I think that this is a good article but may not be the same for everyone.
I personally use these sites to try and put my name out there to get traffic to my sites at most and that helps for better SEO as well.
I also use twitter a bit more as a bookmarking tool in case I need to check it in the future (so let's say I saw a great article and need to read it but don't have time now, I tweet it, then I check it when I can even though that doesn't happen often).

Carol- Another exellent post. Thanks for sharing your experiences and creating lots of comments. The comments were very educational as well.

Kip Marlow
www.tecaclub.com

Our company is currently implementing our Social Media Marketing plan. It can be very overwhelming.

My suggestion is to keep your plan simple so you can stick to it...and easily track your results. Then modify later to get better results.

Define your audience, find out where you can reach them on the web, and meet their top needs with some valuable social media content. Then be consistent and keep the conversation going.

Also, we'e found that many Social Media participants are "watchers" - so don't give up...when they need your advice or know someone who would benefit, they might just refer that person to you without you ever knowing.

Good luck out there!

http://www.IntuitiveWebSites.com

Great conversation, but are we talking about Online Marketing or Social Media Marketing? Social Media is becoming very powerful for brands and can build image and trust quite quickly as Stephanie points out. It can also erode that image just as quickly (Skittles anyone?). However, for individuals, it still seems more entertainment than marketing. But it shouldn't be underestimated either. Like lots of marketing tools, when used regularly, it adds to the mix that is hopefully keeping you top-of-mind with prospects and clients. Just like traditional marketing media, impressions count. For example, that $500 in 9 months could be come $9000 tomorrow after your next post or Linked-In response connects. Not to mention the contacts you make, events you discover, etc.

Online Marketing on the other hand, is obviously quite broader and should also include e-zines and blogs which have their own uses and augment traditional marketing mixes quite nicely. We advocate to our clients a mix of all the above, but to tread cautiously with the social media unless you can manage it properly.

Jim Shanman
www.asylumdesign.com

The problem between the two described activities is one of focus. Whether going to an in-person event or networking online, you should know the audience and what you hope to accomplish. After identifying that, you can plan how you will get there.

I think the "problem" with social media is that it is so enjoyable that it lends itself to a lack of discipline. You're having fun and get distracted. For many of us, if we have to get dressed up, put on a name tag, carry some business cards and start chatting up strangers then we are going to be focused, diligent, moving and acting with purpose. Social media marketing on the other hand can have us in our pajamas. Pajama outfit, pajama mindset.

My company, Paden Noble Consulting, monitors, measures, and analyzes the effectiveness of social media marketing, online brand reputation building and other internet related activities. We calculate the ROI and find it to be higher than many other forms of marketing. When done right, it kicks butt over Direct Mail. Quicker response rate than television ads (people need to see a commercial many times to act but via social media you can build trust quicker).

Stephanie Noble
Stephanie@PadenNoble.com
http://www.PadenNoble.com
973-392-4896

I admit it........I am a semi-reformed social media junkie. There I've said it!

Social networking sites are a great place to meet others like myself, pick up a few new ideas, to meet new people in my industry nationwide; they have little, if any, ROI although they can be great for acquiring backlinks to help power up my sites. Social media sites helped to power up my sites, my sites hit the top of the engines, being on top of the engines created a swell of traffic and leads, some leads convert to closed business. Closed business is the point.

Still trying to figure out how Twitter has any tangible value. Facebook is attracting my local community which makes it a great place to expose my brand and interact with my local community which is where my business is.

The time factor is huge. If we are busy doing business there is little time for social networking. So we made a choice. We would rather do business than be busy in cyberspace.

I still think it is fun though.

Right on. This is absolutely true. The beauty of social networking is having a platform to use as a tool, once the relationship is solidified in person. Using social technology to discuss, share, simplify and distribute content created IN PERSON is it's purpose. However, the excessively introverted social networking technologists are getting sales jobs. What?? Since when did people tied to their desk chair and "putting time in the office" qualify for a business development role? I love what Erica O'Grady does, she develops relationships in person (everywhere) and uses the web to connect everyone together.... that's the power of the social web.

Get Social. Get It.

