The first phase in writing your social media marketing plan is research. Use the websites in this table to put together the best possible social media marketing plan for your company.
| Website | Description |
| Addict-o-matic | The current buzz and trends on any topic |
| Alltop | Directory of blogs, broken down by niche |
| BIG Marketing for Small Business | Social media, online, and offline marketing tips |
| Dragonsearch Social Networking Media ROI Calculator | Online ROI calculator for social networking campaigns |
| HubSpot Blogs | Inbound Internet marketing blog |
| LinkedIn Social Media Marketing Group | Professional discussion group; approval required to join |
| MarketingProfs Marketing Resources | Social media marketing tips, including B2B |
| MarketingSherpa | Social networking research with B2B focus |
| Mashable | Premier site for online news with social media focus |
| TopRank Online Marketing Blog | Blog about online and social marketing |
| Quantcast | Demographic research on most sites |
| Social Mention | Tracks post about topics on 100+ social media services |
| Social Networking for Business Development | Social networking blog for business development |
| Social Networking Watch | Aggregates news and statistics for social networks |
| Technorati | Real-time blog search engine and curation |
Bookmark any sites you find useful so that you can continue accessing them after you have your social media marketing plan in place.
