Developing an effective social media presence for your business is challenging. Small businesses are often at a marketing disadvantage due to a lack of resources and budget dollars. With concerns like how to generate shareable content and the best way to convert that buzz into profit, there’s a lot to be learned.
To help with your social media presence development we have put together an excellent list of 15 small business social media resources that will help even the smallest business or startup make a big impact online.
Regardless of which social media platforms you focus on, these resources will provide actionable information, tips, recommendations and useful tools for building success in the world of social media marketing.
Any business trying to extend its reach and boost conversions on social media will find something useful here.
From best practices on Facebook or LinkedIn to news about upcoming changes to Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram. Plus news and information on new and evolving social media platforms.
Below, in no particular order, are 15 social media resources to pump up the social visibility and web presence of your business. Also be sure to check out our post on Small Business Facebook Resources.
Small Business Social Media Resources
1. Social Media Examiner
There are many social media platforms, and there is a plethora of information required
to stay on top of them all. The Social Media Examiner specializes in helping small businesses navigate the constantly changing social media landscape to connect with prospects and customers. Their coverage includes major platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ and YouTube as well as relatively minor platforms like Tumblr and newer platforms such as SnapChat.
As such a comprehensive resource, it should come as no surprise that The Social Media Examiner has a broad readership. This site boasts over 500,000 email subscribers, 450,000 Facebook likes, and 330,000 Twitter followers. The experts at the site also offer a wildly popular marketing podcast, host the industry’s leading conference and even host the largest online conference.
Be sure to check out the “Getting Started with Social Media: A Resource Guide” for a wealth of information on a number of social Media platforms.
2. Razor Social
RazorSocial is a news and information site that provides independent advice about the technical side of the social media landscape. Where sites like Social Media Examiner focus more on tips and strategies for leveraging social media, RazorSocial emphasizes social media tools and technologies and how to use them.
Social media platforms RazorSocial helps demystify include LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and all things Google.
Developed by Ian Cleary, RazorSocial focuses on small to medium sized businesses, making this a great small business social media resource for help with the technical aspects of social media and growing your business visibility. Razor Social operates a blog that’s updated weekly plus they also provide social media tool evaluations, training, recommended tool lists, and social media tool selection for businesses by request.
As the site has evolved they have also begun providing broader information on areas such as landing page optimization, Google Analytics, and video marketing. You may also want to check out their marketing resources and Facebook Analytics Guide in their Resources section.
3. Jeff Bullas
In the world of social media, there are some names that are instantly recognizable.
One of those names is Jeff Bullas, who is one of the Internet’s foremost social marketing experts. Bullas is a blogger, author, strategist, and speaker with a widely read blog that focuses on social media marketing, content marketing, and digital marketing.
The Bullas blog receives over 5 million page views every year, is followed by more than 350,000 people on Twitter, and has been a part of major publications from the New York Times to Forbes. In fact, he is listed as the #1 Global Digital Marketing Influencer of 2016 by Onalytica.
Jeff’s blog includes some of the most detailed step-by-step guides for social media strategy available, and it gets updated on a weekly basis. Rather than focusing on individual platforms, Bullas focuses more on marketing over social media in general. He provides tips pertinent to email marketing, content marketing, search engine marketing, and virtually any other type of marketing you can accomplish through social media.
If you are new to blogging or are planning on adding a blog to your business website Jeff’s book, “Blogging the Smart Way” is worth checking out. Some excellent insight for very little money.
4. Heidi Cohen
Heidi Cohen’s website tag line is “actionable marketing guide” and she delivers
on it quite well. Her site covers social media marketing for both small businesses as well as larger businesses focusing on tips, tactics, insights and resources. Cohen’s blog updates two to three times a week providing actionable advice and tips for small businesses to take clear and definitive steps forward in their marketing practices. These tips are based on Cohen’s extensive industry experience as well as the latest research in social media marketing.
Cohen’s blog is one of the most balanced blogs you’ll find, providing a variety of resources for both experienced and novice marketers alike. One unique feature Cohen offers is a wealth of definitions for social media, marketing, and public relations terms. For those looking for more, Cohen also offers her expertise in speaking, training, consultation, and content creation. Cohen currently has more than 31,000 Twitter followers.
