The other day I was asked “Is social media the company newsletter?” I was going to give a quick answer, then stopped to consider. Yes, I do think social media can take the place of most of the functions of the company newsletter. And has the added benefit of instant conversation.

Years ago we’d get news from our companies via beautifully printed “magazines” with articles about the company, news, upcoming events and possibly an employee highlight. In fact I still get a few of those periodicals from my insurance broker, USAA and from Ford Motor Company. That’s not the case for smaller businesses though. In fact I find that often I will get news from smaller businesses on Twitter or Facebook. They are my main news sources, followed quickly by the blogs that I read, and possibly YouTube videos and LinkedIn updates.