To start my own business or not...

Ellie1994

Hi everyone,
I'm 19 and have had no look finding a summer job like many other students-HOWEVER... I have come up with a plan.. i'm studying Social Media Marketing and its a brand new course, because of this there is no one in the country with a specific qualification yet.. I was thinking of setting up my own little business.. I would help businesses get onto social network sites and manage the sites until they are comfortable enough to manage it on their own. of course i would be charging a small fee .. what do you think? is this a really stupid idea? thank you in advance!

MissFlitworth

No, not a stupid idea at all, plenty of businesses probably could do with a hand getting their social media up & running and understanding how to manage it properly. Just be aware though that there are genuinely loads & loads of people working professionally in social media in Ireland. They tend not to have done specific social media courses but have professional experience and a talent for it (and loads of connections). So absolutely go for it but it might be a good idea to look locally & think small for potential customers first

Swampy

Great idea. Go for it.

Ellie1994

MissFlitworth wrote: »

No, not a stupid idea at all, plenty of businesses probably could do with a hand getting their social media up & running and understanding how to manage it properly. Just be aware though that there are genuinely loads & loads of people working professionally in social media in Ireland. They tend not to have done specific social media courses but have professional experience and a talent for it (and loads of connections). So absolutely go for it but it might be a good idea to look locally & think small for potential customers first

oh I was definitely going to target local businesses so no chain store or franchises as they would have all their marketing done in HQ i assume!
thanks for the positivity

belcampprisoner

its a good idea if you can finance yourself for a while

Zascar

I work in this area and it's growing massively with every business scratching their head wondering what they should be doing - and wondering who can help them with it. Trust me If you are any good and honestly know even the basics well, you'll be able to find business no worries. So much available out there for free also, HubSpot have loads of great blog posts and articles, seomoz too and countless other blogs.

Get someone to help you with a business plan but if you can get a bunch of clients to pay you a monthly retainer for looking after it all - you could have a nice little business for yourself. If I could turn back time now that's what I would have done years ago.

Ellie1994

Zascar wrote: »

I work in this area and it's growing massively with every business scratching their head wondering what they should be doing - and wondering who can help them with it. Trust me If you are any good and honestly know even the basics well, you'll be able to find business no worries. So much available out there for free also, HubSpot have loads of great blog posts and articles, seomoz too and countless other blogs.

Get someone to help you with a business plan but if you can get a bunch of clients to pay you a monthly retainer for looking after it all - you could have a nice little business for yourself. If I could turn back time now that's what I would have done years ago.

Really? god you ,make it sound all so easy! haha how much of a retainer would you recommend?

L.Jenkins

Just dropping in to provide an idea. You could join LinkedIn to start expanding on connections and the possibility of drumming up some business as hard as that could be.

Ray Palmer

I don't want to put a damp blanket on this but I don't see the value or where the money is. A web page is incredibly cheap to get done now and for small businesses there isn't much money to be made off them.

Social media is really all about the constant updates more so than have a presence. So who is going to update it? If it is your business then you are working quite a bit and have to be in constant contact with your clients. If is them they won't keep it up to date and/or constantly ringing you about issues.

How much will a small company pay for this service and what return will they actually get? Monthly pay model or once off fee?

The companies likely to benefit and use such a service are likely to be savvy enough to be able to set-up accounts themselves. Lots of businesses won't really get much out being on social media either.

It would be about quantity and therefore difficult to organise and get right.

This is kind of what is included in a website package now with the updates managed by the customer. They don't really charge more for it other than the website creation. So you are competing with free or you have to start doing websites and there is very little money in that now unless you have bigger clients with fancy websites.

I don't see it as separate business just an add on to setting up a website and probably not one charged for.

Ellie1994

Ray Palmer wrote: »

I don't want to put a damp blanket on this but I don't see the value or where the money is. A web page is incredibly cheap to get done now and for small businesses there isn't much money to be made off them.

