Business Coaching

Last year was a huge year for social media. All sorts of sites gained massive popularity – Twitter and Digg, for example – and

Now that it’s 2010, let’s look back and see how social media sites changed the way some things were done:

Sales: Dell has tracked over $6.5 million in revenue to Twitter. Yes, it’s possible to track sales from Twitter…but Twitter is still in its infancy; Dell earned $61 billion last year, so its Twitter sales aren’t that much in the scheme of things…however, it does prove that social media is having an effect on sales — so much so, that companies can now track sales that stem from Twitter.

Local marketing: How did you find out about that restaurant? Did a friend share it as their Facebook status? Were you walking down the street with your iPhone out and saw it on Yelp’s Monocle or Urbanspoon’s Scope? Did someone Twitter about it, and their Twitter feed is linked to their Facebook and LinkedIn statuses, so all those networks saw it? Social media greatly helped people find out where people were, and it also helped people find local hot spots. The fusion of mobile, social and local started to create real opportunities to change consumer behavior. What was true for early adopters in 2009 will apply in the years ahead…and new applications and ways to market various products and services will probably pop up, too.

Death: We now mourn in public. Michael Jackson inspired millions — billions? — to grieve openly. Friends and strangers opened about Brittany Murphy, Billy Mays and DJ AM.

News-sourcing: As early as 2004, journalists were embracing blogs as a legitimate news source, and not surprisingly, they were among the first to embrace Twitter. Will they similarly lead the charge with every latest and greatest social media platform? Using these platforms as sources and to find and get news opened the door to ways for the media to interact with their audience.

Celebrity Access: In January, Ashton Kutcher joined Twitter. He was followed by Ellen DeGeneres,Oprah, wife Demi Moore,. We got to see what they saw, from Chris Brown’s view of 90,000 fans in Manila to Chad Ochocinco’s view of his opponents’ football field. Vin Diesel posts a couple of times a month on his Facebook page, where he has over 7 million fans. And after Kanye West grabbed the microphone from Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards, he apologized on his blog. John Mayer moved on from constant MySpace updates to constant tweeting. Yes, there are ghost tweeters and plenty of opacity, but now that fans have this direct, personal, and even unfiltered access, it’s not going away.

Mari Smith, Social Media Marketing Specialist Extraordinaire

Then meet Mari Smith.

Mari Smith is living proof that social media strategies work – she has only been active on Facebook and Twitter since 2007, but already has well over 8,000 friends and fans and Facebook, and an astounding 40,000+ following on Twitter.

She is a Relationship Marketing Specialist and Social Media Keynote Speaker, Trainer and Consultant. Dubbed the “Pied Piper of the Online World” by FastCompany.com, Smith helps independent professionals, entrepreneurs and business owners accelerate their business profits using an integrated social marketing strategy, with particular focus on Twitter and Facebook.

Her mission is to engage and educate CEOs and executives about social media to increase their skills, knowledge and integrity about social media, how to develop powerful profitable relationships using social media, and how these can help them. Business development coaching via social media is just what Smith specializes in.

She is an in-demand speaker for good reason – and she’s featured on Brad Sugars’ “Master Mentors” this week. If you’re still skeptical about whether social media marketing can really improve your business, listen to her audio interview here.