Social Media is the “it” thing to do right now.  Unlike past “it” fads that have gone awry (hello .com startup craze!), it appears that social media will stay with us.  Measuring the return on investment and effectiveness of social media is still evolving, but the results are positive.  Social media services have changed how we interact and share information with each other.  It allows small and medium sized businesses the opportunity to promote themselves and reach new customers that they have never had the opportunity to engage.

The best thing about social media services is that they are free!  The worst thing about social media services is that they are free!  Yes creating social profiles is free but those free social profiles are often neglected because they are free.  Consistency and Engagement are the keys to social success!

Note sure where to start?  Here are the best six social media services to promote your brand:

1. Facebook is the king of social media services!  Yes, all your friends, their parents, and you have Facebook profiles.  That is exactly why your business needs to be here also.  Facebook has the most users and it is simple to set up a basic page.  What’s not to like?
2. Twitter allows you to share yourself in 140 character bites.   It is best for quicker communication and exposing your business to new customers with similar interests.
3. LinkedIn is the biggest professional business networking site.  Although it does offer company pages it best serves individual professionals, contractors, and free lancers networking with other professionals.  LinkedIn groups are simply the best way to meet other professionals, share ideas, and learn about new industry developments!
4. Google+ will challenge Facebook for social supremacy!  Google+ is relatively new to the social arena.  While Google’s past social efforts have failed, Google+ has been getting stronger as new features are released.
5. WordPress has expanded the definition of what a blog can do!  Everyone has a story,  and sharing those stories is a great way to attract new customers.  Wordpress’ expanded services blur the line between a blog and web site!
6. YouTube represents the best opportunity for meteoric promotion.   It seems everyone enjoys watching videos on the internet.  All it takes is one viral video to expose your brand to millions of new customers!
7. MySpace is still around and deserves an honorable mention!  Once the exclusive domain of teenagers, allowing users to easily customize their pages into some of the eyesight assaulting displays imaginable,  Myspace trying to reorganize and reclaim its relevance in the social media revolution.
8. Stumbleupon is a social service that allows users to stumple upon (discover) new websites based on the users’ interests.  Stumbleupon has just expanded its service to include brand pages (called channels). This should develop into a good service to introduce your brand to new stumblers!

Change is the only constant in the world of social media.  Today’s best social media services may be soon replaced by something new.   So here’s the best Social media services offered… until next years list!