The last week of August 2008 is upon us. With that said, we would like to thank our sponsor for the month, FranchiseRight.net and Fred Kriss, as well as each and every one of our Club members, without you all we would just be talking to ourselves. And that’s from the heart.

This Thursday we learned all about “Social Media” and what it can do to help promote a small business from Rob Williams of OrangeJack.com. Rob has been a blogging machine since Hurricane Charley – posting updates, perspectives and insight about his experiences. Since then, he has been lead down a path of “social media,” defined as different websites where you can connect and interact with other people.

Click here to experience Rob's presentation recorded live!

Rob says that blogs were the first form of social media and allow people to post their thoughts, opinions and reviews on anything from around the globe. There are more than 100 million blogs currently active according to Williams research. Small businesses can use blogs as a vehicle to promote themselves from a PR standpoint and provide customers with instant updates while receiving quality feedback. Similar to an online journal, blogs allow readers to comment and interact with the writer in a way that wasn’t possible just several years ago.

Most social media sites such as Myspace, Facebook and Twitter, just to name a few, allow users to access a free web account to connect with others. Upon joining you can make “friends” to find out more information about the other person. Contacts will get updates on what you are doing; personal interests, pictures and more that help define who you are. In the business world, this can lead to trust, rapport and branding – all for free. On Facebook and Meetup for example, you can create groups and promote events without any cost to you whatsoever. You simply invite friends to join the group or ask them to attend the event you are hosting and the rest takes care of itself.

“When a friend refers a friend, we know that is the most effective form o marketing,” says Williams. Technology has finally caught up online, so that we can quickly and effectively refer contacts to other contacts. Instead of the former online “one-to-many” profile, communication is now moving into a “one-to-one” medium as the internet and social networking become more accessible to more people than ever before.

Social or interactive marketing and media is a new phenomenon. “The ability to connect is growing so fast,” he says that many are still trying to find out how exactly to measure its reach and ROI. However, with the social technology industry growing so rapidly, it’s only a matter of time before businesses of all sizes harness the power of personal, online communication.

We give Rob a social two and a half cups out of five. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have to go check our Facebook Newsfeed updates.

Click here to experience Rob's presentation recorded live!