<p>Small businesses are the cornerstone of the industry. Blood, sweat and tears go into a business, yet there are still constant concerns with growth potential. As a small business, you are competing with the big names, the industry standards, but this does not mean you lay down and die. You fight the winning fight. As the landscape of the business world evolves, you must embrace social media. If not, you will not succeed in the short or long term. How do you track your social media presence, ensuring you receive a return on your investment?<br />
<strong>Build traffic</strong><br />
Prior to analyzing the efficacy of your social media campaign, build traffic to your small business. Use search engine optimization (SEO) designed to boost your online ranking. Instead of using keywords with high competition, search low competition keywords and build your online presence. Create a buzz surrounding your company through press releases. Utilize organic, well-written content and distribute to the major search engines and news sites. If your advertising budget allows for flexibility, create online ads and share on social media sites.<br />
<strong>Rules of engagement</strong><br />
Building traffic takes time, but engaging your customer base is fun and rewarding. If you do not engage with your customer base, your social media marketing efforts dwindle to nothing. Prior to posting any and everything on your social media sites, listen to your customers. They will tell you what they want to hear. Your customers promote your business better than you do. Concentrate your efforts on one site prior to branching out to others. Engaging your customers on multiple social media sites gets you noticed, but could present problems. Unless you have unlimited resources, your message is lost in translation. There are different types of customers on the various social media sites. Embrace your core demographic first, and then turn your attention to the broader spectrum.<br />
<strong>Keep talking</strong><br />
Engagement is great, but how does your small business continue to keep the conversation going? Post information that is timely and relevant. Stalled content bores customers. If they hear the same information, their attention span wanes and they move toward something new. As a small business, allow experienced employees to manage your social media presence. Taking on the task yourself bogs you down and does not allow you to focus on the return on your investment.<br />
Create a culture surrounding your social media presence. Incorporate ideas from your employees as well as your customer base. What are they talking about now? If your customer is talking about it, you need to talk about it.<br />
<strong>Analyze your efforts</strong><br />
Measuring return on investment is critical to your business success. Use first-touch analytics. This process allows you to see the effects of your engagement. Once you see which social media sites generate the most traffic, use multichannel analytics to see which sites are the most effective. Concentrate your efforts on the sites with the highest efficacy rates. Do not place all of your eggs in one basket. Relying on analytical tools is ideal, but in the real world, you need a community manager to decipher the information. Several online tools provide free tools measuring whom you influence on social media.<br />
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Social media is the wave of the marketing future for small businesses. Do not rely on tried and true methods to create your own space in the social world. Utilize real time analytics to increase your social engagement.</p>