As I've posted in the past, I've come to the belief that expertise has been democratized within media companies. Whereas the old media model celebrated only the journalist as expert--with those on the business side kept to the background--the new model has opened many more of us to the possibility of becoming recognized experts in our fields. Thanks to the tools of social media, many more of us can blog, twitter, contribute to online discussions, and otherwise promote our company and ourselves. From the point of view of gaining new relationships and building business, there is much to be said for establishing ourselves as experts whether through traditional channels (i.e. speaking at conferences or writing for publications) or via social media.

Here's a recent post that urges those in sales positions to become bloggers, and lays out a ste-by-step plan for getting started.

http://tinyurl.com/nffl5w

I'd love to hear from those in sales positions who are already using social media to build up their networks and engage with customers. I know several on our team who are regular Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn contributors. Is anyone blogging? Building up expertise in other creative ways? If so, please share your experiences with the rest of us.