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.

Interview: Community Managers on Effective Comment Moderation

At the core of any social media strategy is building an engaging community. Sprout Insights recently spoke with four community managers whose collective knowledge gave us a good idea of how their organizations manage community.

Clare Tischer of TechStars, BJ Wishinsky, formerly of Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, Justin Isaf, Director of Community at the Huffington Post, and Jenn Pedde of TheCommunityManager.com gave us their expert insights on comment policy, dealing with aggressive comments, and best practices for community managers.

Following these recommendations will help you build and guide a successful online community. [ Read More... ]

How to Know When It’s Time for a Tool

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 suggest that under certain conditions, your social media marketing strategy will benefit by adding a third-party, social media management tool to your marketing mix.

This article is not really for the Twitter novice. If you haven’t gotten on Twitter yet, or if you’re still finding your way around, here are some tips that may accelerate your implementation of this powerful platform. But if you’ve evolved beyond the basics of Twitter and yet you’re not quite sure how to progress, perhaps it’s time you considered using a social media management tool to elevate your Twitter presence to the next level. [ Read More... ]

5 Business and Social iPhone 5 Features We May See Tomorrow

On September 12th, Apple will take to the stage in Cupertino, CA, to announce a host of updates to its flagship iPhone. It’s widely anticipated that an announcement will include the debut of the new iPhone 5.

In the weeks leading up to Apple’s special event invitation, a host of leaked product images and insider information was revealed, making the release of a new and radically different iPhone all but a certainty. While there is no way to know for sure until Apple makes its official announcement, we’re taking a look at some of the new features you may see very soon on a new iPhone 5 device. [ Read More... ]

3 Hospitals Doing Social Media Right

Social media can be a great resource for people looking for information about their health. In fact, nearly a third of those surveyed by accounting firm PwC last year used social media for some medical purpose. As the popularity of social media for businesses has grown, healthcare professionals and care providers have joined patients online.

As with any industry, some brands are adapting to the new channels of communication better than others. Here are some of the hospitals that have made great strides in connecting with and educating patients through social media. [ Read More... ]

Spotlight on Startups: Anymeeting Is a Free Web Conferencing Tool

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 Anymeeting — a free, fully functioning, web conferencing and meeting tool — based in Orange County, CA. [ Read More... ]

How to Customize Your Data in One Powerful Social Media Dashboard

The articles here at Sprout Insights are designed to keep you informed about ways to improve your social media presence. But beyond the blog, our parent company, Sprout Social, has social media management tools that help you track and control that presence.

Sprout Social has specialized reports that can give you in-depth data about your online performance. Conveniently, it also presents plenty of information right on your home page. This is the dashboard, and it has the most important statistics about your brand’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. Here’s a look at how to tailor your dashboard, as well as an explanation of the information that you’ll find on that page.
[ Read More... ]

3 E-Commerce Businesses With Brilliant Twitter Strategies

Having a killer approach to social media is essential for an online business; these networks are often the main channels of communication with customers in the absence of brick and mortar stores.

We’ve already reviewed how some e-commerce heavyweights have taken on the world of Facebook. But social media strategies are not one size fits all, and companies should take tailor their approaches to other networks accordingly.

There are also some great examples of Twitter strategies among online businesses. These brands have done great things for customer service and brand recognition — even within the 140 character constraints of the microblogging platform. [ Read More... ]

Here’s What Facebook’s Big Impact on Voter Turnout Teaches Us

It’s Facebook Friday — each week we’ll offer one tip for leveraging Facebook to increase customer awareness of and engagement with your brand or business. This week, we’ll look at a recent discovery about social media in the news and see what marketers can learn from it.

The benefit of social media for marketers is often that it facilitates friends recommending products, brands, or venues to each other. For many people, the message comes from a trusted source, not a marketer — even if the message originated with a marketer a couple steps back. That’s the power of virality for you. [ Read More... ]

[Image credits: methodshop.com, George Ruiz, Anymeeting, Gareth Saunders]