How much time have you wasted trying to discover how to make your social media presence pay off? Imagine how much more effective you’d be focused on doing things well, instead of researching how to do things well.

Entrepreneurs are “make it happen” kind of people. We all know we need to have an effective web presence, and social media is a key part. Armed with that knowledge, how many otherwise productive hours go into the black hole of research? If time is money, what’s the loss? What opportunities got overlooked while chasing rabbit trails?

Many corporate entities have already figured that out, and solved the puzzle. They are hiring full time self taught social media managers with average starting salaries of $55,000 (See L. A. Times, “Employers are liking — and hiring — social media workers”).

What does that mean for mid and small sized businesses? It means it’s time to take the initiative and get some real expertise going in your favor. A competent coach has already invested the hours in research that would generally amount to lost productivity in most offices. With multiple client’s they don’t need a full time salary from you, but you leverage the expertise gained by their exposure serving clients beyond your enterprise. Your social media marketing coach then delivers intel to implement an actionable agenda designed to grow your business. They will likely have access to services that will leverage those priorities such as web developers, content writers, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) gurus, and others.

You may not have the budget or need to hire a full time social media manager, but creative social media coaching is mission critical, affordable, and available. Your pay off can be measured in revenues, reputation control, or even simply buying back your time.

In just the last year one major jobs board reports a 75% surge in social media related jobs. The real question isn’t really “Will your competition beat you on this front?” It’s closer to, “Why waste time trying to figure out what works when you could be implementing what works instead?”