Social Media in Your Small Business Whether B2B or B2C

I love your title but get rid of everything after the word Business.  You make an impact with the first 1/2 and the B2B and other stuff just ruins it.

Next, check the font on this article.  It appears to be really small.  Make it bigger so it is easier to read.  Check it in the preview.  My response is in Ariel at the Normal level.  See how much bigger it is.  See if it is easier to read.

To start, you really need to do two things.  First, connect with the reader.  Second, establish your expertise.  I would recommend an introductory paragraph of 2 and only 2 sentences to accomplish these objectives.  The first sentence should be something like "As a small business manager, you hear a great deal of talk about how to use social media to reach your customers and prospects.    Next, establish your expertise by saying something like "As a graduate student in the Northwestern Medill IMC marketing program, I have found two articles on social media and small businesses.

Then, go to the first article.  I don;t really see an article here but in the second paragraph, you should just discuss the article.  Cite the article and the authors and put in active links to them.  Be sure the active links open to a new window.

On a day to day basis, I talk with Marketing executives at small businesses regarding how to market their products to both businesses (B2B) and consumers (B2C). Frequently, these discussions include social media; specifically, how to use social media to leverage their profile within a specific space or within a targeted market. In most cases small businesses are not only concerned about leveraging the brand's profile, but are also interested in how to use social in a way that will create a ROI so that their efforts are measurable and have literal value. 

After the first article [paragraph 2] you need a GREAT graphic.  It must be relevant.  Put it between the two articles to draw their eye to the articles.

NOW, paragraph 3 should be a second article.  Again, summarize it for the reader and have the article title and the authors as active links. 

First thing is first, what to communicate to your audience through social? Mashables, Todd Wasserman, encourages small business marketing executives to as yourself: Do you follow a brand? Why? The answer to this question typically falls within one of these three reasons:

· Passion: Connecting with one of your passions and/or interests.

· Personality: Entertaining you with their engaging personality.

· Transparency: Providing interesting and/or important information to you.

After the second article is summarized, paragraph 4 is the most critical one for your blog article.  You should start is with something like "From my analysis of these articles and my social marketing studies at Northwestern, there are three action items all small business owners should do now.  They are:

Then. give me 3 bullet items.  They must be a short 2-3 word action item [in bold] followed by a dash and a single sentence explanation [not bold].  Something like Focus on Passions - then explain    Personality is Important - then an explanation.   If the above bullet points are the ones you want to use, don't cite others but tell them they are your recommendations.

NOW, you need to summarize the blog.  Two sentences max.  Encourage the small business owner to do your three recommended action items and do them now.  Tell them the benefits of doing it.

AFTER the three bullet points, there should be NO OTHER citations or articles.  Just make three great recommendations and then a short summary paragraph.  Everything after the bullet points should either be erased or incorporated elsewhere.

As a small business, these are things you should be thinking about when sharing content to your followers/targeted market. Caitlin Francke, SVP, and Director of Social Strategy at Publicis Kaplan Thaler states that, "These approaches are interchangeable, and a brand can not only switch back and forth between them, but also use two or three at the same time." You can read Wasserman's full article article here: http://mashable.com/2013/02/22/social-media-marketing-strategy/.

It should also be noted that social media is more than just posting pictures and hashtags. Bryan Srabian, from the San Francisco Giants' director of social media, explains that it is important to listen to fans/followers, participate in conversations, and give them a voice to be heard.
NOW you need a italicized paragraph of you and your background.  give them your name and the fact you are a graduate student at Northwestern.  Tell them the career / industry you are seeking and end with your Twitter @ tag.  

Make these changes and then publish and begin testing it.