What If Social Media Doesn't Work for You?

What is your small business getting out of social media?

If you feel that your small business is spending escalating amounts of time and money on social media and not getting anything back, you're not alone.

Take, for instance, the case of John Edgar Lacher, which Melinda F. Emerson presents in When Social Media Marketing Doesn't Work for You (The New York Times).

So far Mr. Lacher, a licensed private investigator in San Diego, has found social media to be a complete waste of time and money. He's even canceled his Facebook page because:

"I had a lot of people who would ask questions about how I do private investigations, but I never got a single client from it. I got a bunch of stupid comments from people, which was really annoying."

Now that doesn't mean Mr. Lacher has given up entirely on social media. In fact, he's still on Twitter, although he rarely tweets, and has invested in LinkedIn. But he's extremely frustrated by his lack of results and tired of throwing money away.

If you're in this same position, you'll want to read Melinda Emerson's post as she presents five specific strategies that Mr. Lacher and anyone else can use to start getting the something you want to get out of social media.

Note this point, though, about trying to get clients or customers through social media; Melinda writes:

"Even once you have connected with someone, social-media-networking takes considerably more time than face-to-face networking. I believe it takes seven quality contacts before you can start talking commerce, but I've read industry estimates as high as 21 meaningful contacts before you can close business."

Articles on Using Social Media for Business

• How to Create a Social Media Plan
• How to Create a Business Page on Facebook
• How to Best Use Pinterest for Business
• How to Twitter - A Get Started Guide

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