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b'After over 10 years in this business, I\\u2019ve seen a lot when it comes to social media.\\n\\n\\n\\nI\\u2019ve been around for Blogspotting and LiveJournaling. I\\u2019ve seen the rise and fall of the Twitter empire. I remember when organic reach on Facebook was a given and I watched as Instagram morphed from iPhone snaps to carefully posed and perfected images.\\n\\n\\n\\nMuch has changed about the way small businesses approach social media, too. Some marketers are still trying to be everywhere at once while plenty of others are focused on one, favorite platform. Some are sharing highly curated content and others are sharing whatever floats their boats.\\n\\n\\n\\nPerhaps the answer to the question \\u201cWhat works in social media marketing?\\u201d has never been more ambiguous.\\n\\n\\n\\nThis episode is the finale of our 5-part series on trends shaping small business in 2019. If you haven\\u2019t caught the first 4, check out our feed on your favorite podcast player or at whatworkspodcast.com.\\n\\n\\n\\nMy prediction for 2019 is that this is the year when many small business owners find their strides with social media. \\n\\n\\n\\nOkay\\u2026\\n\\n\\n\\n2019 newsflash\\u2014there is NO right way to do social media to support your business.\\n\\n\\n\\nThe only way to do it is the way that works for you.\\n\\n\\n\\nThat might mean giving it up entirely and focusing on coffee dates, networking events, and online communities\\u2014see our trend episode on \\u201creal relationships\\u201d with Jordan Harbinger for more on that.\\n\\n\\n\\nBut it might also mean embracing a less tidy feed, a more consistent schedule, a more uniform aesthetic, long form captions, short form videos, being silly, being an activist, or just being yourself.\\n\\n\\n\\nThe power of social media today is in how you make it your own\\u2014not in how you try to conform to the norms of your industry or digital space.\\n\\n\\n\\nI\\u2019ve talked to a number of small business owners over the years who have found their own unique ways of utilizing social media. I talked to Lauren & Jason Pak who built a huge global following for their Boston-based gym by sharing educational fitness content informed by their values for inclusivity and positivity. I talked to Elizabeth Dialto who has openly pursued authenticity and transparently shared when she\\u2019s making changes in the way she engages with the channels she uses.\\n\\n\\n\\nBut the small business owner who\\u2019s approach to social media stood out to me the most over the last 3 years has been Patrice Perkins. \\n\\n\\n\\nPatrice is the founding partner of Creative Genius Law. Now, I\\u2019ve known Patrice for many years but her social media posts started to peak my interest when I noticed her sharing hyper-informative content based on legal news in pop culture. When a company was getting sued for ripping off a designer or when a video game got served because it might have stolen a performer\\u2019s signature move, Patrice would write about it\\u2014at length\\u2014on Facebook and Instagram.\\n\\n\\n\\nI personally loved learning from these posts\\u2026 but I was curious about how this kind of sharing was delivering business results. So I asked her!\\n\\n\\n\\nBut first, I\\u2019d also love to know: what\\u2019s working for you when it comes to social media. Are you swearing off of it in 2019?'