Talking to Ken Cook on the radio show yesterday he mentioned that he had a great 4sq success story. He had been using it here and there. As usual he checked into his office. “ABC Mortgage” – it took seconds to do (as you mention) He then received a message from someone on 4sq that had no previous engagement with him – they stated they had a few mortgage questions and was he free?

Mind you he had a profile, he had his links, but it wasn’t as if he was Pimping “Come see Ken Cook for all your Mortgage Needs!”. Instead he now had a warm introduction to a potential client who followed the breadcrumbs.

* Breadcrumbs are everywhere. When you all commented on this blog most all of you added the info into the “Website” box. I’m never amazed at how many people follow that link back. Hooray for Breadcrumbs!

Ari – I selectively broadcast to Twitter. I make a determination each time I check in somewhere. Some places I won’t broadcast because I don’t think any cares. Some places I know some people won’t care about, but others will. Some are purely for strategic reasons (checking into neighborhoods when I’m previewing homes, checking into to real estate rated places, the office, etc.).

Some things are just social.

I think that says it all right there. I’m more than just a real estate broker. I don’t have an “online persona” that is separate from myself. I am who I am, and if I want to play games in my free time, then damn it I’m gonna. I cant help it if a potential client doesn’t agree with how I spend my time. In fact, it’s probably better if I lose that client because we probably won’t get along anyway.

ROI is needed for something that is a pure investment in your business – if it ain’t working, then stop dumping your money/time into it and move on. Social Media is such a broad world that there is no way you can measure the ROI for each individual BS little thing that you may be doing. I find most RE sales people are splitting their time on SM between the personal and professional (ie: being social for a time and then blasting out tweets on their new listing or updated market stats). Unless you separate your focus between accounts specifically for work or fun you really can’t have an accurate measure.

To me, the whole point of SM is the interaction with people (both personal and professional) and, hopefully, the gain in mind-share. I can easily calc the ROI on a post card campaign, or a specific website designed and funded to draw clients in but when someone says “I was looking for a local agent and you’re all over the internet” that is priceless.

Google never forgets … I’ve googled my name and came up with comments I left on message boards 10 years ago that had nothing to do with business. If a client asks me for a resume or more info about me I’ll point them to Google and they can find out a lot more than I may even remember myself.

Jeez, if I was worried about the ROI of everything I did I probably wouldn’t even get out of bed. Be yourself, have fun, clients will come. Measure what is measurable and what deserves to be measured … but remember, some things are just social. (I love that!)