Social media is really all about the constant updates more so than have a presence. So who is going to update it? If it is your business then you are working quite a bit and have to be in constant contact with your clients. If is them they won't keep it up to date and/or constantly ringing you about issues.

How much will a small company pay for this service and what return will they actually get? Monthly pay model or once off fee?

The companies likely to benefit and use such a service are likely to be savvy enough to be able to set-up accounts themselves. Lots of businesses won't really get much out being on social media either.

It would be about quantity and therefore difficult to organise and get right.

This is kind of what is included in a website package now with the updates managed by the customer. They don't really charge more for it other than the website creation. So you are competing with free or you have to start doing websites and there is very little money in that now unless you have bigger clients with fancy websites.

I don't see it as separate business just an add on to setting up a website and probably not one charged for.

I completely see what your saying but social media marketing isnt all about constructing a website. Its about harnessing a FREE tool that can keep your business in the mind of your market! And in my eyes social media isnt all sell, sell, sell but its a way of getting to know your market and customers in a way that doesnt annoy or deter them from your shop. Do you know what the analytics are like on Facebook alone? you can learn all sorts of information that you would have been able to know before without bombarding everyone with invasive questionnaires.. ,and know one likes that!

Also I admit social media marketing on its own would be a fairly rubbish way of marketing your company BUT that is why it's designed to be used in conjunction with traditional marketing. Only a fraction of their time and energy is spent on social media marketing.

Sites called aggrigators that gather all the information from different social media sites and when you compose a post it is pushed out to all your sites making it easier to manage and less time consuming. Also my aim is to find someone in the small business who like social media and show them how to manage it as they would be able to write more passionately about their work then I ever could!

And finally, i'm not being niave about this. I appreciate that some people do not see he benefits and think it is all 'just a fad' and to be honest I've taken my fair share of people telling me that i've done the wrong thing and i'm wasting money and time on my course. I'm not trying to force this onto anyone, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, if their open to social media marketing then of course i will be there to guide them and educate them in how to use it effectively. So i take everything you say on board but their are some people out their who are willing to see what social media marketing can do for their business.

(ps. I aim to charge for the hours i spend setting everything up for them and the initial first posts. so essentially it would be a once off fee)

Lyn256

Great idea if you're not working and have nothing to lose.

(This will also be fab on your CV in the future now matter how successful you are-shows drive and ambition and that your a self starter)

Have you anyone (through family and friends that you can get started with-do a good job for them and then you can use them when you talk to other businesses)

What you'll find in the market is that some business people know a good bit but others now little.

When you're dealing with businesses-focus on what it can do for them-the benefit- not what you going to do.

Maybe take a look at some businesses locally and see who seems to be doing a bit but not a lot and target them with some ideas of what you can do to bring additional business in for them.

Hope that helps-best of luck!

Ellie1994

Lyn256 wrote: »

Great idea if you're not working and have nothing to lose.

(This will also be fab on your CV in the future now matter how successful you are-shows drive and ambition and that your a self starter)

Have you anyone (through family and friends that you can get started with-do a good job for them and then you can use them when you talk to other businesses)

What you'll find in the market is that some business people know a good bit but others now little.

When you're dealing with businesses-focus on what it can do for them-the benefit- not what you going to do.

Maybe take a look at some businesses locally and see who seems to be doing a bit but not a lot and target them with some ideas of what you can do to bring additional business in for them.

Hope that helps-best of luck!

Thank You!

Ray Palmer

After you have described it I see even less value and don't see who would benefit.

You will have a problem with people looking at a 19 year old and believing you know what you are talking about.

I really don't want to stop you pursuing something you believe in but what you just said about the benefits and how it would work sounds useless.

You effectively are talking about a consulting business but you don't have years of experience behind you. The businesses that could benefit from this are going to be incredibly limited. It isn't the fad element it is what use is such information and the people who use such information probably already have it.


