I see how people are writing, that this is not true, etc. I am a marketer myself, and I found here a couple of very crucial points that small businesses do not understand ( and you pointed out).

For example:

1) They start SELLING on social media. They do not get the part you need to engage, build the brand feel, and then start SELLING. No one likes the salesman behind the door. Why should they want you on Social Media?

I also read a girl who said that there is no feature on Instagram that you can directly shop. And she said: "But why we need this, i do not come to IG to shop. I come to get entertained and inspired."

This is when your brand or small businesses have good visuals and entertains/inspires; it will also bring sales.

But small businesses tend to go the opposite.

Then again, small businesses do not want to put their work in a blog or SEO. They say it takes too much time and is complicated. But how they expect to have sales then?

I found this article really on point. Yes, we can argue here and there with specific topics. But hey, it's not a book. It`s one article with some great moments.

I am not saying that small businesses shouldn't do marketing on social media platforms. But they need to understand their ways and concept around it.