Cast a clear vision.
Employees are more engaged in their work when they understand the company's mission, are united by its values and are proud of its reputation. Communicate goals clearly and keep people in the loop.

Celebrate committed members.
People in your company who are committed to excellence and connection are the heart of the company, and should be encouraged and celebrated.

Be a servant leader.
Connection cultures need leaders who are willing to put the needs of others before their own. Doing so gains the respect of employees and encourages others to do the same.

Recognize the value of each individual.
Your employees need to feel respected and valued. Encourage employees to express appreciation for their colleagues' contributions and help others achieve their potential.

For a small business to thrive, everyone on the team needs to be highly engaged in his or her work.
The good news is that employee engagement isn't the result of expensive perks or time-consuming programs.  It comes from having a company culture where people care about each other and about their work. In these 'connection cultures', people invest time to develop healthy work relationships, and the resulting bond creates  a sense of connection, community and unity that energizes the team and spurs productivity and innovation. (Visit again soon for '5 Tips on how to build a Connection Culture')

Research what media your ideal customer consumes. When it comes to social media, Pinterest appeals to a pre-dominantly female audience (82%), with a strong visual emphasis on fashion and design. Google+ draws a mostly male (71%), tech-savvy audience.  What's important is that you decide what results you ant to get out of your marketing campaign, Attracting more 'likes' and followers can be called a success if that's what your goal is. As for me, I'd prefer one paying customer over a few 'likes' any day.

The thing is, it doesn't work very well - if at all. A recent survey by Facebook showed that the vast majority of Facebook users want less promotional content in their feeds. As well, the proliferation of ad-blocker apps for YouTube has been growing exponentially over the last six months. So what can you do to reach your market and not break the bank? First, think about what it is you're selling and to whom. Products and services have their own unique marketing traits. And selling to consumers requires a much different strategy than selling to other companies. Products are visual, while services need to be focused on the benefits they provide.

Recent statistics from Facebook and a report by unruly.com show that:

• 87% of YouTube videos are shared by only 18% of users.

• 99% of Twitter posts come from 1% of subscribers
• The organic reach of Facebook posts is around 2 to 8%

The problem is that a business's social media success is generally measured by statistics instead of results. This is due to a 'culture of conversion' created by social media marketer, where followers, subscribers and those who've liked your Facebook page are viewed as prospects waiting to be converted into paying customers.

After years of taking the advice of social media experts, small business owners are growing frustrated with the lack of results. Facebook's ever-changing algorithms as well as recent social media stats prove that sharing, posting and tweeting may not be the best way to attract more customers.