A version of this article previously appeared at RickMulready.com. 

"I'm so overwhelmed with social media, I hate that I have to spend so much time on it every day in order to grow my business."

"Damn, do I ever dread using Twitter. I just don't get it but everyone's on there so I guess I have to be too."

Sound familiar?

You're not alone if it does. So many small-business owners have these same thoughts all the time. And it drives them bonkers.

I just had this exact conversation with an entrepreneur friend of mine this week. He uses social media to help grow his email list. Some of his efforts are crushing it and others he hates.

So, I told him to be a social media snob. That's right, be a snob about social.

By being a social media snob you should do the following three basic things:

1. Know where your customers are so you can be there, too. Ask them directly which networks they use most so you can ignore the ones they don't like.

2. Test, test and test some more. You don't want to be on a social network just to be there. If you've tried different strategies but you aren't achieving your business goals on a particular network, consider trying a different network instead.

3. Go deep on the networks that are working. By this, I mean that you should spend as much time and budget on the networks where you're seeing the most results. If you're converting fans to customers on Facebook then keep at it. If not, skip it.

As busy entrepreneurs, we don't have the time to be wasting on social-media efforts that don't bring us results, that don't grow our business. Avoid spending too much time and effort on the networks that simply aren't driving results for your business.