Name a business type and size you reckon will hire you because I am at a loss to who would want the service. It kind of sounds like a benefit to large companies who will already have it while a smaller company won't benefit from the information and doesn't need it.

I worked in market research for a few years and have a fair idea of who wants and requires such information. Research the demand before you spend too much time on it.


In the future I can see the qualification getting you a job but I only see it as an auxiliary service in an established company.

Don't set-up a business to do this and try to use one of the direct hire sites to see if you can sell your services. If that works set-up a business

Ellie1994

How can a benefit be useless??? isnt that a contradiction??

I understand that many businesses have already attempted to do their own social media marketing but the question is if thier doing it effectively and from what i've seen their not.. A page is set up and them nothing is done with it.. EVER! that is a perfect example of how not to do it!

Their are plenty of businesses that would appreciate some assistance in this area for example clothing stores, pubs, nite clubs, restaurants, vets, bookies, hairdressers, pharmacy's, family run supermarkets. etc

I see that your (strongly) opposed to this but do you not think i would have put some thought into it before i even considered doing it?
and anyway I'm unemployed.. I've nothing to do for 3 months of the summer- this idea requires very little money to start up (which is essential as I'm down to my last €100) so I have nothing to loose.
I could take your advice and not try at all but I'm afraid I'd go insane so I might as well give it a go.. whats the worst that could happen?

Ray Palmer

Ellie1994 wrote: »

How can a benefit be useless??? isnt that a contradiction??

I understand that many businesses have already attempted to do their own social media marketing but the question is if thier doing it effectively and from what i've seen their not.. A page is set up and them nothing is done with it.. EVER! that is a perfect example of how not to do it!

Their are plenty of businesses that would appreciate some assistance in this area for example clothing stores, pubs, nite clubs, restaurants, vets, bookies, hairdressers, pharmacy's, family run supermarkets. etc

I see that your (strongly) opposed to this but do you not think i would have put some thought into it before i even considered doing it?
and anyway I'm unemployed.. I've nothing to do for 3 months of the summer- this idea requires very little money to start up (which is essential as I'm down to my last €100) so I have nothing to loose.
I could take your advice and not try at all but I'm afraid I'd go insane so I might as well give it a go.. whats the worst that could happen?

Ok I don't see a benefit. What I was commenting on is what you called benefits, I am not seeing it.

I am not strongly opposed to the idea I am not seeing value. As you are essentially going to market the idea what you have said isn't enticing me. Think of me as a potential customer and you are trying to sell your service. I am being quite moderate in my queries, somebody paying will be a lot more sceptical.

My advice is to try it but limit the effort before you can see if you can get paid for doing it. See the link below to see what people offer. There are tons of teenagers who offer to boost Google rating and twitter etc... for $10.

The reason people don't use the social media is it heavy maintenance. Is there a real benefit? Is somebody going to follow a twitter feed on a local hairdressers? Re they going to like it on Facebook and welcome messages? Are the woman in their 60s going to pay attention to such things.

To sell this your customers' customers need to be hooked into these things.

If you are going to do this I would offer my services for free to a customer you can show benefits. It has to have a benefit and you have to show it.

Do website design as well to increase possible revenue.

Lyn256

I disagree Ray, the one area that small businesses are really interested in finding more about is Social Media. I. myself did a course through DLR Enterprise Board last year-I couldn't get onto the first course I wanted as it was full.
I (and others) came away from the course with some knowledge but also the recognition that there is a lot more to it and that there is a lot more to know and that it is probably a service that should be outsourced to someone with indepth knowledge of the area. I did leave the course recognising that it is a powerful resource that can be harnessed by small businesses if they have know-how

I'm not running my own business at the moment but I know that if I was it would be a service that I would outsource and one that I would be interested in talking to someone about if they had knowledge, didn't cost me too much and could bring value (extra customers/extra sales) to my business!

Why discourage the OP, Ray-setting up a small business is a fantastic learning opportunity for her whether she is successful or not.

