How much time should I spend on blogging and social media?

As an instructor delivering several classes on the subject, I hear this question all the time. Set aside the fact that many agents and Brokers that attend my classes and clinics are just getting started in this medium, I tell them, “No more than an hour a day.” But how much time should one spend marketing and building a community on-line? Since Social Media is as much a tool today as mailers, newsletters and print advertising for creating relationships, should more time be committed to cultivating your farm via our on line networking?

Another Tool in Our Tool Box!

Getting the message that Blogging and Social Media is no more a tool than any other resource used to market our services, I hammer home the fact that Business-to-Business is still the way we will truly build our community and that Blogging and Social Media will only enhance your B2B efforts. Still, I wonder, do we rely on this tool called Social Media more than our other marketing tools? Furthermore, are we replacing traditional marketing avenues in favor of our Blog(s) and fan page(s)?

The Basics

The problem and the solution have never changed. As a real estate professional, we are charged with marketing our wares or we don’t stand a chance to do much business. With that, struggling agents and Brokers may view Social Media as A MAGIC PILL prescribed as a fix for their inability to otherwise effectively communicate with their community. Time blocking, lead generating and prospecting is still the best medicine to create and drive your business…Blogging and Social Media are simply the ‘Spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down’.  

Thank you Casey West for this great photo on flickr.com!