It was over dinner when Mark Thompson, Principle of Leader Powertools (and a long time friend) requested that my perspective on social media practices be captured on video, and added to his collection of business tools online.

Fast forward to today as I prepare for my time in the studio tomorrow. My goal is to provide a different perspective on the use of social media to promote a brand or business. There are lots of free tools available online – and I am by no means the leading authority on the subject – but given my background in communications and work with top social media destinations (see my What I Do section), I’m in a unique position to speak to the practical aspects of social media. I want to speak to those who doubt the effectiveness of online communication and promotion - who doubt the power of blogs and Twitter (yes they exist). Below is a high level summary of what I’ll be covering tomorrow. I’ll tweet once it goes live.

First, ask yourself, “Do I Have The Time For This?”

Do you have the time to dedicate to a social media strategy? Social media should be everyone’s responsibility, even senior staff

Create A Social Media Strategy

Determine who your target audience is, who you want to reach online, and set goals based on your business goals

Be Present

Create your presence online via Facebook, Twitter, Digg, etc.

Search For Relevant Industry Contacts

This is a great opportunity to connect (or reconnect) with the leaders in your space in a transparent way

Get Noticed

Following reporters and analysts on Twitter or Facebook is an easy way to find out what sorts of stories or reports they’re working on and what they're interested in

Informative vs. Promotional

Share valuable information that can be used by all of your key targets

You Don't Have To Do It Alone

Hire managers, assign tasks, use free online tools to make monitoring communications online easier

Response Time

It is critical to monitor how your company is perceived online (that includes Twitter – those are your customers)