As with most questions there is no single/simple answer. The answer depends on what you are hoping to achieve from your social media presence. It also depends on which social media platform you are most comfortable with.

If you consider the various platforms then the most popular is Facebook, the one that attracts the most attention (at the moment) is Twitter and the one most associated with adults or business is Linkedin. Other useful sites are YouTube, which is also huge, Digg, Del.icio.us, Stumbleupon, Foursquare and Flickr. All of these are good for generating interest in your business but they are not equally good. For example Facebook and Twitter are good for communicating with customers while YouTube and Del.icio.us are better for search engine optimisation. Which is better for B2B or B2C?

What do you need to get your message across? An audience is a good start, so Facebook with 800 million adherents would seem a logical choice, until you consider the demographics. Depending on your business, Facebook is either the answer to your prayers or a distraction. A good view of the demographics of the major platforms can be found here. Clearly a lot of consideration needs to be given to the best platform for your target audience.

In the UK the SME sector accounts for over 99% of companies, so the question of resources is a a key issue. Any social media campaign or presence is a reflection on your reputation so it should not be entrusted to the person most likely to have any experience of using social media: the youngest employee. Accounts with social media sites should be set up in such a way that you can control access, limit abuse and yet be able to respond to feedback instantly. There is no point in having a social media presence in the hands of a committee, the response time is too slow.

However, should you decide to proceed, make sure you have a well thought out strategy; what are you trying to achieve, who do you want to attract to your business? Clearly this depends on your business model and the level of development your business has achieved. There is no point in creating additional demand for a business operating at capacity.

What do you want to say to existing or potential customers? Do you have anything to say? If so, how often should you say it? This is where experience in the use of social marketing comes useful. If you don't have it in-house, buy it in. The critical feature of the social media conversation is that it is time consuming. For business owners this is a distraction from the core elements of their business: a distraction they cannot afford.

The solution to this problem for small business would seem to be a service that gives the businesses access to the massive potential of social media, but without the drain on time.While outsourcing is the obvious answer, I would remind you that it is your reputation at stake here, so that needs to be a major factor when considering your choice of supplier.

To outsource or not? Read this view on the subject from Katie Urbain which
addresses many of the same issues, but more eloquently.

In conclusion I would say that if a small business wishes to have an effective social media presence, then outsourcing is an option worthy of serious consideration. Not just any supplier though. Your social media needs to be managed by a company that understands that a fast response to any feedback is crucial. The supplier needs to be sensitive to the budget limitations of small businesses. Finally, the supplier needs to communicate with the business, not necessarily on a constant basis, but at a frequency and level that the business is comfortable with.

Bruce Johnston owns South Wales Social Media.

South Wales Social Media aim to provide smaller businesses with the access to social media that they would not normally have due to time constraints or lack of expertise.