Earlier this summer, the Chicago chapter of the ASBPE held its first Do-It-Yourself Roundtable discussion. Why a do-it-yourself? Because we realize that more heads are better than one, and what better way to learn than from your fellow publishing professionals! The attendees picked the topics, and ASBPE provided the moderators.

The format was simple: four roundtables, each with its own topic and moderator to get the discussion rolling. After 45 minutes, everyone switches tables and topics or stayed where they were.

Some of the information gathered included the most popular social media sites B2B editors can use for free:

Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
YouTube

Helpful social media sites to read:

Mashable
Chris Brogan
TwiTip
ProBlogger

Important things to remember:

Have a plan for why you’re using social media with your site. Is it to find more readers? Sources? Advertisers? To conduct market research? To be in the mix with everyone else? To communicate with others?

Social media is an extension of your brand, not a replacement. Don’t bet everything on your Facebook Fan Page becoming incredibly popular or on Tweets. They are tools to communicate with the masses about who you are and what you do.

Use different information for different social media sites. Be friendly and communicative on Twitter. Invite and entice action. Post events and fun things on Facebook (in addition to news, videos, etc.). Create a group for like-minded folks on LinkedIn. Assume a more business-like persona.

Be Authentic. If you have a happy-go-lucky personality let that shine in your Tweets, blogs, Facebook posts, etc. People want to interact with a human, not a machine.

Try using social media personally first; then when you understand how to use it, do it for work/site.

On Sept. 10, we’ll run more notes from the event. We’re taking Labor Day off. We hope you get to, as well.