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IT manufacturers and resellers have been looking into social media marketing, unsure of whether there’s an ROI case in it but understanding that eventually they’ll need to make the plunge. Well, an announcement by Dell yesterday shows that you should explore social media marketing … for all the right reasons.

Dell says that it has generated more than $6.5 million in sales via Twitter alone. The company’s broader social media presence – which includes Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube – has more than 3 million members, according to Manish Mehta, vice president of social media and community for Dell.

Let’s be realistic: $6.5 million is a drop in the bucket for Dell. At the same time, social media is but one part of its overall marketing strategy. So, it looks as though the return Dell has generated is at least close to proportional.

So, we should all rush over to Twitter and get started, right?

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Doing video for the sake of doing video is a losing proposition. You’ll spend a lot of time and marketing dollars on content …yea, that’s it. Content. For most companies, videos are just moving visuals of what they’d normally express with words. Treat video as a different animal, though, and the opportunities open up. To make your videos valuable marketing assets, think of them as a cog in a four-part marketing machine that includes your blog, YouTube and webinars.

1. Webinars: This marketing tool is a known winner in IT marketing, but it has untapped value. Record your webinars, and they live forever.

2. YouTube: This environment is good for more than hosting. It will also send traffic to your blog and put you in touch with a wider audience.

3. Blog: Post your video to your blog – pulling it in from YouTube is very easy. Now, your blog is a multimedia platform!

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