Andrew Ford of Social Star joins us to speak about how to be a star on LinkedIn. He explains the key success factors of a winning profile and what you can do to use LinkedIn to build referrals and thought leadership. Plus we look at personal branding and why, when done well, it creates more opportunities for you and your business.

If everyone can tweet and communicate directly to their market, what is the role of PR in the small business marketing mix? And more specifically, what is the role of social media when it comes to small business PR?

Should you jump into social media as a new business and use it to help market and grow your business? Adam Franklin, coauthor of Web Marketing that Works is our guest. We ask is there homework to do before you dive into social media. Plus, we ask why Twitter is a tool that will revolutionise your communication and how to mine the gold that is available for you through using Facebook.

Shannon Belew, author of The Art of Social Selling is our guest. Social networks are changing the way consumers make purchasing decisions. Tapping into these online communities has become a necessary part of any integrated sales strategy. We look at finding and engaging customers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networks.

Janine Warner, author of Social Media Design for Dummies joins us. We look at the keys to creating a professional, effective, and cohesive design that will better communicate your brand's story. Plus we introduce new social network ello and a new book by Ann Handley that'll revolutionlise your writing skills.

Mark Babbitt, author of A World Gone Social - How Companies Must Adapt to Survive explains why social media is like an asteroid that has slammed into the earth and will take out the businesses that are like dinosaurs. (Ouch!) Plus we show you two new new Facebook features that'll make using Facebook for business, easier.

Guy Kawasaki, author of numerous bestselling books joins us to talk about Canva, the powerful free design tool that is democratising design and allowing each of us to create beautiful, compelling images on our social posts, websites and even print materials. If you aren't graphically inclined (many of us aren't) this is definitely a design service you're going to want to use. Plus we speak to Guy about the new social network, ello. Guy tells us why we should be jumping on board, now.

We know that YouTube is the second largest search engine (after Google) and we know that video is an exploding channel. But, how do we get video and YouTube to work in our social media strategy? Jason Miles, author of Pinterest Power, Instagram Power, and Youtube Marketing Power speaks to us about why you should consider using YouTube as part of your marketing strategy.

Ken Burgin of Profitable Hospitality shares how to go deep within your niche and market to a very targeted group through social media. If we can't be all things to all people, how do we approach our ideal client? Ken shares two customer traits that make a big difference to your business.

Nick Bowditch, former head or Small Business at Facebook Australia tells us why he believes that Facebook has really changed everything, it’s one of the only brands that people can’t live without. Nick gives us the inside scoop on how small business should be using Facebook and why being shareworthy is important.

Melinda Samson of Click-Winning Content explains how to make the most out of the opportunities provided by Google+ and why its the one network the studies show small-business owners want to know more about.

When beloved clothing brand, Black Milk, thought they’d post a fun, tongue-in-cheek photo in honour of May the Fourth - International Star Wars Day, there was a (loud and online) backlash from their usually dedicated followers. Cameron Parker of Black Milk speaks about the mistakes he believes they make, the impact on the brand and the systems that they’ve put in place to win back the trust and love of their audience.

There are many business types that social media is 'obviously' perfectly suited for. But what about industries that are less interesting and those that deal with confronting issues the public doesn;t like to talk about? Damon Klotz of Spur Projects is our guest today and talks about how, despite small budgets and limited resources, he's successfully used social media to generate awareness, conversation and action in very tough environments.

Krista Neher, author of Visual Social Marketing speaks about why visual social media has emerged as a powerful marketing tool, what makes effective visual posts and the challenges that visual marketing can overcome. Shownotes can be found at www.abn.org.au/smsb/visualsocial

Dr Anita Heiss is the author of new book, Tiddas and was named in the Top 20 Women Shaking Things Up on Twitter. Anita was a finalist in the 2012 Human Rights Awards and the 2013 Australian of the Year Awards. In this interview she speaks about the subject of identity and the language that we use to describe ourselves. She explores how can we use social media to strengthen the identity we want to develop and which speaks to who we truly are. Shownotes can be found at www.abn.org.au/smsb/identity

Dionne Kasian-Lew is the author of new book, The Social Executive and the guest on this episode of Social Media for Small Business. Listen to hear some of the commonly held myths about social media and the most damaging myth many small businesses are held back by. Show notes can be found at www.abn.org.au/smsb/myths

Brylee Clelland of Traffika speaks to us about how to build the audience personas of the customers you're reaching and trying to reach, and how to use that information to improve your social media results in this episode of Social Media for Small Business. Listen to hear how to start creating profiles of your perfect cusotmers and where to look to find who is already in your network and their specific demographics, Show notes can be found at www.abn.org.au/smsb/persona

Yelp Australia's Brisbane community manager explains how to use Yelp to help people find your business. Learn how your free listing can drive interest and traffic and customer love to your business. Shownotes at http://www.abn.org.au/smsb/yelp

Baked Relief is a movement started by Danielle Crismani after severe flooding devastated parts of Queensland, Australia. Using Twitter and Facebook she enabled home cooks and bakers to feed more than 10,000 people during the flood clean up. #bakedrelief continues to provide disaster aid and leverages social media to make an impact. Shownotes at: http://www.abn.org.au/smsb/baked

Jean-Vida Douglas of Filtered Media speaks to us about the elements of a good content marketing strategy. We look at Content Marketing - that is, the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers and why you should focus on people and their interests rather than your product. Plus, why we're loving Instagram, Slideshare and why this is the year to start content marketing strategically.

Our guest today is Trevor Young, author of microDOMINATION: How to leverage social media and content marketing to build a mini-business empire around your personal brand us about thee emergence of a new breed of entrepreneur — one who is creative and connected, and socially savvy. Plus latest social media from Facebook and 22 Social Media Facts and Statistics You Should Know in 2014.