By Cheval John

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The world of social media has changed over the last few years.

What remained are the dominant players: Facebook and Twitter.

LinkedIn is still an important platform for many entrepreneurs, business professionals and college graduates who are looking to get hired at a new company.

However, LinkedIn is now part of Microsoft due to the purchase earlier this year according to the Wall Street Journal

With rumors earlier this year of executives trying to sell Twitter, one could wonder if the social media platform is still viable for people trying to build a business or a personal brand?

Heck Yes

Though Twitter have about 320 million active users according to Adweek, you can still interact with people you admire in “real time”

The problem is many businesses see these social media platforms as a place to promote themselves for free and not interact with their customers.

On the flip side, small businesses understand the importance of social media and are being profitable in the process

I created a video below that explains the basics of using Twitter as my free gift to you for #smallbusinesssaturday.

The advice I share can apply to Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn because all of these platforms should be used to build trust with your audience.

Below this video are the twitter chats (conversations around a hashtag like #bizheroes of Paper.Li) I mentioned in the video:

Madalyn Sklar’s #twittersmarter Thursdays at 1 p.m. eastern, noon central: www.madalynsklar.com

Hootsuite’s #hootchat Thursdays at 3 p.m. eastern, 2 p.m. central : www.hootsuite.com

Chelsea Krost’s #millennialtalk Tuesdays at 8 p.m. eastern, 7 p.m. central: www.chelseakrost.com

Bonus: Applebee’s #livelunch Fridays 1 p.m. eastern, noon central: www.applebees.com

What are your favorite Twitter chats and how are you celebrating #smallbusinesssaturday?