Hey Guys,

I have been meaning to compile this list for a little while and have been looking forward to putting it together.

I wanted to introduce you to the 5 women I feel are not only using social media but understanding it and using it effectively.

Now just to confirm – this list isnt a “top 5″, or ranked in any order what so ever. I’d also like to point out that these aren’t the only 5 women out there using Social Media effectively – these are the people I personally follow, and enjoy following that are in the industry. There are plenty of people out there that are using this medium in different industries.

So – without furtherado – lets see the list!

First up we have Deborah Cole Micek (@CoachDeb)

deborah-micekDeborah (or CoachDeb) was actually the first lady I followed within the social media industry when my whole interest started with Twitter. Don’t ask me how I came across her but I believe it was via someone else I followed. (See the power and nature of Twitter in action?)

I was especially interested in her as she had already seemed to have been around a while on the scene and wrote a book about Twitter – Twitter Revolution: How Social Media and Mobile Marketing Is Changing the Way We Do Business & Market Online
She makes herself accessible to her followers, and I have chatted to her several times via Twitter @replies, DM’s and even Facebook chat and would love to meet her one day. That I believe is always a good trait to have by being available. After all if you “do social media” you need to make yourself available to your fans, friends, followers and contacts.

Deb started off in the business side of things and helping entrepreneurs with her various projects and public speaking at various marketing events. But this didn’t come straight away. She took the plunge and left for the island of Oahu just a couple of weeks after the 9/11 disaster.

After some hard work and determination, she has become an in demand speaker and coach to people of all levels. I have watched several interviews with her and she really articulates herself well and shows her enjoyment and passion when it comes to this subject area.

The fact that she has worked with and shared the same stages as Tony Robbins, Mark Victor Hanson Robert G Allen, and other powerful speakers shows her pedigree.

As expected, Deb is found pretty much everywhere online, but I encourage you to at least follow her on Twitter (as with the rest of the girls) and be sure to say “hi” from me :)

Next we have Michelle MacPhearson (@michellem)

michellemacphearsonI believe I started following Michelle roughly the same time as Deb and it may have been via Deb how I actually found her. As it was a while ago – I struggle to remember how I came across her.

Again, this is a girl who clearly loves what she does and is always finding ways to use Web 2.0 technologies and platforms to help improve businesses and individuals exposure, but always stresses the right way to do it!

Michelle has created some great free PDF’s and resources to explain how she utilises Web 2.0 and Social Media correctly. Although I have always been of the mindset to respect these channels and the users rather than turning it into a pitch fest, it’s still always worth reading information like this as you always pick up little gems.

I have recently been explaining the power and concepts behind the social media landscape at work and used a great post from Michelle to emphasise the main thought process of using Social Media and Web 2.0 – It’s Not Me, It’s You: Three Pillars of Social Media Marketing

This is a great way to explain to people how NOT to do things. Is it common sense? I guess, but it’s just not that common ;)

You can follow Michelle on Twitter

Next on the list we have Maria Andros (@mariaandros)

mariaandrosI came across Maria via Mike Filsaime on Twitter and discovered she used Social Media in a very effective way and I discovered she went from a fairly decent well paid job to making a full time income by using Social Media to create a following and created a training program to help people achieve the same.

I joined the Social Media Traffic Blueprint as I wanted to improve my learning and understanding about the whole scene and really enjoyed my time within the training. I met some great people and have made hopefully some lasting connections. Everyone was very supportive of each other.

That was Maria’s second spell of offering the training and it sold out very quickly on both occasions with some great success stories.

Again, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to her via Twitter and on the training calls and would love to meet her also when she is next in London.

Maria mainly deals with video but is also in the usual places like Twitter and Facebook (and more) – but it was via video that she became a bit of a name. She puts a lot of her success down to being around some great life coaches who helped her almost come out of her shell and start producing videos.

Maria encourages everyone she comes across and really tries to instill the belief in anyone that they can achieve whatever it is they want to and shows them how anyone can do it via social media channels.

Please feel free to follow Maria on Twitter

Who’s next then? Let me see… It’s Mari Smith (@marismith)

marismithCompared to Deb, Michelle and Maria – I haven’t been following Mari for as long but Mari is another great example as to how Social Media is used effectively to build your own personal brand and have a great following.

Mari comes across very much zany and bubbly with a well known crazy accent (a mixture of all sorts!) She is also a BIG fan of the colour turquoise. Again – you see the transparency? I get a feel for who these ladies are because of how they connect. They show a great balance of work and business along with other personal things to allow people to get a feel for what they are like.

Mari originally seemed to come from a relationship marketing background and has realised the power of social media platforms to help form and build those relationships for business.

Mari has been active on Facebook and Twitter since about 2007 and again is a very popular speaker within the industry and has helped her clients create fantastic results. I love her motto of “Relationships first, business second.” She’s spot on – the business comes later if they like you.

Again – go check Mari out on Twitter

Last but not least is Katie Paine (@kdpaine)

kdpaineLike Mari – I haven’t been following her long compared to Deb, Michelle and Maria but glad I am following her. I first came across her via Jason Falls on Twitter and was really pleasedwhen Jason was mentioning about Social Media Measurement and his little interview with Katie.

Since watching Jason’s interview with her I knew I had to follow her. Although, she isn’t actually that focussed on social media like the others, she is a great resource to follow due to her specialty in measurement of ROI and other metrics.

It was great to come across her at the time I did as I was struggling to find information I could go back to the business with for the classic “What’s the ROI?” Question that I think almost insults the whole thought process of why you use Social Media in the first place.

With listening to Katie, it fell into place about how I can now go to people and answer that dreaded question confidently and effectively.

So – if you’re planning on using social media for your business, or planning on trying to persuade your place of work to use it – it’s certainly worth checking out Katie as there is some great information from here.

Follow Katie Paine on Twitter.

So there you have it! My personal list of 5 Women of Social Media. I would like to cover each in more detail in the future and will hopefully score an interview with them at one stage.

Remember, if you choose to follow them, please say “hi” from me and that I recommended them – then my chances of interviewing would increase by a minimum factor of 2.68 ;)

So – happy following and learning from some more great people.

Oh by the way – yes – I will be doing the same for the guys. Just like the girls, there are some great guys to follow out there and they also will be covered.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

*Update* – I have now created a Twitter List to allow you to follow all 5 quickly and easily. Check out the list here.

Popularity: 66%

Other Posts That Might Tickle Your Fancy

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Filed under: Social Media

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!