If you’re a small business owner, chances are you’ve heard all the buzz about social media sites.

You’ve probably heard the fairytale-like stories of people who used social media to grow their company and their bottom line exponentially. The reason that these stories sound too good to be true is because, in most cases, they are. Social media is a great tool for small businesses to use, but it is not the final solution that will guarantee huge quarterly profits and healthy annual growth. There are a few things that companies should remember when utilizing social media.

The Human Element

People are most likely to buy from other human beings, not some robot with a status update and a profile picture. What I mean by this is that if you are going to utilize networks like Facebook or Twitter, the person who is managing your company’s account should be a great communicator. They should be engaging and interesting. Customers want to know that there is actually a human on the other end of the account so find someone with charisma to manage your social media campaigns.

How Much Is Too Much?

Be sure that you do not spread your social media manager too thin. One of the most damaging things that any company’s social media channels can go through is lack of consistent updating. Ideally you will want a few interesting informative posts on your channels each day. If you have two or three people handling the accounts, you can probably get involved on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. If you only have one person working in social media, you will want to focus your efforts on one or two channels. Identify which demographics you’re targeting and plan your focus accordingly. If you’re looking to recruit new talent, you’ll probably want to be on LinkedIn and Twitter. If you’re looking to push products to young people, MySpace and Facebook might serve you better.

Shake Hands

The final thing to remember about social media is that it does not replace the old fashioned business of making real life relationships. Social media is a great way to start relationships and continue to grow them but make every effort to attend chamber of commerce meetings, meet with colleagues in person and talk to veterans of your business. There is nothing like sitting face to face with someone and talking about the business, family, life or any other topic.

People are most likely to buy from someone they know and it is easiest to get to know people when you can look them in the eye.

In order to make social networking work for you, you need to be patient and persistent.

Just as in the physical world of networking, it is going to take more than a couple of weeks to build relationships and get your network going.

However, the more you reach out to others and contribute, the more quickly you will see results. If you have an email list, you can get a real boost from that at first, but in the long term, the idea that the more you put in (give), the more you will get back truly works in the social networking world.

Focus your efforts on contributing what you know; show your expertise, and others will notice and look for more from you (eventually paying you in the process). If you find discussions to which you can contribute, and do so regularly, it will pay off in long term success. But don’t overdo it especially when you are using Digg.com or StumbleUpon.com. These two social networking sites have strict measures when using their services.

If you do not enjoy the process of connecting with others, perhaps these media are not for you. However, if you like a good conversation, think about your social networking as a series of conversations with people you do not really know, but who will appreciate what you have to say.

Focus your efforts on contributing what you know; show your expertise, and others will notice and look for more from you… If you find discussions to which you can contribute, and do so regularly, it will pay off in long term success.

Public messaging

One of the most interesting things about social sites is that you can send messages to others privately — the way you do with email — but you can also make them public. As often as you can (when it makes sense), try to make your messages public. In that way, many others can benefit from the information you share rather than just one person, and those others will get to know you better as well.

The message could be about a new product you are creating or a workshop you are giving (or attending), a speech you are giving, or anything that might benefit others. They will want to know more and will contact you. Be careful what you say as you comment and message publicly, though because you cannot withdraw what you have said — so pay attention to what you say and make it positive!

The networking site that is currently most productive for this type of communication is Twitter; the more you send messages, the more followers and interest there will be from others.

One important thing to be aware of is that these sites may change their looks and options fairly quickly. You have to be flexible and allow for this because the social networking world is a fast moving one. In-fact from my own recommendation I would encourage that you sign-up with their news letter so that you can be updated regularly so as to avoid negative surprises.

You may find over time that you will want to give up one of the networks because it no longer meets your needs. Just be aware in advance that this can happen, and you may feel that all the work you put in is gone.

However, that is not entirely the case. Your comments and other links will still be there, directing others to your site and your other profiles. You can move on to other things and know that you will still be gaining page rank for your site and more.