It’s time again for our community news and information roundup. Each week we draw valuable news and information from the blogs we follow most and other parts of the online small business community. You’ll find some of the best below.
Social Media Isn’t for Everyone  Matthew Hardesty
After all the hype around the importance of social media, it may be surprising to hear this. And it’s no less surprising from an expert specializing in SEO for small businesses. But in the end, Hardesty points out some pretty compelling areas where social media just won’t be helpful…at least not yet.
Finding the Right Fit is Important GMR Transcription
On the other hand, even if you decide social media will help your business, there’s still the format to consider. As Beth Worthy, Director of Operations for GMR, explains, picking the social media with the right fit for your business is important. Here are a few things to consider.
Separate the Personal from the Professional  Amadeus Consulting
Seeing you dressed in your finest dance party gear may not impress your client, observes Karen O’Toole, blogger and administrative coordinator at Amadeus. Of course, it’s probably a bad idea for photos that are too compromising of you or your staff to appear anywhere on the Web. But at least keep them off your business channels.
Social Can Be Local  ATAK Interactive
One of the first and potentially most controversial conclusions drawn by Hardesty, is that businesses focused on a small geographic local areas are less likely to benefit from social media. ATAK’s Josh Goodman and David Ephraim would almost certainly disagree. Here are some tips to increase local social followers for your business.
Finding the Time to Blog  Sonja Jobson
We’ve mentioned before the constant suggestions in our community that blogging to help market your business and reach out to customers is critical. For those who remain concerned about finding the time, Jobson has these thoughts for greater blogging productivity.
Finding the Best Time to Work  Baseline
There’s an important key to productivity that may escape many small business owners’ notice. That’s finding the best time to work. Lauren Licata, content marketing manager at Base, makes these suggestions to some positive response from the BizSugar community.
There’s No Place for Heroes  David R. Kiger
But even after you’ve done all you can to maximize efficiency, in the end, you’ll need to depend on others to succeed. The first point in Kiger’s post, heavy with sports metaphors, emphasizes the importance of not trying to go it alone. So creating a team, no matter how small, is key.
Deciding What to Delegate  Houston Virtual Assistant League
One of the first steps in this process is to decide what jobs you don’t need to do yourself, says small business owner Christina Meade. So ask some simple questions to figure out what projects you need to handle directly and which tasks would be better handled by someone else.
Learn Your ABCs  Rhonda’s Virtual Office
Once you’ve decided what to delegate, a virtual assistant is one possible option. That’s especially if you want to delegate stuff like going through your email and updating your Twitter and Facebook accounts. VAs have clear advantages over employees. Rhonda Holscher has a whole alphabet of reasons why.
Are There Tools You Simply Don’t Understand? Robert Brady
Yes, believe it or not, another obstacle in your path may be an aspect of your business you just don’t understand. As Robert Brady of Righteous Marketing explains in this post shared on the BizSugar community, this usually has nothing to do with your core business. But it may have to do with tools that can help your business grow.
If you’d like to help make our roundups better, let us know about content or news we might want to add in future updates. Send us an email at sbtips@gmail.com to tell us more. Or, like Lauren Licata and Robert Brady, share your content on the BizSugar community. It’s the place we routinely look for the freshest and most authentic small business voices.
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