Richard,

Thanks for the post. And, I agree with your sentiments.

I think your Wild West analogy is correct. Weekly, I get a call from a friend or client asking if we are on Facebook, or Twitter, because "if you're not, you're missing out!".

"Have you generated ONE sale from either of those?" is usually my reply, to which I often hear, "Sure! Probably! ....It's hard to tell."

Hard to tell? Just a few years ago, if you spend X on your marketing tool, and it generated more than X in new business, you had yourself a winner. Now, we're being told you must blog with someone for a year, gain credibility, then you might actually find out who this person is, and begin talking about a business relationship. Hmmm….that's a whole lot of blogging time spend on one sale.

My thoughts about jumping in to social media with both feet: Don't. If your prospective clients aren't using these applications/tools (like LinkedIn & Facebook), then DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. Only focus on media that your targets use. And, if you do find something they're using, like industry blogs, jump in with one foot. But, for any of these tools to work, you absolutely must have a process in place to convert these prospects into leads. Blogging for bloggings-sake is pointless. If you blog to provide useful info for prospective clients, direct them to a place to sign up for future posts, then eventually direct them to an online seminar whereby you can capture their contact info….well, now you've got something to work with.

Thanks again,

-Jason.