Good luck OP-hope it works out for you!!

Mrs OBumble

Moved from Work & Jobs.


OP, Ray Palmer clearly doesn't understand the business area you are in. Possibly he's just a bit old fashioned about social media - or just doesn't realise how social-media-illiterate some people are.

Personally I believe that there might just be a market for you - at the moment anyway. But you will need to come across as credible, and also network with the right people to get referred to potential clients who will pay (small businesses are notorious for not doing so). Also, make you sure that you are always demonstrating benefit to your customers: is showing that they are getting more sales, not just more Facebook "likes" (which are worthless in themselves).

Ray Palmer

Lyn256 wrote: »

Why discourage the OP, Ray-setting up a small business is a fantastic learning opportunity for her whether she is successful or not.

I am letting him know the reality. While studying something you may well be lied to about the importance and have an altered view of the market.

Take a small local hairdressers with maybe 3 hairdressers. What can social media do? You let your customers know about specials (if you do them). Now your customer base is primarily middle aged to older woman. How many use social media? Posting up on your social media is going to hit how many of your customers? Are you going to entice a bunch of new customers? Will a flyer shot in the area be better?

Bookies, pubs and chemists would be similar IMHO. Benefit to a night club alright and maybe a clothes shop. Social media does not add value to many businesses. I am linked to a few of these ill advised business such as an alarm company and a wardrobe makers. Knowing there is a new alarm box and a wardrobe deal doesn't help as I am unlikely to purchase another such item for a good few years.

If somebody is going to spend money on advertising and marketing wants to see a cash return. If there is none then it failed.

Lyn256

Ray-you have it all wrong. In my locality, I follow my hairdressers, a local restaurant, pub and a few others and they post new menus, products, services offers etc and while I don't take up every offer,I've certainly taken up a few and/or forwarded them others that may have an interest in them. It depends on the business-it can be a great 'notice-board' for small retail/service businesses

In particular, one local restaurant that I hadn't been into for years-I've gone in twice in the last few months based on their photos menus and generally engaging me in what they do.
I also follow my local independent shoe shop and have bought shoes for my kids based on photos that they put up.

So social media definitely offers benefits to small businesses if used well. Its not an end in itself but it can offer a much better return on investment when compared to advertising or leaflet drops . . .

Lyn256

Also Ray, the OP learns a few lessons on having a small business. maybe learns what face-to face selling is, gets confidence in dealing with people. The OP, literally, has nothing to lose-why discourage?????
Let them try it out and see how they get on-it will be a real learning experience and certainly third level education can teach you the theory of something-so now the op can get out and see what the practise actually is.

Many great business people learnt most from their failures (not that I expect the OP to fail but at least they have to gumption to try!)

seosamh1980

The one thing I would say is that if you do intend to do this you need to correct your spelling, grammar and punctuation. There are so many errors in your posts and yet you plan on being in charge of people's online presence?

Zascar

Ray what experience do you have in the online world can I ask? I'm not sure you understand the challenges that small and medium businesses face with online marketing. I work with them every day so i do. Trust me it is a lot more than social media. Someone with even a basic (Student) knowledge can provide a lot of value so I think the OP has a chance.

I'm flat out and have to run but I'll post more tomorrow.

Bandara

I think its an excellent idea, I've met lots of very busy and successful guys without the time or understanding to cope properly with social media.

A lot of them are simply not doing it as they are afraid of doing it incorrectly, its put on the preputal long finger as anyone they try to speak too frightens the hell out of them with jargon and terms.

If you can save them 5 hours a month for general housekeeping tasks and uploads while leaving the simple stuff to them there is a significent value to them, a value that any smart individual would pay to utilise.

You need to get yourself one or two clients, offer to do it for free, get yourself accustomed to what the demands/issues are and then go after real paying business.

