6 reasons why social media works
From Future of Real Estate Marketing
By Katie Lance, Thursday, June 24, 2010.
Flickr photo by 96dpi.I have been thinking a lot about social media lately. Inevitably when I talk to someone outside of the social media/Facebook/Twitter world I always get a few snickers or questions like, "Does that really work?" Believe it or not, I don't just cross my fingers and hope it works!
Here are some of my thoughts. (I know some of these are so basic, but they are the heart of why I wholeheartedly believe in what I do and what motivates me everyday.)
1. People are connected to you because they have volunteered to hear from you. Think about it: They clicked a button and chose to listen to you and be connected to you. They have raised their hand and said, "Please send me messages about your business!" If you have 500 people on your list, imagine a room of 500 people who asked to listen to you.
2. You should post content that is interesting to you -- that you would want to share. People share info because they want to, because there is very little "pitch," and because they feel good about passing it on. Social media is a reputation and client builder.
3. Do you find yourself marketing to the same people over and over again? Social media exists for sharing and expanding your reach. It's one of the ways you grow your audience without paying a single dime.
4. Social media is very different than e-mail. E-mail is definitely important, but different than social media. When you forward an e-mail, you typically send it to just a select few people. But when you retweet or share something, you are forwarding to your whole audience.
So when you post something interesting, and your friend re-posts it to her 100 friends, and then someone re-posts it to her 1,000 friends, and then someone else re-posts it to 10,000 friends ... this is the power of social media! This is not happening on TV or radio -- there is no way to share information easily until it comes to social media.
5. When someone posts a testimonial on social media, that is social proof. Do you ever read a testimonial on a printed page and wonder if it is real? When you read a testimonial or review on a social media site, from someone you are connected to, it can be easier to gauge if it's authentic.
6. Social media lives on. Yes, it may only be visible in your feed for an hour or so, depending on how many followers you have, but beyond that, it can live on via search tools.
Four things that I've done to be successful in social media:
1. I never forgot the brand or the best face I wanted to put forward.
2. I never played any games or paid money to get followers or friends.
3. I don't publicly criticize or put anyone down.
4. I'm in this for the long term.
Please leave a comment below!
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Katie Lance is the marketing manager for Inman News. Future of Real Estate Marketing is a part of Inman News.
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Submitted by Marie Still on June 24, 2010 - 6:12am.
Great points. I also would add the networking, customer support, customer loyalty and retention and thought leadership pieces as well. Especially in the RE world where the time between purchase is so long, social media allows RE professionals to become friends with their customers deepening the relationship and keeping them top of mind for their customers next home purchase (or if any of their friends are in the market)
Check out my blog: stillisms.com
Submitted by Marc LeVine on June 24, 2010 - 7:43am.
Social Media takes time. It is something for another day...not for today. Once you understand that social media is a long-term investment rather than an instant pay day, you'll do just fine with it.
Why is this mindset important? Because, Social Media operates on it's own schedule, not yours. It does not care what WE want or what WE need. It is never about US...it's ALWAYS about others; their wants and their needs.
Social Media was not created for business. Business people just figured out how to use it. This is why businesspeople need to be respective of its main purpose - to be social. Otherwise, it would be called "Business Media," and that would be something completely different.
This is not to say that business can not come from Social Media. It can and it does. But, it comes in the same way that all networking delivers it - through a process of meeting people...getting them to like YOU...and trusting your character and integrity as a businessperson. This is no different from social networking events at which one shows up. The business is not there waiting for you...you have to earn it.
So, enjoy Social Media for what it is, rather than for what you want it to be.
Marc D. LeVine
Director of Social Media
RiaEnjolie Inc.
office: (609) 606-9990 x-1246 Fax: 609-452-0882 cell: (732) 492-9726 or (347) 517-3807
Email: marc.levine@RiaEnjolie.com
Web Site: www.RiaEnjolie.com
LinkedIn Profile:http://www.linkedin.com
Submitted by Justin Meek on June 24, 2010 - 10:22am.
Great article and spot-on comments by Mr. LeVine. I would opine that many folks generally approach social media with a skewed perspective.
Many approach social media as the new "silver bullet" of marketing - the tool that will handle all the functions of marketing and replace the whole set of tools we've used over the course of the last century or so since marketing truly hit its stride.
