Two weeks ago my Krups coffee grinder bit the dust. I bought it while in college . . . ca. early 1980s. That means I’ve used it, day in and day out, for approximately 28 years.

^[2]

Once I confirmed that it was truly dead, I immediately made the trek to one of those big box stores to buy a new one, but alas, all they had was a Cuisinart Grind Central(r) Coffee Grinder. Even though I really wanted the Krups, I let myself be sold by one main feature: the Cuisinart can grind enough for 18 cups of coffee!

Except I’ve never had the occasion to make 18 cups of coffee.

But I bought it anyway, because you know, now that I can make all this coffee I can have more friends over to dinner.

It’s an ok coffee grinder, meaning it does its job, but I hate it. It scatters grounds everywhere, it needs constant cleaning and it has too many removable parts. All I really want is a coffee grinder that lets me make my one cup of coffee each day without a lot of trouble and mess.

^[3]

While cleaning up coffee grounds and mulling over the articles I had just read about social media marketing, I realized that social media hype works the same way. Pick up any publication and you’ll find at least one article on why you and your small business should be using social media.

If you read a lot, you come away feeling anxious because you get the impression that you’re missing out on one giant marketing bonanza: 100 million users on LinkedIn! 500 million on Facebook! 1 billion YouTube views per month!

It’s this anxiety I hear now when prospects call.

Well, here’s the skinny: Just as I don’t need a coffee grinder that makes 18 cups of coffee, if you’re a small business owner or marketer pressed for time (and aren’t we all?), you don’t have to be on every single social media platform nor do you need thousands of “fans” or “followers.” Honest.

If your customers and prospects use Facebook and you yourself love Facebook, then stick with Facebook. If, on the other hand, the bulk of your prospects use LinkedIn but not Twitter and you feel more comfortable on LinkedIn, then make LinkedIn your focus.

Then, work to make connections while creating some solid content on a regular basis. It’s better to go deeper with fewer connections and a couple of white papers or an e-book than it is to constantly post superficial crap to thousands of people who just ignore it.

As for my coffee grinder, I broke down and ordered a new Krups because I miss its simplicity and elegance. The Cuisinart is getting returned.