WebProNews

It's great to see WPN taking a positive stand on the possible influence of social media and its communities. With that in mind, I'll add my two cents in the moment saying that yes there is a potential market there. And no, it does not currently work the way "traditional" methods work.

To be effective in the social media marketing arena you've got to be willing to put in the time and effort to get to know others. If you're a people-person that shouldn't be hard, and even if you're not it's a great way to learn how to step outside yourself and find new strengths.

At this moment, social marketing is great for branding. Being "new" (which it isn't but marketers are approaching it like it is) it does have its possibilities for taking the next step to list building and/or sales. However, it takes a lot of personal interaction if you're on a shoestring budget or placing ads (buying them) in, for example, Facebook.

Social communities, comprised (in a majority?) of bloggers (who yes do buy stuff), makes it for the moment a tougher sell. The traditional view that you can't market to social sites is going out the window - slowly but surely.

Aggressive marketing should be avoided at all costs. Choosing a few, and working them via active participation can lay the foundation for a future for your website.

Will be interesting to see where this all takes off to.... however, I almost cringe when marketers get their hooks on anything lol!