social networking for real estate professionals 2
TRANSCRIPT
Social Networking for Real Estate Professionals
How LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Other Tools Can Help You Grow Your Business
Anthony Juliano
Fort Wayne Area Association of REALTORS® August 12, 2009
What is Social Networking?
• “Social networking is people having conversations online”
• Social networking is your surrogate when you can’t be with your friends/family/customers/ prospects
• Social networking is a glass against the wall• Social networking gives you permission to speak• Social networking is your online resume
Why Social Networking?
• You’re in the relationship business• Marketing today is more about engagement than
interruption• 84% of home buyers use the web to search for
properties*• Makes you easier to find on Google• Helps build your brand• Your customers may expect to find you there• Your colleagues are doing it
* Source: National Association of REALTORS®
•
Social Networking - Pros
• Keeps your name in front of prospects/customers
• Increases traffic to your website• Helps you build relationships• Allows you to actively promote
services/properties for sale• Makes you “more human” • Gives you insight into
customers’/prospects’ lives
Social Networking - Cons
• Demands time and attention
• Takes time to build a presence
• Risk of “overselling”
• Blends the personal and the professional
• Must be carefully integrated with your larger marketing strategy
• May give your competitors insight into your business
“Social networking allows Scott Gerami, broker-owner of Real Time Realty in Naperville, to find out more information about potential clients before he meets them….Gerami looks for information on that person online so he can get to know the person before the first handshake. It makes the initial one-on-one meeting easier.”
--“Realtors all a-twitter over social media’s possibilities,”
Chicago Tribune, Feb. 20, 2009
How is Social Networking Changing Marketing?
• “Interruption” advertising is becoming less effective
How is Social Networking Changing Marketing?
• There are an infinite number of messages competing for your audience’s attention
Ten Ways to Use Social Networking to Grow Your Business
2. Share advice, expertise, and your interests/activities more often than you
actively sell/promote
“Real estate agents are finding… that the best connections are made when they put themselves out there first, rather than just their listings. That makes sense and benefits consumers, who can get a head start on finding an agent whose personality meshes with their own. It’s easier to make the single biggest investment of your lifetime if you like the person helping you make that decision.”
--“Realtors all a-twitter over social media’s possibilities,”
Chicago Tribune, Feb. 20, 2009
Ten Ways to Use Social Networking to Grow Your Business
3. Make your advice more substantive and searchable by starting a blog
Ten Ways to Use Social Networking to Grow Your Business
4. Visit others’ (relevant) blogs and participate frequently
Ten Ways to Use Social Networking to Grow Your Business
6. Join Dwellicious (and Dwellicious Pro)
Ten Ways to Use Social Networking to Grow Your Business
7. Use Twitter to listen to the market
Ten Ways to Use Social Networking to Grow Your Business
8. Connect with other REALTORS® and referral sources
Ten Ways to Use Social Networking to Grow Your Business
9. Thank, congratulate, and reward customers and referral sources (and yes, even your colleagues)
Ten Ways to Use Social Networking to Grow Your Business
10. Integrate your social media efforts with the rest of your marketing
Getting started
Decide whether social networking is right for you
Are you willing to put in the time?Does it interest you?
Do you want more business?Can you handle more business?
Getting started
Decide what niche you’ll focus on, which tools you’ll use, and how much time you’ll devote to social networking for business