In 1984, Jay Conrad Levinson wrote the first edition of his landmark book, Guerrilla Marketing. In it, he outlined a strategy where small upstart companies could finally compete with the big boys.

Looking back at the work today, it's amazing how his principles of Guerrillla Marketing stand up to modern day social media marketing tactics. In many ways, social (and other forms of online marketing) are extensions of the very ideas that Levinson promoted back in the 1980s. This begs the question - is Jay Conrad Levinson the father of our modern social marketing ideas?

Let's take a look at the principles of Guerrilla Marketing, and how they apply to social media marketing today.

1. Guerrilla Marketing is specifically geared for the small business and entrepreneur.

While there are certainly many examples of large companies finding success with social media marketing, those that can see the largest business impact from social marketing are small businesses and entrepreneurs'. Since many social marketing tactics are (mostly) cheaper then other forms of marketing, it can provide some of the best ROI around.

2. It should be based on human psychology rather than experience, judgment, and guesswork.

This principle holds true for all forms of Internet marketing, but especially social. You need to understand how your target markets use social media and how your brand fits into that space. You'll need to spend time in any target community observing behavior before participating. Experience and judgment can lend a hand - but they won't replace first hand observations and data.

3. Instead of money, the primary investments of marketing should be time, energy, and imagination.

One of the first lessons I learned as an Internet marketer was that the amount of success generated for a client was directly related to the amount of time I could spend on a project. More time almost always equals more success, but not without a dose of creativity and strategic planning.

4. The primary statistic to measure your business is the amount of profits, not sales.

This holds true for not just Guerrilla Marketing, but online marketing in general. If your marketing activities aren't tied to some measurable goal (preferably ROI driven), then you need to rethink your strategy.

We engage in marketing to drive business growth. There's no other reason.

5. The marketer should also concentrate on how many new relationships are made each month.

This especially holds true for social marketing, where relationship building is frequently a goal. That said, I hesitate to wrap a target number around the amount of new relationships created each month. By doing so, you encourage the thinking that social marketing is about accumulating friends, fans, and followers. While it's important to build a large community, it's equally important to build a community with many deep relationships, which take time to build.

6. Create a standard of excellence with an acute focus instead of trying to diversify by offering too many diverse products and services.

The 6th principle of Guerrilla Marketing really drives home the point of being focused with your business practices. The same holds true for social marketing. There's the temptation to sign up for every network under the sun, and while that makes sense from a branding standpoint, it doesn't make sense from a business or a time standpoint. Focus your marketing activities on the strategies that provide the largest returns for your business.

7. Instead of concentrating on getting new customers, aim for more referrals, more transactions with existing customers, and larger transactions.

More referrals, transactions, and larger orders can all be byproducts of social marketing that focuses on relationship building. By increasing your digital footprint and engaging with your customer base online, you're more likely to create an army of customer advocates who will prove to be loyal, profitable, and who will tell all their friends about your business.

8. Forget about the competition and concentrate more on cooperating with other businesses.

This is an idea I've been thinking quite a bit about. Online, there are no trade secrets and definitely no proprietary knowledge. Anything that you could possibly want to learn about digital marketing strategies and tactics can be learned online, and for free.

The best businesses are the ones that find ways to collaborate with other companies and share their knowledge with others in their industry.

Like the adage says - a rising tide lifts all boats.

9. Guerrilla Marketers should use a combination of marketing methods for a campaign.

Replace "Guerrilla Marketers" with "Internet Marketers", and you've got a principle that is just as true today as it was in 1984. One tactic doesn't cut it anymore. You need a strategy that takes advantage of the strengths of SEO, social media, pay per click, public relations, and more to compete.

10. Use current technology as a tool to build your business.

This shouldn't require explanation. That said, the takeaway from this principle is that technology should be used as a tool to build a business. Technology is only a means to an end.

11. Messages are aimed at individuals or small groups, the smaller the better.

If there's one lesson that I learned from my time as a college radio DJ, it's that you always speak as if your addressing an individual, never the masses. The same holds true for social marketing. People like to be recognized as individuals.

12. Focuses on gaining the consent of the individual to send them more information rather than trying to make the sale.

Permission marketing 101. People don't like to be "sold", especially through social channels. Spend your time providing useful content and connecting, not selling.

What do you think? Are we giving Levinson enough credit when it comes to our ideas around modern social media marketing? Are we simply applying Guerrilla Marketing ideas online?

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