Re-defining ROI in the age of social media.

Mike - I had a feeling you'd agree with this.  You're one of several people who really helped me get this perspective as I went along.  Spending time trying to quantify some things just doesn't work if you ask me.  Sure you can see results, but can you really connect all the dots and say that "in exactly 13 tweets, which took me 12 minutes to write, I gained a new client?"  In some cases, I'm sure it's possible, but overall social media's benefits are a bit more hidden than that.  How many people read those tweet and follow those links, but don't directly interact with you?

Sheldon - I'm definitely not advocating social media as the be all, end all.  I don't think anything is.  Well-rounded is a god way to put it.  Little of this, little of that - mix them all together and let them work their magic.  I do find comfort important in any method you choose to "prospect" or "advertise" or "make yourself available."  If you're not comfortable it shows.

Glenn - I agree with you.  When I first got into social media activities, I found that most of my connections were direct with other agents and people within the industry.  As time passed, I got more interested in discovering the local side of things.  I did and I now interact with locals/agents on Twitter at about a 1:1 ratio now.  I've also introduced some of the locals to some of the agents for different reasons.  I introduced @MikeMueller and @zipvogreg to some of our local (state in this case) hockey fans during the Stanley Cup Finals.  I introduced a local writer and lover of all things social media to a friend of mine in Austin who is in the industry.  That relationship provided some results which I will be announcing soon  and also brought me closer to the loca writer.  We're having coffee this week to discuss some opportunities.

Christine - I think most computer based activities are a little harder to quantify than most human to human activities or money spending activities.  Because the internet is open 24 hours, your "investment" may be working for you while you sleep.

William - I'm no Facebook expert as I avoided it for a long time for various reasons, but a great resource for Facebook ideas and information is Mike Mueller (seen in the comments up above).

Jeff - I look at it this way.  There's a reason they chose the name "viral" for a video that spreads like wildfire across the internet.  You may be communicating with people without even knowing it.

Lane - That's the other problem with social media that I see.  When people "try" it, they enter a few words, hit send, and wait for the leads to pour in.  We all know it doesn't work like that.  I think some of social media's own hype helped create a false perception in  some people's mind that it was the cure all they had been looking for.  When it isn't they abandon it quickly.

Gary - You're right about it not being local enough...that is, until you make it more local.  Most bloggers are working ridiculously hard to bring their tiny local communities to light on the internet.  It used to be if you wanted info a a town or other small city, the info out there was pretty rough.  Now you can find info on communities with a population of 185.  The more information we generate on the internet, the more complete the modern encyclopedia of our world becomes.

Cameron - You're not making exuses.  It's a common thing for most people.  Especially when you're first starting out.  Blog posts used to take me hours to think up, write out, and then add photos, layout, etc.  Now I'm much better at them and they take less time.  I think the biggest investment in time is you initial investment.  As you get more used to it, it gets better.  Even then, there are times when you just don't have time.  Like anything we do, it's about learning to adapt to our schedule and priorities.  Real estate requires a lot of adaptation of our time and schedules.  It's all about making it work for you.

Mathias - Listening is a huge key.  Both online and off.  I mentioned the story of the girl who I know on Twitter above.  When I first started following her, she was a random local, just followed her because of her residency.  One of the first things she asked was "do I know you?"  I told her she did not, but I often pick random locals to follow to keep up on what's going on in my city.  Over time, I learned a lot about her.  Now we have conversations.  At first, I would just read the random posts she threw out there.  I might respond if it was something of interest, but mostly just sat there listening.  Now we initiate conversations with each other.  And it works both ways.  She initiates as do I.  To me that sums up how social media can and should work.

Mike - I'm not against tracking leads and where they're coming from.  I always ask people how they heard of me and what made them pick up the phone or send that initial email.  I find most people online can't be very specific though.  "I was on Google and your name came up."  That's the most frequent response that I hear.  Was it my blog, a mention on Trulia, my company's website, Google profile, Flickr, a click-ad?  No one seems to remember the details.  They just know it was on the computer.  When people do remember specifics, it's usually because they read something I wrote (ie, a specific article from my blog).  I think your basketball reference is a good fit for me.  I've been toying with computers since I can remember and when the internet came, I was there to play with that too (even at slow modem speeds).  I enjoy what I do, so it makes it comfortable for me.  And that comfort shows in my interaction with those people.  Comfort breeds more comfort and eventually (as long as there's good reason for it) trust.  If you're nervous and awkward and don't feel comfortable on the internet, it's probably not the best place to be interacting with people.

Roland - My theory has been that everything works.  It's just whether or not it works for me.  The companies that call me every five minutes looking for my monthly fee for this or that new service or product.  Their products must have some merit or they wouldn't stay afloat for 10 minutes.  Are they good products for me?  That's the question that every agent needs to answer for themselves.

Jenny - Reviewing your analytics will always give you a good idea of what's working and what's not on a website, as you said, you know I read mine religiously (have a post coming up about something I've been noticing actually).  My traffic has grown, slow and steady.  I've been found directly through it and also through the "you're everywhere" type of search.  The last listing I took was from the "omnipresent" feeling the client got about me.  Her adviser when she was looking for an agent?  A former agent.  He told her to pick me and we talked quite a bit (him and I) about theories in real estate marketing.  It was a pleasure to see someone understand what I was doing and why that had their hand in the industry at one point in time.

