If everything around running a small business or non-profit organization (NP) isn’t tough enough, try adding social media performance metrics to your list of tasks.  Metrics for social media can be scary and confusing for small businesses and non-profits when they have no time, no extra staff and no budget. But not all social media metrics need to be relegated to the doghouse. Some easily taken metrics are important and can measure a level of success. As I was driving on highway 11 through North Bay, Ontario, the fun looking storefront of Lisa’s Doghouse caught my eye. So, I went in and talked social media metrics with the owner of this upscale healthy pet food store, Lisa Rousseau. The business is only four years old and she has relied primarily on Facebook and her website for staying in touch with her customers. On the success of their social media efforts on their business, store associate Brendan Vandermeulen says, “ It’s a hard one to gauge. It does not bring in new people as much as engage those who are already keeping an eye on us.”. And about translating their social media efforts to sales Brendan explains, “Again, it is a hard one to gauge because the other advertising overlaps.” Right now, Lisa and her team are comfortable with their current social media strategy and look forward to when there is more time to improve and measure the success of what they are doing.

Timmins, Ontario is experiencing a cultural renaissance. Young entrepreneurs with lofty goals and a high tolerance for risk are spurring a revolution in this mid-sized mining town. The organization that served as the catalyst for this change – Radical Gardens. Radical Gardens (RG) is a multi-faceted company that is comprised of a Certified Organic farm, a LEAF certified farm to table restaurant, and an online market that distributes to the region.

On Etsy, any of us can become a business owner. Have a unique homemade idea? Are you a knitting expert? Perfect. Time to start selling. Etsy has created a straightforward, simple platform to allow any individual a store front to sell their unique and homemade products. For the user, they have also created a simplified ability to track and monitor the traffic of the site and relate that back to social media practices and success. Fundamentally, the same practices that exist for multi-million dollar corporations are relevant to small business owners, including those who are making their own wares in their kitchen while the kids play outside. Compiling and observing social media metrics is one thing. Using that information to influence action (drive sales), or improve marketing decisions is another.

It’s safe to say that when German brothers Adolf and Rudolph Dassler first founded footwear and apparel giant PUMA in 1924 the world was a much different place. Computers, the Internet and social media were obviously not of concern whereas merely having reliable electricity to manufacture their shoes was. Fast-forward to nearly a century later and the game has changed in ways that would have once seemed unimaginable. In order to compete in today’s global marketplace companies need to have an online presence. While initially it may have been adequate to just have a corporate website, it is now becoming increasingly necessary for companies be active on social media. But merely participating in social media does not ensure success. Companies need to be analyzing their social media traffic and taking advantage of the insights that it can provide in order to ensure that their time and effort is providing them the optimal return on investment.