Keeping Up With the “Social Media for Small Business” Scene
There are so many different types of social media, and so many ways to use each one to help with your small business! It's difficult to know where to start – and even harder to know how to keep up with all their changes.
But one thing is clear: with new products constantly appearing and established sites regularly adding new features, getting up-to-the-minute information is essential.
Upcoming Webinars
Seminars and webinars can help you get started, and there are a couple of on-line seminars coming up soon. Both are sponsored by Enterprise Toronto, and both are free!
The first, coming on June 3rd, is The Power of Social Media for Small Business, and is co-sponsored by TD Canada Trust.
The second, also sponsored by Enterprise Toronto, is 5 Social Media Tools You Can Use to Market and Promote Your Business. It is conducted in conjunction with BizLaunch, a Toronto-base company that trains entrepreneurs.
BizLaunch charges for many of their services, but also offers many free learning opportunities for small business, in partnership with STAPLES, Bell, Microsoft, Bell Aliant, Scotiabank, Visa, FedEx, Cisco, Industry Canada and others.
Websites To Keep You Up-To-Date
If you look at nothing else in terms of websites, you must look at Mashable, which is best viewed in a browser other than Explorer, such as Firefox. (For those of you who only use Explorer, sorry, but the site is too important not to mention.)
Mashable was founded in 2005, and is "the world’s largest blog focused exclusively on Web 2.0 and Social Media news, with more than 15 million monthly page views (quoted from the website)."
Mashable has a great social media section. You really need to look at this site – once you do, you'll be hooked!
Chris Brogan: Community and Social Media is another site that will keep you in the know. Chris's blog is in the top 5 of the Advertising Age Power150.
RotorBlog, now part of the SocialTimes website, is also one to look at. Like the other blogs I've mentioned, it's about a lot more than just small business, but the ideas that it sparks as you read it could lead to something brilliant!
Books at the Library
For currency, look at the latest books; for basics, the older books will do just fine. Here are a few:
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| The Social Media 101 | The Facebook Era | The Social Media Bible |
“Social Media puts the “public” into PR and the “market” into marketing." – Chris Brogan
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