Thank you for having me back! It is a pleasure to be here. I really enjoy the experience and being with all of you!

Now, to answer your question ... the best way to leverage social media and networking platforms (such as a blog, wiki, Linked In, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) is to keep your audience (followers) as informed as possible on what you are doing with your business and why it matters to them.

Recently, I caught a fabulous spread by Fast & Company entitled, “The Ten Commandments of Social Media,” and it’s about how social networks are more than networking. You might check it out to get a broader outlook on the importance of these platforms:

http://tinyurl.com/m3dsr5

The trick is to set up an overall corporate strategy, if you will, on social networking and social media. Appoint someone within your organization to be the champion (or CDE: Chief Digital Evangelist) behind it and get to work. Strive for consistency, continuity and robustness (meaning, substantial material or information shared with your constituency base).

As you grow your platforms, people worldwide will reach out to connect with you. That’s a time to reach back at them and determine how you can do business together!

Yes, Twitter is important for working globally. Yes, Twitter can help you reach a global audience!

What should you be doing to tap into it? I am so glad you asked!

I'll use my company as an example. Twitter me (you must request permission first to see my Tweets!): http://twitter.com/laureldelaney

Or, Twitter (http://m.twitter.com/Bofa_Help) to see how BofA uses it (no plug intended ... merely my idea!)

I use Twitter primarily to broaden my firm's constituency base (global indeed) and further set us apart as the ultimate global small business expert and management consultant. It's not about chatting endlessly; it's about promoting my company's expertise, service offerings, core competencies and capabilities. You should be doing the very same thing for your company.

Interestingly enough, as yet, I have never sent a broadcast out to family, friends or business colleagues asking them to follow me on Twitter! Followers find me through my online published work and helpful forums such as this one. So you don't have to beg people to follow you. If you and your work matter, people will find you. But, again, tweeting of substance helps get you to the top of the Twitter charts in your sphere and the more you tweet, the greater the chance of corralling additional followers.

Two great articles on Twitter that helped me develop a better understanding of what it is and how to use it:

How To Twitter
http://tinyurl.com/aklena

The Twitter Revolution
http://tinyurl.com/cgwpdb

Hopefully these will help you too. See you in Twitterland!

You have to be in tip-top shape as a human being so I strongly suggest you get some sort of exercise routine in place that involves minimally, a daily half hour of walking, running, swimming or whatever it is you like to do that gets your heart rate moving swiftly. Health is more important than anything and to do a good job running your company, you have to be in the best shape physically and mentally!

1. Create a plan that reflects where you want to go, how much you are willing to spend, how much time you will invest and how you intend to get there (steps you are going to take). It can be anything from "I want to sell my jewelry products to retail stores throughout the United States and Canada," to "I have U.S. $10,000 to spend and want to source a new jewelry product from Greece and have it ready for sale in the United States within six months." It's that simple. It can be one-page plan or on a napkin. The point is to get it down on paper so everyone, including you, knows your goal.

2. Get the right people on board - whether you hire employees (with full benefits/perks) or independent contractors -- you want people around you who are as passionate about your company's prospects as you. In the beginning, it's about you, your people and company's capabilities. But as you grow, you will discover it becomes about execution.

3. Learn how to communicate effectively and constantly. Keeping people in the dark about anything is a sure-fire sign of an ineffective leader. Don't be one.

4. Delegate as much work as possible to others who can do it better than you. This will make your business life easier and your employees/independent contractors happy because you put trust and faith in their abilities. Don't over-burden them. Revert to the communication part above. If you stay in constant contact, you will learn more quickly about little bumps in the road and together can fix them as they arise.

5. Stay nimble/flexible. Be willing to adjust fast to changing tides and times because the one thing we know to be true is this: Change is the only constant thing right now.

A good article that covers more on business growth is:

Fifteen Tips To Keep Your Company Growing
http://tinyurl.com/cqortp

First, and on behalf of clients, we always look at markets that are similar to the U.S. For example, over 60 percent of initial exports from U.S. companies are originally sent to Canada or the United Kingdom. Mexico is also a frequent export destination because of the close proximity and the benefits of NAFTA (http://tinyurl.com/yq9zge).

Next, we turn to:

U.S. Commercial Service
http://www.buyusa.gov/home/export.html

You can find information by country with key people to contact )categorized by industry) - should you have questions.

And then once we find a country that seems like a perfect fit for a client's products, we check in at The World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business Rankings" which provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 181 economies:
http://www.doingbusiness.org/EconomyRankings/

On food products, we look at:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/ where they create economic opportunity for American agriculture by expanding global markets.

If you still cannot find what you are looking for, revert to a Google or Bing search! You'll be surprised at how much you can learn online just by doing a little homework. Or, contact your local SBA office and ask for help.