Some of these business trends are sources of good business opportunities; others are trends we need to incorporate into our small business practices to stay competitive and keep or grow our market share. Here are five business trends that small businesses can profit from in 2011.

1. Cloud Computing

Small businesses can directly benefit from the cloud computing business trend by using cloud-based applications to cut down on the expense and trouble of doing the same thing themselves. Using someone else’s mail servers through the Internet can be much more cost-effective (and hassle-free) than setting up your own email server in-house, for example, – especially if you don’t have a dedicated IT person or department.

But with more and more large businesses looking to contract out business processes, small businesses are also well-positioned to benefit from the cloud computing trend by picking up some business. It’s not size or location that matters with cloud computing, it’s expertise.

2. Social Media

Social media is one of those business trends your small business can’t afford to ignore. Facebook isn’t just something that kids are using any more and social networks are increasingly becoming business networks as people’s social/personal/business lives converge. Simply put, if that’s where they are, that’s where you need to be if you want to sell more widgets.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to get heavily into social media marketing this year (although if you do it properly, it can be a real sales booster). At this time, social media is perhaps best used for small business as a listening post, although it certainly won’t hurt to put up a Facebook page and try to engage customers and get them interested in your products and services.

3. Mobile Computing More >