Good luck.

lucky john

This is an area I have been thinking about lately. Apart for the time involved in updating profiles on twitter or facebook I just have absolutely no interest in either of them. Its therefore impossible to be motivated enough to get started on facebook. The problem is, how feasible is it these days not to seriously think of having some kind of presences. It not just for sales you could potentially make but the ones you could actually loose.

I keep an eye on Google analyst most days to see what's happening on my web site. A couple of things interested me in the last while. 30% of visitors now access from mobil devices and in one day 30% of visitors were referred directly from Facebook. Therefore someone on facebook put a link to my site in a comment. I have no idea how to find that comment to know if it was good for me or bad. If I had someone to consult like the op with knowledge in this area and a facebook presence to engage in that conversation I think I would gain a benfit. Conversation that effect my business could be going on around me all the time. So how feasible is it not to be involved in some way? I think any business that sells a product or services may have no choice in the end. The type of business suggested here by the op could definitely have a future.

Age is no hindrance. Most clients will do this remotely so will never need to know. Young and clued in may even be a usp.

Look up a company called Social Media Ireland in Dublin. They are involved in this business. You migh get an idea whats going on in this area from them.

Hanley

Lyn256 wrote: »

Ray-you have it all wrong. In my locality, I follow my hairdressers, a local restaurant, pub and a few others and they post new menus, products, services offers etc and while I don't take up every offer,I've certainly taken up a few and/or forwarded them others that may have an interest in them. It depends on the business-it can be a great 'notice-board' for small retail/service businesses

In particular, one local restaurant that I hadn't been into for years-I've gone in twice in the last few months based on their photos menus and generally engaging me in what they do.
I also follow my local independent shoe shop and have bought shoes for my kids based on photos that they put up.

So social media definitely offers benefits to small businesses if used well. Its not an end in itself but it can offer a much better return on investment when compared to advertising or leaflet drops . . .

Big plus one to this. I'm calling a dentist tomorrow because of their social media presence. I've spent over €100 in the last month in Camille because of their Facebook presence. There's numerous other examples in my own life too. Never mind the success of my own biz based mostly off social media activity.

I've attended numerous conferences and workshops mainly because of FB pages.

It's an emerging market that can be VERY beneficial to a biz and given that there's really no capital investment for the OP, I think he'd be mad not to consider it. And would happily speak to him on methods of amplifying my own social media reach if he could be of help.

Ray Palmer

Seeing as people think I am some clueless idiot with no experience in this I have over 17 years experience in IT and 3+ years in market research. I actually know what I am talking about. I also know how to do a cost benefit analysis.

One of the large companies I worked for spent a lot of money on their social media presence in a big project. The bottom line was no increased revenue. There was a claim by the marketing company that it made existing customers happy. This was just them playing around with the stats to show a benefit. I do understand the business and there is little to no benefit for the majority of the businesses suggested by the OP.

Unless your client's customers are into social media there is pretty much no point. You can send out all the news you want but if none of your customers are connected it has no value.

The suggestions I don't know the business is laughable. As most people who work in IT I get asked a lot to sort out IT problems and advise people on what to do. I have designed website for people as per their requests after explaining the value to them not being that great. The reason I don't do it is because there is no money in it because so many people do it. I have years of experience working with major companies and this idea is just a very small portion of work done now as it has been proven to be so useless. To a small business it has very limited use and none for many business types.

For those that questioned my knowledge what is yours?

I meant to put this link in an earlier post.

https://www.elance.com/p/lpg/marketing/social-media-marketers?rid=1TN5N&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=C-Marketing-Specific-Person-MB&utm_term=%2Bmarketers%20%2Bsocial%20%2Bmedia&ad=22579184298&bmt=b&adpos=1t2&gclid=CKL236WbhrcCFfQ72wodYyQAFA

Hanley

If all you're doing on social media is pitching clients offers and telling them about deals, and not trying to provide useable, timely and relevant information to build a relationship with them - you're wasting your time

At least 80+% of RevFit Facebook and newsletter activity is sharing articles, information and useable tips that people who have liked the page can use and will enjoy reading and learning from. Anything else is a waste of time.

