People put up all kinds of excuses for not participating in Social Media: That is for young people. What's in it for me? I don’t have time (by the way, you make time for what you want to do). Then there is that fantastic question "What if..."
Well, what if a frog had wings? He wouldn't bump his butt when he jumped.
I've always struggled with people leaning on the "what if's" in life. So what if something bad happens? Learn from it. In your lifetime, what have you learned from good things happening? Probably that you can get away with cutting corners.
Don't be afraid of failing in Social Media. That is the norm in this world. It was designed that way, and it takes a lot of trial and error. That's how all the leaders got to where they are. They stuck their neck out and tried something. Take the Motrin commercial that caused a huge "Mommyblogger" uproar:
The Mommybloggers ripped this to pieces saying it implied that mothers resent their children for causing them pain. Motrin issued a formal apology, but that did not relinquish the backlash. Now, studies show that even after this debacle, sales were not affected negatively by the incident.
The trick is to reevaluate the success of your tactics frequently. Is the Twitter account accomplishing the goals that you set forth in your plan? (You do have a plan, right?!) Is Flick'r hitting the audience you thought it would? Are your posts covering your brand or product's key messages?
When you do fail (because at some point, you will), roll with the punches. Move your focus. Do more research. Change your tactics. I've never heard of any project that didn't teach you a thing or two, have you?
What measures have you taken to turn what might be considered a failed SM campaign into a positive?