It’s a fact that people trust known associates more than complete strangers. It works the same with businesses. Branding your business goes a long way with customers trusting you to deliver top results. Social media marketing is a way to “make friends” with future and current customers. Social media networking services help build trust between you and your customers.

Every company today is headed for a Brave New World of eCommerce – and that is the world of Social Commerce. Almost a year ago, July 23rd 2008, Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook Connect, which gives any website the power of a social network like Facebook right there on its own website.

So what you say?

Are you building a community, or an audience? In the last couple weeks, I’ve had two experiences that really shook me up on the topic of community. First was Chris Brogan’s simple but devastatingly effective post about the difference between audience and community being the direction the chairs are facing.

If you read my last blog posts on Social Search could it be a Google Killer and When is Amazon go Social, you would begin to get a glimpse of the web in the next 24 months. A very different web that brings your search results based on what your friends clicked on and a buying experience based on what others in your social network (like Facebook) have bought.