Small business experts can be a great source for journalists who want to cover the latest issues on the small business beat.
Here are 10 experts every small business reporter should follow on Twitter.
1) Rhett Buttle
About the expert: You may have recently heard the news that Rhett Buttle (RhettButtle) was hired as the business outreach director for Hillary Clinton, but before that Buttle served as the president and managing editor of Small Business Majority, an organization created to help small businesses solve a number of problems impacting their ability to thrive.
What he tweets: Buttle tweets about a number of small business-related issues, but mainly those issues pertaining to the political and health care field. He also tweets out photos and insight from small business events he’s attended, like the Seattle Opportunity and Job Fair and Small Business Leadership Summit.
2) Ruth Simon
About the expert: Ruth Simon (RSimon18) is a small business and entrepreneurship reporter at the Wall Street Journal, but she’s also a highly-skilled reporter in the personal finance sector.
What she tweets: If you’re looking for a small business beat reporter, follow Simon. She frequently shares links to her Wall Street Journal stories that contain information about things such as the gender gap in small business ownership and the growth in crowdfunding.
3) Melinda Emerson
About the expert: Melinda Emerson (@SmallBizLady) is the founder and creator of long-running #SmallBizChat, where she talks with small business owners on Twitter who seek advice. Emerson is also a frequent columnist in the New York Times.
What she tweets: Emerson mostly curates her own tweets on ways small businesses can grow their company using digital media. She writes about subjects like how small businesses can become more attractive to angel investors and how businesses can use Pinterest to grow.
4) Susan Solovic
About the expert: Susan Solovic (@SusanSolovic) candidly calls herself, “THE small business expert” in her Twitter bio for a reason. Solovic has written for New York Times, Wall Street Journal and is the best-selling author of several books covering the small business realm.
What she tweets: Solovic mostly shares stories from outlets like Forbes and Fox Business, but also reports on a number of issues like why women-owned businesses aren’t growing and how small companies can avoid making mistakes on social media.
5) Anita Campbell
About the expert: Anita Campbell (@SmallBizTrends) is the founder, CEO and publisher of the digital magazine Small Business Trends. She’s been featured in major publications such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
What she tweets: Follow Campbell for information pertaining to the latest trends in the technology and small business market. In addition to linking out to her own stories on the Small Biz Trends website, Campbell tweets about the latest data findings, startups and healthcare costs for businesses.
6) Barry Moltz
About the expert: Barry Moltz (@BarryMoltz) has founded and run a number of small businesses over the last 20 years and he uses his entrepreneurial success and failures to educate others. He’s written five books and is a radio host for Business Insanity Talk Radio, AM560.
What he tweets: Moltz is a good follow if you’re covering topics on the financial side of business and how companies can better use mobile technology. Moltz seldom retweets, but when he does, it’s usually on articles that he’s helped curate or radio shows he’d like to share.
7) Stella Fayman
About the expert: Stella Fayman (@StartupStella) is an entrepreneur who has co-founded companies FeeFighters, Matchist and Entrepreneurs Unpluggd. She also currently holds the vice president of marketing position with @Trello, an app that helps businesses organize workflow.
What she tweets: Fayman mostly tweets about startups, marketing strategy and politics, but every once in awhile she’ll share links to her articles and blogs.
8) Gene Marks
About the expert: Gene Marks (@GeneMarks) is an expert who writes for a number of publications including Forbes, Fox News and MSNBC chatting about matters that impact the small business community. He has also the author of five best-selling books.
What he tweets: Marks tweets about a variety of topics involving money and the tech industry, but he loves to share human interest stories about small business owners that have fought through challenges. He also frequently tweets out links about events, such as the Sage Summit, where he’ll be speaking this month.
9) Jim Blasingame
About the expert: Jim Blasingame (@JimBlasingame) is founder and president of Small Business Network, a company dedicated to serving small businesses across the country. He also works to help small businesses and corporations build relationships. Blasingame hosts a weekday small business radio show called The Small Business Advocate show.
What he tweets: Blasingame often tweets out stories from Small Business Advocate, including his own, which talk about things like how small businesses can grow their referrals and why motivating employees can lead to big business.
10) Doug and Polly White
About the expert: Doug and Polly White are the ultimate #SmallBizCouple, helping small businesses manage their bottom line, grow and improve profitability. Their expert advice pieces appear in several weekly columns, including Entrepreneur.com. The two have a following of nearly 125,000 followers on Twitter.
What they tweet: The Whites tweet about nearly everything impacting small business: employee compensation packages, start ups and hiring those with employment gaps, are just a few. They also link out to stories with frequently asked Q&A’s on their website, Doug and Polly.
To localize content, we also suggest talking to small business owners, experts and professors in your area to add value to your next story.
