The Business Finance Store recently reported that businesses of all sizes must develop social marketing strategies to guide their initiatives.

Citing the rapid growth of consumer social media use, the Business Finance Store recently reported businesses of all sizes must begin using the platforms and develop effective social media marketing strategies moving forward.

Some companies have launched social marketing campaigns without any clearly stated goals or social media metrics in place, which are necessary to gauge the success of an initiative. While a social presence is a start, it’s unlikely to lead to more than a few new followers and retweets without an understanding of the behavior of potential clients and customers.

For example, the Business Finance Store reports that as many as 89 percent of women between the ages of 18 and 29 use social media websites. With this in mind, businesses targeting this demographic should tailor a portion of their campaign toward it. Additionally, providing original brand journalism aimed at this audience will provide an incentive for visitors to remain on a website.

As the economy struggles to recover, it’s critical that businesses – small and large – leverage tools, such as social media and other modern digital marketing techniques, to remain relevant and competitive.

Local search is another tool that businesses can use to attract customers. As Brafton recently reported, 28 percent of American adults regularly use location-based services to find nearby businesses. The percentage is even higher when isolating the research to smartphone users, as 60 percent of smartphone users rely on local-friendly phone features.

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.