3 basics of social media engagement
Build an online real estate following
By Bernice Ross, Thursday, March 24, 2011.
Editor's note: This is the first in a two-part series.
Everyone says that you have to be on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The question is, "How are you converting your social networking activities into an income stream for your business?"
Eighteen months ago, at a National Association of Realtors conference, I was in the audience for a social media panel composed of five of real estate's best social media experts. When an agent stood up and said, "I'm on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, but how am I supposed to make money with them?" sadly, there was not a direct answer from the panel.
The crux of the problem
The real issue when it comes to social media and real estate sales is that most people have confused the technology platforms with the actual business of providing real estate services. Asking how you're going to make money on Facebook is pretty much akin to asking how you're going to make money with your cell phone or yard sign.
Social media is nothing more than a communication tool. The power of the social media, as compared to sending postcards, calling on the telephone, or door-knocking, is that you no longer have to build your database one by one. Using social media lets you build your database quickly and easily by being able to reach multiple friends and followers with a single post.
The challenge arises when agents approach their social networking activities as an advertising medium. They post information about their upcoming open houses and new listings on Facebook profile pages even though the Facebook terms of use clearly state: "You will not use your personal profile for your own commercial gain."
The various social media platforms are nothing more than another way to connect with people in your sphere of influence. They also offer a more streamlined way of meeting new people. What many agents are missing is how these tools can be appropriately used to generate revenue.
Connection first
The way you use social media to expand your sphere of influence (i.e., your friends and followers) is the same way you would make friends with a new neighbor next door.
In other words, you wouldn't go over to your new neighbor's house, introduce yourself, and then ask if she would like to see your new listing. Instead, you would find out what you share in common and what she likes to do for fun. Where your lives intersect is the basis for a future friendship.
The same is true when using social media. Your goal is to connect with your friends and followers on a personal basis. To build strong connection, you must be genuinely curious and caring about the people you connect with using social media.
Establishing connection consists of three basic steps: curiosity, communication and commonality.
Step 1: Curiosity
Are you curious about the people you meet? Do you inquire about what recreational activities they enjoy? What hobbies they have? How about where they like to spend their free time? What is their favorite type of food? Avoid very personal questions until you develop rapport. Do your best to learn what matters to them and what gives their lives meaning.
Step 2: Communication
Communication implies a two-way conversation. Engage your friends and followers by asking questions and commenting on what they post. This is the quickest and easiest way to get to know them. The law of attraction says, "We attract who we are." The more the people in your database of friends and followers feel that you are like them in some way, the more likely they are to do business with you rather than someone else.
Step 3: Commonality
The moment you say, "I've done that" or "I have eaten there," your shared experience or commonality forms the basis for building connection. People prefer to work with others who share similarities. You can observe this any time you have a party where new people meet. People will group themselves with those who share similar interests. The cooks and the sports enthusiasts always seem to find each other.
To make yourself more attractive to more people, stay up on movies, current events and sports. Take time to read major best sellers or business books. Know where to find the best ethnic food in town as well as the best-kept secret about where to shop. In most cases, a little bit of knowledge goes a long way in building connection.
There's an old adage that says, "You get what you give." When you give connection, you get connection. Connection ultimately forms the basis for all great business and personal relationships. Once people connect with you, you are no longer perceived as that "pesky real estate salesperson." Instead, you become "my friend" who sells real estate.
To learn more about how to be the agent your friends and followers hire when they're ready to buy or sell, see Part 2 on Monday.
Bernice Ross, CEO of RealEstateCoach.com, is a national speaker, trainer and author of the National Association of Realtors' No. 1 best-seller, “Real Estate Dough: Your Recipe for Real Estate Success.” Hear Bernice's five-minute daily real estate show, just named "new and notable" by iTunes, at www.RealEstateCoachRadio.com. You can contact her at Bernice@RealEstateCoach.com or @BRoss on Twitter.
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Submitted by Tim White on March 24, 2011 - 4:38am.
After your article suggesting that agents should not use facebook due to the possibility of increased liability, I think maybe writing any more articles on social media marketing may not be advisable. Don't get me wrong, I think you're a terrific writer, but you should play to your strengths. Your understanding of social media marketing is not one of them.
Submitted by chris whirlow on March 24, 2011 - 7:25am.
Thank you Tim. Was I the only person to find it amusing that the original article got so many likes in Facebook?
Bernice,
I have always enjoyed reading your columns, but several recent articles, lead me to believe you are treading into subjects you may not have researched adequately. You dismiss Google Apps for business based on security issues with Clouds, yet you endorse Drop Box, which is a cloud. Google Apps for business is a robust application and the first Cloud system with a Federal Information Security Management Act certification. I agree with Tim, stick to the subjects you are an expert on.
Submitted by Brian Rich on March 24, 2011 - 8:04am.
This blog goes from one side of the argument to the other in a flash -- a bit confounding.
