Today, Friday June 30th is SOCIAL MEDIA DAY and a time to celebrate how social media has impacted the way we share and connect online. If you own a small business, you likely have a social media presence, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s working for you. No matter how many employees you have, which industry you work in, or how long you’ve been dabbling, there are a few ways you can set yourself up for the best possible outcome on social media:

Having a clear picture of how you define success, will help you approach everything you do on social media strategically. Starting off by defining your goals may seem simple, but the key is to set goals you can actually measure using data gathered from the social media platforms you’re using. Aligning your goals with measurable data means you can track your progress and provide an actual ROI (Return On Investment) for your efforts.

Steer clear of vanity metrics like follower counts and focus on more valuable things like increasing your newsletter subscribers, generating good engagement and driving traffic to your website to capture leads. Not quite sure where to start? Use the SMART system; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound.

The better you know your target markets, the better you can pinpoint their exact needs, identify what motivates them and really dig deep into their psyche. Target markets are so much more than age, gender and location! When you’re building your target personas, think about who they are as people and go beyond surface level demographics. Once you’ve got each one outlined, you can then use those profiles to create custom audiences for your paid ads.

No one is perfect, but that’s ok! Understanding that you’re not good at everything is the first step to identifying your specific weak spots so you can seek out professionals or software to fill those skill gaps. As with other areas of your business, knowing when to outsource can save you a lot of time and energy.

Whether you struggle with writing, video creation, strategic direction, content or scheduling, there are lots of ways you can streamline your social media marketing presence when you take the time to recognize those shortcomings and work to fill them.

You don’t need to be everywhere all at once, and you shouldn’t. Understanding which platforms are home to your specific target markets will help you choose more strategically when it comes to where you’ll lay roots to build your online communities. Platforms may overlap user wise, so it’s also important to take into consideration what is required to maintain each one. This way you can determine if you have the content and time necessary to grow and develop a presence there.

Even with the best intentions, small businesses often fall short of creating the high quality content required to get the results they desire on social media. Being strategic with what you share and when can definitely help, but the reality is that terrible content will perform terribly at any time of the day. It’s always best to start small so you can focus on sharing quality instead of committing to 7 posts/week, and as a result, putting out lower quality content that doesn’t perform well.

Success on social media may look different to every small business, but the path to get there often doesn’t. When you strip back the content of all the fanciest workbooks and highest profile webinars, what remains is always the same; focusing on the basic fundamental stepping stones will help set you up for future growth and success online.