Small Business

Small Business

A new Facebook tool called the Roost Local Scorecard allows small businesses (SMBs) and independent contractors to track their impact on the local level. Small business owners could now measure how well they’re doing with their target market, and at the same time strategize on strengthening their business and relationship with their clients.

The tool is developed by Roost, a social media company that aims to help small businesses to maximize their online presence, and to cultivate a better bond with customers. Facebook and Twitter, the two leading social networks today, are the primary focus of the company, though it intends to expand to other social networks as well.

Understanding the Local Scorecard Tool
To best understand this revolutionary tool, here’s a breakdown of how the scorecard works:
• The Scorecard is generated in mere seconds, giving SMBs an index score between 1 and 100;
• The index score measures SMB performance among local clientele;
• The score is based on location, size and population;
• The score determines improvements in SMB performance over time; and
• The Scorecard suggests actions that could improve the marketing efforts of SMBs in social networks, with the target markets highly prioritized.

This measuring tool arrives at a score by analyzing the geographic distribution of ‘Facebook Likes’ that an SMB receives. This information is then correlated with other factors such as the US population and other relevant data. The result is that SMBs could finally determine if their marketing efforts in social media networks are working or not; and then they could move on to brainstorming over improvements.

Focusing on the Target Market
Small business owners largely depend on their target market for growing their business, so that they need to increase their online presence or visibility in the correct avenues. For example, it won’t matter to a doll maker in Navarre, Florida whose businesses reach is restricted to a local level, if web surfers from India click the ‘like’ button and admire the products. The doll maker’s concern must be customers in the Navarre community and those within the state; nothing more and nothing less.

One true-to-life example provided in the Roost blog is the food service business called “Kendal’s Kitchen,” which caters only to Seattle customers. Founder Kendal Swinski emphasizes the importance of quality versus quantity with respect to ‘Facebook likes,’ saying that, “My local community is who I feed and who feeds me;” and she explains that no matter how many comments and thumbs up she gets from people outside of Washington, such a big, irrelevant number doesn’t convert to profit and income for her small business. It’s the thumbs up of the people in Seattle, who she serves, that are important as these are the ‘Facebook likes’ that translate to business.
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