Great article about great lost cost and free tools for marketing. Especially useful for a smaller company as myself.

I attended several network meeting inthe past few months where the panelists dicussed Social Media Marketing. One was TieFlorida, another Mobile Miami, another SFIMA. So what was the results of all this? Well I think what I got from it was that no one really has a grasp on this thing yet.

How do you measure the SM advertising return? What is the dreaded ROI? I sure cant figure it out. I have people following me on Twitter, but what does that translate to? So far not a whole lot. I have a blog, but who knows who reads it?

There are lots of software packages out there that say you can get great social media advertising and google ranking using it, but no one can trust any of them not to be scam.

This is still unchartered territory.

Gary Bahadur
blog.kraasecurity.com
#kraasecurity

Carol,

I find your blog post interesting, but I think that the point of social media is being missed by the article.

"I think many owners are doing lots of online marketing not because it's effective, but because it's so much easier than picking up the phone or putting yourself out there in the flesh" - Social media is not about replacing face-to-face interaction, it is about enhacing your effectiveness in your downtime and adding to your marketing, not replacing it.

"when I talk to business owners about social-media marketing, it seems like more of a timewaster for most than a useful business tool" - I would suggest that the majority of these business owners don't know what to do with social media. It's like asking a trumpet player to play an ovation earning performance on a violin... It takes time.

Twitter and facebook are very different than traditional media. I would recommend contacting Matt Astifan @ www.nirvanacanada.com (@MattsMedia on twitter) for a follow up interview on how to make social media work for you. He has helped me enormously in my business and I saw direct results within days of talking to him.

"You can't be an expert on something you don't study". Social Media is a tremendous tool that I am using and it is a key piece of my business development strategy. I would suggest that before giving up on social media, that those who wish to use it as an effective tool, spend some more time learning how to be effective rather than claiming that social media is ineffective...

Follow me on twitter @InsureVancouver

or http://dstrokon.wordpress.com/

Regards,

Derek

Building on Jeffrey's point, I agree that online social interactions are not a replacement for offline ones. I find that the first step of getting introduced is a great way to build an offline relationship. LinkedIn's get introduced is one such powerful tool. In my experience, sending an initial message to meet offline for a subsequent meeting is really effective.

In reply to the ROI issue I couldn't agree more that there need to be more Analytics around Social Networking than the basic # of comments on a blog, # tweets etc. However it is a great back linking exercise for people interested in SEOing their website.

I'm just laughing reading Joy's comment!

I in no way mean people shouldn't be engaged in online social media. Personally, I just joined Twitter in the past week to experiment with what it might do to bring me new copywriting or mentoring clients.

My point is just to keep it brief, because right now it doesn't pay off that much for most. I'm shooting for 15 minutes a day max now to spend on any and all online media sites, and really keeping an eye on the clock.

Have to disagree with Kimberlee's assessment of LinkedIn -- I find it so far the most productive social-media place for me. I've connected with editors I never would have hooked up with otherwise -- ever go in the list of who's looked at your profile? Sometimes that gives you enough info to track down the person who browsed you and connect with them.

Also, LinkedIn has an increasing flow of exclusive job listings. So I think of it as much more than an online resume. The recommendations also seem to be big -- I'm increasingly seeing want ads that say they only want responses from people who have them. I've also found it to locate long-ago former editors and get back in touch, a great way to find potential new assignments for me. The more people who know what you're looking for in a client, the better, so I think it's good for that. I guess I think this site has the most potential to grow into something really useful in time.

So there's uses for these sites...but I think we have to be sure we're not just doodling away the hours on them.

Carol Tice
Entrepreneur writer/blogger

One more thing I wanted to point out. Aside from twitter, none of the examples of social networking sites, are really social at all. LinkedIn is a digital resume, and both Digg and Delicious are both mashups (places to bookmark and share interesting stories online). I don't think anyone who knew anything about social networking would tell you that Digg is ridiculously exclusive and not a place to "self-promote" or try to build any sort of relationship.

There's also a difference between social media (a broad umbrella of sites including Digg, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and a host of other mashups/networks) and social networking (a site or tool used to engage the masses and build your brand). Understanding the difference is probably the most important element of making sure your time is used wisely.