5. SproutSocial
SproutSocial is known as the provider of one of the Internet’s most popular
and successful social media management tools. What is less commonly known is that SproutSocial also runs one of the best social media blogs for small and medium sized businesses. The blog includes an extensive archive of several thousand posts spanning virtually every social media topic out there, including mobile, analytics, advertising, customer care, and much more.
Although there is more material available about the biggest social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, there is also content available about less popular ones like Google+ and Tumblr. The blog updates daily, so check back often for the latest insights or sign up for push notifications.
SproutSocial also offers a wide variety of guides, case studies, and infographics that combine hard data with excellent presentation. And as a paid service, SproutSocial offers a range of management tools appropriate for both small business owners and enterprise level service. With over 77,000 followers on Twitter, and over 55,000 Likes on Facebook, SproutSocial has proven itself to be one of the most valuable resources for social media management on the web.
6. Mashable
This dynamic global, multi-platform media site offers information on a wide range 
of technology, business, and social media topics. Mashable as a whole is somewhat less social media focused than other resources on this list. The content available in the Mashable social media section is less oriented toward providing actionable advice and more on helping the reader keep a finger on the quickly changing pulse of social media.
Examples of Mashable’s unique focus include articles on the most annoying things people do on Facebook, how to delete your Facebook search history, and how perceptions of Facebook change over time. Visitors can also find information on new startup companies and the latest technology IPOs.
Mashable’s trend pieces, especially those about digital relevancy, are on point and insightful. Like many social media news sites, Mashable posts a number of new stories every day and is a leading source for news, information, and resources for the Connected World. Reports include views on the importance of digital innovation and how it empowers and inspires people around the world.
In the broader spectrum Mashable engages over 45 million monthly unique visitors and has developed over 28 million social media followers racking up over 7 million shares per month.
7. Techcrunch
Similar in some ways to Mashable, Techcrunch is a news and information website 
that offers technology news covering a broad range of topics. As its name implies, Techcrunch also digs further into the technology aspects of the Internet and the devices that connect us.
The social media section of Techcrunch provides insightful news columns and opinion pieces that help small businesses stay on top of trends and changes in social media. The topics covered include everything from emerging social media apps to the latest ventures to be funded.
Techcrunch is updated every time interesting technology news breaks, which can mean as many as half a dozen new posts on a daily basis. It is one of the Internet’s most widely read resources for technology news.
Techcrunch has built a Twitter presence of more than 7.37 million followers, 2.2 million Facebook Likes and 10.2 million Goggle+ followers.
8. Forbes
Forbes is one of the world’s most popular American business magazines, with nearly 
a century of experience providing news on any topic related to business. The Forbes Social Media section of the Forbes site does its best to live up to Forbes’ reputation as “The Capitalist Tool.” Like Mashable, Forbes provides information on a wide range of topics and perspectives in social media.
The Forbes social media section generally places less emphasis on tips and tricks, and more on providing the reader with a clear picture of how the social landscape continues to evolve – frequently from a business perspective. Featuring high quality writers and columnists, Forbes makes for an excellent small business social media resource for readers from all types of niches and industries.
As a publication, the Forbes magazine has 52.7 monthly unique visitors, an audience readership of 6.8 million and 26 million social followers. If you are looking for social media information with a definite business angle Forbes is a good resource to explore.
9. Socially Stacked
Socially Stacked is an offshoot of ShortStack, the social media campaign software service. As an informative blog, Socially Stacked 
promises to provide everything a small business needs to find success on social media. That includes both the kind of social media news you’ll find on news blogs as well as resources and tips for success.
Socially Stacked reliably produces 4 to 5 new posts each week, and the tips section of their site provides detailed step-by-step guides for many aspects of social media management. Although most of their coverage focuses on larger platforms like Facebook and Twitter, the free resources section of this site contains a fairly comprehensive list of resources for the social media universe. This includes beautifully crafted infographics, e-books, and well researched PDF resources.
10. Buffer App
In the unlikely event that you haven’t heard of the Buffer App already, it’s one of the Internet’s most popular social media
powerhouses. Designed to help schedule social media posts, monitor analytics, and generally manage your presence on social media platforms, the Buffer App is a one stop shop for a range of social media needs.
Similarly, the Buffer blog aims to expand small business’ ability to use these tools with tips and guides for social media management.
