Many business owners may hold social media in the same esteem I reserve for Justin Bieber – I prefer to cover my ears and run away at the mere mention of him.

However, they must come to the same realization I have regarding the Biebs – he (and social media) isn’t going anywhere.

Fortunately for everyone else, social media is actually useful.  But it does require a bit of work. A recent study showed that the majority of those surveyed weren’t satisfied with their Twitter ROI.  However, Paul Gillin’s analysis of this study makes a good point: 20 percent of those owners who reported revenue yielded via Twitter had been involved with Twitter more intensively and for longer than the roughly 50 percent of respondents who were unsatisfied with Twitter results.

It’s one thing to set up an account on the multitude of social media platforms out there; it’s quite another to actually use these channels effectively.  That’s where planning comes in. Then of course engagement and implementation as I mentioned in my last post.

Unfortunately, there is no magical solution to brilliant marketing.  Social media is just one more tool to help spread your message. Social media  has benefits over more traditional forms because of the instant gratification aspect and (most importantly) it’s virtually nonexistent cost. And since biz owners are saving money on the tools, they should be investing that money into the necessary time it takes to make any social media campaign successful. Constant updates, audience outreach, creating value – all this takes time. But in most cases, it WILL pay off and the ROI will be exceptional because of the limited cost it took to implement the campaign in the first place.