This week on Sprout Social Insights we tackled guides for Facebook, Twitter, and small business to help you better reach your customers with the social media tools that make a difference.

Check out our articles below to find out more about each one and how they can help you with your social media goals.

And check in every day to Sprout Social Insights for more how to guides and breaking social media news.

How to Capitalize on Internet Memes With Twitter

It’s Twitter Tip Tuesday — every Tuesday we’ll focus on one Twitter Tip and show you how to integrate it into your social media strategy. This week we’ll tell you about Internet memes and why it’s a good idea to tweet about them on Twitter.

If the term is unfamiliar to you, Internet memes are spontaneous topics, usually humorous in nature, that temporarily dominate the conversation on the Internet, on blogs, and on social media channels. In other words, it’s what everyone is talking about at the moment.

Like snowflakes landing on the ground, however, Internet memes can quickly disappear, so you should be prepared to capitalize on the buzz they can generate. Here’s how to use Twitter to participate in Internet memes and how to leverage those memes for business benefit. [ Read More... ]

4 Things to Keep in Mind When Designing Your Company’s Website

While it’s easy these days to rely on Facebook Pages and Yelp listings to represent your company, every business should have its own website. Running your own site gives your customers a central place to find everything you want them to, regardless of their social media preferences.

Rushing into building a site without a plan can leave you with something that might not fit your long-term needs. Whether you are doing it yourself or hiring someone to do it for you, here are four things to keep in mind when building your company’s website.
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How Much Should You Pay Your Company Bloggers?

Blogging has proven itself as a powerful medium to get your company’s message out. It’s a valuable source of company news and a useful way to give tips and tricks on best practices and best uses of your products and services.

Providing complementary content about the industry you work in is a great way to drive traffic to your website. But if you want people to visit your site more than once, you’ll need good content. Of course, if you want good content, you have to pay for it.

Figuring out what to pay a blogger raises a lot of questions for some business owners who may not know much about the business of writing. In case you’re not sure how to proceed, here are some guidelines to consider when you seek out someone (or several people) to populate your blog with content.
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Spotlight on Startups: Become a micro-consultant at AskYourUsers.com

At Sprout Insights, we comb the web to bring you the most up-to-date and actionable resources on how to use social media to grow your business.

To that end, we’re pleased to present the Sprout Insights series Spotlight on Startups. We’ll find the most innovative, useful startup companies out there, get the inside track on what they’re doing, and tell you how you can leverage their products and services for your own business.

This week we’re pleased to cast the spotlight on AskYourUsers.com — an online, “micro-consulting” platform that links experts with businesses that wish to temporarily utilize their services. [ Read More... ]

6 Inspiring Social Media Marketers to Follow on Twitter

The people who run successful social media programs are often great sources of information about digital communication, online business, and behind-the-scenes knowledge. And by definition, they’re also all on Twitter.

We’ve tracked down some marketing professionals who would make good additions to your Twitter feed. They exemplify smart, social media personas for industry leaders and tweet lots of great links that are worth a look.

Some of these marketers might be most helpful to those of you who are in their same industries, but all will undoubtedly supply you with an amazing amount of inspiration. In any case, you’re sure to find a good read. All of the images you see below are interactive, embedded tweets. Feel free to connect directly with these six inspiring social media marketers. [ Read More... ]

Why Chanel Sets a Standard for Facebook Timeline Presence

Facebook is a great platform for showcasing visual content, so what better social network could there be for a famous fashion house? Chanel has been a leader in couture for many years, sparking many revolutions in women’s clothing and fragrances — little black dress, anyone? Now the company is making a statement as a leader in social media as well.

Images are certainly a strong component Chanel’s Facebook presence; the Page has a very well-curated selection of photographs. Through all of the eye candy, however, it’s clear that this company has worked hard to bring its long history to life in this contemporary medium. Here are some of the great and stylish things Chanel is making happen on Facebook. [ Read More... ]

[Image credits: Rosaura Ochoa, Mario Sundar, Andreas Eldh, Stefany]