Sarah Mordis

There is nothing like word of mouth promotion. No matter how good your marketing or social media strategy is, how strong the relationships your sales team has with clients or how amazing your UI looks, third party validation proves that your product/service is legitimate and valued. 

Paying customers spreading the word are already fiercely loyal and probably don't think twice about what they might receive in return for their efforts. Not only do they think your product/service is worth money, but they're also encouraging others to spend as well. Organizations must recognize these advocates in a very personal way. 

I agree with Shaun regarding a free month not meaning a whole lot. Swag is always a great option, but something more tailored to the individual's interests truly shows you're appreciative. If you have the bandwidth, dig up any info you can find on social networks and send something the person will truly love. Search their recent posts, bios and likes. Money is less of an issue than personalization. 

If not, coffee and chocolate are pretty safe bets. 

This "quiz" is a great way to asses your social media strategy. I think all too often, it's hard to take an objective stance on your efforts, especially after putting time into content creation. While the descriptors of each are a bit vague, they need to be as engagement for a big brand may look totally different than a mom and pop shop. And I agree that this checklist isn't all-encompassing. 

Great breakdown on the top three pitfalls of social media marketing. While I do strongly agree that having a strategy and focusing on engagement are important, I think acquiring targeted followers is less important. Instead, I would add monitoring analytics, as they can show your reach and more in-depth info about how your fans are engagement with each update. 

Great article on inspiring your audience to do something! Often, this goal may be overlooked as many brands focus on receiving likes, growing their community or getting fans engaged. The call to action is the quickest way to earn a sale. 

I appreciate #3, including providing a sense of urgency, with customer inaction being the competition.