New York ( CNN ) -- You 've tried to , but so far , your foray into social media marketing is not adding to sales , just to headaches . How will Twitter sell sweets at your ice cream parlor ? How will Facebook fill your restaurant or sell your handmade frocks ? I 've heard the complaint from small business owners and professionals a million times : `` How can I monetize social media ? '' Mitch Goldstone has owned a photo-developing shop in Irvine , California , since 1990 . He used to develop 24-exposure film cartridges . Today he takes those shoe boxes of photos under your bed and scans them so you can use them online . Scanmyphoto.com has 10,600 followers on Twitter and Goldstone has sent 32,000 tweets . He does n't just self-promote . He shares links and product reviews , and blends into a running conversation online about all things photo . His presence on Twitter and Facebook has taken his Irvine photo shop international . He scans photos from three miles away in Irvine to thousands of miles away in Australia . `` If you 're not into social media social networking you will be out of business . I 'm going to repeat that : You will be out of business if you do n't tweet , use Facebook , and social media today , '' Goldstone says . Ido Leffler is the co-founder of natural beauty brand `` Yes To ... '' When an expensive traditional print marketing campaign fell flat , he and his partner turned to social media to find the face to their product . Their Facebook campaign attracted 150,000 fans and sales doubled in six months . Social media , in his view , is an equalizer . Anyone can use it , and using it well means new customers . `` Today you do n't have to spend any money at all to set up a Facebook fan page . You do n't need a huge marketing fund to set up a Twitter account . You need zero , '' Leffler says . Here are some dos and don'ts from accomplished users of social media : . 'It just takes too much time and does n't add to sales ' Wrong attitude . You ca n't afford not to . An online presence is like a phone number : Your customers expect it and are looking for you online . Listen to your customers . Listen to what your customers are saying about your business through social media . Answer them individually if you can . Word of mouth , good and bad , can have a powerful effect on sales . If it 's bad , ask your customers how you can do better . Be nimble . In California , a group of hip food vendor trucks tweet their location each day so office workers can pop in . In New York , a brutal snowstorm last February meant the hit show `` Mamma Mia '' would be empty on Broadway . The theater tweeted discount tickets for the brave Manhattanites who could walk through the snow , and the house filled . Watch your competitors . You can get great ideas by watching how others in your industry are using social media . A 'tap on the shoulder ' Comedian Hal Sparks , who uses social media to listen to his fans and promote his appearances , suggests thinking of a tweet as `` a tap on the shoulder . '' More than self-promotion . Customers respond to well-timed discounts and coupons , but free advice and interesting links also get attention . Cultivate a consistent online persona . `` Social media is a great place to be authentic and let your customers know who you are and tell your story , '' says Mike Hofman , deputy editor , Inc. Magazine . Astringent , corporate sounding prose wo n't get you very far . People who respond to social media move fast , are bright and want clever and succinct . Take it seriously . Designate who in the business will be the online voice and keep it consistent . Some small business owners designate a junior , tech-savvy employee . While that can sometimes work , do n't just designate and forget it . `` That can be a problem because do you really want your intern getting your brand message out there and being sort of the arbiter of who you are in the wider commercial world ? '' says Inc 's Hofman . CNN producer Joanna Digeronimo contributed to this report .
Small businesses ca n't afford to ignore marketing potential of Facebook and Twitter . Do n't just self-promote and do ask your customers how you can improve . Be nimble and turn problems into opportunities . Comment: