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Whether or not you’re a fan of social media, you can’t deny the reach of its power. And when it comes to business and developing your brand, a social media presence is no longer optional.

And the whole idea can be overwhelming. With all the frequent changes, even the social media professionals need go to back and refresh themselves with the basics every now and again.

So whether you have no idea what Tumblr is, or you spend three or more hours on Facebook each day, there’s always something to learn. The QLP bloggers have written a slew of articles on how to create a meaningful presence on social media, and here are my ten favorites.

Articles for mastering individual social networks:

Customer Service on Twitter: Brands Who Do It Right (And How You Can, Too) Hundreds of consumers are turning to Twitter for timely responses to their customer service questions. Here you’ll find examples of three brands who are great at harnessing the 140 character social network to address customer compliments and complaints.

The Andrew W.K. Guide to Twitter Marketing (and Partying) At face value, Andrew W.K.’s non-stop partying attitude might not make for the best Twitter strategy. But with his clever and consistent tweets, his 156,000+ Twitter followers are treated to a funny, engaging account.

Facebook Marketing: 10 Dos and Don’ts for Your Business Page Setting up a Facebook business page is a great start to an online presence. But as we learn in this article, there are lots of different ways that a brand page can succeed or fail on Facebook.

A Marketer’s Guide to Tumblr: The Microblogging Basics Tumblr might have started as a microblogging service for sharing gifs and pandas, but it has evolved to be the second most popular platform for blogging. Lots of brands have found success on Tumblr, and here’s how you can, too.

Articles for an overall social media presence:

5 Types of Social Network Vampires: Which One Are You? Not sure which social network to focus your attention on first? This quiz not only equates the most popular social networks to vampires, but it helps you figure out which one you already know the best so you can redirect your efforts elsewhere.

Fine-Tuned Corporate Social Media: Interview with Pandora Radio’s Community Manager, Aaron Even though Pandora is a huge brand with lots of social interaction, they still manage to have the most approachable Twitter and Facebook accounts. Learn some tips for your business from our interview with Aaron.

Brookfield Zoo and Social Media: Why They’re Doing It Right If you’re from the Chicagoland area, you’re familiar with Brookfield Zoo. But even if you don’t run a zoo yourself, there are plenty of tips in this article of how to keep your social media content varied and interesting.

How to Handle the Haters and Learn from the Naysayers Being on social networks will expose you to new clients and connections. But it also opens the floodgates for negativity. People can be very cruel on the Internet, so here’s a few ways to handle them.

Articles for running promotions:

Social Media Giveaways: 5 Brands That Got It Right Giveaways and promotions are a lot harder than just asking people to retweet something to win. This article outlines examples of brands that went above and beyond, and reaped the rewards.

A National Coffee Day Promotion Done Right: Dunkin’ Donuts This famous coffee and donut chain made great use of their social media during the last National Coffee Day. With combined efforts on Twitter and Facebook, they brought attention to their brand and made brand advocates out of many of us in the office.

If you’re still craving some more social media articles, let me offer one about Twitter etiquette, and another about double checking what you say on Twitter. LiveJournal is also an opportunity to drum up some new business. Also, if you manage or are thinking about starting a blog, don’t miss this article with valuable blogging advice.

Now that you’re socially savvy, get out there and start grabbing those fans and followers! Any suggestions or must-reads for crafting better social networking skills? How have you run your social media promotions?

Article by Mandy Kilinskis

Mandy is proud to be a part of QLP’s content team. A self-professed nerd, her interests include video games, sitcoms, superhero movies, iPods and iPhones but never Macs, and shockingly, writing. Her claims to fame are: owning over forty pairs of Chuck Taylor All Stars, offering spot-on coffee advice, and knowing an unbelievable amount of Disney Princess facts. You can also connect with Mandy on Google+ or Twitter.