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.

Klout Is Useless for Recruiters: Here’s Why

Klout has received a lot of attention since its launch in 2008, and it’s stirred up  debate over what it actually tells you about a person’s social media presence.

A Klout score measures your “social influence” on a scale from 1-100, based on interactions and engagement throughout your various social networks. Some think that it’s a superficial number and not a real reflection of your actual influence, while others are taking full advantage by flaunting their high scores.

However, even if you couldn’t care less about your Klout score, it could be holding you back in the job market. TechCrunch’s Drew Olanoff recently pointed out a job posting for a Salesforce community manager where the company required its job applicants to have a score of at least 35. Klout founder and CEO Joe Fernandez argues that a high Klout score is just like any other selling point on a resume. At Insights, we strongly disagree. Here’s why. [ Read More... ]

Infographic: How the McDonald’s Team Uses Sprout Social

Katie is a Social Media Supervisor within Customer Experience and Insights at McDonald’s USA.

She currently heads up customer engagement on Twitter and handles social media analysis for a few of the larger marketing promotions. She recently completed her Masters in New Media Studies from DePaul University.

Today she’s sharing how the McDonald’s team uses Sprout Social’s social media management tool to connect with customers.

So there is the good news and the bad news, but I’ll start with the bad: mistakes happen. They’re bound to when you operate over 14,000 locations and serve millions of people a day. The good news is that if you experience an issue where something about your visit wasn’t so right, the McDonald’s customer experience team is listening and able to help. [ Read More... ]

Embrace the Chaos on 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 advise you that occasionally it’s okay to embrace the chaos on Twitter.

Although Twitter is a very powerful medium for your business, it can take a lot of work to keep on top of it all. Are you following the right people? Are you keep abreast of the latest trends and Twitter chats? Have you replied to every mention? As you follow more and more people on Twitter, your once manageable tweet stream may begin to resemble a fast-moving river, where it takes great focus and effort just to maintain your position, let alone advance upstream.

At this point in your Twitter evolution, you may be working so hard at it that you’re ready for a Twitter fast. Although that can be an effective strategy, it’s also completely acceptable to periodically relax your social media stance, go with the flow, and allow Twitter to take you wherever it leads. [ Read More... ]

Advice Most Brands Need: How to Sound Like an Actual Human on Twitter

We’ve profiled many companies that are making waves with their strategies on various social media platforms, and one of the consistent threads connecting these success stories is giving a human voice to the brand. This can be a challenge for some businesses on Twitter since most human conversations don’t take place naturally within a limit of 140 characters.

Despite the constraints, people still expect that touch of human interaction from your brand’s account. It’s a great way to attract followers and to encourage conversation with your company. So what can your organization do to get that human voice on Twitter? Here are three main points to keep in mind as you craft your brand’s Twitter presence. [ Read More... ]

Spotlight on Startups: Goshido Is All About Collaboration Management

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 Goshido — a project collaboration tool, with offices in Ireland, and Boston, MA. [ Read More... ]

Pros and Cons: Should You Upgrade Your Office to Windows 8?

In less than two weeks, Microsoft will let Windows 8 into the wild and allow PC users to upgrade to its newest operating system. Over two years in the making, Windows 8 is a significant departure from the other versions of the Windows operating system that we have seen for many years.

While the jump to Windows 8 might not be a huge deal for the average consumer, the change is a big decision for businesses — both small and large. From IT departments managing hundreds, or even thousands of computers, to employees in sales or marketing that rely on their computers to get their jobs done, there’s a lot to think about before upgrading. Here are some of the pros and cons of the new OS to help you decide whether your business should upgrade to Windows 8. [ Read More... ]

4 Restaurants Doing Social Media Right

Brands in the restaurant industry often sink or swim by word-of-mouth, and having people talking about you on social media can do wonderful things to get more diners interested in your establishment.

There are plenty of best practices for restaurants on Twitter and on Facebook — and we’re highlighting four brands that have put those suggestions into action successfully.

For even more marketing tips for restaurants, check out our interview with Johnny Auer about how to generate social media buzz for your opening day. Many of his suggestions can be applied to any special event, or even your day-to-day approach to social media. You’ll see several examples of Auer’s strategies in the four restaurants named here, but there’s even more so stay tuned! [ Read More... ]

[Image credits: City of Marrieta, GA, Ricardo Diaz, Goshido, Alpha]