This article was written by Sharlyn Lauby.

“Over the past few months, we’ve talked about whether you should have a social media policy and what should be included in that policy. It only seems logical to discuss the next step in the process, which is what to consider when implementing a social media strategy in your workplace.

Just having a policy isn’t good enough — you need a plan to put it in place. Here are five areas to discuss when implementing a social media strategy.”

Read the rest of this article from Mashable.

The source for this report is “Engaging Small Businesses Through Social Media.”

“The latest research report from Business.com shows that small business owners are still trying to figure out Twitter … but those who have mastered it are seeing an advantage.

The expansive report covering 1,711 small business decision makers showed that of all the social media channels, Twitter was the least-used. Just 27 percent of the respondents were active on the micro-blogging site.

But even that figure may be deceptively high – the survey sample was of business leaders already using some form of the social web.  Translation: This is why you are still getting blank stares when you talk to most small business decision makers about Twitter.”

Read this article from Business Grow.

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This article is form Jason Ankeny.

“The buzzed-about social media platform presents a direct channel to customers, a launching pad for new projects and a sounding board for innovation.

Laura Fitton was a self-described “homebound mom with two kids under 2″ when she signed up for Twitter in 2007. Two years later, she’s at the vanguard of a new wave of Twitter-inspired entrepreneurs.

“There was no decision to make Twitter the focus of my career,” Fitton says. “Twitter decided for me. Somehow I became a Twitter-for-business consultant without ever calling myself that.”

Fitton’s enthusiasm for the possibilities of what she calls “enterprise microsharing” motivated her to revive her Pistachio Consulting business in September 2008 to connect clients to new ideas and innovation in social media. Since then, she has co-authored the book Twitter for Dummies and launched oneforty.com, an online storefront that aggregates the sprawling Twitter application ecosystem in a central, user-friendly repository. Her Twitter feed, which combines personal musings with insight on Twitter’s role in business collaboration, attracts about 40,000 followers.”

Read this article from Alibaba.

This article was written by Jeremy Victor.

“Recently in my travels I’ve had several conversations with people about Twitter for business. Most of the people that I have spoken with aren’t yet on Twitter. It’s been a mixture of curiosity and skepticism.  When we approach the topic of social media as part of their B2B marketing strategy, almost immediately the conversation turns to the “how-to” of tweeting and if there are benefits for their business. Here are seven points people have been most surprised to hear me say.”

Read this article from BtoB Bloggers.

This article was written by Jeff Bullas.

“This is quite an interesting study due to the fact it looks at the 500 fastest growing companies in the USA and how they are using Social Media.

The Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth recently conducted a new in-depth and statistically significant study on the usage of social media in fast-growing corporations.

The new study compares adoption of social media over three years (2007, 2008 and 2009) by the Inc. 500, a list of the fastest-growing private U.S. companies compiled annually by Inc. Magazine. For details about the 2009 Inc. 500 and the complete directory of the included companies, please visit Inc. Magazine’s website at www.Inc.com.”

Read this article from Jeff Bullas.

“f there is one question I get asked on a constant basis it is, “Where do I start with all of this online stuff?” There are so many people whose knee-jerk reaction would be to immediately jump into whatever new and shiny object the rest of the world is staring at.

Over the past little while, I’ve been a fly on the wall for these types of conversations, and all too often I’ve heard people say, “join Facebook,” “get on Twitter,” or “upload some videos to YouTube.”

None of these are necessarily wrong or bad ideas, but in order to have any level of success when you join and begin to take part in any of the many online social networks, you need to really understand why it is important for your business to be there.”

Read this article from Vancouver Sun.

“How do you use Twitter for business? This question has been answered manifold times. What tools do you use for business though? There aren’t that many business tools for Twitter it seems. You rather should ask:

Which tools enable professionals best to use Twitter for business?

This way you may find more useful tools and apps. Nonetheless there are some valuable specialized Twitter tools for business you should try. I compiled a list of both, Twitter tools for business and professional Twitter tools. Most of them are free but some advanced ones, especially in the CRM arena are not.”

Read this article from SEOptimise.

“When Twitter first came out, I didn’t understand it. What possible message could a person convey in 140 characters? Plenty it seems. Twitter is now one of those necessary tools for web marketing.

I was first really exposed to Twitter about a year ago when a blogger friend stayed for a visit. He used it in relation to his blog. That’s when I began to see the possibilities.

Mortgage rate notification seemed to be a good application for Twitter. They constantly change and can sometimes change multiple times in a day. That was my thought. Even though I’m not currently blogging about mortgages or real estate, I decided to give it a try.”

Read this article from SEO by Swaby.

“Most of you know that Twitter can be used for much more than just announcing what you ate for breakfast. Many of you already know Twitter’s value in business, but you can still take it further and use it to land gigs, market your business, grow your network and gain free publicity — all in 140 characters or less.

It’s true that Twitter is what you make of it. Some people publicize their daily activities, some make it about link love, some share quotes all day long. Smart people using Twitter for business mix it up. Here are 62 ways to use Twitter more effectively in your business.”

Read this article from Web Worker Daily.

“There’s something to be said for face to face contact. But time is short and there’s hell of a lot of people/customers to get to in an ever decreasing 24-hour day. But for those of us, who thrive on knowing who we’re talking to, understanding what people are about or just connecting with others, the answer is here and it’s online video.

Online video viewing and usage is fast becoming one of the fastest growing Internet trends, with Hitwise reporting UK Internet traffic to Video websites has increased by 40.7% over the last 12 months. Websites like YouTube and BBC iPlayer are among the top most popular websites and You Tube alone has 15 hours of video uploaded to its site every minute.

This trend demonstrates that – one, video is now a key component on the online landscape and two; that consumers are using and behaving differently on the web. Where once inaccessible, video is now within their grasp as faster broadband connections have made it easier for audiences to engage with this channel. After all, it’s everyone’s opportunity to 15 minutes of fame. “

Read rest of article from BT Tradespace.