Call me a laggard, but in my experience marketing remains very much like a tripod - only with more legs, so let's call it a decapod (10) - and that "decapod" requires multiple legs to stand firm. Marketing is not today, nor will it ever be, a monopod - social media alone.
That being said, social media is a valuable tool. Social media is naturally predisposed to engaging an existing audience or members of an audience hanging on the periphery.
Conversely, there are more effective tools (in many instances) for building general awareness and branding; influencing large blocks of consumers and driving high level perceptions.
At the end of the day, social media (as described above by Mr. LeVine) is a valuable tool for building social, individualized relationships. Utilize it where it excels; don't be afraid turn elsewhere when the situation dictates - even if it's not what the "cool kids" are doing these days.
Justin Trent Meek
Marketing Director
PlanOmatic
voice: 303-658-0670
email: justin@planomatic.com
Web Site: www.planomatic.com
Submitted by Jerzy (George) Szkup on June 24, 2010 - 4:02pm.
George Szkup
www.DestinationTucson.biz
Social media - does it work - in Real Estate business? Some people claim that they do get positive results - Perhaps?
My experience is that it DOES NOT WORK, at lest not on Twitter. I use it because maybe it will work? (I ma optimist).
I have a lot of readers but no responses! Not one!
My experience is limited to Twitter, Posterous and Trulia (Trulia is not actually social site).
Any reader who claims knowledge of this subject is welcome to look at my "scribbles" and point out to me what I am doing wrong?
George in Tucson
Destination Tucson–http://bit.ly/2Bnb3f (Monthly Blog)
Twitter - http://bit.ly/e3mCI (Georges’ Tweets)
Trulia - http://bit.ly/4tgwkU Q&A, Blog/posts, Resume)
Submitted by Andrew Mooers on June 25, 2010 - 4:33am.
In an age of more and more distrust with government, media, the fellow global villagers in the day to day trenches, on the local level are the people we come to trust, share with, learn from. Social media...way way more than setting up a few web 2.0 platforms and hoping something happens. No effort in, no results out.
Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers - Houlton Maine / Aroostook County
www.mooersrealty.com
Submitted by John Zona on June 25, 2010 - 7:53am.
As a young employee I can’t imagine working long hours without the use of social media. On the other hand, I completely understand why my boss would block me from seeing what’s new with my friends on facebook all the time is unproductive. The problem with blocking these applications is that we are seeing more and more benefits to social media use. That’s why I believe some wasteful parts of social media should be blocked and some parts of social media should be accessible. I found a whitepaper written by Palo Alto Networks, and they have a new software that does exactly this. Here’s a link to it: http://bit.ly/d2NZRp Enjoy!
Submitted by Marie Still on June 27, 2010 - 6:28am.
George-
Just like any other marketing tactic what works for one brand may not work for another. (And totally agree with the above it takes patience) Twitter has the lowest reach of all the online mediums, so to be honest it would be the last place I would recommend trying out social media.
Facebook has 400 mill. uniques and you are more likely to find your customer base there. I would suggest getting on FB, searching for every single person you have ever known, by schools, by name etc. Then connecting with them on a personal level. You also want to sprinkle in some awareness messaging that you are a RE professional and are here to help. Why this works is that you build the trust and become top of mind. You also have now tapped into their online and offline networks because they will refer you to anyone who mentions the need.
If you are interested here is the preso I give to RE profs. on harnessing social media for marketing and beyond (which btw marketing is the hardest thing to use it for!) http://www.slideshare.net/mariestill
If you have any other questions I'd be happy to help just shoot me an email :)
Check out my blog: stillisms.com
Submitted by Tony Fantis on June 27, 2010 - 8:00am.
Katie,
This is the most spot-on and concise article I've seen regarding social media and why it can work so well.
I would even go one step further and suggest that we should post things that are interesting to our friends, fans, and followers...not just interesting to us.
I'll give an example of what not to do, followed by an example of how to make it more interesting, relevant, and/or entertaining for our followers.
WHAT NOT TO DO
--------------
"New listing! 3 beds, 2 baths, and a 2 car garage in a great neighborhood! 123 Main St., Anytown, USA. Get it before it's gone!"
