The DFW Social Media Marketing group met last night at Dave & Busters where two amazing speakers taught small businesses/website owners and individual self promoters the value of Personal Branding online through Social Media to promote businesses as well as hands-on Twitter tactics and tools. Through audience Q&A, both gave sage advice on not only branding, but specific and actionable ways to use Social Media to market your small or medium sized business or yourself as a job seeker/upward career mobilist. With a diverse crowd ranging from novices to pro Social Media Experts and consultants, they generously answered questions to help make platforms such as Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook create positive brand lift as well as, in certain situations, direct response conversions.

First, Mike Merrill (@mikedmerrilll), a highly credentialed ex-Fortune 500 exec turned Marketing Strategist business owner, gave his presentation (pictures and downloadble in full via PDF document will be available tomorrow) on the importance of personal branding and owning your name on Google's SERP real estate.

Second, Elysa Rice (@elysa), Gen Y blogger and Twitter enthusiast spoke. She answered several real time questions from small business owners of restaurants, online metal art dealers, even an audience member who sells "security devices" while also selling perfume online. She also offered several Twitter tools helpful for managing multiple accounts, followers, and personas. Some of the applications mentioned include Tweelater.com and Tweet Pro.

Several Social Media Marketing and networking events have been popping up everywhere as of late. One major tool many have been using to organize Tweetups is Tweetvite is highly viral way of spreading the message of the meeting. Meetup.com has also become a major hub for Web 2.0 niche group gatherings and organizations.

Other Social Media Groups
Social Media Club Dallas
Social Media Club National
DFW Twitter Group
Alex Muse's High Tech Bar Start Up Happy Hour

DFW Internet Marketing/SEO Groups
Frisco Internet Entrepreneurs
Richardson Internet Entrepreneurs
Dallas Internet Marketing Strategy

Social Media Personal Branding Book References
Me 2.0

Content Management System Knowledge Groups
WordCampDallas
North Texas Drupal Users Group
DrupalCamp North Texas

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