Josh,

Back when I was a kid, I sold yellow page ads for Dex in Chicago. It sucked. BUT, there were some key insights I learned about small businesses. (Just to set the stage, we're talking contractors, small shops, brick and mortar, etc. Not web developers...)

First, they are not experts. Most don't know anything about marketing beyond, "yeah I put an ad in my church bulletin and people call me." They don't know about ROI, metrics, effective ad placement, etc.

Second, they all WANT to get into the internet because they've heard that's where people are. They all KNOW they'll get customers if only they can figure out facebook. They all PLAN to revamp their website, get into social media, and start actively measuring response this year.

Third, the vast majority won't. And then they'll plan for next year... The reality is that most small business are so small that they spend all their time accomplishing the jobs they have, and a fraction getting the next one. If they got 10 new jobs today, they'd never be able to complete them. They have to grow to a level where they can hire an employee to really work on marketing so they can focus on job completion. Remember, I'm not saying ALL, just most... 60% at least.

That's what I found at least. I'd be curious to know your thoughts on it too. Despite the research, I think if you ask a concrete contractor if he's going to get more involved in social media he'll say, "of course we are!" But that's a long way from seeing results...

(I'm sending this via my phone so my thought process will be super jumbled)

I completely agree with you. It comes down to education for me. I have started a company (www.currentblend.com) that tries to answer these questions you addressed. Quick answer: there are no right answers.

A few people I've worked with have come to me with "I NEED social media - it's going to revolutionize our business". It's taken time, but I've been able to present a strong case that while it doesn't hurt to have a social media presence, sometimes older/traditional methods are more effective for their business (ie, a carpent cleaner company doesn't need facebook fans as much as it needs to direct mail to new home buyers).

The part that you hinted at that I'm really fascinated with is the measurement part. Everyone who is a "success story" with social media has told me that "they can't tell me how much they've benefited from using these tools but the KNOW they have".

For me it comes down to this: Social media can be a great tool, but you get what you put into it. And, you need to be realistic with yourself - it's not going to revolutionize anything, but will (in conjunction with all your other marketing efforts) help grow your business. The only way you'll know this though is if you measure it. And that's the REALLY time consuming piece.

I think (at least I hope) we'll see small companies paying people like myself to "do their marketing".