Today’s guest post is by Amy McCloskey Tobin.

When I first delved into the world of social media I was overwhelmed with the possibilities.

For the first time in history, a small business could communicate directly with its target audience.

I was thunderstruck by the realization that small marketing budgets, the bane of growth for most small businesses, were practically irrelevant.

A smart plan and time to dedicate to your community allowed you to transform your business.

I became absolutely obsessed with learning as much as I could about how to use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and any other platform available as a marketing tactic.

There was a period where I literally couldn’t catch my breath for trying to digest it all.

I spent hours upon hours glued to my computer, reading as rapidly as possible.

I tried to read every new social media book, as counter-intuitive as that seemed since everything was changing so quickly; by the time I’d finished the latest book a new platform would spring to life and I was once again playing catch up.

I felt uneducated…totally unarmed for this brave new marketing world. (more…)