Social Media (network, technology, blog, community, virtual reality, etc...)

I chose this infographic and article from Blackbaud because it helps you go from social media to social business. It was written for non-profits but it definitely applies to any business as well.

By understanding how to evaluate people by their degree of influence and their ability to help change behavior in others can be invaluable to you and your organization.

**It's also important to use this information to understand how you and your organization fit into this mix. They say knowledge is power, once you have a clearer picture, you can shift what you're doing and take your business or cause to the next level for greater results.

Intro:

"Understanding the Value of Your Social Media Influencers: How to Identify and Empower Those Who Can Engage an Entire Community!

(Download the White Paper Today!)"

Here are some highlights:

**Learn how to use the information your consitiuents are sharing to attract more people to your mission, campaign.

**Learn how to analyze your database and assign social scores to engagers that represents their ability to interact with and influence others across their online networks

**Based on the social score you assign to these individuals, you can then segment them into one of four categories, each of which plays a diferent role on social networks, relevant to your business

Here are the categories:

Key Influencers - They have a powerful impact not only the people they know but also others they don't know. Their posts are widely spread and shared by more people than many other people

art

Engagers - These people have well-established social networks and are strong influencers of people they know personally

Multichannel Consumers - They enjoy keeping up with social media conent and occasionally participate. Their influence is not a dominent part of their persona

Standard Consumers These engagers read and watc updates more than they create new content or make comments. They are more influenced by family and friends.

Selected by Jan Gordon covering "Content Curation, Social Business and Beyond"

Read article and see infographic here: [http://bit.ly/N4a2Km]

This piece (user chart included) was written and posted by Matt Silverman, contributing editor for Mashable, .

My commentary (I'm personally experiencing amazing results after being on Pinterest for about 4 months).

****Even with all the hooplah surrounding Pinterest, it's important to remember, that Pinterest is only a side dish in your business, paying attention to your main course and how Pinterest supports that is what is key. See article here: http://bit.ly/yXET4P by John Jantsch.

Having said that...........

This user engagement chart is astounding, as you see the rise in Pinterest users in a very short time.

**In my opinion, Pinterest gives you the opportunity to showcase your work without a lot of text anything that gives us a breather in that way is a blessing.

**Images speak a thousand words if you know how to use them properly.

**Showing other sides of you that are consistent with your brand message gives people a chance to see you beyond the text you post on other sites.

**Pinboards like favorite books, homes and spaces, etc. give people points of entry, a connection with you because they identify and like the same things, a great way to start a conversation, have them look to see what you do and who you are.

**Everything we do online tells a story about us, it's our digital identity, Pinterest is a place where you can tell your story in a whole different way.

**Pinterest is also a place where you can relax, fantasize about the wardrope you'd love to have, or the amazing car or cars you want to have. Let's face it, we're all plugged in 24/7, this is a place where you can lighten up and/or market your business all on the same site.

**Pinterest is not only gaining a ton of users, but those users are spending an average of 89 minutes on the site

** Facebook is still leading by 405 minutes along with Tumblr also 89 minutes but it's obvious Pinterest is moving up quickly.

**It's important to know how to use Pinterest to showcase what you do in a subtle but engaging way

Feel free to visit my topic "Pinterest Watch"  a collection of articles from branding, case studies, metrics all in one place.

Selected by Jan Gordon covering "Content Curation, Social Business and Beyond"

Read article here: [http://on.mash.to/xNZoVj]

Personal Branding With Social Media Infographic via Chris Voss

Why having the right social media tools matter:

"Social media tools have the tremendous power to put you in contact with thousands of people in order to build your online brand you need to know all of the possibilities, as well as how all of your activities are working together.

It's important to be consistent so that each part of your social media network is contributing positively to the brand you are trying to build.

Selected by Jan Gordon covering "Content Curation, Social Busines and Beyond"

See full infographic here: [http://bit.ly/JMXlS0]

I selected this piece was written by Chris Sietsema for convinceandconvert blog because the post plus the infographic lays out a very clear and concise plan to create your content marketing strategy.

**Whether you're creating or curating content, this is something I think is very useful. This is why I rescooped this from my content marketing, social media and beyond  topic.

Here are a few highlights from the article:

He compares selecting and producing content to what he calls "bricks" and "feathers".

Bricks are referred to as research reports

**are larger content productions such as research reports, events, white papers        .

    video series, mobile apps, etc

**have the potential to make a larger splash when executed and promoted correctly.

Feathers are comprised of simple text and photo content published via popular social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, etc.

**Less intensive than bricks from a production budget standpoint, feathers are created consistently to maintain an ongoing stream of communication between a brand and its audience.

The infographic shows you how to discern what content to use and illustrates the how, what, why and when to use it.

Curated by Jan Gordon covering, "Content Marketing, Social Media and Beyond"

Read article and see infographic here: [http://bit.ly/A6NhFb]