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"While some small business owners need convincing that social media can help their businesses, Steve Acree doesn't have any doubts. He doesn't have any time, either.\nAcree, founder and owner of Memphis, Tenn.-based Seismic Audio, says he and his staffers went whole hog on social media for two weeks in August, but soon realized that the time-consuming strategy compromised their regular workload. \"I found myself late to some meetings because I was trying to write a post or find a picture to post,\" Acree says. \"It was much more of a time commitment than I originally thought.\"\nThe fortnight of frenetic activity reaped some benefits. When we checked in with Seismic a month ago, the brand had around 70,000 fans. Now it has 73,000. The brand also picked up 150 Twitter followers, about two-thirds of which are \"legit,\" Acree says. \"We were tickled.\"\nSo far, most companies in our Social Media Makeover series have either reaped modest benefits or have seen little or no improvement. Seismic's case was a bit different \u2014 the company realized that its social media outreach was working, but also grasped the fact that it lacked manpower for the job.\nSeismic didn't lack for direction, though. Mashable hooked Acree up with a social media marketing consultant Ernest Barbaric, a member of our Small Business Panel. Barbaric recommended, among other things, that the company post more often and use non-promotional content on social media outlets. In addition, Barbaric suggested that Seismic do some soul-searching in order to more effectively stake out brand positioning. Acree says Barbaric gave solid advice. \"He knew his stuff and we're doing what he said,\" Acree says.\nA look at Seismic's Facebook Page shows perhaps more promotional messages than the 10 to 1 ratio (non-promotional to promotional) that Barbaric advocates, but the content is fairly engaging and unique \u2014 like this Facebook post, which riffs on the name of electronic artist Deadmau5:\n\nPost by Seismic Audio Speakers.\nThe mix of content also includes some seriousness as well as ties to Seismic products. For instance, a Sept. 11 post includes a link to a famous Budweiser Clydesdales ad that ran only once on TV in order to commemorate 9/11. On a more promotional note, this Facebook update features a DJ setup that a Seismic fan recently used:\n\nPost by Seismic Audio Speakers.\nAfter realizing that he needed to divert his workers (and himself) back to the company's bread and butter, Acree placed Seismic's social media presence in a holding pattern. \"It just comes down to doing the work,\" says Barbaric. \"It is a commitment, but so is sales.\"\nBarbaric says that an in-house social media facilitator isn't the solution for every business. \"I've worked with small companies that have a dedicated person and big companies that don't,\" he says. \"It all depends on which eggs you want to put in which basket.\"\nAcree has decided that Seismic needs a full timer. (Any readers interested in such a position \u2014 and in living in Memphis \u2014 should contact the company here.) Not everyone goes that route, however. For companies that can't bankroll another staffer, Barbaric has a word of advice: \"If you have a limited amount of resources, it would be a good idea to lower the amount you do; focus on three things rather than four.\"\nImage: iStockphoto, Blueraymac\n      window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement('script');js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);};\n_msla(\"//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#appId=116628718381794&amp;xfbml=1&amp;status=1&amp;cookie=1\",\"facebook_jssdk\");"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/09/19/seismic-social-makeover/>