I've always maintained that the appropriate use of social media by small businesses can help level the playing field and empower them to compete more effectively with companies many times their size. Recently, I spoke with Raymund Flandez at the Wall Street Journal about this topic for an article that ran in today's paper. "Getting on the Radar of an Industry's Top Bloggers" looks at best practices and no cost enabling technologies that any business - no matter how small - can use to join the conversation. The info will be old hat to anyone who has spent some time bouncing around the social media echo chamber, but I think Raymund's piece provides a useful primer to the average small business executive who might not be as familiar with our space. Besides, when have you known me to miss an opportunity to remind you how friggin' famous I am (that's a joke, people.)

From "Getting on the Radar of an Industry's Top Bloggers":

"A lot of companies are now taking the time to build relationships with the right influential bloggers," says Greg Verdino, who is chief strategy officer at marketing firm Crayon LLC of New York and writes a blog about trends in social media and marketing. "Over time, they hope to convince those bloggers to write about those products and services and even more importantly, to use those products and services."

But Mr. Verdino cautions that it's not always best to approach the top bloggers on the Web right away because it may be difficult to get their attention. He says sometimes it's better for small-business owners to first spend time cultivating interest from less-influential bloggers who have built a loyal community in a specific niche.

Read the complete article at WSJ.com.