Small Business Trends

Social media has created a new vocabulary for small business, a vocabulary that encompasses not only marketing but networking and collaborating as well. Understanding this new vocabulary is imperative in navigating the new small business landscape successfully. To do so, why not start with the folks who have gone on ahead of you. Lend an ear to the social media mavens:

Collaboration

How to use the new Facebook group. A new addition to Facebook features, upgrade of the site’s Group application, may turn out to be a very exciting collaborative tool for small businesses. If you’ve got a few minutes and want to learn more about how the groups function works, have a look at Amanda Webb’s tutorial. Spiderworking.com

Use it or lose it. In this post on feeding your networks which resulted from a question he posed to his own, Chris suggests that an important part of being connected through social media is to use that social media every once in a while. IT may sound obvious, but what have you done to feed your social network lately. Chris Brogan

Marketing

Cheap and easy marketing doesn’t necessarily equal success. Social media in particular and many other kinds of marketing for your business have become less and less expensive. In particular, blogs and social media cost nothing except for the time needed to create them. You might think this means that your marketing campaign can’t miss. You’d be wrong.  Seth Godin

The new language of social media is visual. Using video as a social media tool is an increasing trend but the same rules apply. Here are nine ways to use vi8deo in your social media campaign and all revolve around responding to the wants and needs of your market and finding solutions to their problems and questions. Karriann Graf

Blogs

Making your blog posts stand out. It may sound easier than it is. Create blog posts that capture readerss’ attentions and keep them coming back for more. Yet doing so has become a cornerstone of effective marketing in the era of social media. So would it surprise you to learn five easy steps could transform your blog? Social Media Examiner

Is your blog a stepping stone? Darren Rowse reflects on the uses for what remains one of the most powerful and influential social media tools around, the blog and asks what the purpose of your blog might be. Don’t think that a blog must serve only one purpose as a business in and of itself or an ongoing promotional vehicle for your business. Blogs, like the rest of social media, can serve many different purposes for your small business. How can you use blogging to further your goals? ProBlogger

Community

So where is it? You know. Your community. Your tribe. Whatever you want to call it. That group of people that can be trusted to flock to your posts hanging on your every word or to sign up for a new social media page anytime you wish to create one. They’re out there, says Lisa Barone. All we need to do is look for them. Small Business Trends.

Creating community with social media management. It’s not surprising that much of what’s needed to build a community with social media is also important in building a customer base in the face-to-face world. This being said, perhaps the best way for a small business owner or someone doing marketing and networking on behalf of a small business to learn about building community is to manage a social media site for a while.  B2B Marketing Online

Resources

21 social media apps for small business. These tools are for Facebook and run the gamut from networking tools to video players and encompass all points in between. If you plan to build a small business Facebook site for marketing (and you should) these tools for building a page that’s a little above the ordinary for your customers couldn’t hurt. Abnormal Marketing

A small business social media roundup. Last but not least, here is a great roundup of additional social media resources on topics ranging from blogging to Twitter to Facebook to video. Heck it’s the kind of resource roundup we’d be proud to call our own. Check out some of the great links provided and learn more about all the social media resources available to small businesses today. Michael G. Holmes