“With great exposure comes great responsibility.”

Without a doubt, social networks are the great equalizer. Until the advent of WordPress, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, large companies had an unfair advantage. Of course, any company could create a website, but few had the resources and knowledge to capture global exposure and sales.

Most SMEs had to make do with direct mail, local newspapers, networking, pay per click, etc. because they simply couldn’t compete with the big budgets of the big brands. In most cases, the largest and most frequent advertising mediums – TV, radio, online and outdoor ads – were out of reach for the average small business.

Social media changed all that.

With social media, anyone can create an online presence and broadcast their views or talent uncensored around the world, for less than $500. People like Justin Bieber and Lily Allen went from middle class obscurity to millions of fans and multi-million dollar careers virtually overnight due to social media.

Statistics published by Neilson show that the world now spends more than 110 billion minutes on social networks and blogs. What this means is that you, me and your prospects now spend 25% of our time (about 12-15 hours a month) visiting these types of sites. And unlike the consumption of other types of media, social media is doubling year over year, it’s cheap, and it’s now available 24/7 on mobile devices.

And therein lies the problem.

Good and bad news, whether true or false, can spread online like an epidemic. Unlike advertising (which is initiated by you), a large percentage of what is said on social media is contributed by people outside of your organization. How do you keep track of everything that is said or written about you? It is almost impossible to monitor and control where and how your brand is mentioned online.

That’s why social media has the potential to increase your reach and sales exponentially, but it could also bring out the worst in your business. With this in mind, what should you consider and do in your business to mitigate risks?

1. Social media is for social interaction

The focus of traditional marketing and advertising is on lead generation and sales. However, in social networks, it is about interacting with others, exchanging information and creating relationships. To stand out in the social media arena, you’ll need to offer value up front (to gain followers) and then focus on getting to know them and understanding their needs.

Prospects and customers are more interested in the interaction they have with you than they are in deals or special offers. If you don’t engage with your followers on your terms, you risk doing your brand more harm than good. Think about how many people and businesses have asked you to like their brand, retweet a message, or join their mailing list in the last 24 hours. We are inundated with brands talking to us on social media and it is becoming increasingly difficult to create an impression and persuade us to act.

2. Look for opportunities to change customer experiences

You’ll discover more about your brand in social media circles in a week than you’ll find in a year of traditional research. People don’t censor your opinions when they share them with their friends, and you’re likely to hear many stories of how you fell short of expectations. All of this is a very good thing because it means you have a direct shot at getting it right. Of course, you need to be listening and you need to have a strategy for how you’re going to deal with it. In the absence of these 2 things, you are actually worse off because the story will spread like wildfire and carry much more weight since it is shared among friends.

Most will mistakenly see social media as a great place to sell more stuff. It’s actually a much better place to listen to what your customers are saying and take action to turn bad experiences into positive ones.

3. How much is it really costing you?

At first glance, social networks seem practically free. However, when you factor in the time it takes to produce content across various media, promote it, respond to followers, etc., it could easily turn into a full-time job. Your time (or a team member’s time) is valuable and should be weighed against the returns generated by online activity. Return on investment online is a function of both tangible and intangible factors.

In my experience, too many small businesses get caught up in social media hype without a clear understanding of the real cost or return. Why spend hours a day posting and engaging online when you can generate a better response by talking directly to your customers or asking for a referral? Social networks only promise that you can talk to more people for less money, they do not guarantee that no one will listen to you or that you will get the same return on investment that you could receive elsewhere.

4. Be clear about your brand and brand strategy

Prospects often need to see the same message many times before they decide to take action. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is overloading your audience with too many messages because you’re trying to be all things to all people. Repetition is the key to retention. In order to be remembered and acted upon, your message must be consistent across all channels, including your social networks. This means that wherever your prospects and customers see you, they should experience your brand and message in exactly the same way. This can get difficult when you’re trying to manage multiple platforms and respond to what’s happening in real time.

It pays to have a very clear strategy before starting on social networks. Social networks are not like traditional advertising channels: they are very fluid and dynamic. As such, circumstances can change daily and you need to define in advance what your key messages are and how they should be consistently communicated to your audience.

5. Social networks are not for everyone

Who manages your social networks? If not you personally, does that part-time employee or contractor understand your overall plan and strategy? In many cases, they can be the most direct links to your target market, and anything they say on your behalf will have far-reaching implications for your brand and business.

If they’re responding to a disgruntled customer or worse, a crazy person who’s just trying to stir up trouble, do they know exactly what to do to defuse the situation? If the situation gets out of hand, at what point do you find out and get involved? Do you have the means to take action and protect your brand if things get out of hand or you become the target of defamation?

The reach and potential of social networks are great, as are the risks. While it may seem harmless and fun on the surface, the ability to cause irreparable damage to your brand is very real. Social media should be started with a very clear plan. It’s not something you should freely delegate or allow to run amok.

Start by first monitoring what is being said about you and your brand online. There are many free services online that can help you do this. Take some time to research what your competitors and other well-known brands are doing in this space. Then, once you understand the key platforms and what you hope to gain from each by participating, you can start building a community of followers with trust, control, and protection.