Tad Chef at SEOptimise penned a great concise piece on 30 ways to use social media as a business.

http://www.seoptimise.com/blog/2011/01/30-ways-to-use-social-media-for-business-people.html

What’s important to realize here is that the social media basics are all free – all you need is a little time, energy and know-how and you can bring your business into the world of social media to remain competitive. Even more importantly, businesses who fail to provide a positive customer service experience will not survive in the next five years – they will be destroyed by users who share their negative experiences with the rest of the world. Properly positioned, you can take advantage of the failures within your competition and gain market share.