Social networks: Think outside the real estate box
Realtor Notebook
By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, July 31, 2008.
There was a lot of information about social networking at the Inman Real Estate Connect conference last week. Many of us who attended the conference participate in online social networks. Several speakers mentioned LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook as must-haves for real estate pros.
What I find interesting about social networking among real estate pros is that there seems to be a lot of connecting with other real estate pros. There is a whole world outside of the real estate industry. I have found some of it by using TwitterLocal. With TwitterLocal I can put in my ZIP code and connect with twitter users located within a 1-to-20-mile radius. So far none that I have met are Realtors.
There are several social networking sites that are built around real estate, and there are real estate Web sites with social networking components built in. I have not been using those sites much because they are not good social networking sites for meeting people in my community. There are too many Realtors on them talking to each other, and if I am in my car when a consumer has a question there isn't any way for me to be the first to answer. With my Web sites I can respond almost instantly, no matter what I am doing. Consumers don't seem to use their real names as often on the real estate social networks as they do on the other sites either.
People who talk to Realtors through real estate social networking sites tend to use the sites for brief periods while they are interested in real estate, and many already have agents. Some are looking for agents, and some are just looking for free advice and second opinions. They don't seem to stay around long enough to network with anyone. It is possible that real estate is not the best basis for a social network, but I keep finding more sites.
The non-real-estate social networks are different. Members have interests in common that go beyond real estate and are more likely to want to connect with each other. The conversations are easy and a great way to get to know people. My favorite site for meeting people in my community is Flickr, a photography site.
For agents who would like to try some additional social networks, think outside the real estate box. There are so many social networks out there I can't list them all. Some local newspapers have Web sites where readers can set up profiles and interact. They are a great way to get involved, get the news and meet people. Check out TwitterLocal -- it may be a better way to use Twitter. Many colleges, universities and high schools have social networks made up of alumni -- these networks can be a great way to reconnect with old friends.
Anyone can start a social network of their own on NING. The world may not revolve around real estate. LinkedIn provides the opportunity to find co-workers from previous jobs, and Facebook has groups in most every city, and is a great way to meet neighbors.
We have all heard about the agent who goes to the grocery store with her real estate company nametag on and ends up with a new buyer or seller. Social networks seem to work the same way. People talk to real estate pros on social networks, and then they notice the profile, which is just like a nametag except better when it has a link to a blog.
Teresa Boardman is a broker in St. Paul, Minn., and founder of the St. Paul Real Estate blog.
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Submitted by RealEstateCafe on July 31, 2008 - 4:03am.
Teresa,
TWITTER LOCAL
Thanks for the referral to TwitterLocal. Amazing functionality - put in a city name, a radius, and view Tweets as they happen. I'm still working my way down the list of most prolific local users, deciding who to follow.
Other Inman Community members want to see if their market ranks in the Top 40 Twitter markets worldwide:
http://www.twitterlocal.net/stats
Yesterday, Boston, The Real Estate Cafe's primary market area, ranked 11th, compared to New York (32), San Franciso (#2), and your market, Minneapolis (#14).
NING
Is there a way to search Ning's list of real estate sites to identify local groups, or most popular real estate sites?
http://www.ning.com/?view=search&term=real+estate
I'd love to know if any other Inman Community members are using Ning. Does it make sense to experiment with a Network Creators group for real estate, so we can ask questions and share best practices?
http://networkcreators.ning.com/group/realestate
Bill Wendel
The Real Estate Cafe
Serving a menu of money-saving services for "do-it-yourself" home buyers & FSBOs since 1995
617-661-4046
realestatecafe@gmail.com
http://realestatecafe.blogs.com
Submitted by RealEstateCafe on July 31, 2008 - 4:07am.
TYPO CORRECTION:
Yesterday, Boston, The Real Estate Cafe's primary market area, ranked 11th, compared to New York (#2), San Franciso (#3), and your market, Minneapolis (#14).
Submitted by Catherine Read on July 31, 2008 - 5:39am.
