As some of you may already know, I'm working on transitioning SocialCity (and the remains of austin 2.0) into a new blog called SwellCrowd. SwellCrowd is dedicated to showcasing, highlighting, and producing the best and most valuable content related to social media, inbound marketing, B2B online marketing, and corporate social media strategies. It will focus on my activities, findings, and experiences as the Online Marketing & Social Media Manager at Binary Tree as well as bits and bites from my personal experiences, thoughts, and ideas regarding social media.

Please note that will continue to use my @SocialCity Twitter account and will slowly transition to @SwellCrowd as time goes by. Please join me on both.

I look forward to creating compelling and motivating content on SwellCrowd. See ya there!

When creating a social media community and networking initiative, follow these critical steps:

1.) Chose your AUDIENCE - Be specific. Do I want to engage with retail consumers, doctors, plumbers, working parents?
2.) Know your GOAL - What exactly do I want to accomplish or measure? What is the desired end result? Again, be specific.
3.) Set your STRATEGY - How will I accomplish my goal? Who will be involved on my end? Do I have buy-in/commitment from all the players on my end? What 3rd parties will
be involved.? What is everyone's role?
4.) Select the TOOLS that fit the strategy - What specific social media tools (when I say "tool" I
mean outlets like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Digg, StumbleUpon,
Bogging, White Label Social Networks, etc) will help me reach my goal?

Last week I wrote a blog post about my experiences developing a social media plan for Binary Tree, Inc. Like I stated in that post, I recently started working at Binary Tree as their Online Social Media & Marketing Specialist. My first (major) task was to create an online, inbound, social media marketing plan with a solid strategy that aligns with the organization's overall business goals. After a two weeks, a few late nights, and some revisions, it's complete and I'm quite pleased with the outcome.

In the coming weeks, I'll be blogging about some of the concepts, ideas, revelations, and strategies that I intend to implement. In the meantime, please follow me at @SocialCity.

For the last 6 weeks, I've been working on a very important slide deck that I'm presenting to the Executive Management (my bosses) at Binary Tree, Inc. (where I work). As the new Online Marketing & Social Media Specialist, I'm responsible for creating and executing the company's 2010 social media strategy and initiatives.

I'm starting from essentially very little, although I'm very pleased to see a few LinkedIn Groups that have decent followings, an established Facebook Fanpage, and a Twitter presence that's growing everyday. The "convincing management that we need to invest in social media marketing" stage of the process is complete - they hired me, right? - and they understand the positive impact that social media and inbound marketing will have on sales and the company's overall bottom line.

So, what's next? Now that the "convince me" stage is complete, it's time to execute the strategy. Here are some highlights from my execution strategy:

1.) Lay the Foundation - Just like you would lay the foundation of a home before putting up the frame, you must first lay the foundation (define goals, solicit resources, identify tactics) of your social media plan. Without a solid, foundation, the frame won't hold and your house will crumble to the ground.
2.) Build the Framework - Now that a firm foundation is set, you can go ahead and start framing the house. Framing in social media means listening, learning, and creating your engagement and ongoing capabilities strategies. With a solid and "hurricane proof" foundation and a sturdy frame you're ready to start picking out paint colors and furniture
3.) Paint the House - Now the fun can begin! At this point you're ready to start deciding on what tactics you'll take and what tools you'll use to convey your content and engage. Will you incorporate a blog into your existing website? Will you create a customer service community? Will you establish a significant Twitter presence to promote your services?

Again, making sure that your foundation and framework are "hurricane proof" will help to ensure that your social media plan will be implemented and executed successfully. This stage is critical. Invest extra time researching, evaluating, and re-evaluating your findings until you feel confident that your foundation and framework align with and support your overall vision.

A few years ago, leading sales strategist, Jill Konrath, asked me to write a brief piece on how I leverage LinkedIn to drive more sales for her to include in her ebook titled, Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales? Even though the ebook is a few years old, I think the content and message is still quite relevant and can be valuable to anyone in Sales and Marketing looking to leverage social media tools to increase sales.

Click to download the ebook: Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales?

Recently I've been asked to explain the difference between social networking and social media. Below is my take. I'm very interested in how others would explain the difference between the two.

1.) Social Networking: the act of collaborating, communicating, and sharing information via social media tools like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook

2.) Social Media: the tools used like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to partake in social networking

I'm currently helping a friend put together a plan for a social media marketing initiative for a small nonprofit organization. This being my first time working on a social media driven marketing strategy for a nonprofit, I didn't know what to expect or what obstacles I'd run into trying to develop an actionable plan that would result in sucessfully meeting the organization's goals.

As I dove into the project and started outlining the who, what, where, why, and how, I suddenly realized that designing this particular initiative for a nonprofit would be no different than the others that I've concocted for corporate businesses and entrprenuers. That is, the foundation, the backbone, the guts, the heart of ALL social media initiatives should always begin with defining the following four (4) elements:

1.) Chose your AUDIENCE - Be specific. Do I want to engage with retail consumers, doctors, plumbers, working parents?

2.) Know your GOAL - What exactly do I want to accomplish or measure? What is the desired end result? Again, be specific.

3.) Set your STRATEGY - How will I accomplish my goal? Who will be involved on my end? Do I have buy-in/committment from all the players on my end? What 3rd parties will be involved.? What is everyone's role?

4.) Select the TOOLS that fit the strategy - What specific social media tools (when I say "tool" I mean outlets like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Digg, StumbleUpon, Bogging, White Label Social Networks, etc) will help me reach my goal?

This concept isn't a new one (see The POST Method). It's pretty much a well known standard among the social media "experts", enthusiats, and influencers. But I think it's important to remind ourselves every now and then that sticking by this process will ensure that your social media marketing initiative - corporate, personal, or nonprofit - is a success.

My #1 Social Media Tip for 2010 has to do with launching a successful social media initiative (personal or corporate) ...the one piece of advice I give to anyone embarking on a brand new social media initiative is this:

You must be entirely committed to the initiative, know your audience and your goals, build a strategy around your objectives, and, lastly, implement the tools needed to get the job done successfully.