Why it takes so long to achieve social media success

While social media has many benefits including marketing research, customer service,

and collaboration, for many businesses it’s primarily about building relationships that lead to sales. But social media connections are weak relational links. Social media platforms simply open new doors, and it takes time to turn those connections into strong links that are actionable.

Instead of comparing social media marketing to advertisng, it might be more accurate comparing it to the benefits of attending an annual trade show or networking meeting where it takes time to build relationships that lead to sales.

So yes, the immediate benefit of social media marketing is awareness and that is IMPORTANT because awareness leads to engagement. Over time, that engagement may result in trust. And it’s not until we get to that point that we can begin seeing some cash coming in the door … maybe years down the line.

http://www.businessesgrow.com/2015/08/31/social-media-success/