So, if your idea of social media activity is the former and not the latter, you don't know what you're talking about despite working in a related industry. And if you do think of the latter when talking about social media activity, then I can't possibly see how you conclude there's no benefit. Especially given my specific n=1 examples above.

Atomico

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Seeing as people think I am some clueless idiot with no experience in this I have over 17 years experience in IT and 3+ years in market research. I actually know what I am talking about. I also know how to do a cost benefit analysis.

One of the large companies I worked for spent a lot of money on their social media presence in a big project. The bottom line was no increased revenue. There was a claim by the marketing company that it made existing customers happy. This was just them playing around with the stats to show a benefit. I do understand the business and there is little to no benefit for the majority of the businesses suggested by the OP.

Unless your client's customers are into social media there is pretty much no point. You can send out all the news you want but if none of your customers are connected it has no value.

The suggestions I don't know the business is laughable. As most people who work in IT I get asked a lot to sort out IT problems and advise people on what to do. I have designed website for people as per their requests after explaining the value to them not being that great. The reason I don't do it is because there is no money in it because so many people do it. I have years of experience working with major companies and this idea is just a very small portion of work done now as it has been proven to be so useless. To a small business it has very limited use and none for many business types.

For those that questioned my knowledge what is yours?

I meant to put this link in an earlier post.

https://www.elance.com/p/lpg/marketing/social-media-marketers?rid=1TN5N&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=C-Marketing-Specific-Person-MB&utm_term=%2Bmarketers%20%2Bsocial%20%2Bmedia&ad=22579184298&bmt=b&adpos=1t2&gclid=CKL236WbhrcCFfQ72wodYyQAFA

Hi Ray,

I have a lot of experience in online marketing, mainly online advertising, SEO and social media. No offense now, but the two bolded quotes above do highlight that you don't know what you are talking about. I will happily tell you I know very little about IT in the true sense of the word (i.e. systems, databases, maintenance, etc), so hopefully you don't mind admitting you don't understand social media

Being experienced in IT doesn't mean you are going to 'get' social media, no more than being an excellent restaurant critic would mean you'd be a whiz behind the scenes in the kitchen.

On the second quote - the reason your company saw no impact (or what you perceived as no impact) on revenue, is because social media is not there to drive revenue directly. It is for branding, awareness, exposure, building a brand, an identity, engaging with your fans and disseminating useful information and content. It also can increase revenue, especially indirectly - but that is not the principal goal.

I can tell you that I have a client who is seeing a revenue increase right now, off the back of an increased investment in social media. This is neither here nor there in some ways, since the expectation that 'doing social media' has to directly increase sales simply isn't there.

You do it to build your brand and build trust, and to develop a community - which will then also be more receptive to purchasing from you or taking whatever action it is you want them to take.

Ray Palmer

Hanley wrote: »

If all you're doing on social media is pitching clients offers and telling them about deals, and not trying to provide useable, timely and relevant information to build a relationship with them - you're wasting your time

At least 80+% of RevFit Facebook and newsletter activity is sharing articles, information and useable tips that people who have liked the page can use and will enjoy reading and learning from. Anything else is a waste of time.

So, if your idea of social media activity is the former and not the latter, you don't know what you're talking about despite working in a related industry. And if you do think of the latter when talking about social media activity, then I can't possibly see how you conclude there's no benefit. Especially given my specific n=1 examples above.

This is a prime example of somebody thinking they are the market and everything they do is the same for everybody else. That isn't the case.

Care to explain your knowledge of the field?

Car to explain how social marketing is going to contact your average 50 year old who doesn't use or own a computer? Maybe they spend 20 minutes on-line a week. Explain to me how posting stories on the company website helps them.

It comes down to who actually uses social media and if they are your customers. If they don't match up there is none to little value. Trendy clothes shop great, little boutique shop for woman in their 60s not so great.