I so agree with you Teresa! Networking sites focused on something other than real estate produce a more diverse group of people with diverse networks themselves. This is where clients come from. Establishing relationships produces referrals and there are so many sites now to find "friends" with similar interests.
In addition to Linked-In and Facebook, I just joined a group called MustLoveWine - which is a passion of mine. The second person who "friended" me about 5 minutes after I joined, turned out to be a mortgage loan officer I have known for years! I had to laugh at the irony of that because I haven't seen or spoken to him in two years and here we were chatting on a social networking site. The power of this can be quite astonishing.
Similarly, I have doubled my offline network of friends too in campaigning for Barack Obama. MyBarackObama is also an online social network where I have connected with people locally, elsewhere in Virginia, and nationally. If you want to meet people in the community, try registering voters on the weekends at local events! Registering voters is very non-partisan.
Online or offline, it's always been about building and maintaining relationships and there are more ways than ever now to do that. And it's free! It's amazing how far real estate marketing has come in such a short time.
Catherine S. Read
Creative Read, Inc.
Submitted by Jay Thompson on July 31, 2008 - 5:51am.
Though it's not really a social network in the true sense, meetup.com is an amazing resource for connecting with "special interest" groups in your local area. Their motto is "use the internet to get off the internet".
Jay Thompson
Broker / Owner
Thompson's Realty
Blog: www.PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com
.
Submitted by Richard Dale-Mesaros on July 31, 2008 - 6:04am.
Great Post Theresa!
Many of Inman's readers would be well served to follow your blog - your insights are usually well, insightful!
We are working hard to make our social network for real estate investors a very useful tool for folks to enhance their connections and part of that is making a link from their profile on our site, to other social networks they are a part of, such as LinkedIn etc. I think if you are considering an making contact with an investor, it's handy to quickly check out their Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, before making the plunge.
Twitter is certainly going to be very interesting going forward, I foresee a ton of up-to-the minute data being made available, by industry, as services emerge that can track what people are Twittering about. How cool would it be, to find out what subjects all of the Realtors on Twitter have been discussing for the day. Talk about a heads-up on trends!
Yours with boundless enthusiasm,
Richard :)
Chief Deal Weaver
www.BlackWidowNetwork.com - STRIKE FAST!
Submitted by Gregory Bain on July 31, 2008 - 6:17am.
once upon a time, your broker would provide a source of new clients. you would pay a franchise fee or referral fee, but you got something in return for your hard work and cut of your commission.
now, it's all about your sphere of influence. how about an article on what does a broker do?
maybe, with the internet, the business has changed so much, brokers are no longer needed?
how do we fix a broken system?
Gregory Bain, ABR, SRES
Realtor Associate
NJHomes@Ask4Greg.com
Submitted by Nick Bastian on July 31, 2008 - 6:30am.
I loved Jeff Turner's "Realtor on Realtor" comment at Inman Connect. Obviously, both of you know a thing or two about social networks. :-)
Submitted by Arn Cenedella on July 31, 2008 - 7:10am.
Theresa:
thanks for the tip.
i have just been tweeting with other real estate professionals.
being 53 and based on kevin boer's algorithum for understanding twitter, i have a ways to go.
i will try twitter local!
Arn
Submitted by Christoph Schweiger on July 31, 2008 - 7:49am.
Theresa this is great stuff! The secret about Twitterlocal.net in Phoenix apparently is out already...
Submitted by Mindy Allen on July 31, 2008 - 8:13am.
I have had a myspace and facebook account for personal fun for a while and I have really used it to build up my sphere of influence in a beneficial way. Not a sphere that consists mainly of other agents either. I do not contact them about real estate matters often but they all know I am in the business and I keep in touch with them often. I don't put nor would I ever put a listing there either or on any other networking site like that. I have been online for a while trying to keep up to date and informed on all of the new "must have" stuff for agents and really I am still thinking a lot of it is a supreme waste of time.
Submitted by William Nelson on July 31, 2008 - 8:15am.
