Social Media Resources: Social Media Examiner

Social media is incredibly fast paced. To keep up, you need to keep your eye on some top social media resources and Social Media Examiner is one of the best.

Founded in 2009 by Michael Stelzner, this US based business has grown to become one of the most well known in the social media world around the globe. With a small but highly experienced executive leadership team, Social Media Examiner brings together over 90 writers and leading experts in the social media field to deliver a treasure trove of products and services including:

Annual physical Social Media Marketing World conference
Annual online Social Media Success Summit
Annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report
Daily articles on social media related topics
LinkedIn networking group (with over 22,000 members)
Free email updates summarising recent articles and other news
Weekly Social Media Marketing podcast
Listing of leading social media events

Covering popular social media topics such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Blogging and Podcasting, you can be sure of a steady steam of quality, unique content to learn from and also share with your own audience if you wish.

I like their business model, similar to many who are successful in the social media industry. A sizeable bulk of the content is available free of charge, then – if you choose to – you can purchase premium products such as tickets to the physical or online events and workshops. This means that for anyone new to this resource, you can take your time to check out articles and podcasts to discover if they are of relevance to you and your business before making any financial commitments. Though some people quote “you get what you pay for”, in this case, free doesn’t mean low quality – the free stuff is actually awesome.

With a wide range of knowledge covered, the key target markets are small business owners and social media professionals, but much of the content will also be useful to those using social media personally. Whether you’re a beginner or more experienced social media user, Social Media Examiner is bound to teach you some useful tips and tricks and keep you on top of the latest trends.

Despite the fact I have only had time to just touch the surface of Social Media Examiner, I am confident in highly recommending it as a top social media resource. I’ve actually followed them for years and if I wasn’t so pushed for time I’d be devouring even more of their content every day. At the moment I scan through articles when I can, visit the site when I’m looking for inspiration or articles to share on my own social media channels and often listen to the podcast while I’m cooking dinner! Great way to feed my mind while I’m working on feeding my family.

I bought a ticket last year to the 2013 online Social Media Success Summit and only had a chance to listen to a few of the presentations, but with a year’s access to the recordings, I’m hoping to catch up soon. The year has gone by really fast though and tickets are already on sale for the 2014 Social Media Success Summit, which takes place in October. While last year I had to spend some time considering whether to invest the time and money to take part, this year I bought a ticket only minutes after the email hit my inbox!

Social Media Examiner is a social media resource that should be at the top of your list. Regardless of your budget and experience, there is sure to be something valuable waiting for you. As you’d expect, they are represented across all of the social media channels. I’d recommend getting started by following them on Twitter at @smexaminer, signing up for emails via the website, and listening to the podcast via iTunes.

If you would like to check out the 2014 Social Media Success Summit (online), then I’d greatly appreciate you doing so via this banner below – you may like to know that they also offer an affiliate programme so if you do refer sales, you receive recognition:

Let me know if you sign up! I’m really pleased to see Donna Moritz as one of the speakers this year, we both originate from the Sunshine Coast, Australia and I’ll be featuring Donna as a future social media resource to check out. I also recognised Gideon Shalwick on the speaker list – I saw him speak in Brisbane a few years ago and look forward to his online presentation.

Finally, if you have children, you may also like to check out Michael’s new project My Kids Adventures. This is of personal interest to me as I also run Professional Parents, sharing tips about balancing family and work.

Are you already a Social Media Examiner fan? Or will you go and check them out after reading this post? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

– Renée