Time to fess up. I think social media is a waste of time when it comes to marketing a small business.

Yes, it gives you the chance to engage with your customers and promote your offering. But…

1. Does it lead to any real business? Maybe, but compared to effort?
2. You can not beat the personal touch. Pick up the phone! Arrange a lunch with a client.

Take Twitter. It’s a great platform that is incredibly enabling. But, it’s so enabling that it’s full of people with an agenda. What’s more, how engaging can you really be with 140 characters? What about collecting followers too? Surely that’s just vanity.

I won’t stop using tools like Twitter, but you only need to look at the fickle way in which Facebook is being dropped to notice a pattern here, especially when it comes to sustainable marketing channels.

It’s worth pointing out that B2C may get value from a platform like Facebook… I know I do. But, the only number worth that you can measure relates to engagement and how can you measure that on your P&L?

Get involved, don’t waste too much time and get from it what you do. But, in the words of NWA, don’t believe the hype!