If you are a business owner, maybe you don't think you have time to participate in social media marketing. The good news is you don't have to Tweet the longitude and latitude of your exact whereabouts every 10 minutes to participate. In fact the key to a good social media presence is relevance. Tell people something they want to hear and they will listen. Keep in mind that may be something useful and insightful on Twitter or it may just be who you are, what you do and what makes you unique. Here are some good stating ideas you should consider for participating in "bare bones" social media.
Just sign up on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or any of the myriad of sites out there. Look for friends and fill out your profile. You've probably heard the saying, "All things being equal, people will do business with their friends. All things not being equal, people will still do business with their friends." This is really true and the reason is trust. The Internet provides many ways for you to trust businesses or individuals. Surveys and comparison sites are goods ways to do it, but personal relationships are still the best way to gain trust from your customers. So sign up, reconnect with old acquaintances and let them know what you do.
List your business or organization. You can list your organization on Facebook, here's the Valitics Group for example. You can send out messages and announce events. Plus invite friends to be a fan or member of your group or an event you a putting on. Be as involved or hands-off as you want, any bit of exposure helps.
Their are many more involved and time-consuming ways to use these social media sites. But you have to really enjoy doing it to make it worth your while. The practical application is to join, connect with people who may at some time need your services and have fun while doing it.