Although Buffer has a clear emphasis on improving strategies for Twitter and Facebook, it also provides support for a handful of other social media platforms like Pinterest and Google+. This blog is updated biweekly with all the insights, tips and tricks you need to get the most out of your social media channels. Buffer has proven itself one of the most reliable resources for social media marketing, and has rapidly earned more than 630,000 followers on Twitter.
11. Social Mouths
Similar to Jeff Bullas’ site in many respects, the Social Mouths blog is the brainchild of one individual, 
Francisco Rosales. This site is a no-nonsense guide to blogging, content marketing, increasing web traffic, and generating conversions. Because Social Mouths is focused more on providing general marketing tips, there isn’t a special emphasis on any particular social media platform. There are, however, detailed and in-depth guides for working on individual platforms.
Compared to most social media resources on the Internet, the guideposts available on this blog are phenomenally detailed and well crafted. As a result, this blog doesn’t update often—just a few times a month—but the posts are more in depth and quite valuable. Rosales also provides a free course on social media management for beginners, and one-on-one coaching for those who want to take their marketing strategy to the next level.
The Social Mouths blog was voted a Social Media Examiner’s Top 10 Blog in both 2012 and 2014 and has over 30,000 followers on Twitter.
12. Amy Porterfield
One of the most informative and relatable social media marketing experts online, Amy Porterfield is also
one of the original authors of Facebook for Dummies. She helps small businesses harness the power of social media to promote their businesses and has been featured on Forbes, ProBlogger, Mashable, Business Insider, and other well-known news outlets.
Publishing frequent blogs and podcasts, Amy is a master of webinar training. Her affordable webinars are relevant, easy to follow, and actionable. Specializing in email marketing and Facebook ads, Amy has an extensive list of knowledgeable contacts that make frequent appearances on her podcasts. For small businesses just getting started in social media marketing, Amy Porterfield is a great social media resource for knowledge.
13. Digital Marketer
The owners of Digital Marketer admit that the world does not need another website about marketing. They assert
that their differentiator is that they are owned and operated by business people who sell their own products, so the information shared is the fruit of their own actual research.
From website redesign to growing local businesses with social media, Digital Marketer gets down to the nitty gritty and provides real life experience for growing your business. Offering a Lab, a podcast and a blog that is updated a few times per week, Digital Marketer also offers various marketing online classes designed to perfect mastery of email marketing, social media ad conversion rates, and product launches.
With over 234K Facebook Likes, 31.6K Twitter followers, and 7.7K Pinterest followers, Digital Marketer is a very useful and relevant social media resource for small businesses.
14. Social Triggers
Derek Halpern, founder of Social Triggers, has been heralded as “the Master of social media” by Inc. Magazine. Derek helps
small businesses answer questions like, “How can I get more customers?” and “How can I convince people to listen to me?” After building several successful niche websites, he launched his building and marketing business and in only a few short years, he has attracted more than 1M page views daily.
Derek blends data driven marketing, content marketing and social media marketing to attract traffic and generate online sales. With over 11K Instagram followers, and 68K Twitter followers, Derek reaches over 400,000 entrepreneurs each month with insightful blog posts ranging from changes on social media platforms to the value of testimonials.
Derek has rapidly grown Social Triggers into a social media powerhouse and should be bookmarked as one of your key social media resources for small businesses. An excellent social media resource.
The Take-AwayMessage
Social Media has a role in the web presence and marketing mix of every business, large or small. If you’re not sure how to grow your business presence in the rapidly evolving social media world or how to expand on your current digital marketing efforts, now is a great time to learn.
Social media marketing can help businesses extend their reach, build online visibility, communicate with customers and and sales prospects, and generate conversions. With so many businesses spending focusing social media, it’s an area of digital marketing that can’t be ignored.
Each of the small business social media resources here take slightly different approaches and cover a range of different topics. Between them there’s more than enough information to help your business take its social media business presence to the next level. Explore each of them to determine which resources best meet the needs of your business.
Other Social Media Resources:
Many of these websites also offer a Resources section which will provide additional items that can be quite useful. Also check out the Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, G+, and YouTube pages for each of these websites to gain insights on how they set up and use their social media properties. You can learn a lot from how these successful businesses develop their social media presence.
A great way to keep up with all these social media resources is to use the outstanding feed reader tool at Feedly. Powerful and full of features, yet easy to use, Feedly allows users to view the stream of posts and updates from all your online resources in one location. Well worth checking out.