At first, you mentioned "Sadly, there was not a direct answer from the panel." But then you go on to argue that intending to monetize social media is akin to monetizing a cell phone or yard sign, and is irrational. Do you mean it was sad that they didn't answer him directly, as in "Don't think about how to make money directly off of Facebook -- Facebook is not for sales, but a rather powerful communication network"? That would make sense, as it's totally irrational (and something I deal with on a regular basis) to ask how one can "make money" off of Facebook.
Technically, you don't make money off of anything but a closing, so the same can be asked about "how do I make money off of waking up in the morning?" or "how do I make money by drinking coffee so I'm more alert?" Each nonsensical questions, and yet just as sensible as asking how you monetize a communication network.
While I've taken issue with a few of Bernice's columns in the past, I happen to agree with most of what she's saying here about how to use Facebook properly. I've written about many of these topics myself in our company blog. Facebook is a communication and cultivation tool for businesses, and more importantly, the entrepreneurs who run them. It's about being a person - having character and a sense of humor - and using those real-world qualities to bring attention to your professional ventures.
I still take issue with the comment about posting open houses or listings on your personal profile, though. Facebook says you cannot use it for commercial gain, but you can indeed use it to update your sphere as to what you're currently up to at work. So if you picked up a new listing or are spending an entire weekend at an open house, then that is part of who you are professionally and can certainly be shared on Facebook. Facebook just doesn't want people flagrantly abusing their network with frequent, unsolicited sales pitches to other users. Be tactful about it, and you'll never get flagged.
Lastly, one big gaping hole in all of your blogs here seems to be a total absence of discussion of Facebook Pages and Facebook Ads. Two immensely powerful tools for Realtors, and two tools that should never go without mention in a column such as this. I'd love to see a bit more on those topics to get your perspective, because they're the most popular amongst our agents.
Submitted by Ken Lampton on March 24, 2011 - 9:04am.
As a real estate agent and as a human being I find it very boring when an agent pitches his listing on Facebook.
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Ken Lampton
RE/MAX About Dallas
www.m-street-dallas.com
Submitted by chris whirlow on March 24, 2011 - 9:07am.
Perhaps the problem is coming up with new angles on a ubiquitous subject. If you Google Facebook + Real Estate, you come up with over 1/2 million results, how many more of these articles do we even need?
Submitted by Michael Montsko on March 24, 2011 - 10:43am.
Wow, I can’t believe so many people missed Bernice’s point. I think she was dead on with her assessment. Most agents do approach their social networking activities as an advertising medium. Social Media is simply a new way to communicate. It’s a great tool to reconnect with old friends and family members or make new friends through social groups. Her point is that agents should use Social Media to build relationships. Once the relationships are in place the business will come.
Submitted by J Philip Faranda on March 24, 2011 - 11:21am.
Will part 2 deal with fan/business pages? Because that's where you can put your listings, import your blog posts, and engage in business discussion. What about ads, which have incredible ROI if placed well?
Like Ken Lampton, I find the practice of posting listings and self promotion blurns on Facebook to be boorish spam with rare exception.
Broker-owner, J. Philip Real Estate
Vice President, Empire Access MLS (NY)
www.jphilip.com
www.WestchesterRealEstateBlog.NET
Submitted by Bernice Ross on March 24, 2011 - 3:05pm.
Bernice Ross, CEO of www.RealEstateCoach.com, home of this year's number #1 selling book at NAR--Real Estate Dough--Your Recipe for Real Estate Success
Tim, apparently you didn't see the follow up article that I did re: the original post about unfriending your clients. The bottom line is that many clients do not want you to have their posts where your other FB friends can see them. My recommendation was that the agent needs to ask the client about the level of privacy the client desires rather than making the call without raising the issue. My issue with both FB and Google is the data mining and no ability to opt out of certain services they provide. When places like Mashable and TechCrunch outline a variety of issues with Google apps, I tend to defer to their opinions.
Chris, the difference between Dropbox and Google docs is profound. Dropbox is not selling ads off my activities. Also, Dropbox is much faster in terms of loading and storing docs. In fact, most tech people I know outside the RE industry avoid Google docs for client communication. Some have started using Dropbox as an additional backup system in conjunction to whatever their company uses.
Brian, agree with you about doing a post about where you may be going or about holding an open house. I actually recommend that agents use Facebook places and check in whenever they are in their farm area. The reason I don't recommend posting to your profile page in terms of your listings and open houses is that it does run counter to the TOS, but more importantly, there's no SEO from it. You get SEO when you do a business page, use places, or marketplace.
Michael--thank you. You got the point.
J. Phillip--part two covers a number of strategies that are working for top producing agents today.
Submitted by Rico Glover on January 2, 2012 - 7:04am.
Great article. As you stated on one of your blog post 7% of agents control 93% of the business. Those 7% do what the other 93% don't do. And social media is a field a lot of the 93% will not get involved with. Keep up the good work Bernice. Rico Glover- www.RemaxRocksTheVille.com