Social media marketing is making strong inroads among organizations and business owners. The problem is that all these people often find themselves quite puzzled about how to leverage social networking properly to increase conversions, boost their sales or simply create buzz around their products.

Photo credit Robin Good

Online marketers are know very well the power of social media marketing, but most of them are still scratching their heads on two main issues

1. How can I effectively market through social media?
2. How can I measure the ROI of social media?

A recent survey from DMNews reports clearly that 64% of Chief Marketing Officers do plan to increase their social media budgets in 2010, but "at least half of respondents expressed uncertainty about ROI" because they lack a clear strategy behind the use of social media.

Whether you are an experienced marketer or a newbie exploring the social media marketing ground, I have decided to include in this curated collection what I consider the very best articles and reports on social media marketing published on MasterNewMedia during 2009.

Social Media Marketing: The Best 2009 Articles and Reports From MasterNewMedia

Social Media Marketing Strategy Simplified: Stop Thinking Blog, Start Thinking Value

When it comes to social media marketing, there are a million voices, opinion and tips to follow, but from where do you start? Many of those who have jumped right into the social media frenzy by becoming extremely active on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other popular social media destinations, have yet to reap the benefits of their social media spending, while having already committed a very significant amount of time to this activity.

by Robin Good - December 16th, 2009

Social Media: What Is It And Why It's So Important For Any Organization

Why is social media so important? And most importantly, why should you and your company care about? In this article, web strategist George Benckenstein explains in very simple, non-technical words, what marketing experts and businessmen have failed to understand about the real value of social media for companies and institutions.

by George Benckenstein - May 20th, 2009

Social Media Marketing: Josh Bernoff On How Companies Talk To Customers And Why They Fail - Video

Social media marketing is making strong inroads in the corporate world, but understanding how to do it properly without making painful mistakes, remains, for most companies out there, one of the greatest marketing challenges to overcome. What is it that corporate institutions must do or avoid to overcome the typical hurdles, fears and mistakes that are met when they first try to adopt a social media marketing strategy?

by Robin Good - June 24th, 2009

The Value Of Trust In The Attention Economy: Influence Is The New ROI

Do you know why trust has gained so much value in the attention economy? Bombarded by an increasingly complex life, by more news and information, by marketing and sales calls of all kinds, people are increasingly "on-the-move" and with less and less time to devote to anyone specific thing. They are rushing from a website to another, from a conversation to another. And this is why their attention has become more valuable than gold these days.

by George Benckenstein - July 1st, 2009

Business Applications Of Social Media Inside Organizations: An Overview

Is social media good for business? How do organizations use social media to improve their marketing effectiveness and boost their sales? Social media is making strong inroads in the business world, but understanding how to leverage social media properly remains one of the greatest marketing challenges to overcome.

by Josh Gordon - September 23th, 2009

Business Applications Of Social Media Inside Organizations: Twitter

Does Twitter have the potential for reaching business customers? Is Twitter an effective communication platform to create strong, long-lasting relationships in the corporate world? Twitter and, more generally, social media deliver the ability to communicate immediately. As a customer contact tool, where speed does count, this immediacy has great potential. Problem is, such potential can only be fulfilled if you and your customers are using social media.

by Josh Gordon - September 30th, 2009

Business Applications Of Social Media Inside Organizations: Social Networks

How do organizations really use social networks? Is social media useful to acquire new customers or just to maintain strong relationships with existing clients? The answer to whether social media are good for customer engagement or relationship building is: "Social media is good for both".

by Josh Gordon - October 7th, 2009

Originally prepared by Robin Good for MasterNewMedia, and first published on December 24th, 2009 as "Social Media Marketing:The Best 2009 Articles And Reports From MasterNewMedia".

Photo credits:
Social Media Marketing Strategy Simplified: Stop Thinking Blog, Start Thinking Value - Robin Good
Social Media: Why Institutions Should Communicate And Collaborate With Their Customers - grki
Social Media Marketing: Josh Bernoff On How Companies Talk To Customers And Why They Fail - Video - Robin Good
The Value Of Trust In The Attention Economy: Influence Is The New ROI - Iurii Davydov
Business Applications Of Social Media Inside Organizations: An Overview - Stephen VanHorn
Business Applications Of Social Media Inside Organizations: Social Networks - Alessandro Viti
Business Applications Of Social Media Inside Organizations: Twitter - Kheng Guan Toh