Social media is undoubtedly one of the most powerful marketing tools around today. It allows you to reach out directly to customers, engage with them immediately and raise brand awareness in new and innovative ways. If you’re lucky, social media can also send you viral.

As with any marketing approach, however, measuring results so that you can see how your current strategy is working is critical. Metrics reveal:

• How well your campaign is performing.
• How your audience is engaging with your business online.
• Which content works best for your business.

Spread your time and effort wisely

If you are a small to medium-size business, spreading your marketing activities too thinly can be counterproductive.

You end up doing nothing well and your message gets diluted. Focusing on a few key social media platforms that work for your business means you can put more effort into them. It also makes the whole business of metrics much easier to understand.

Set your goals

As with any...

Social media can be complex and challenging at the best of times - planning activity, creating content, connecting and engaging.

So how do you know if you're using the most appropriate social network?

How do you know if the platform you're using to promote your brand, products or services is the 'right' social channel for your business?

Here are my 5 quick tips for helping you to decide which are the best social channels for your business.

1.  POPULARITY - does the network have many subscribers?

Unless it’s truly niche to your offering, be mindful of marketing your business to a smaller, unknown social network.

2.  AUDIENCE – does your target audience use the network?

No brainer!!

Pointless creating great content if your target audience won’t see it.

3.  COMPETITORS – do your competitors use the network?

Competitor research is essential if you want to grow your business – and define your USP!

What are they posting?
Are they getting much...