Social Networking ROI: is it worth it?

You sit there eyes glaring, jaw perched wide open, doubt coursing through your brain... She looks nice. I mean, a mac is a mighty fine computer! But are you ready to sit down? Are you ready to write? Are you ready to start blogging and networking online?

Fair warning...she's gonna require your endless attention and creativity! Are you ready for that kind of commitment?

Just last week, Chris Brogan [Social Media Strategy & Technology Expert] shared "50 Online Applications and Sites to Consider." When you start talking blogging and social media networking, about one-fifth of that list is enough to take up your day! Which begs the question, beside your blog:

is the return of investment (a.k.a. more readership) really worth it for social networking sites (yet more time out of my day)? [Thanks for asking Urban Panther!]

Unfortunately, as much as I'd like to give ya a "yes" or "no" answer, I'm afraid I can't. It's a very loaded question! What I will do is share my initial thoughts and get the conversation going... We start by identifying whether we're blogging for business or pleasure!

FOR BUSINESS:
Social networking is a necessity! See, the thing is, effective marketing requires being 'top of mind.' 'Top of mind' requires buying brain cells. So if your brand is available and consistent across various networks, you're strengthening your brand (assuming of course that it's a good brand) and optimizing the chances of selling your product or service offering. Social networking essentially allows you to extend your reach and build/solidify new and existing relationships. What's more is that it's cost effective! Social Media & Web Strategist Liz Strauss breaks it down for us:  

"Relationships build trust. Trust increases speed and lowers costs." -- Liz Strauss; author of Successful Blog

She's right. Don't you think? 

FOR FUN:
Like blogging, social networking should be fun! If it's going to be too much of a time drain, you are better off calling it quits.

If you're into blogging because it's a good personal outlet and you're having some good ol' fashioned fun, you don't need to stress yourself over long hours of social networking to attract new readers. Social networking itself should be fun and enjoyable.

My recommendation: keep being "you" and just join a network that meshes well with your personality. Are you naturally friendly? (Most bloggers are...) Make yourself available on Facebook and check in every once in a while. Are you spontaneous? Do you like to blurt random phrases and sayings? Have some fun on Twitter and meet some new friends. Either way, it won't be difficult. At least not when you're having fun!
_______________

So, what do you think? Is social networking worth the return-on-investment? What networks are you a part of? Share them with us and leave your link(s) to your network(s) in the comments. How much time do you spend networking (whether off-line or on-line) outside of your blog? Do you think that "social networking" a must irrespective of whether you're blogging for business or pleasure? Why do you think so? Share your experience with us.

[Flickr Photo by: Fernando780]

Comments

[Al at 7P]

Hi Ricardo -

I agree, social networking is a fundamental part of blogging. Great point about it being business and fun. It needs to be fun or else it won't be effective, but it also needs the business side in order to budget time appropriately.

[meleah rebeccah]

social networking is very much a fundamental part of blogging. I would have never found so many people otherwise.

I have connected with long lost friends and made brand new friends with social networking sites.

I think I am on all of them, but I only really keep up and stay active with a few of them. Sometimes its too much to keep up with every site I am a member of.

However, it has all been worth my time and I will continue to use them as I continue to connect with new people all the time!

[Writer Dad]

I'm certainly curious to dive into the social networking side of all this, but until I leave the day job behind, I can't make it happen.

[John Young]

You definitely can't dispute the power of social networking when it comes to getting the word out about a blog and drawing traffic to it.

As Writer Dad states, I try when I can, but networking can be a full-time endeavor. It's always nice to see efforts pay off when you receive traffic from friends!

[Mike Goad]

Social networking networks -- just something I've been interested in at all. I use stumbleupon to find new and interesting web sites that I wouldn't see otherwise. I have no interest in myspace, facebook, or twitter, though I've looked into them. I do have a couple of forums on which I'm a regular, both having to do with camping and RVs.

[Mike Goad]

(correction to first sentence of my comment: just something I've NOT been interested in at all)

[Fabio Rodriguez]

Hi Ricardo

In a weird coincidence I just finished listening to SixPixelsOfSeparation podcast, where the host was asking the same question, Social Networks: is it really worth the effort?. Well here are my two cents. First off, no network is going to bring you any benefits if you are just doing it for the sake of getting new clients, from my perspective, clients/readers/subscribers or whatever you are looking for will only engage with you, your brand or your business if you provide good insight on your niche. You shouldn´t create a Facebook profile simply because everyone else is claiming that their business tripled from day one. So, I wouldn´t make any distinctions between the "For fun" and "For business" tags. In a perfect world both things should come as one.

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Al at 7P: Well it's definitely about being selective and determining what tools work best for you. Where is your time best spent? Some good ol' fashioned time management is in order so that we don't go scurrying about waisting endless amounts of time...

@Meleah: sounds to me like you're the perfect example of balance! Mommamiameaculpa.com has a great and thriving community! I would imagine that you interact w/a good portion of those members on FB and Myspace?

I think it's ok to be on a variety of networks and check in only ever once in a while. You don't need to be there ALL the time. I used to only check FB on Saturdays...