Teral - You just made me happy as can be.  Why?  Because you mentioned the "comments."  I've said it a million times before, but the heart of any post is in the comments.  When the interaction there begins, it gets good.

Erica - See my comment to Jenny above about the "everywhere" vibe.  I wrote this mainly because people who can't quite quantify the ROI in social media wind up balking at the idea.  They want the cold, hard facts and although you can analyze a lot of data and get some good answers, you can never truly see what the investment was or what the exact return is when it comes to social media.  Perhaps someday someone will invent some sort of time tracker for social media and there will be some way to analyze what you're doing, but even then I don't think it will answer the question directly of what you get in return for your investment.

Julie - I agree except for the part about "post once and populate."  I don't think the same information being posted everywhere is necessarily a good thing.  What I see as useful is being able to tie each piece together.  I often link from my main site (www.RErockstar.com) to posts here and on my outside blog (and vice versa), but I don't populate both with the same information.  Google doesn't like that very much and I want both blogs to be full of fresh content anyway.  I'm not sure if that's exactly what you meant, but I wanted to comment on it none the less.

Joe - My original definition was going to be "Real-time Online Interaction" but I decided to change it when I start thinking about the 24 hour nature of what we say and do on the internet.  It is real-time when we're there, but it can work when we're offline as well.  One of the dangers to social media that I do see is that immediate-response factor.  For instance, I have a client who prefers text messaging to every other form of communication.  He's always right on top of them and gets back to me instantly when I text him.  The other day, I didn't hear from him after asking him a question via text.  The day passed and turned into evening and still no response.  Not like him at all.  I began to worry a bit about him, knowing his usual instantaneous responses.  In the end, he been called into work and was stuck in a place where he couldn't text back.  Everything was ok, but it was a bit nerve wracking to wait.

Ann - Thanks for pointing out the re-blog, I usually don't notice when I've been reblogged unless some one mentions it or I happen to go to that person's blog (I'm a frequent visitor to Mike's blog, but hadn't yet today).  Mike is one of the few people I might actually call a social media "guru."  He is a wealth of information and if anyone is looking to further their social media interaction or understanding, he's one to follow.

Jeff - If you look around ActiveRain you can see the effects of a better housing market in the number of blog posts by its users.  It takes time, so when people get busy, it does tend to slow down.  I try to keep finding time, no matter what I'm doing, even if it means writing a few tidbits of ideas in a file I keep on my desktop.  When I first started blogging, I felt invisible.  Over time though, my site has grown and so has its readership (and results in Google as well).  It takes time, but to me time is a great investment into anything.

Jeff - Just read your post.  Hope he's getting better day by day.  I can imagine it was a tough weekend for everyone.

I did know you agreeed and in fact was just agreeing back with a few side thoughts.  There will always be times when blogging/social media has to be put to the side and doesn't fit into our daily routines.  I hear the "time" issue a lot from people who aren't involved in any type of social media - saying they can't justify starting because it requires time.  It's hard to get over the hump and dive in, but I've found that most people that do wind up enjoying it - both for personal and business reasons.

Chris and Stephanie - Thanks.  My head's been full of theory and thought lately, so I've just been putting it out there to see what everyone else thinks.  I hate to say it, but I think there's even an advantage for agents who just fill their days with spam-style marketing.  The biggest voice often gets recognized first, even if they don't have much to say.  I don't agree with that element of social media, but I'm sure some people will have success with it.  I'd rather be a smaller voice, but already be valued for my worth to the transaction before I even meet the potential client.  Social media allows for that.

Gene - It is ever-evolving, but that's natural.  With it being a "free" investment, there's not a lot of risk associated with being first on the scene to the latest development.  Plus, the more you do, the more natural it becomes - so when something changes, it often still seems familiar enough that you can grasp the concept of it quickly.

René - The ROI question is the root of everything in real estate.  "What's in it for me?" as they say.  While I do think it's important to receive value from everything you do, I just can't justify always needing to label everything with a price tag.  There's a difference in my eyes to value and a dollar amount.  A dollar amount is value, but value does not have to equate to a specific dollar amount.

Erica - I definitely think you do.

Lana - I think it also becomes hard because what you're actually doing is a bit more abstract.  Having a buyer in your car...that's concrete.  You spent x hours with them, drove x miles, used x gallons of gas, made x copies at x cost per copy, etc.  Where's the x variable in social media?

Mathias - I have to run out right now, so I'm going to skip your article until I can spend some real time reading it.  I do enjoy the thought of a primer for newcomers - what's good, what's garbage - the basics you need to get going.  The presentation at the SABOR Town Hall Meeting was like that, although was still meaty enough that someone who has some experience could enjoy it and walk away with something as well.

Chris - I'm not a huge proponent of most of the automation behind social networking, but I think if combined with real-time conversation, it can work.  I always think that people automate too much and then it just becomes robotic and boring.

Lyn - The quest for instant results is one the biggest problems agents face.  Perhaps it's the result of many years of "easy going" for agents who got used to just getting a license and watching the clients roll in.  I think everything is a you reap what you sow kind of situation in real estate.  You do nothing, you get nothing.

Julie - If there's one thing I'm good at, it's commenting.  Thanks for coming back and reading the reply, that's something I really love.