Hi Teresa,
Thanks for the perceptive comments and Twitterlocal pointer. I draw your attention to www.housetribe.com, a social networking site in which real estate sales and marketing is combined with fun, i.e. showing interiors and designs of houses *not* for sale. It addresses the problem you mentioned above that people only use a real estate sales site for a month or two while they look for a house.
Submitted by on July 31, 2008 - 10:16am.
Great artical,
I have never sold a house to a fellow Real Estate agent. Also,lately it appears allot of Realtors r more concerned about helping their collegues than their clients.
Susan
BTW,Since I have been doing this awhile. My special thanks to all the Realtors who em brassed the future,and r a pleasure to work with.
Susan
Submitted by Katie McCartney on July 31, 2008 - 11:44am.
Thank you for the post! Found it helpful espeically the reference to twitterlocal.
Submitted by Judy Peterson on July 31, 2008 - 4:32pm.
Good information Teresa! You're motivating me to get "with it". At times it all seems like a solution looking for a problem though,and I can hardly imagine myself texting about the minute details of my day. I can see the value through Jay's observation also. Time to take the plunge.
Blog:www.MainLinePaToday.com
Submitted by Diane Aurit on August 1, 2008 - 5:02am.
Diane Aurit
Teresa, I thought I knew most of the good ones but have never heard of TwitterLocal. Just went and checked it out and am off to sign on. Thanks!
Blog: www.BestRealEstateLakeNorman.com
Submitted by Alice Cleveland on August 1, 2008 - 8:32am.
WOW! Thanks for all the good information. I plan on checking into this. It is all new to me but I am willing to jump in and see what is best for me. I have facebook on my phone; don't have a clue about how to use it. (I am a bit past the 'young' generation...) All in good time!!
Alice
Alice Cleveland, ePRO, GRI, Associate Broker
Karafotias Realty, Atlanta, GA 404-321-0030x223, 866-321-0030x223, 404-936-3355 cell
Your REALTOR(r) your life. I love giving and receiving referrals!
Submitted by Tony Green on August 1, 2008 - 10:20pm.
Yea, ditto on the TwitterLocal. I enjoyed checking out the local tweeters.
blog: www.winstonsalemncforeclosures.com/foreclosurelistings
Submitted by John Sable on August 2, 2008 - 2:47pm.
Great Article, Creating a social network is about reaching out into the community and building your own local network great post!
http://blog.activewebsite.com
Submitted by Ralph M on August 6, 2008 - 12:03pm.
Teresa, I will be the one who tells you and other to WAKE UP! Get over your wrong perceptions of social sites are where to expand your real estate horizon...
Does walmart have Walmart blogs to entice the consumer?
Do Doctors have doctor blogs to entice the consumers?
Do attorneys have attorney blogs to entice the consumers?
Where and who came up with this BS fact that social networks work in any such way?
Is there a company keeping a statistic about social websites working for real estate professionals?????
Get over stating that these social blogs,networks, or any other new technical social netoworking sites help real estate professionals out...
You have NO statistics from anywhere, You have no company that can validate this, and you continually promote the social promise land to other real estate professionals with no F A C T S!
What does work? Having a product or system that makes your company better than the rest. Valueing yourself and being compensated for your advice or actions where other real estate professionals have not... The days of I am mls, gri, mba, mma, or full of bs, no longer gets you ahead.
Be a real estate professional that brings something different and better to the consumer table that others can not.
Walmart dominates because of "CHEAP PRICES"...that is it...
Many companies offer the same product or services (just like you as a realtor does)but can not compete due to "PRICING".
If you want to stand out from the rest, blogging is NOT it,,,,,
I can prove my points above, can you Teresa or any others from above?
www.aarsteam.com
Submitted by Ralph M on August 7, 2008 - 7:09am.
Where are all those blogging facts for the real estate professionals to view?
Teresa?
Dan?
www.aarsteam.com
Submitted by Daniel Rothamel, Inman Community Manager on August 7, 2008 - 7:56am.
