Timesuck...

Social Media is all the rage. It's part of what we marketers brand with the hip moniker "Web 2.0"

But let me be honest: From a business-to-business marketing point of view, usually it just doesn't work.

When is the last time you looked up the Facebook page for your printer manufacturer?

Do you follow the local carpet cleaning business on Twitter?

Would you read a blog from your mechanic?

Even if these businesses could create a compelling story for these social media it laughable to think that the average person would waste their time looking at it.

Social media is about people: connecting with old friends, communicating with business associates, and/or networking. It's not about selling boring everyday products

And the business that invests in maintaining all this stuff faces one more problem: timesuck. That's what author Scott Fox calls the hours and hours that can be wasted keeping all this business social media current. Mostly with no measurable return on all that time invested.

Takeaway: Don't get caught up in the Business Social Media fad. It has no real value to most businesses. Even if you have practical advice to disseminate, it's like whispering into the wind if you can’t garner a following. So, unless you're Ashton Kutcher, don't think Tweeting is going to make a difference. It won't sell more technical components, tools or equipment. And it could suck a lot of your time.