Some things are easier to illustrate by doing than by trying to offer an explanation.

Take social media, for instance. Just what is it? Sometimes, it feels like trying to explain where the wind comes from, and where in the world it’s headed. We know it’s all around us, and that it has an impact, but beyond that, things can get sketchy.

Today, along with a pair of publicists from Newman Communications, I sought to describe to Joe Takash why it made sense to engage in social media to help promote his forthcoming book, Results Through Relationships: Building Trust, Performance, and Profit Through People.

Among other resources, we discussed Twitter, which specializes in enabling short updates throughout our days. It’s just one of many emerging tools in our increasingly connected world. I’ve been using it sporadically</a href> the past few months, as I expand beyond Linked In, Facebook and YouTube channels.

Anyway, shortly after getting off the conference call with Joe and the Newman duo, I’d LinkedIn with all three of them. Then I posted the following on Twitter:

Had a great call w/ smart folks at Newman Communications-the PR force for Joe Takash’s forthcoming book, Results Through Relationships.

A few minutes later, a fellow publicist in New York, Melissa Dobson, responded thusly:

The book sounds right up my alley, thanks for sharing!

Building Your Social Media Presence, Bit by Bit

Melissa first contacted me after seeing a column that I wrote for Bulldog Reporter. We’ve since struck up a friendship, exchanging helpful pointers and offering resources to one another. In addition, Melissa is “following” me on Twitter, and I’m “following” her. My overall following consists of only a few others, at least at this early stage. But the idea is to have it grow so that all of my posts gain an increasing audience. Seth Godin’s, for example, approaches 6,000 on Twitter alone.

Meantime, what will come of this brief exchange today? Will Melissa prove to be a marketing force, spreading the word day and night about Results Through Relationships and its wonderfully talented author up to and beyond its mid-September release?

I think that’s asking a bit much of Melissa. But the lesson that was underscored for me today is that with so many channels for spreading messages, the little things–a new contact here, a shared resource there–hold the promise of a large cumulative effect in the long run.