Everyday someone is telling you that your small business needs to utilize social media. Experts tout its incredible power and advisors will make it seem as if you’re lost without it.

According to Nielson, Americans spend 23% (nearly a quarter) of their online time on social networking sites like Facebook, StumbleUpon, Blogger, Tumblr, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. In August alone, StumbleUpon and Facebook accounted for 88% of all social media traffic. With numbers like that, it’s hard to resist social media’s lure.

But while everyone talks up the power of social media, very few know how to properly use it. Sure, membership is free and the potential audience is vast, but if it’s sucking up vast spaces of your precious time without showing meaningful results, you’re wasting your resources.

In an article from Inc. Magazine entitled “Social Media is a Waste of Time”, Senior Vice President of the social marketing agency BzzAgent, Malcolm Faulds, argues sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Groupon are a waste of small business resources – unless you have a strategic plan in place for their usage.

At MediaRevo we understand that many smaller companies often lack the time, the personnel, and (most importantly) the specialized expertise to perpetually manage scores of social media accounts. That’s why our staff is trained in the most up-to-date techniques every key online social network. We optimize and maintain our clients’ accounts – and they reap the rewards.

While social media is constantly evolving, we’ve found some tried-and-true rules that can keep you from squandering valuable hours online.

Maintain your presence – consistently!
One of the most common mistakes – perhaps the most common mistake – businesses make in terms of social media is not maintaining enough of a presence. Malcolm Faulds highlights this in Inc.:

“The typical small business Facebook page is a ghost town. It might have some pictures of the business, a few posts about an event six months ago, and a handful of followers who joined when the page launched. On Twitter, there might be a couple posts a month and none of them are related to any customer question.”

Most companies have a “fits and starts” action pattern – they update way too much and then abandon their pages for days, weeks, or even months.

It’s not enough to simply create an account, accumulate some followers, and update sparingly. Social media is about starting a conversation and establishing relationships with your customers.

In order to do this you should update your pages regularly. Posts must be relevant to your product or service and novel enough to stand out in a sea of status updates and Tweets. Make sure to have two-way conversations with your clients, vendors, and potential customers. Ask them questions directly, follow up on comments, and thank them for their participation.

Use the right medium
Not every company needs to be on every social networking site. If your business is a virtual store, there’s little point in setting up an account on Foursquare.

Some large pharmaceutical companies have recently decided a good way to inform the public about new products would be through a Twitter account. One hundred and forty characters to teach heart patients about the risks and benefits of a new cholesterol-lowering drug? Not an effective plan.

When we start out with a new client, we determine which channels will be most effective by analyzing their product and customers. And we don’t waste time with media that doesn’t work for them.

Start by thinking about your product and which networks would best showcase it. For example, LinkedIn now has a section in company profiles dedicated for pages and videos about the company’s work.

Do your research
Do some research to find out where the bulk of your customers spend their time and maintain your presence there. Figure out which days of the week and what time of day they’re active online and post your updates and promotions then.

Establish a voice (and maybe a face or two)
Social media is virtually useless if it’s not interesting and engaging. Putting out content that sounds like an automaton just Tweeted it won’t catch anyone’s attention. Being professional doesn’t mean coming across as lifeless.

What’s your corporate culture like? What’s your business philosophy? The answers to these questions can help you determine your online identity.

Show pictures of employees and who’s posting what. Make sure the CEO’s blog or news feed has his or her picture. Post Facebook pictures of company events, outings, or just hanging out at the office. Show your human side – it’s what people relate to.

Stay relevant
Know what your customers are interested in and write posts that are targeted towards them. Again, it’s a dialogue. Answer questions and follow up on their pages. The more customer feedback you seek, the more you’ll know what they want to hear.

At MediaRevo, we engage followers in pertinent, meaningful conversation. We share articles and information relevant to our client’s business. We see what customers are talking about and go from there.

A good place to start is popular stories and trending topics, like those on the right-hand bar on Twitter. This inserts you into an already popular conversation and gives you hundreds or even thousands of potential followers keeping track of that thread or subject.

Of course, if it has nothing to do with your business, it’s useless. So stick to topics that have to do with your field.

Free stuff!
Free offers, contests, and discounts are great ways to generate traffic and build customer loyalty.

“Access to offers is one of the biggest reasons people follow brands on social media,” says Faulds. “Give them something exclusive. Make them feel special and encourage them to share it with their friends on Facebook and Twitter.”

Facebook feeds are often packed with friends who have just gotten a great deal from LivingSocial or a coupon from a large retail store. More discounts abound when their friends take advantage of the same deal. Some businesses offer promotions for customers who “check in” on Foursquare or Facebook. It generates a buzz and keeps people coming back.

Link with the right people
Just like every other part of life, knowing the right people goes a long way. Find out who the popular users, bloggers, and opinion leaders are in your field (if you don’t already know) and follow them. Start conversations with them. Comment on their stories and posts. Re-Tweet interesting posts from influential people and thank them when they mention you or re-Tweet your posts. This links you to their network of followers and fosters relationships with people in a position to bring you business.

Keep track of your progress
Track your progress with analytics tools. How will you know what works and what doesn’t if you have no metrics in place to track results?

Google and Facebook already have analytics and insights tools in place, Twitter has Tweetdeck, and there are any number of free analytics programs you can find on the web.

Of course nothing beats specialized, comprehensive platforms that give you deep insight into your customers, their path through your page, the time of day they log on, how many times they return, where they’re from, what businesses are checking out your page and more.

Our new Results! platform, released this summer, does just that. We spent months developing a program which tracks every useful statistic and instantly generates customizable reports to analyze your strategies.

For more information on access to Results!, go to our page.

Give social media the time it deserves
Sometimes doing something halfway is worse than doing nothing at all. Social media is useless if you don’t put in the time to generate meaningful content and foster lasting relationships – which means you’re just wasting time if you’re not committing to it.

Faulds’ final recommendation is perhaps his most sage: “Budget enough time to engage, or else hire someone.”

Most of our clients hire us to take care of their entire social media presence because they don’t have the time to devote to it or the money to hire an expert who knows all the ins and outs. We understand this and can work with your organization to take the confusion out of establishing your online presence, maximizing the return on your social networking.

For more advice on social media and your online presence, contact us.