6 Social Media Tools Every Business Should Use

By now, every business has heard about, considered, and maybe even dabbled in the blogosphere. Understanding that business people are busy running their business, here are seven six tools (and my preferred brand) that every business should have in their social media toolbox:

1. RSS Feed Aggregator (Google Reader)
   Always start with a listening tool, and subscribing to feeds is the way we listen. Google Reader is web-based so you can use any computer - and you can now set it up to read feeds offline.
2. Blog (Typepad)
   Yes, I think WordPress is a great tool - but many business people don't want to mess with setting up servers and travel the learning curve that WP presents. It also has more design freedom than the hosted WordPress.com. Typepad is the blogging platform I recommend most (to businesses)
3. Shared Bookmarks (Delicious)
   Lots of choices here, but the new features of Delicious, along with their huge audience, make it the first one to choose.
4. ThoughtStream Aggregator (FriendFeed)
   Again, lots of choices -- and services like Facebook and MyBlogLog do similar things. But FriendFeed has become my most valuable tool. For organization - it helps me keep found things found. For infosumption - I can follow what others are doing/saving/thinking/saying.
5. Microblogging (Twitter)
   Even with its shortcomings, this is the place to start. Be a resource. Follow the 70-20-10 rule.
6. Shared Content (YouTube, Flickr, and/or SlideShare)
   Create content to be shared. Find content you can share.

If you're looking for an order of which to do first, I've presented them in the order I suggest.

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