Small Business Trends

The success of small business owners can be directly tied to the tools they use for their ventures. Those tools can include social media and other resources as well. Today’s small business news roundup is chocked full of a range of tools to improve your small business. Enjoy.

Social Media

Traditional media on social media. From more traditional bricks and mortar businesses like frozen yogurt shop Berry Chill to new online businesses like BuildYourResumeNow.com, social media is becoming increasingly important to marketing strategy even before the business is officially open. Social media marketing is a whole new way of creating an early buzz about your product or service, and this article from the Chicago Tribune is an amazingly detailed look at how it really works. ChicagoTribune.com

Using Foursquare to grow your business. A social network with some serious bricks and mortar applications, Foursquare has some features that may change the way you market your business online and off. Whether you’ve only just begun hearing about this social platform or have already begun using it, here are some key points to positively enhance your enterprise using Foursquare. Catalyst Marketers

101 social media tools. Has Hasan Saleem missed any major tools on his huge list? You be the judge. Obviously no two social media tools are the same or designed for the same purpose. Not all may be useful for your social media needs. It’s a question of where your audience is located and how you plan to reach them. social implications

Social media branding and your avatar. We’re not talking about the big blue guys from the James Cameron science fiction blockbuster. No, this is the image you choose to represent you in your social media profiles. And Susan Fronk argues it says as much about you as anything else on your Website. America’s Best Business Practices

Customer Service

Grass is always greener. Sure it’s important to bring in new customers. But not at the expense of your old ones. Susan Oakes suggests six key tips that should allow you to add new customers to your business while not loosing the ones you already have. M4B Marketing

Tech

Virtual phone systems and your small business. Just as social media transforms the networking and marketing aspects of traditional business, drastically enhancing a venture’s capabilities at minimal cost, so a virtual phone system can transform traditional small business communication. Here are some tips on how to use an inexpensive system to expand your phone’s capabilities. mywifequitherjob.com

Tips

Making the best of negative comments. No one wants to hear negative comments about their small businesses. But negative comments can sometimes make a positive impact if you take them constructively. Here are some tips for using negative comments to improve your business. CIK Marketing

Resources

Government tools for your small business. Take a look at these free resources available through the Small Business Administration. They include a free marketing portal developed by Google teaming up with the SBA and some other helpful items for the small business owner. Every small business is different and the resources required may vary. Find out what will work for you. MiamiHerald.com

Policy

Need more credit or more consumer confidence? More than credit, small businesses need consumers, says one of the entrepreneurs interviewed on this TV segment. Though Washington is talking plenty about more federal spending they hope will turn into small business loans, how will this policy return important consumer confidence to the market? Fox News

Self-development

What does it feel like to be your own boss? Of course, there’s lots of hard work involved in running your own small business. But let’s not forget there are lots of positives too. Emory Rowland wrote this post on the first day of his new job working for himself. Before all the really hard work begins, he’d like us all to just savor the moment. clickfire