get this RSS feed so that you’re on top of the latest trends. Try the 31-day Blogging Challenge either as a paid download e-book or in its original blog post format, which takes searching to find.
Problogger. Another must read for bloggers.
How to Plan Your Blog. Details what you need to get your blog on track.
Blogging: 3 Secrets to Being An A-List Blogger.
31 Blog Design Mistakes (& How to Fix Them)
11 Tips to Optimize your blog
29 Reasons You Aren’t Getting Blog Traffic.
65 Blog Metrics to Track Success.
#BlogChat. Meets on Twitter every Sunday night at 9:00pm east coast time. Run by Mack Collier. It’s a must for every new blogger. (See notes below about Twitter chats.)

Twitter

Provides the ability to communicate in 140 character bites. It’s particularly useful for marketing purposes.

Twitter Blog. Twitter’s official blog.
Schaefer, Mark W. The Tao of Twitter. Words of wisdom from Mark.
Thomases, Hollis Twitter Marketing. Fellow ClickZ columnist Hollis’ book covers the subject in depth. At least follow her on Twitter!
24 Twitter Etiquette Guidelines. Miss Manners for Twitter.
How to Create a Twitter Strategy. Basic guide for marketers.
15 Steps to Build Your Twitter Following. Another basic guide.
Twitter Chat Schedule. For those who want to participate in chats.
How to be a Twitter Chat Champion. How to jump into the fray on any Twitter Chat.

LinkedIn is the professionally focused social media platform.

LinkedIn Blog. This is the official blog of LinkedIn.
27 LinkedIn Social Media Strategies. Strong list with screenshots from fellow ClickZ columnist Harry Gold. A former college football player, Lewis is one of the experts on LinkedIn.
7 Steps to a LinkedIn Strategy. Here’s a useful case study via Social Media Examiner.
Neal Schaffer – Windmill Networking: Understanding, Leveraging & Maximizing LinkedIn.

Pinterest is the social media darling of 2012.

Hayden, Beth Pinfluence.
Pinterest Etiquette – 13 Tips to Pin By. Here’s the inside scoop on Pinterest.
19 Reasons to Add Pinterest to Your Social Media Strategy.
56 Ways to Market Your Business on Pinterest. This article makes it hard to say you don’t know what to do for your business with Pinterest.
7 Surprising Pinterest Insights Every Marketer Needs.

Google+

Brogan, Chris Google+ For Business.
Ignore Google+ at Your Risk. Here are 8 charts that make the case for using Google+
Why Every Business Needs A Google+ Strategy. Strong thinking from SEOmoz’s Rand Fishkin.

Other Social Media Options

Instagram Research You Need Now. 7 charts that provide you with the rationale for using this social media application.
Wheatland, Todd Slideshare. Here’s the bible on how to use this B2B marketing tool.
10 Tips for Using Slideshare. Slideshare is a B2B marketer’s heaven.
22 Point Checklist for Slideshare. Useful list to print out.
The Marketer’s Guide to Tumblr. A step-by-step guide that shows you how to use this microblogging platform.
How to (Properly) Use Tumblr to Successfully Market Your Brand.

Online photos

Don’t overlook the power of online photographs in your marketing mix since it’s the second most popular use of a smartphone after texting.

250+ Free Stock Photograph Sites. If you want more options than Flickr, look no more.
Flickr. This is my favorite source of images. Use Advanced Search to find photos you can use commercially.
How to Optimize Images for Better Search Rankings. Neil Patel’s list is a must read.
Images & Photos: How to Increase Social Media Effectiveness.

Social Media Guidelines

Every business (B2B, B2C or Not-For-Profit) must provide guidelines for how its employees should represent the company, how employees should represent themselves, how customers should be treated, and define acceptable behavior on company websites and social media entities. This is necessary even if your firm isn’t active on social media.

17 Social Media Guidelines Every Firm Needs. Checklist from which to create your business’ guidelines.
7 Guidelines for What to Do During a Social Media Crisis. How to be prepared for every executive’s nightmare.
Social Media’s Social Responsibility. 10 points to consider in order to make your social media marketing efforts more accountable.
57 Social Media Policy Sources. Dave Fleet provides a long list to help you develop a set of social media policies.
Army’s Social Media Handbook. Think that your firm can’t engage in social media? Think again. If the Army can, so can you.
Ford Company’s Social Media Policies. Great concise version of one company’s guidelines that incorporate great visuals with the help of Scott Monty.
Cisco’s Social Media Playbook. Another company’s more in-depth approach to social media guidelines.

Social Media PR

Use PR to enhance your social media efforts.

Social Media Press Release. Here’s the original social media press release prototype.
HARO (aka Help a Reporter Out). This free service delivers PR opportunities straight to your emailbox three times a day. Use it to get your story in the media but play by the rules.
How to Prevent a Social Media Disaster. Something that every marketer needs to know, even if you’re not doing any social media marketing!

Social Media Metrics

Social media metrics and ROI continue to confound marketers. Here’s a list of resources to help you.

Blanchard, Olivier Social Media ROI. Useful guide for showing social media’s value to your organization.
Paine, K.D. Measure What Matters. Katie brings intelligence to an often elusive topic.
Schaefer, Mark W. Return on Influence. Mark provides a guide to understanding how to assess and build influence.
Socialbakers. Useful social media related data. Part of a larger analytics firm.
Sponder, Marshall Social Media Analytics.
Sterne, Jim Social Media Metrics. Jim Sterne has been at the center of digital marketing metrics for years. He runs the eMetrics conferences.

As social media continues to grow and evolve, new and more current resources will continue to be created and published. To this end, please help contribute to our collective knowledge by adding your suggestions in the comments section below.

Happy Marketing,
Heidi Cohen

Heidi Cohen is the President of Riverside Marketing Strategies.
You can find Heidi on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Get Heidi Cohen’s Actionable Marketing Guide by email:

Want to check it out before you subscribe? Visit the AMG Newsletter Archive.

Photo credit: http://skytechgeek.com/2012/01/12-beautiful-social-media-vector-icon-sets-free-download/