Author Tamar Weinberg shared insight, expertise, advice; sponsored by Grow Socially

Lexington, Kentucky - WhatTheyThink.com today reported that nearly 400 industry professionals took advantage of the opportunity to learn from one of North America's leading Social Media experts by registering for a free printing industry educational webinar. The Ultimate Social Media Primer, presented by well-known author and social media expert, Tamar Weinberg, was sponsored by Grow Socially and broadcast on August 18th.

Free access to the archive is available at the webinar archive.

"Weinberg's did not disappoint," said Cary Sherburne, Senior Editor and Director of Services for WhatTheyThink, who will be moderating the session. "The web session covered a huge amount of information and more details can be found in her book, The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web, which is one of the best I have read. Our audience was engaged, asking lots of questions. This session provides a good baseline for print and marketing services providers who wish to explore how best to incorporate social media into their own marketing efforts as well as how they can offer social media services to clients."

Weinberg's session was the first of a three-part social media webinar series. Weinberg provided a brief overview of the current state of social media and how it is being used for marketing purposes. She also shared specific success stories and ideas about how social media can be monetized, packaged or otherwise used for business purposes.

Part Two of the series will be conducted on September 22nd and will include a panel of high-profile marketers speaking about their use of social media. The session scheduled for November 17th, 2010, will feature a panel of print service providers who have turned social media to their advantage for business growth.

"Many printing businesses are either not pursuing social media avenues or are struggling with the most effective way to leverage social media for their own marketing purposes and to create new revenue streams," said Randy Davidson, President, WhatTheyThink. "The information offered in this timely session was structured to help companies jump-start their social media decisions and efforts with a down-to-earth approach to the subject, without the hype that many other sources include. We appreciate the fact that Grow Socially is sponsoring this important session, allowing us to make it available at no charge."

About Grow Socially

Grow Socially, Inc helps companies with their online marketing efforts, including social media marketing. These services include planning the strategies, tactics and goals that align with the company's needs. Content creation, execution of services and measuring the results are all important parts of the process. Grow Socially helps ensure that its customers have a presence on key social media sites such as:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• YouTube
• LinkedIn
• Other

Once campaigns are launched, Grow Socially provides highly targeted information based on the target demographic delineated in the strategic planning process. This includes full reporting and analysis that enables companies to view the results of their marketing activities in social media channels in increases awareness and sales of products and services.

Online marketing services from Grow Socially:

• Improve Search Engine Optimization results.
• Spread brand and message to the target audience through multiple social media platforms.
• Direct more online traffic to corporate websites.
• Improve customer interaction.
• Add additional venues to promote products, services, discounts, events, etc.
• Provide an opportunity to connect with colleagues and prospective clients/customers.
• Build a company reputation as a quality information resource and industry expert.

About WhatTheyThink.com

WhatTheyThink is the printing and publishing industry's leading media organization; offering a wide range of publications delivering unbiased, real-time market intelligence, industry news, economic and trend analysis, peer-to-peer communication, and special reports on emerging technology and critical events. WhatTheyThink also hosts webinars and live events as well as providing content through a syndication program, which delivers content directly to related websites.

About Tamar Weinberg

Tamar Weinberg (@tamar) is a freelance writer and internet marketing consultant specializing in blogger outreach, viral marketing, and social media. She is also the author of The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web (O'Reilly, July 2009), a primer on social media marketing. Additionally, Tamar is Mashable's Community Support and Advertising Manager. She has been recognized as one of the topmost public influencers of the web in New York City by NowPublic, one of NxE's most influential female bloggers, and was featured in the 2008 and the 2009 "Top 100 Online Marketers" list by Invesp. She blogs about her thoughts on social media at her personal blog, Techipedia.