My business partner Susan Hanshaw, Founder and CEO of Inner Architect, enjoyed a successful Direct marketing career which culminated with her position as Vice President and second in command of her firm. She performed and consulted on marketing campaigns that included Bank of America, Health Magazine, and Victoria Secret.

Together we are studying the possibilities of converging direct marketing methodology and social media. Two questions must be answered before we can move. We are asking for your help:

1. In today’s world has Direct marketing finally met it’s match within the social media space?

2. If Direct marketing and social media are compatible, what would be the best methods to utilize and the best social media networks for your Direct marketing campaign?

Entry Points

The idea in today’s world for any entrepreneur, job seeker, or company is to find an entry point in which they may engage with their audience. Once these entry points are identified, then the value message can be strategically delivered to targeted consumers, hiring managers, or specific audiences.

Peter Kim is a social media expert, strategist, and someone who intimately understands the importance of these entry points for companies. In Peter’s article for Mashable.com “22 Step Social Media Marketing Plan”  ,Peter outlines the major tools (and entry points) for companies and entrepreneurs to consider in their social media efforts.

How could you utilize these tools in a direct marketing plan?

Peter Kim’s Framework of 22 Major Tools for Social Media Marketing

1. Blogs (Johnson & Johnson, Delta Air Lines)
2. Bookmarking/Tagging (Adobe, Kodak)
3. Brand monitoring (Dell, MINI)
4. Content aggregation (Alltop, EMC)
5. Crowdsourcing/Voting (Oracle, Starbucks)
6. Discussion boards and forums (IBM, Mountain Dew)
7. Events and meetups (Molson, Pampers)
8. Mashups (Fidelity Investments, Nike)
9. Microblogging (method, Whole Foods)
10. Online video (Eukanuba, Home Depot)
11. Organization and staffing (Ford, Pepsi)
12. Outreach programs (Nokia, Yum Brands)
13. Photosharing (Rubbermaid, UK Government)
14. Podcasting (Ericsson, McDonalds)
15. Presentation sharing (CapGemini, Daimler AG)
16. Public Relations – social media releases (Avon, Intel)
17. Ratings and reviews (Loblaws, TurboTax)
18. Social networks: applications, fan pages, groups, and personalities (British Airways, Saturn)
19. Sponsorships (Coca-Cola, Whirlpool)
20. Virtual worlds (National Geographic, Toyota)
21. Widgets (Southwest Airlines, Target)
22. Wikis (Second Life, T-Mobile Sidekick)

The following is a very short list of what I believe to be the most influential social media centric sites in the blogosphere. Thanks go to Heidi Sullivan of Cisionblog for her great article “Top 100 Social Media & Internet Marketing Bloggers.” The value these sites bring include: content resource, tips, strategies, new trends, industry analysis, breaking news, and connectivity within the niche. If I were made to choose just five social media sites to read, then this would be my starting five:

1. ReadWriteWeb.com: Massive traffic, with a reported Feedburner RSS subscribers number 272,000 and respect account for the cashe of this site. The content is magnificent with their recent post “10 Ways Social Media Will Change in 2009″ garnering huge readership.

2. ChrisBrogan.com: Continually excellent stream of fresh content, personalized style, and open transparent offerings make Chris a true social media superstar. He gives value first, he gives it often, and he gives without request. His “Best of” page and Rockstars acknowledgement page are both brilliant and valuable.

3. Mashable: Pete Cashmore and the gang give so many tips, how to’s, and top list articles it’s like a factory assembly line of continous quality. A person could read this blog alone and learn social media within a matter of months. The variety is great and the “usefullness quotient” is very high.

4. BeingPeterKim: Have you ever discovered a fantastic tiny restaurant tucked away in a favorite neighborhood where the proprietor treats you like family and you always feel satisfied after stuffing yourself? Well that is the feeling I get everytime I show up to read Peter Kim’s analysis. I gain such clear understanding, I learn something new nearly every session, and I feel satisfied that my time was well spent.

5. Blog.guykawasaki.com: Guy is like one of the Beattles, he’s been around and seen alot, you can say his name and fans come out the woodwork, he constantly delivers value like a great musician performing what comes naturally. Guy is a entrepreneur’s entrepreneur and the most influential read for anyone to consistantly follow.