One of my favorite social media “news” blogs to follow is Mashable. If you want to stay current on all the latest tool, tips, examples, illustrations of how to use social media – particularly in an entrepreneurial to small business company – you should subscribe to the RSS feed for Mashable.

I was reading an interesting article today that was was posted on Mashable titled 5 Small Business Success Stories. It talked about how 5 different small businesses  -4 retailers and 1 service company – were changing their entire business model as a result of social media.

My business model has changed dramatically with the coming of age of social media. My cost structure for recruiting talent has declined dramatically, my leads for new executive search projects, consulting projects, and hiring manager training have increased significantly through our web presence – especially blogging. We’ve even created an entire web-based business model that includes e-commerce and on-line training.

How are you leveraging – incorporating – adapting – social media into your business?

• Are you engaging with potential customers at a different level?
• Is social media enabling you to differentiate yourself more effectively?
• Is the quality of your customer service increasing beyond your peers?
• Can social media give you a competitive advantage?
• Is it opening up a new world of networking for candidates, benchmarking, and information?

How have you started to adapt social media to your business model?

Barry