Why you should get a Facebook and Twitter account even if you hate them.

First off, if you do not have a Facebook or Twitter account, I know you know someone who does. You may not understand why it is important to know where your friend Bob went out for dinner, or that your old college roommate just bought a new car. You may look at all the tweets and status updates as useless information overload, but you may want to reconsider.

Sure, most of the information communicated in this manner comes across as trivial and unimportant, and truth be told, most of it is. The important factor is how it is communicated. Facebook status updates and tweets happen very quickly, and with even a relatively small network of followers and friends, they can reach a large amount of people in a manner of seconds. Interesting tweets are often retweeted and can increase the amount of people that see your tweet significantly.

Search engines, like Google and Bing, in an effort to increase the relevancy of the information they provide are now providing real-time searches by including feeds from Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sources. Google is even using the information from individuals' own online social circles to help provide more relevant, personalized search information. That means when you are searching for a new restaurant to try out, where your Facebook friend Bob ate dinner last night suddenly becomes a bit more relevant.

So why should your small business get Facebook and Twitter accounts?

1) Both services are free—you will probably not find cheaper advertising than through social media other than word of mouth, of course. It does take time to maintain your accounts and to get your initial message out to the masses as well as build an online network, but once you do get the message out, it can quickly turn into word of mouth as your message is passed on to the friends of people who find your message to be important or interesting.

2) The speed at which you are able to reach your customer base. As soon as you post your tweet, it goes directly to your friends and followers. By using a services like bit.ly, which helps you create short links that work with Twitters' 140-character posting limit, you can see how many people are clicking on your links. Often, you can even see immediate responses after sending out your tweet.

3) Build relationship with your clients and customers. One of the great aspects of social media is the increased communication between your business and your clients and customers. They can leave comments and feedback on your Facebook page or blog. Having increased communication and interaction with your customers will help you better know the needs of your customer base.

These are only a few of the benefits of using social media. Sure you may have to sort through a lot of trivial status updates and tweets from your friends and followers, but with the benefits of low-cost advertising, speed of delivery, and the ability to build relationships with your clients and customers, you would be at a disadvantage over your competitors if you opt to not use it.