Do you struggle to find time to check your Facebook Page? Have you found yourself blindsided by a competitor's brilliant new offering? Social media is a virtual power tool for small businesses and start-ups, but by not maximizing on its potential, you could be costing your brand money. Here are 3 all-too-common mistakes that lower social media ROI:

Not incorporating SEO into social

You can't make money on customers who can't find you. SEO, or search engine optimization, is not just for websites. Social network activity, like posts and tweets, are increasingly factored into search engine algorithms. If you're posting relevant content you'll naturally be including the search terms your market is using. But you'll maximize digital visibility by incorporating keywords into social media profiles and activity. This is a must-have tactic for companies marketing locally. For instance, keywords for a Jacksonville tax office should include Jacksonville, Duval County, and north Florida.

Not tapping online intelligence

You can't capitalize on information you don't have. However, the challenge for many small businesses and start-ups is lack of money: lack of money to invest in focus groups to learn about the market, and lack of money to hire a spy to learn about the competition (okay, hopefully you're not doing that anyway). From market research to competitive research, online intelligence is an important key to making profitable decisions. Monitoring tools will show you what customers want, what competitors are doing, and where you'll find opportunity.

Not using management tools

You can't maximize social media strategy when you don't have time to handle it. Do you typically check Facebook on the fly or manage Twitter while sitting in traffic? Doing business on social media doesn't have to be that way! There are tons of tools that take the hassles and headaches out of engaging customers and monitoring the web. Social media tools come in two flavors:

• Free: From Google Alerts to saved Twitter searches, free tools can provide the info you need. While free programs are nice on the surface, it can be time consuming to jump from one platform to another and back again. And do you really want tools that are time drains instead of time saves?
• Paid: Quality platforms are a smart way to manage your digital world. Beam Social, from Social Strategy1 (my employer), is a streamlined social media monitoring and engagement solution. You get a dashboard that makes it easy to see social media notifications, online mentions, and any other info you need to make profit-building decisions. And, by the way, the cost is way lower than you might think, making it a smart choice for start-ups and small businesses. In fact, the basic package starts at a price that may be less than your monthly Internet bill.

Is one of these social media mistakes costing your brand revenue? Here's the action plan: make time this week to knock out one of these bottom-line-dinging mistakes. Begin to inject targeted search terms into social activities, or the research engagement and monitoring tools that make your life easier. Whatever you do, the point is to re-chart the course...right now...to start generating social media ROI.

Now it's your turn; please share your comments, thoughts, or questions.

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