As for all the content, the OP is not offering that so it is a heavy maintenance that the customer has to do. Does this all sound like I don't know what I am talking about? The way I see it you sound like you haven't considered the whole market.

edanto

@Ellie1994 Go for it. Make a list of local/small businesses that you think are missing out on social media, and approach them with a package. Make sure they understand exactly what you'll be doing - will you just be setting up the page for them or will you be posting content regularly?

Posting content for them comes with a lot of risks, and you might be better off coaching them to post items themselves - maybe your initial package is that you set up f'book/twitter, and do a 1h session with them (by phone/join.me) weekly for 3 months to help them build their brand online. You might well find plenty of businesses that will commit to spending €500 on that.

Particularly since you are just testing the waters, you don't want to be locked into supporting someone for ages with all their techie problems. But by all means, if it seems like they need a new website/emailing system, partner up with someone that can solve that problem and give you a commission.

As you can tell from the thread here, not everyone thinks it's a great idea in practise, but some do. Key thing is, there's no shortage of good ideas when it comes to starting a business, it's really all about execution and hard work. Good luck, and it'd be great if you came back to the thread here at the end of the summer and told us how it worked out for you.

Ray Palmer

Atomico wrote: »

Hi Ray,

I have a lot of experience in online marketing, mainly online advertising, SEO and social media. No offense now, but the two bolded quotes above do highlight that you don't know what you are talking about. I will happily tell you I know very little about IT in the true sense of the word (i.e. systems, databases, maintenance, etc), so hopefully you don't mind admitting you don't understand social media

Being experienced in IT doesn't mean you are going to 'get' social media, no more than being an excellent restaurant critic would mean you'd be a whiz behind the scenes in the kitchen.

On the second quote - the reason your company saw no impact (or what you perceived as no impact) on revenue, is because social media is not there to drive revenue directly. It is for branding, awareness, exposure, building a brand, an identity, engaging with your fans and disseminating useful information and content. It also can increase revenue, especially indirectly - but that is not the principal goal.

I can tell you that I have a client who is seeing a revenue increase right now, off the back of an increased investment in social media. This is neither here nor there in some ways, since the expectation that 'doing social media' has to directly increase sales simply isn't there.

You do it to build your brand and build trust, and to develop a community - which will then also be more receptive to purchasing from you or taking whatever action it is you want them to take.

Actually the market research I did was all about the impact of marketing and brand awareness. So low and behold I do know a lot about brand awareness.

What you seem to miss is brand awareness is an issue that most small businesses don't really get a benefit from. It is generally the preserve of larger companies. There is an element of it on a smaller scale but it does not scale well.

I do take a simple approach to marketing. It either increases revenue or it doesn't. As I have said it depends on your target market and social media marketing only works for certain market sections. I understand social media for what it is the same as a web presence. Maintain it or don't use it. This is huge problem as the customer is only going to be shown how to do it.

As for the company I was working for not getting revenue from their campaign this was a big deal. I spent months working on a product specifically for social-media customers. The didn't get sales and the ages of people connecting was pretty far away from the target customers. This is after a marketing company telling us how it would all work. I did reports on who was connecting and sales. An analytical approach to see if it was working. It didn't pint blank.

One of the benefits touted was being able to analysis customers due to information gathered. If it only small section use such media it isn't much use. If those people don't buy the service and we hope brand awareness will means years to come they will buy that isn't very effective. I have heard a lot of marketing speil in my life that sounds like religion. Quantifiable results are blooding important when shelling out money. Market research quantifies marketing. Good example is the creature comfort ads, people loved the ads and they were massively popular but market research showed people thought they were for gas and not electricity. Marketing fail.

Social media has it's place but it isn't for every business. There has been very little actual benefits described by the OPs proposal. Treat me like a customer who wants it explained how it will increase my revenue, I doubt brand awareness is high on many small businesses.