8 Small Business Social Media Tips From the Pros
Are you looking for some social media tips to grow your small business?
We asked eight small business pros for their hottest social media tips.
Here’s their advice for you to take your business to the next level.
#1: Show Them the “Real You”
Ed Gandia
Use Facebook to show prospects, clients and customers the “real you.” Sure, provide the occasional business tip. Or link to your new blog post. But that’s what everyone else is doing. So why not show them you’re a real person by posting updates about things you’re passionate about?
I love to cook, so I’ve been known to post pictures of my grilled masterpieces. Or I’ll quote something one of my silly kids just said. Or I’ll pose a question, such as “How can we encourage more young entrepreneurs?” Either way, I try to keep it interesting, humorous and different. And always authentic. 
4 Tips to Maximize Your Twitter Marketing
Do you want to get the most from Twitter? Because Twitter is so quick and easy to use, it’s also easy to get lost in the conversations.
Here are four tips to help you focus your Twitter efforts to get the maximum benefits for your business.
#1: Define your business goals and objectives
Take something you want to accomplish in your business and break it down into action items that are measurable and specific.
How to Build Your Twitter Tribe
Do you want to build a loyal and engaged Twitter following (a tribe if you will)?
If so, this article is for you. It will show you how to find people and what to do to engage them.
Find the right people—build the right community
This is a tricky headline. As if there’s something like the “right” community waiting for you out there. Yet focusing firmly on the people you want to interact with will pay off greatly. Following those who show a real connection to your niche is key to getting the return out of your Twitter conversations.
A fundamental question when creating your own tribe is to ask yourself, “Whom can I help on Twitter?”
3 New Ways to Use Twitter at Live Events
If you use Twitter, chances are you’ve tweeted from a live event. But there’s so much more Twitter can offer. In this article, I’ll share three secrets you’ve likely never heard of…
But first, why do you attend offline events? Is it the lunch (invariably chicken and rice)? Maybe the dorky name tag? Or perhaps you’re lured to the junk contained in a $5 laptop bag made in China?
No, no and no. You go to events and conferences for something more than a snack and some SWAG. You go to learn something and grow your personal network.
And in that regard, Twitter has a starring role.
8 Easy Ways to Network on Twitter
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could develop a valuable business network online? Twitter’s real-time communication capability makes it a great business networking platform you can’t afford to ignore.
By honing your social networking skills and adapting them to this fast-paced environment, you can use Twitter as the starting point to build a strong business network.
There are two parts to networking on Twitter:
5 Easy Steps to Creating Reusable Social Content
Sure, social media takes a lot of time. Merging Facebook, Twitter and all the other social media options can be challenging. But what if you could cut that time down significantly by cross-leveraging content?
Too many companies are reinventing the content wheel for every social outpost they maintain. A better approach is to create a content ecosystem that allows you to repurpose and cascade your best information.
Instead of a series of self-contained initiatives, build yourself a content ladder.
Here are 5 steps to get there:
8 Easy Twitter Monitoring Ideas
You’ve likely heard stories about how big companies are using Twitter as a powerful listening tool. And although Chris Brogan has been telling us to grow bigger ears for a while, what are you actually doing about it?
Do you want to improve your Twitter listening skills? Here’s a closer look at how to monitor your brand, yourself or your competitors using Twitter (and you don’t need to be a big business!).
Why Is Twitter an Ideal Listening Tool?
Here’s why Twitter is one of the best social media platforms for listening:
7 Reasons Not to Put All Your Eggs in the Twitter Basket
Are you too Twitter-obsessed in your social media approach?
Twitter’s role as a Magic 8 Ball for our shared culture is unrivaled, and it has almost single-handedly ushered in the era of real-time search and social customer relationship management.
But Twitter is the online equivalent of HBO – important more because of who uses it and the media’s infatuation with it, rather than the actual size and impact of its audience.
Don’t get me wrong. I advocate participating in Twitter, and I’ve certainly grown my own audience via that channel. Twitter indeed should be part of almost every company’s social media tool kit. (See the great post here on how to methodically grow a Twitter following.)
However, Twitter alone does not constitute social media, and you’d think it does given all the disproportionate attention being paid to it at conferences and in trade publications. Let me provide seven reasons why you shouldn’t focus solely on Twitter…
How to Market Your Business With Twitter Lists
Twitter is a networking haven for businesses. But is there an easy way to draw the right people to you with Twitter?
The answer is yes and there’s a great Twitter feature that can help you: Twitter lists. Twitter lists can grab the interest of people you most want to meet, help you make a great first impression and can help you with marketing segmentation.
Below I’ll show you some unique ways to use Twitter lists. But first…
How to Better Engage Facebook Fan Page ‘Fans’
A compelling, active Facebook fan page should be an integral part of your marketing plans. With its 350 million users and average daily session time of 25 minutes, Facebook provides an exceptional opportunity for visibility, Google indexing, live search ability, and fan engagement—whether you’re a solopreneur, a large brand or anywhere in between.
But, if you build it, will they come? And if they come, will they stay and engage?
There are two primary components to Facebook fan page engagement: 1) Sharing quality, relevant content and 2) inciting comments. In this article I’ll tell you how to best engage with Facebook fans.