It's definitely not a matter of one or the other. Social networking doesn't serve the same purpose as face-to-face networking which is why the results vary so drastically. Comparing the two is like comparing apples and porcupines.

Wow, I have been thinking about this theme a lot lately as I have noticed the ROI on my time spent in social networking is nearly zero. The people I need to connect with to make sales in my industry simply are not spending time on those sites. So now I am cutting back as well.

Ironically, i just received an invitation in the mail for a networking event next week, I am going to RSVP right now.

Nice post.

I'm liking the conversation here...hopefully it does get people thinking about how much time they're spending online. It tends to be a sort of magical time that business owners don't really add up...but they should.

I exchanged emails with one guy recently who patiently explained to me how his bid for online glory was that he was spending hours each week updating and maintaining about 100 Squidoo lenses in the hope that this would build into good residual income over time. But for now it was making him like $100 a month. I wanted to reach through my computer and shake him by his shoulders...I can think of dozens of more produtive and lucrative uses of his time.

The woods are full of entrepreneurs who've invested lots of time writing on content sites or working on media sites that then go bust, leaving them with nothing after umpteen hours of slaving. I've talked to lots of people who think they're building a residual income legacy -- but the only way to ensure you can do that over time is to own your content and sell it on your own site, keeping control of it.

It sort of reminds me of when Amazon.com started and was valued by Wall Street at a level that didn't relate in any way to sales or profits at the company. Eventually it fell to earth and was valued like what it is -- a real company.

It's the same with social media. People need to give it the same ROI analysis they'd give any other use of their time...but often, they don't. Because it's just so darn fun! But in this economy, I think we all need to be doing things that really get results.

Carol Tice
Entrepreneur writer/blogger

Where you should market depends on who your market is. My clients are book publishers, and they're few and far between at f2f events!

(And I did learn about your blog on LinkedIn.)

Great article. The rise of social media as a business tool is very interesting given the amount (lack) of evidence to suggest it works. It started out as fun for the masses I think there's a long way to go for business to leverage it well. I wrote a post in a similar vein that talks about the fact that people need to use relationship principles whether it's in the real world or online. I definitely think that real world relationships are far more powerful. Maybe social networking simply gets you those connections to meet more people?

I am quite new to online networking (2 months on LinkedIn) but am already seeing the benefits. It's not quite in the tangible bracket yet but it is certainly extending my offline network in areas that I wouldn't have thought possible a short time ago.

I am sure that the online networking will never replace the face-to-face networking, at least for me, but it has opened a few new doors and made it easier to reconnect with contacts that, for one reason or another, had wandered off of my active list.

So far it hasn't been a big time commitment and most of the time that I have spent online has been due to the learning curve. Now that I am more familiar with the LinkedIn system I spend less time online and receive more for the time spent.

It's interesting that you included Delicious. As someone who has always had an affinity for social media and social networking, I can attest to it being a potential time suck. The most important thing with social networking is knowing how to manage your time.

Unlike most other social networks though, Delicious is completely utilitarian; a place to keep bookmarks on the web. It's what we social media enthusiasts call a mashup, but it's also just another tool for storing bookmarks. Others might have access to those bookmarks, but Delicious is not designed to be social outside of that. Its great if you want to be able to access your bookmarks in multiple locations (which I do sometimes). No need to network, but if you want quick and easy access to stuff on the Web that you might return to at some point, Delicious is the place to store it.

My two sites promoting my writing services rank in the top spot for their respective keywords. This has undoubtedly happened not only because of good SEO, but also link building that has been created through social media.

Can I credit all my new accounts to social media just because a stranger stumbles upon my site? No...but I'm not going to argue that it's profitable.

Social media shouldn't be seen as advertising. It should be seen as public relations.

But you're right - it should also be seen as an extension of real world marketing and networking...not a one-and-done.

Carol,

I hope your article gets folks thinking about how they are spending their time, and where they are spending it.

It takes a long time to establish yourself online. even longer to get a return on your investment of time.

Great job!

The Franchise King
Joel Libava