In an age where a company such as Netflix is so heavily integrated into social media that it plans to make disclosures to investors on Facebook and Twitter, and a tech giant such as Enterasys Networks makes headlines by hiring based on tweets rather than rsums, many small businesses worry their customers will leave them behind if they dont interact with them on social media. Plus its been a smash hit for some. Of the businesses that saw a return on investment in social-media activities, 30% measure that amount as above $2,000.

Regina Hartt, owner of Hartts Pool Plastering in Turlock, Calif., says social media hasnt helped her business because there are too many disreputable companies in the construction business, and no amount of Likes on Facebook is going to sway a prospective customer to spend $5,000 to $40,000 on a pool-plastering job. Hartt created a Facebook page for her business over a year ago, but she says out of the 200 to 300 jobs she does a year only three or four come from people who have found the business online.

She built it, but no one came. Shes backed off in the past three months after scoring only 60 Likes on her Facebook page at its peak, she says. I love reading things on the internet, so I thought the social-media stuff would be great for me, but it really has not turned out well at all.

They have a high propensity to become maybe not as patient as they should be, Springer says. The attitude becomes I dont want to deal with it. I dont have enough time. Its intimidating to me.

Just thinking that Facebook alone will send droves of customers to your doorstep is a mistake a lot of people make, she says.

Terry Benton, owner of Terrys Fabric Cottage in Sulphur, La., was surprised to hear that her quilting store wasnt in the minority of businesses disappointed in the way their social-media campaigns have panned out. She says she created accounts for her business on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter a little over a year ago, spending about five hours a week updating the platforms.

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Many small business though, just dont have a place in social media, says Stephanie Schwab, CEO of Crackerjack Marketing. They join because of peer pressure and media pressure even though they dont understand what theyre trying to get out of a social-media campaign. Some businesses make the mistake of prioritizing social-media activities over marketing techniques already proved to work, such as having a website.

About 61% of small businesses dont see any return on investment on their social-media activities, according to a survey released Tuesday from Manta, a social network for small businesses. Yet, almost 50% say theyve increased their time spent on social media, and only 7% have decreased their time.

Most small businesses feel like they are wasting their time on social media, according to a new survey.

What businesses are trying to get out of social media: 36% said their goal was to acquire and engage new customers, 19% said to gain leads and referrals, and 17% said to boost awareness. Facebook was most cited as the hardest to maintain social-media platform, according to the survey.

Pam Springer, CEO of Manta, says small businesses get returns from social media they just dont know what they are when they see them, Social Media, and she says its good news that companies are spending more time on social media. If theyre really getting no returns, she says, its probably because they dont know how to launch a successful social-media campaign, and they give up too st if the campaign lls flat. Businesses, she recommends, should use online resources like forums, and yes, social media, to connect with each other for advice. According to the survey, only 36% of businesses do this.

ThSocial Media Study Social media a bust for small businessesey want someone whos going to do a good job, and seeing someones comment on a Facebook page isnt going to be enough, says Hartt, who gets most of her customers through referrals.

Its a social-media arms race out there for small businesses, and most dont see themselves as winning. A study released Tuesday shows that 61% of small businesses dont see any return on investment.