Social Media Blogs you MUST Read-Julio Martinez

Social Media has gone way past tweeting what you had for lunch, or poking your ex on Facebook. Now marketers all over the world have an integrated social media plan and every brand its own digital strategy. Blogging is now an essential part of an integrated social media strategy and there are a whole host of social media savvy blogs out there giving hints, tips, reviews as well as practical hands-on advice for those working in the industry or just with a passing interest in all things digital.

We’ve come up with a list of the 12 best social media blogs that everyone should read. Put them on your favorite RSS feed reader, sit back and enjoy!

1. Social Media Today-Social Media Today – “The world’s best thinkers on social media” is their tagline and a pretty fair one too. This is a collection of bloggers who form part of the online community for professionals in PR, marketing, advertising, or any other discipline where a thorough understanding of social media is mission-critical. So basically: Social media experts talking about social media.
2. Socialnomics-Socialnomics – The blog spawned from the #1 Best Selling Book Socialnomics/ by Erik Qualman or Equalman as he is known on twitter. Erik also made the awesome Youtube video Social Media Revolution which became a hit back in 2009 for its social media facts & insights, but has been updated several times to keep it current.  Socialnomics tells the story of social success, statistics and amusing insights. Qualman is a great resource for those interested in everything “social”social Media Examiner Social Media Examiner – All the latest social media news, tips, hints as well as reviews and lists of apps and services. Social Media Examiner also features case-studies of real life social media success stories.
3. Tech Crunch-Tech Crunch – Personally I’m not a massive fan of the layout of this site – but as content goes, it’s right up there with the very best of them. You’ll find over 20 different social media & tech posts here every single day.
4. Jeff Bullas-Jeff Bullas – Jeff is a digital consultant who works with companies and executives to optimize their online personal and company presence and brand with digital marketing and social media through the use of social media channels and other web and mobile technologies. His site is a very practical, hand-on guide for businesses with lots of tips on all kinds of social media usage. Especially useful for small businesses.
5. Scott Monty-Scott Monty – Only updated every 2-3 weeks, Scott Monty is not only the global head of social media for Ford Motor Company but also the guy who coined the term “tweetup”. Scott blogs some interesting insights into his world from a marketing/advertising/PR perspective.
6. Convince & Convert-Convince & Convert – Run by Jay Baer the tequila-loving, hype-free social media strategy consultant, speaker, and author that helps leading companies and PR firms harness the awesome power of the social Web.
7. Soshable-Soshable – is all about analyzing innovative applications and offering fresh insights into the world of social media. It wants to do more than offer just news & announcements, and try to offer opinions and to present the social internet on a golden platter for everyone to enjoy.
8. Edelman Digital-Edelman Digital – This blog is from the “world’s first and largest global social agency”. The Edelman digital blog has a broad scope of social media, PR and marketing. They also publish a very detailed Edelman quarterly which is also not to be missed.
9. Heidi Cohen-Heidi Cohen‘s blog is full of intelligent insights and digital marketing tips from her 20 years’ plus experience as a marketing executive. It offers hands-on advice for small & large businesses..
10. Likeable Media-Likeable – quite simply, provides tips and ideas on how to make your brand more likeable on the digital landscape.
11. Mashable-Last but certainly not least is Mashable, one of the most retweeted sites on Twitter. Scottish founder Pete Cashmore is definitely one of the ‘twitterarti’ with close to 3 million followers and a Klout score of 89. This blog brings together a plethora or information on topics such as social media, tech, business, entertainment and much more.