You know your company should be using social media. Your colleagues know your company should be using social media. Even some customers have asked if you have a Facebook page. So, what’s the sticking point? The boss.

Sometimes getting that final seal of approval can be a real sticking point when it comes to implementing your company’s social media plan. The CEO may have concerns about jumping into the world of tweets, blogs, posts, diggs and viral videos. He may be worried about putting the company “out there” so publicly or concerned about the staff time needed to manage such an endeavor.

Those are all good considerations and ones you need to address when pitching your boss on the benefits of social media. If you’ve managed to work your way up the chain to the point where you can meet with the CEO and show her your ideas, you’ll want to make sure your approach is just right.

This is a great post on the SmartBlogs on Social Media offering the “Five Steps to Build a Company Wide Social Media Plan.” One of the ideas that makes a lot of sense is to avoid using the phrase “social media.” What? How can you craft a social media plan or presentation without using this term?

According to the blog:

The point of these “new strategies” is to help meet existing goals. If you introduce the group you’re assembling to senior leaders as a “social-media team,” they might assume it’s an experiment of sorts. This is about using new channels to achieve company goals, not about trying to get more fans on Facebook.

Good advice! Social media isn’t about having a Facebook page or a Twitter account just so you can say you have one. These tools need to align with your company’s strategic plan, goals and vision.

Also, when approaching upper management, it’s always good to talk money – preferably how to make more of it and how to spend less of it. The good news is social media tools for the most part are free, so the only investment is staff time to manage these accounts.

As for making money, social media is all about brand awareness and keeping your name in front of your current and potential customers. It may be tough to track a sale that was a direct result of an interaction on Twitter or Facebook, but there’s a very good chance that a customer remembered you because of an interaction on Twitter or Facebook.

We’d like to hear how you sold social medial to your management team? Or are you a CEO who jumped on board early on?