Want a solid social media strategy? Start here.

Social media is revolutionizing business to consumer communication by making the consumer, rather than the business, the most credible voice about a product or service--and providing the consumer with an expanded sphere of influence.

While word-of-mouth advertising has always been effective, social media now makes it possible for consumers to talk to a much wider audience about their experience with a product or service. Where once businesses could control their messaging--at least to some degree--today the consumers not only have more control over the message, they have more credibility with other consumers.

Mark Hurst, customer experience advocate and producer of the Good Experience newsletter and blog, is right on when he says that the first step in building a good social media strategy is building a good customer experience.