Q: What fundamental aspect of social media do small business owners need to understand before they consider integrating it to their marketing strategy?

A: Social media is a two-way interactive medium between real people. Unless it is integrated properly into your marketing strategy, it is a huge waste of time and opportunity.

Q: What are two or three ways a small business can gauge the success of its social media efforts? 

A: It depends on what impact on your buy cycle you want to evaluate, for example:

• Awareness: Visits coming from Twitter, YouTube, Facebook.   
• Interaction: Comments on blog and Facebook posts; number of friends/followers and viewers.   
• Conversions: Percentage taking advantage of promotional offers. Don't forget to ask all new clients, "How did you first hear about us?"

Q: Use of social media is growing fastest among those over 50. How should small businesses respond to this pattern and keep these users engaged? 

A: Support and encourage older users by responding to their tweets and posts. Track the hours that they respond, as they may differ from younger groups that engage all the time, and align your communications accordingly.

Q: Social media is but one tool in an entrepreneur's marketing tool box. Is there another one that you feel is often overlooked, yet has the potential to make a big impact on sales?

A: Email marketing in general still has the highest return on investment of all marketing tactics, about $40 for every dollar invested. Of course, you can build email lists and promote your email newsletter content through social media.

Q: How can working with a SCORE mentor help ensure that a small business marketing plan stays on track?

A: SCORE mentors can help you immensely first by creating the "event" or incentive to getting a business plan on paper.  We all think we have a plan but tangibly putting it all down drives clarity and commitment. You also get great, unbiased feedback where you can expose gaps where you need more research or even opportunities that you did not even think of. 

And, if you can get a SCORE mentor from your industry or target client industry you have the additional benefit of deep experience that can shave years off your learning curve.