Anyway, thanks for sharing that Meleah! You're an excellent example of how social networking works :-P

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Writer Dad: You don't have to let it take up too much of your time. Take FB for example, I'm connected with a good amount of people from various backgrounds... When I'm thinking up topics to write about, I log onto FB, reach out to them, and ask them questions related to my topic. And it's great to be able to reach out to people this way!

I don't have to be there all the time... In fact, I do my best to stay away from the sheep throwing and all that sort of thing :-P

[Daniel, The Real Estate Zebra]

The beauty of social networking and blogging online is that it leads to what I like to call "real-life social networking." That is where the rubber meets the road and your time investment is rewarded. The reason that we should all be engaging people online is so that we can eventually engage them offline, too.

My good buddy Jeff Turner coined the phrase "YEO" as opposed to "SEO." It stands for You Enganging Others. That is what is important. If all of your online efforts lead to more relationships offline as well, you will be able to reap the benefits of social networking.

[Rita]

Ricardo,

What excellent advice! When I first started blogging, I realized that it was like bringing a baby home from the hospital. It required SO MUCH fear: am I doing this right? Am I paying enough emotional and physical attention? And after a few weeks of driving yourself crazy, the wizened pediatrician reminds you that you have 18 years (if not a lifetime) of being neurotic.

So you find your own levels of love and calm. You find other parents who are similar to you. You decide if it's best to go "back to work" outside the home, or stay home with your "little one."

And either way, you just pray that the kid doesn't turn into a juvenile delinquent!

Great post! :-)

Rita

[Robin]

Hi Ricardo - I also wonder whether people find networks like MyBlogLog and BlogCatalogue worth spending any time on.

I've got a FaceBook which I only use with a group of friends, and I'm about to get a MySpace for music purposes - both of these have nothing to do with blogging - no-one I know off-line seems to be interested in blogs - they just don't "get it"!

[Urban Panther]

You have already been helpful with your post, and the comments from others are an added bonus. The Lion and I will be selling actual products (won't give away the secret on what) in the very near future. I think at that point we will start considering social networking to work on being 'top of the mind'. Right now we have our hands full with getting into a workable daily blogging routine, and reading and commenting on all those other great blogs out there (yours included!).

Thank you so much for taking my question and running with it. I greatly appreciate it!

[Ricardo Bueno]

@John Young: Re: "It's always nice to see efforts pay off when you receive traffic from friends!" How very, very true! And that's how social networking should be, "social" and interactive (but friendly). Even when you're doing it for business, it should be friendly. Drop the hard sell, drop the act. And the rest will take care of itself.

@Mike Goad: hiya Mike! You know, with myspace being so full of spam I can see your reluctance. But it's nice to connect with people who share a common interest at times. FB is a little cleaner and it serves that purpose for me. Maybe you'll give FB a try?
Besides, you're already networking via stumbleupon...that's a start.

[Barbara Swafford]

Hi Ricardo,

In a perfect world we would do it all. Blog, comment on other blogs, stay on top of our emails, Stumble, Digg, Twitter, etc. But for me, I don't have that many hours of free time in a day. I take care of what's important to me, and the rest happens when, and if, I have a free block of time.

I've quit beating myself up about not being able to do it all.

[Kelly@SHE-POWER]

I think whether social media is important for blogging depends on why you blog in the first place. Sites like Twitter are great for catching up with your blogging community and there's lots of fun to be had as long as you don't let it comsume too much of your time.

If you blog for business then networking may be important, but the ROI may not be there. you'd need to test it out.

Social media can definitely eat into your day so I have select days I use Twitter. I am on StumbleUpon every day because I am a big blog reader and I like to share my finds with friends. Besides, stumbling is easy because of the toolbar. I have a bi collection of writing, photography and self-improvement articles at my StumbleUpon profile, if anyone is interested.

I am less of a fan of Digg and I don't bother with Plurk or anything else.

Anyone who wants to find me can go to:

http://kellyrigby.stumbleupon.com/
or look for shepower at Twitter and DIGG.

Cheers Ricardo.

:) Kelly

[Debateur]

I run a debate forum and quite enjoy the fresh perspectives that my readers give to current issues. It's always great to learn new things.

[Mike Mueller]

I started compiling a list of the sites I have a profile on. I called it the Master List. It grows each day. Not because I find new sites but more often because I remember old sites.

But how many of those sites do I visit regularly? Less than 10.

I stick to the ones that mean something to me. Something I get a return out of. That's not always a return of closed loans or deals, sometimes it's a return of Kudo's or new connections.

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Fabio: I see your point with respect to giving tags such as: "for business" & "for fun"

I only point out the distinction because some people blog for their own self-fulfillment. They blog to keep an online diary for themselves. Some of these individuals could care less if someone is reading or not. To them, their blog helps in developing themselves personally and so social networking isn't really a priority. For business on the other hand, social networking is a necessity. But at the same time, and this is where I appreciate your point, it should consist of the "hard sell" everywhere you go... It should be fun, it should be "real," it should be honest. Social networking allows us to engage with people. That leads to trust and friendships. Even when we're networking for business, we shouldn't take advantage of that. If you do, you're endangering the brand reputation that you're building for yourself online.

