The key then for success is to select the areas that can deliver the most benefits with a manageable expenditure of money and resources. The benefits include:
* Increasing rankings on search engine pages
* Finding new customers (or having them find you)
* Finding new business connections
* Having a platform to communicate with existing customers
* Having multiple platforms for customer reviews
For small businesses, especially with a local or regional market, focusing on social media sites that encourage reviews (like Yelp.com) is a great way to get started because they can raise your business’ profile in your market while not requiring a massive amount of work. Of the five benefits listed above, these review sites can deliver results in every area with the probable exception of finding business connections.
Better still, the bulk of the work can delegated to selected employees. These tasks can include monitoring the sites, responding to reviews, posting coupons, etc. Focusing on local social media is a task that can still consume time and energy so start small and build from there. Manage the process, don’t get overwhelmed, and the results will come.