With the launch of my book, Twitter Marketing for Dummies , I have been getting a ton of questions about Twitter and the use of Twitter for business. This can cater to your business interests, as well as your personal interests. What is important to remember is that you are using Twitter for your business communication as well. This is especially important if you are a small business owner. Follow some awesome business Twitter people ( @problogger ,  @chrisbrogan ,  @gacconsultants ,  @jaybaer ,  @roundpeg ,  @Ribeezie ). Use them. Learn them. Use it.

You know the old saying, if you think small that’s all you will ever be. Well ‘small’ businesses don’t necessarily have to wait in the background while corporate giants gobble up all the revenue. No one is suggesting that your company should compete with Coca-Cola and Microsoft but staying small time is just admitting defeat. The advent of social media and the potential customer base it offers can help small businesses really hit the big time. Tweet. Anyone ever hear of Fairy Tales Hair Care ? Thought not.

What is the most important step in implementing a social media strategy for your business? What most businesses fail to realize (those who start using social media without a plan or any type of integration) is that the social media sphere would rather be listened to first and communicated with… second. Businesses who jump into the conversation and broadcast a message but fail to interact are failing miserably at the art of communication within social media. Tags: small business social media The first step? The second step? Listening and then responding.