As a small business owner you have to get the word out about your business or you won’t be in business for long. However, there are right ways and wrong ways to market and leverage social media. Here are some of the best posts of the year to help you do it right.

Phil GerbyshakSocial Media: It Can Help Your Business Suck Faster. I think we can all agree that bad news travels faster than good. Customer service disasters spread like wildfire on social media. Good customer service can be a differentiator.

Steve WoodruffThere Is No Audience For 50 Shades of Grey Marketing. There is no place for grey in your marketing. You need to spell it out for customers in black and white or risk blending into the background.

Brad Shorr7 Ways Marketers Can Learn from Sales Reps. There is often a disconnect between the sales and marketing groups and in this post Brad gives examples of some things that marketing could learn from sales.

Margie ClaymanEight Ways to Harness the Power of Your Customers. Social media has changed the way customers expect to be treated and the way they expect you to interact with them. Connection and collaboration are the next step.

Jesse LangleyStop Being a Twitter Tart. It’s not about broadcasting incessantly. Social media is about engagement, turning a monologue into a dialogue.