This is an example of "selling" and is definitely the wrong approach for social media. It's wrong because most people just don't care or aren't looking for a home right now. Even if they were looking for a home, it's probably not the home for them. Besides, nobody likes to be sold to on Facebook or other social media tools.
WHAT TO DO
----------
"You've got to see the gnomes in the front yard of my new listing!" (attach photo or link to listing)
"Congrats to Susy and Jeff on their new baby and new house!" (attach photos or link to listing/tour)
"Candace is moving to Texas and I'm really going to miss her summer solstice parties!" (attach photos/listing/tour)
The art of what you say via social media becomes a lot easier when we find ways to make our posts more personal, relevant, or even entertaining. And then the real power of social media kicks in. When people make comments or even share their own home link on their own page, it exponentially expands the number of people that see you as the Realtor of choice in your area and/or among your friends. And their friends see you, too. It's like getting a referral from your friends without them feeling pushy. They're just sharing, which is in the spirit of good social media etiquette.
Nearly 3/4 of all our business comes from people we already we know. So I must agree. When done right, social media is an excellent tool to stay top of mind with all our friends, clients, fans, and followers. =)
Best,
Tony Fantis
Submitted by Katie Lance on June 27, 2010 - 2:22pm.
Hi everyone -
Thanks for your comments!
Mark L - I agree with many of your points - the main thing people need to understand is that it takes time - just like cultivating a real estate farm - it takes time, effort and strategy.
George- I checked out your Twitter feed. The #1 thing you need to start doing to get people talking to you is to retweet info. Every AM and every PM re-tweet 3-5 things you see of value. You also are no following enough people! I recommend following any local community associations or real estate news (twitter.com/inmannews) - by sharing info, this is the top way to create more interaction. Also you are not posting frequently enough - you should post on Twitter 5-7 times a day. Use a system like Hootsuite.com to plan your posts out throughout the day.
Tony - those are fantastic examples! Thank you so much for taking the time to post those.
Thanks again everyone!
Katie Lance
Marketing Manager, Inman News
Writer, Future of Real Estate Marketing Blog
Submitted by Eric Bryant on June 28, 2010 - 9:19am.
Hi Katie, completely agree wit your "stance" that SM is here to stay..there is no doubt about that. After all, it's more than just a fad, its the way an entire generation will communicate. While most "boomers" may not choose to communicate with each other using SM, they must use it to communicate with the "Y's" and most "X's". Each generation had their own discoveries, which the generations before them "poo-poo'd" as fads or maybe even "Signs of the Devil!" (boooohahahahah)..and just like they felt about them, so does this generation believe in this communication tool.
No one has ever successfully fought progress, the snowball gets too big to hold back and you either get on it or gun run over by it.
I believe you should see SM as your best available method to create a "personal" connection in a highly "Impersonal" space (The Internet)
it takes time, it takes patience, and it takes faith. All pretty good traits, don't ya think?
Stay Blogging My Friends!
@CBRELongBeach
Submitted by Holly Schwartz on June 28, 2010 - 5:54pm.
Social media is a fantastic way to stay connected with your audience and remind them of your mission. Of course, in real estate it's important not to inundate prospects with excessive marketing. We've had success with sharing news and tips that are useful to our customers. Obviously it's important to be able to do the job well too, and so personal communication remains a priority no matter what!
Holly Schwartz
Media Producer & Marketing Director
Torelli Realty
http://www.torellirealty.com
holly@torellirealty.com
(714) 540-7355
Join us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/torellirealty
Follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/torellirealt
Submitted by Ann Manion / Hotel Advantage on June 29, 2010 - 5:20am.
Katie,
Your reference to "social proof" is a matter on my mind, especially with the intersection of Facebook and sites like Yelp.
In these instances, you're not only hearing opinions of "others", but specifically recommendations from your trusted "friends".
I specialize in social media for the hospitality industry, helping hotels attract more guests by showing them hot to build a strong online reputation. I plan to talk about the subject of social proof in the July 2010 Advantage Newsletter, to be published next week.
I'm using Facebook to create an online space for hotels to connect directly with the opinions of what guests really think. I invite you and the Inman News community to join our conversation at:
http://www.facebook.com/HotelAdvantage
http:/www.hotelreputationmanagement.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/annmanion
http://www.twitter.com/HotelAdvantage
http://annmanion.yelp.com/
Ann Manion, President
Hotel Advantage