The chances are pretty good that if you poll 10 people on the street and ask them to define social media, you’re going to get at least 5 different answers.

Some will tell you it’s a waste of time. Some will tell you it’s invaluable. Others will tell you it’s a great resource for information while some will say it’s a great place to trash celebrities. Without a doubt, names such as Facebook and Twitter will be discussed.

Truth be told, the names of the platforms really mean nothing. As a small business owner, social media needs to be more about connecting with your audience. You are not technically updating your Facebook status or sending some tweets. You are engaging with people and building relationships for your business.

If this is a shock to you, then you are probably handling your social media presence all wrong. Not sure if this applies to you? See if any of the following make you feel guilty and then re-evaluate your social media approach.

• Are you tweeting regularly and getting no responses or retweets? This means no one know who you are and don’t see your value. You need to fix this promptly.
• Similarly for Facebook, are there any comments to your posts? If not, find out why. Try thinking like a consumer rather than a business to get better results.
• Take a look at the links you are sharing. If they all lead back to your website, that’s a big mistake. Rather than automatically thinking of how to lead people to you, share information they might find valuable. This makes you appear like someone looking to share knowledge rather than gloating all of the time.
• How often are you referring to others on Twitter? The less you see the @ in your last hundred or so posts, the more you need to change things up. Always help promote others if you expect the same.
• Is your voice on all platforms consistent? If you’re being studious and professional on Facebook and LinkedIn but funny on Twitter, you’re going to cause brand confusion.

Feeling guilty yet? The good news is that it’s easy to change these things up.
What are some other ways you have found to drastically improve your social media presence?