@Daniel: very well said my friend!

I liked Jeff's concept of YEO (You Engaging Others). That's what all of social media should be about. I've met many great new connections that I've met online in-person and the feeling is great! It's that feeling like you've known the person for so long, ya know?

@Rita: hiya there! Good to see you again :-P

You know, your analogy here is dead on in terms of the anxiety we all often deal with when we write and hit publish for our words to hit the world-wide web. It certainly is over-whelming but at the end of the day, you just gotta do it! You'll feel so much better. Of course not everyone will like you, but the ones that relate to you, they make all the difference. The new social connections that we make help us develop along the way, becoming true friends in the process. And that makes it all the more enjoyable.

@Robin: I'm into collective thought when it comes to generating new ideas. The networks I've developed for myself on platforms like LinkedIn & Facebook allow me to reach out to my friends and colleagues to ask questions and generate ideas. To that extend, they do an excellent job! And in the process, I've had the opportunity to meet some of these people in person and get to know them better online.

You don't have to spend hours upon hours like some people do... I manage my time carefully and I connect where and when I can. I stay active to "give"/nurture my network when I can and I reach out for help when I need it. That's why I think social networking is great, it keeps you connected.

@Urban Panther: You're both doing such a great job already that I don't doubt you'll find great success with it. Are you going to add it as a page to your blog? I've seen many people do that. And a Facebook Group couldn't hurt either :-P

@Barbara: don't you wish we could just clone ourselves or have more hours in the day?

There's just no time in the day to do it all. What matters to me is writing and keeping you all engaged :-) I reach out to my network (through social sites like FB, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) when I need to brainstorm on ideas &/or get background on a subject and I make myself available when I can.

@Kelly: sounds to me like you're managing your time well :-P. I agree that twitter can be a total time-suck which is why I limit my time there as well. Stumbleupon is one network I've been meaning to pay more attention to and will... For now, I'm mostly accessible on FB, Twitter & LinkedIn.

I also agree that networking for business has a slightly lower ROI. But that's also probably b/c most would-be marketers forget the "social" aspect of it and are spewing out blatant self-promotion pieces most of the time...

@Debateur: Thanks for the comment and welcome to Ribeezie!

@Mike Mueller: It's always best to put emphasis on those networks that we work best with. I mean it's like you said, you visit less than 10 of them regularly. And why? Because they work for you.

Like you, it's all about the connections here as well. :-P

[Dube]

For me, social networking is definitely worth it. Through Facebook and my blog, I have become connected not only with people from my past, but with people across the world that I would never have met otherwise. It's pretty amazing!

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Dube: isn't it amazing!? Because of social networking, I've met "you!" I've met all of you!

[Tammy Warren]

Hey! I like the YEO concept. I am in this for the community that I build. I know many are out there to make money...and that is great. I love those sites because they give me insight on things I would not otherwise know. On my little space of the blog-o-sphere I am finding my readers increasing since I ran across your blog not long ago. I added the RSS and that I love. I have my Google Reader where I keep up with my favorite bloggers. Rather than surfing the net...I had rather read a post. Make a comment and read what others have commented on. This is the way I plan on spending my "social networking time". My library of favorite readers has grown from comment sections. Who would have thought?

[Natural]

when i started blogging i was on and trying to do everything. now that i have been blogging consistently for over a year (wow)...i'm learning to cut back on social networking. i do blog for fun and i rather visit blogs and leave comments than to spend too much time social networking.

i stopped digging. for what? so a story can get to the home page of Digg, then what? nothing.

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Natural: leaving comments (a.k.a. conversing) is the greatest thing we can do to network and build discussions around one another's blogs. Don't get me wrong, social networking is great...I say that because I often reach out to members of my network for ideas and to introduce members to one another; that's what's great about "social networking." But the biggest thing you can do..the best thing you can do, is get involved in the discussion taking place on other blogs and immerse yourself in the discussion people are having on your own blog.

PS. I totally hear ya on Digg!

@Tammy: Hiya! You can that huh? YEO! I love that too! That's what social media is all about. Whether you're blogging for business or blogging for fun, it should always be about the people and making new connections. How do you do that? Make a connection? It's simple. Leave a comment. :-P And respond when people leave comments on your own blog. SEO takes care of itself (I won't even get into a discussion on key word optimization; that's for another time and place)... YEO is what matters more!

[Sean Rafferty, CMPS]

Ricardo - good post you got here.

For me it started as biz only but has morphed into social fun too.

Definitely have to work on my schedule and limit my online soc time... can spend many hours following, reading, commenting, and posting... in fact, I need to stop this now and go do a quote! ;-b

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Sean: Welcome to Ribeezie! :-P

I think it's great that you've found a balance between business and keeping it social; it's important ya know!? I know exactly what you mean about finding a way to balance our time on it because it can definitely be a time drain. That's why I limit my time to networks that are most beneficial to me.