Yesterday saw the launch of LightSpeed’s new Social Media Marketing Wiki.

The goal of this wiki project is to provide a repository of information related to social media marketing. It is currently in Beta, but ready for consumption. The aim is to show you how to use the new channels of communication available out there and allow you to read between the lines with a new look at online advertising and marketing.

Social media channels cover many areas of the web. We have installed a modified version of MediaWiki, with numerous MediaWiki extensions. The wiki will be closed for editing by the public except for a few select Social Media Gurus in SA. However, the public will get a chance to contribute early in 2008. We are also trying to promote Open Content and we will be releasing all of the content as a Creative Commons Share-Alike License. We want to create a good structure from the beginning, so the decision to start small and grow the content over time makes sense. Our main focus will be on creating a well structured semantic wiki.

I have been using social media marketing tools for only a short time now and have already realised the potential of successfully getting one’s message out there. My band, Spiral Bound, currently has very little web presence and it will be a testiment to LightSpeed’s hard work when we are able to promote ourselves well using the standards and practices that are being defined in the new wiki. Spiral Bound’s presence includes a Facebook Group, YouTube and Tristan Waterkeyn’s Band Directory, Overtone. Overtone is a South African Music Industry Portal that provides South African Fans, Bands and the Music Industry with access to their comprehensive Gig Guides, Band Pages and Music Industry Directory. Via Overtone one can access live Music News form all over South Africa. LightSpeed first met up with Tristan through our LightSpeed Facebook Group. He contacted us and it turned out he had very similar ideas, concepts and goals to us. This is an excellent example of Flipping the Funnel. We announced ourselves to the world and allowed others to find us.

So check out the new Social Media Marketing Wiki, give your fan club a megaphone and get out of the way!