Ralph,
I'm not really interested in getting into some sort of contest with you. Here's the thing--
There are many more than one way to approach the business. There are many more than one way to attract clients. Blogs and social networking are just one of the many ways. I have NEVER said, and neither has any blogger that I have ever met, that one should abandon anything that works for them. If you are competing on pricing, and it works for you-- go for it. If you are seeing a great return on newspaper ads and direct mail-- go for it.
I'm not going to decry the way in which you conduct your business, since it obviously works for you. If you don't want to blog or engage in social networking, that's fine by me. I personally know quite a few agents who are having TREMENDOUS success blogging. Many of whom you will find in the comments right here on Inman.com. It works for them.
Like I said, there are many more than one ways to conduct business and achieve success.
http://www.RealEstateZebra.com
Submitted by Ralph M on August 11, 2008 - 10:18am.
Dan, your statements related to the ways you conduct your business are true. Your starting to steer the intial point above of blogging to something else other than I am pointing facts to.
You said a comment, "that other professionals you talked to to are also blogging more often" and this maybe helps you validate your own actions.
Your comments and actions are part of the real estate industry's problems....Too many followers and not enough leaders. It sounds like you are a follower and not a leader in the industry.
As far as your friends with "TREMENDOUS" success, all you have to do is PROVE IT to me and other inman members here. I do not or will not belive blogging is good for anyone.
Here is a little snip-it from Business week magazine in this weeks edition,
“Insiders at facebook are selling stock in the social-networking giant, and the prices they are getting for their shares suggest the sky-high valuation backers once placed on the company may prove unrealistic”
“Among those who have reportedly sold are founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and departing Vice president Matt Cohler”
“Zuckerberg has offloaded shares and is letting employees do the same”
Ending para – “And the social-networking business doesn’t look as promising as it did 10 months ago.” Growth in the number of U.S. users at Facebook, Myspace, and other sites have slowed”
8/18/2008 edition of Business Week
Dan, Prove me wrong.
Submitted by Daniel Rothamel, Inman Community Manager on August 11, 2008 - 11:35am.
Ralph,
Did you get my message? I wanted to talk to you on the phone. Gimme a call sometime. My number is in my profile.
I really wish you could have come to Bloggers Connect and heard the panel that Teresa Boardman, Laurie Manny, Mary Pope-Handy, and Linda Davis put on (moderated by Jay Thompson). There are 5 agents right there who generate the VAST majority of their business from blogging and social networking. I have talked with Teresa more than once about her success using Flickr. Jay Thompson has used sites like Meetup.com to connect with clients. Laurie Manny has generated so much business from her blog that she almost stopped writing because she was so busy.
Jim Duncan (in my area) has tremendous success from blogging, heck, as much as I sometimes dislike some of the things that go on in the ActiveRain community, I have spoken to more than one agent there who as generated more than one transaction from blogging. Just go there for yourself and read the testimonials from people.
Like I said, there is more than one way to be successful. Blogging works for some. If you want to ignore that fact, fine by me.
I am very curious as to why you would assert that you "do not, or will not believe blogging is good for anyone." What proof do you have of this?
I'm not sure how the over-valuation of Facebook relates to real estate agents who blog. Facebook is a private company that owns a social-networking platform. Their overvaluation has more to do with their inability to successfully monetize it to the expectations of investors than anything else.
http://www.RealEstateZebra.com
Submitted by Teresa Boardman on August 14, 2008 - 3:48am.
Ralph, Dan
I am late to this party and for that I apologize. Some sites send notifications of comments, this site does not.
Ralph - I don't have any statistics and I am the one who believes in gathering them. I personally have had success using social web sites so it is part of my business plan. The businesses you site are not built on individual relationships like my business is so I have to market differently than Walmart. There is a lawyer in my community who has a blog and it seems to work for him.
As for the blog it isn't for everyone. Social networking isn't for everyone either. I have met agents who are just not that social. I have also met agents who do not like to write and I honestly think starting a blog is a waste of time for them.