Here are five tips for businesses looking to take their social media efforts to the level.

1. Connect with the right people. What is important about building an audience on different social media platforms is not so much to "friend" or connect with people who do the same thing as you, but with those who could potentially want your products or services. Look in adjacent or complementary industries or interest areas.



2. Be creative. Try to reach beyond your website, your blog, or your facebook page and put a variety of tools in your toolbox.
   
   
3. Measure. Social media for many people is a big experiment but measuring is how you make the most effective use of these tools. Make it a practice to measure the return on your effort and drop those activities that have a low return.



4. Specialize. Determine which social media platforms are best suited to your business needs and do not use others just for the sake of using them. But this goes back to the measuring thing.



5. Prepare for the "window" to close. Message boards used to be the big thing. Now not so much. Myspace was a big thing in the past. Now not so much. eBay was hot hot hot, now not so much. Windows of opportunities open and they close. Remember this when you are planning.