I get that everything happens in phases, and we typically know we need to do something for a long time before we actually do it. For many businesses, that seems to be the phase we’re in when it comes to social media.

We know we need to do it. Heck, just look at the world of marketing today. There are 200 million people on the U.S. ‘Do Not Call’ list. More than 86 percent of TV viewers admit to skipping commercials. Forty-four percent of direct marketing is never opened. And the list goes on.

But that doesn’t mean people aren’t ready to spend money. It just means they don’t want brands to tell them how to spend their money. They want to decide that for themselves.

Today’s buyers – both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) – have told us loud and clear that they want to decide how and when they’d like to interact with a brand. In fact, buyers typically have completed 60 to 80 percent of their research before ever reaching out to a store or salesperson.

From the Social Media Examiner’s 2012 Social Marketing Industry Report, we know that:

• 93 percent of B2B marketers use social marketing to market their business.

• 85 percent of marketers reported that the No. 1 benefit of social marketing is generating more business exposure.

• 74 percent of marketers reported that social marketing has increased their site traffic.

• 59 percent of marketers are using social marketing for six hours or more per week.

I think it’s safe to conclude that social media has a huge impact on our culture and is reshaping many societal norms. And for us marketing types, it’s a permanent game changer.

And yet, even though we all know it, many businesses are still just dabbling in social media or ignoring it altogether. But even for the companies that say they are knee-deep or better into social media and consider it an important part of their marketing efforts, they seem to be missing the point.

For social media to be done well/right, there needs to be an investment: an investment of staff time, an investment of planning and focus, and yes, an investment of money.

In the study The State of Social Media Marketing Report, conducted by social media software company Awareness Inc., I was floored when I saw a graphic that broke down how companies are budgeting for social media:

• 54 percent of their survey respondents have no dollars allocated to social media – just people.

• 23 percent have budgeted between $1,000 and $10,000,

• And yet 54 percent of these same respondents said that they expect social media to generate revenue.

That’s our current disconnect. We recognize the potential of the marketing tactic, but we’re still trying to put together a program using spit, duct tape and some Popsicle sticks.

Unlike traditional media, social media requires regular care and feeding. It’s not episodic, it’s ever-present and without enough attention, it can’t build up enough momentum to actually achieve the results you’re looking for.

If you’re not ready to make the investment, you have two choices. You can limp into it and look like you don’t belong or don’t understand, or you can wait until you are ready to do what it takes to do it right.

Where’s your company in this evolution and are your expectations of output in line with your input?