To quote @AxelS: "Sales is like Sex - cold calls barely work, online is good to connect, but socializing is the way to go..." Well, that's one way to put it. Social networks push traditional marketing strategies to the back burner.  Marketing practices that worked 20 years ago, were great 20 years ago, but are not as efficient today. Phone calls, letters (and today, e-mails) will only take the client relationship so far. Being social increases sales, closes deals and gets the job done. Here's a video to remind you of that fact.

Background: Marshall University loses their entire team and major boosters in a plane wreck.  A new coach is called in to, perhaps, get a team together. The problem was, at the time, the NCAA didn't allow freshmen to start in football.

This is a repost of the article found here that discusses a report on the Global Online Media Landscape by The Nielsen Company Online. The report suggests that involvement with the Internet among users is deepening in part due to a shift toward video content and the rise of social media.

Highlights of the report suggests:

• The number of American users frequenting online video destinations has climbed 339% since 2003
• Time spent on video sites has shot up almost 2,000% over the same period
• In the last year, unique viewers of online video grew 10%, the number of streams grew 41%, the streams per user grew 27% and the total minutes engaged with online video grew 71%
• There are 87% more online social media users now than in 2003, with 883% more time devoted to those sites.
• In the last year, time spent on social networking sites has surged 73%
• In February, social network usage exceeded Web-based e-mail usage for the first time.

Could it be that e-mail is becoming a thing of the past? Other research suggests that social media has now surpassed RSS in quickly syndicating information among users. Since 2003, Internet users' interests have shifted dramatically.  Video and social networking sites have become the fastest growing categories in 2009.

The full report can be found here.

As a disclaimer, while I, myself, engage heavily in social media marketing, I must confess that there are social marketers out there who are better than I - all they do is social marketing.  My expertise is search engine optimization in which I've had tremendous success for my clients.  I'm constantly attempting to show my clients the benefits of social media marketing and how it can improve search engine optimization for elevating organic page ranking.  The following is an attempt to show a few points why social marketing is beneficial for SEO.

7. Peer Grading
Through utilizing social bookmarking platforms such as Digg, Mixx, De.licio.us or Reddit by posting your web site's content, you give others the opportunity to grade the quality of your site.  Low approval status may be a good indication that you should tweak your web site's layout or copy.

6. Peer Contribution
Peer contribution is truly one of the biggest benefits of social media by allowing visitors to connect with you and add their own "2 cents" to your content through mediums such as blogs and forums. Blogs and forums facilitate exponential growth to your content with each contribution, thus increasing your site's potential relevance. (I say "potential" because not every contribution is quality.)

5. References
The better the quality of your web site's content, the more people will reference your site on other sites.  Visitors will also reference your site's URL through mediums like Facebook and Twitter. All of this will create backlinks to your web site.  Many of these backlinks have greater page ranking and when they link to your site, your site's organics naturally increase.

4. Traffic Sources
Perhaps similar to references of reason 5, but utilizing the same social bookmarking platforms mentioned in reason 8.  Both of these not only provide quality backlinks, but increase opportunities for incoming traffic.  Also, most corporate web sites will be indexed by search engines once a month.  However, many social bookmarking sites are indexed every 30 minutes.  Its a great way to get your new content out there fast.  Futhermore, if you utilize tools like Google Analytics that track visitor metrics, the more unique visits you receive (along with a few other factors) the more your page will seem relevant to search engines.  And all search engines try to deliver the most relvant results (look at reason 2 for more information).

3. Brand Visibility
Increase your brand's popularity and familiarity by increasing its visibility.  Using social media can rapidly grow your brand's reach.

2. Page Relevance
I always tell an SEO client to "think on the other side of the table."  In other words, think about what your potential visitor would be searching for.  This might not always be the "terms of the trade." As you engage in social media, you'll see what jargon visitors and clients are using to describe your products and services.  In many cases you're not going to want to use your terminology, because the only time you may appear at the top of organics is when your competitors are searching for those same terms. The terms that visitors and clients are using might be good keywords for you to use to target them and other clients in your search engine optimization.

1. Relate-ability
Implementing all of the previous reasons create one thing - an inviting environment that: 1) helps you relate better with your clients; and 2) helps your clients relate better with each other.  One reason why users love social media is the fact that, well, it's social.  People like being able to connect and relate through the brands they're using.  Research shows that brands no longer makes the person, but, rather, the person makes the brand.  In other words, your clients define who you are.