I saw this question posted in one of my linkedin groups and thought it could be an interesting one for this forum. What would you say is the best social media outlet as a starting point for a small business to launch their social media strategy from?

I would say that it depends on two factors, product and target market. If it is a small business with a product that is targeted at a national market of businesses, Linkedin would be a good place to start as they can seek out and join groups that have the very companies they are targeting as potential clients. If they are targeting consumers in a smaller, regional market then they might want to look at Facebook where you can set up fan pages and advertise to people who are within your target market.

Any other thoughts?

I totally agree with you. LinkedIN is the best first stop followed by creating a Facebook page. From a push/pull perspective, I also recommend setting budget for advertising on Facebook and PPC.

Very insightful discussion. Thanks. I was wondering if Myspace is a viable means to advertise for a small biz. I know that you can't be blatant about ads, however, is it still effective to use Myspace for a small e commerce biz?

Good stuff! I don't participate in LinkedIn much but the more I hear about its marketing potential, the more intriguing it sounds. I guess I just thought that it was a watered down/boring version of Facebook - only for suits. Though, I just did some poking around, and see that some of these LinkedIn groups have tens of thousands of members. Duh..

Needless to say - i think i'll give it a shot...

Many advertisers shy away from Myspace unless they are specifically targeting musicians and teens. Imagine Myspace as a party central. For small business, it is best to go to Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn.