social media

May 16, 2010
by Jolie O'Dell

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

It goes without saying that small business owners are always looking for ways to save money. And technology is a great way to do just that.

By its very nature, technology is intended to make complicated things simple and expensive things affordable. Think about sending a bill to a customer; back in the day, it took paper, correction fluid, a stamp and a trip to the mailbox to accomplish this task. These days, it can be as quick and cheap as sending an e-mail.

Here are five easy ways small businesses can save money using technology.

One of our newest MHBA members, Closely, Inc has issued a survey asking local business owners about their usage and understanding of various social media tools.

Closely, Inc. is a new Denver start-up, from the founders of other Denver companies including MapQuest, Newsgator, Jabber and Local Matters. The company is focused on building new social media applications that empower small businesses to more "closely connect" with their customers, followers, and fans. Our mission is to make the new world of social and real-time media more useful and powerful as a local direct marketing tool.