SmallBusinessNewz

Everybody's going on and on about how businesses should be using social media. Obviously that includes me, as you know if you've read SmallBusinessNewz for any length of time. What are small business owners actually using social media for though? What do you use social media for? Tell us.

eMarketer has compiled a couple of interesting graphs based on research from Sage Software and AMI-Partners looking at the types of digital social media small businesses are using in North America, and the activities they are participating in:

In the first graph, "professional social networking" refers to the use of networks that spceficially cater to business - like LinkedIn. "General social networking" refers to networks like MySpace and Facebook. Twitter falls under the "blogging/microblogging" category.

Blogging is actually last on the list in terms of activity as you can see from the second graph. I find this a little surprising, and perhaps a little disturbing. If you ask me, most businesses should operate blogs. A blog is a great way to keep customers and other interested parties informed about your business.

The fact that blogs are independent from any one social network, means that people don't have to be a member of any particular network to view them. This means they are accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. Blog posts can be as detailed as you want, and offer a way for customers to engage with your business (via comments).

Blogs are also great ways to:

1. Show the human side of your business

2. Inspire trust (through helpful articles)

3. Inform the public of noteworthy updates

Does simply having a blog put you in a better position than your competitors? No, but if you maintain it and update it with care, you might be amazed at just how great of a tool it can be. Odds are you are a long way from being the size of Google, but if you want to see a great example of a company blogging well, you'd do well to take a look at their blog directory.