“Things I’ve Learned from Lately” is a regular compilation of articles that have made me a smarter social media marketer. Hopefully, they’ll help you, too.

Four Rules for Community Managers – SmartBlog shares four rules for community managers to become great community leaders, including reflect your community, champion the community, create a leadership identity and show results.

Key Takeaway: Community managers hold an immense amount of responsibility. They are the bridge between online customers and the brand. Good ones are hard to find, so invest in them and give them a solid framework to build the brand by building community.

Conversation Overload – Shea Bennett of AllTwitter predicts that the influx of tweets related to the US elections will make Twitter very overwhelming. There will be so much information coming in at such a rapid rate, it’s going to turn into a broadcast mechanism in which everyone is shouting, and listening becomes nearly impossible. Bennett does explain that even though this may be the case, it’s going to be a “joy” with multiple perspectives coming in and the ability to track reactions in real-time.

Key Takeaway: Social media is incredibly powerful, but with the good also comes the bad. The ability to maintain connections and follow content from as many connections as you can create also means managing that content in a way that’s beneficial. Use the channels to your advantage. If a platform becomes so cumbersome that you get no value out of it, it’s time to look at your current efforts and optimize them.

The Shift to Niche Communities – The Age documents the perspective of Troy Carter, the person behind Lady Gaga’s impressive social media efforts. Carter discusses his focus on the fans. He also discusses the incredible level of data that’s been generated by Lady Gaga’s private social network, littlemonsters.com. “We think the future of social media are micronetworks and communities built around specific interests," he says.

Key Takeaway: Carter’s observation that we’re moving toward micronetworks is a big one. People are looking to be more expressive now than ever online. Networks and brands that allow people to be unique and to stand out from within their own personal networks through social currency have a big opportunity.

Social Media Is Not a Replacement – The Globe and Mail asks whether or not social media replaces traditional selling, and the answer is no. Social media “has not changed the underlying nature or function of buying and selling, it has merely enhanced or enabled the way sales are executed.”

Key Takeaway: Social media isn’t destined to replace everything marketing has been to date. Instead, it’s more effectively used to enhance and to be enhanced by what a business is already doing. Social media doesn’t completely change the game, but it does change the way the game is played. Look at your business and implement social media in a way that makes you do your job better.

“Things I’ve Learned from Lately” is a regular compilation of articles that have made me a smarter social media marketer. Hopefully, they’ll help you, too.

Olympics Offer Learnings for All of Us – Big sponsorships like the Olympics tend to be the focus of big brands, but The Miami Herald columnist Tasha Cunningham explains why we can all take something away from the social media issues that have been under scrutiny over the past two weeks.

Key Takeaway: Cunningham’s article lays out what should be common sense but surprisingly has not been over the course of the Olympics. Social media is about people, and when interacting with people we must always think, be responsive, be respectful and maintain self-control.

Marketing in a Gift Economy – Harvard Business Review points out that social media is not cut out for pushing messages to fans and followers. People use social channels to build relationships, so focus not on participating in a market economy but, instead, a gift economy.

Key Takeaway: Social media is about relationships and thinking of someone else. Brands can’t focus on thinking about what social media can do for them. They’ll go nowhere. At the end of the day, the consumer cares about themselves and what you can do for them. Focus on their wants, needs and unfulfilled desires. Then give them the gift of fulfillment. Both the audience and the brand will then benefit.

The Numbers Say It’s Quality, Not Quantity that Matters – AllTwitter shares the results of a New York University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology study that found that who your brand’s fans and followers are is more important than the number of them.

Key Takeaway: Reach is not social media marketing’s strength most of the time. But focusing on connecting with the right people and inspiring them to push your brand message forward is how a brand can successfully leverage the space at scale.