Earlier this month, I attended the San Diego local Ad Club Social Media 2 seminar. I have attended many Ad Club events over the years but never have I seen so many people, the place was packed with industry professionals looking to figure out how the heck to get involved in social media. First of all, I think everyone needs to understand there is no simple answer. As with most situations, it is dependent on the advertiser, their needs and marketing goals, budget and in this case comfort level. In order to be successful they need to understand social networking, the benefits of speaking to their customers on a personal level and be 100% committed, long term. Goals and success indicators need to be established first in order to properly evaluate ROI and it cannot be expected overnight.  You are no longer speaking at the consumer, you are building a relationship with them and as with all relationships, it takes time and effort. You can’t just build a facebook profile and create a Twitter account and expect people to follow. After hearing a number of questions it was obvious a good number of attendees did not quite understand Twitter but were asking how best to get involved. Tip #1- it is impossible to understand social media, let alone utilize the channels to market yourself, if you haven’t experienced it first hand.  It is understandable that agencies and companies do not want to be in the dark about what is happening in the space, but you have to walk before you run.