Keep moving. This media is here to stay and is working for both local merchants and large brands.

"What can I do with this" is the base question, and I totally agree with the chasm between social media and actionable tactics.

We have used SocMedia to build LOCAL customer base. More a system of keeping in contact with our customers, providing services, creating leads, opportunities, than direct sales.

The focus of our online endeavours is to get the local customer (within about 200 miles) to show up in person in our store, either to buy or sell antique items. Since it's a "unique and collectable" item, travel is sometimes part of the transaction, and this type of item fares better than "off the shelf" stock in most retail.

We use Twitter, Ning groups (one full control, other open), our own website, email, blogs, all with ONE focus – promotion of our B&M store. Online sales are considered bonus.

I believe the metrics can be better measured with a specific focus in mind, our being local. As such we KNOW it has led to many sales, sales opportunities, branding, purchase opportunities, service opportunities and more.

Not all businesses can measure such outcomes from each effort, but in our case we ensure we ask our customers how they found us. We no longer us PRINT advertising of any form, and we can easily isolate which customers have come in thru relationships built on twitter, a blog, our own website or our online groups. We utilize all channesl in a cross-promotional method to achieve our final result – a customer in front of us (personal best, virtual, ok).

In a small business, even without specific metrics, we KNOW with some clarity exactly what is working and what doesn't.

For example: our Shop-NING at website my link goes to… is by far the most succesful (and also most "social") endeavour we have used to date for direct sales. Have a quick look at that site, I think you will be surprised at the power, and future possibilities, such a platform provides.

Best of all, of course, it is a FREE experiment.

In the future, I can see millions of small B&M stores concentrating on local clients using such groups. In fact with the rapid inclusion of geo-tracking on social network apps, this will rise more rapidly than even I envisioned.

What do you think? Does social media effort become more easily quantifiable if done with a local focus?

I ask myself the question “What can I do with this?” a lot because there's some new social media must have/do on the scene every week. It's a given that most business owners believe they should be using social media, but don't really know why, other than they've heard that it's good for business.

I saw you recently at SNL8 – you rocked BTW – and other speakers there talked of how one should use SM to build relationships not as a sales platform, good to know, but like you, I want to have a blueprint that has been proven to work – not coulds and shoulds.

Thanks for giving me something to contemplate over this morning.

Fran.