Be Your Customer – I really love this one. I base a lot of decision on how I would want to be treated as a customer. “Do unto others as you have them do unto you” really sums it up.

One huge advantage small business has over large business is the ability to be nimble, move quickly, and gain advantage in the wink of an eye. This is not only true of social media, but of general business operation in general.

One of the advantages I have always thought I had over larger companies who do web design was that I can be “nimbler” than they can be. This holds true regarding social media as well.

All things equal, we like to do business with people that we know, like and trust.

As Lisa said, small businesses are ALL about relationships. That’s just how we roll. (When we make the time to use it), social media is merely an extension of the stuff we’re already doing.

Although this next point is really a deviation from the intent of this article, IMHO there is another takeaway here.

As small businesses, it can be difficult to handle our growth as we become successful. Unless we’re aware of this fact, it’s hard to maintain the level of service and relationship our customers expect — what endeared them to us in the first place.

This article clearly draws the line for me in terms of small vs large. I still don’t have all the answers to gracefully manage that growth while still maintaining what made us great to begin with — but this article certainly helps keep that concern top-of-mind.

I especially loved your quote: “They’ll read about something in a blog or industry newsletter, and then they’ll try it and figure out how they can make it work for their business. Larger brands will spend a year in meeting pre-calculating the ROI and brand risks. Being fearless may make you more likely to make a mistake, but it also lets you capitalize on momentum.”

That quote hits the nail on the head… Unfortunately, most big corporations just can’t swing the hammer.