Many recruiters (and job seekers) make the mistake of giving up too easily on social networks before they're able to fully benefit from their use.  On many sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter, more than 50 percent of business owners who sign-up eventually abandon their accounts after only a short time.  Why?  

1.    High expectations.  Many users of social networking sites expect miracles with little effort on their part and when they don't get those miracles they're disappointed.

2.    Impatience. There are some users of social networking sites who expect results after only a week or two.  This expectation of instantaneous results is unrealistic and can lead to frustration with a system that is designed to payoff in the long-term.

3.    Lack of a plan.  Many social network users sign-up with sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter willy-nilly with no plan or goals.  They end up weighed down by the "chatter" of online social networking and waste time because they are literally stumbling around in the dark.

If recruiters want to avoid the pitfalls of social networks and utilize these systems to their advantage they must release unrealistic expectations and map out a plan that will help them achieve their goals. Ask yourself:  Do I want to use LinkedIn to find more clients?  Do I want to use Twitter to make job announcements?  Or, do I want to network with other recruiters?  You need to do the research and find out how the social networks are utilized by other recruiters, potential clients and candidates. For example, if most of the people you want to connect to are on LinkedIn and not Twitter, then that's something you need to know to avoid wasting time and energy.  But you won't know the necessary facts if you don't identify your objectives and do the research in advance.