Are the days of having a party at your home inviting friends and family around and possible clients gone. In one way yes and in another way its taken on a whole new form. The old days of making some useful contacts, get referrals and meet prospective clients through events like these prties or dinners or even casual lunch dates with friends are pretty much gone. Dont get me wrong, this type of stratergy can still work but the target markets these days where you want to be putting yourself or your property forward are changing. These offline
activities are still very much a part of every day life and can be very benificial. I know a number of people who cant use a computer at all. They come to the office sit down make a few calls and then all of a sudden the next day they have a new listing or sale. But that older styled way is changing and the scope of reach is never going to be wide and as far as could be achieved now with the internet. People are becoming less social offline and more social online. So what does this mean for you and your real estate business or how you market your peoperty today.
There are two websites that I like to use for the purpose of social networking They are Facebook, Linkedin and the latest craze Twitter. Facebook has quickly become one of the largest social networking sites in the world with ove
r 100 million users. Started by a college kid (now a multi-millionaire), Facebook has grown from a simple college leisure site to one of the most powerful, far reaching social networks on the web. LinkedIn also started with humble beginnings, but has grown to become t
he largest business networking site in its domain. LinkedIn allows professionals from all industries to network with like-minded professionals and/or network to find new jobs or employees.Twitter only a recent addition to the social family is a very very powerful way to create and grow your network. The use of a micro blogging system where you tell your audience what your doing, a useful link or just anything that may help them can have huge benifits to your business. These three networks alone have helped many people take their businesses to the next level by providing them with extremely simple, expansive networks to find prospective clients where they may not have otherwise been able to reach. But remember the use of these sites is not just limited to the use of the Agent. Sellers or buyers can use these sites in a similar way to network out to find what they want to achieve.
But you might ask me why does this bare any relivance to Real Estate which is an offline activity. Well if you think of the initial question of how the fact that people are becoming more social online, as opposed to offline, affects your business you will get the answer. The facts is over 85% of real estate transactions start online usually via looking at the peoperty online and then the person contacting you. Prospective clients are on the web. Whether they are doing searches on Google, conversing with friends on Facebook or watching community videos on Youtube, people looking to buy, sell or invest in real estate flock to the Internet to gather as much information as possible before making one of the largest financial transactions of their lifetime. Why… Because the internet has probably everything that person wants to know and if your their when they are searching you could get a lead. This is more of a reason than any that you must be found easily on the web but you need to establish yourself as an authority for the services you offer in your area. So that when it comes time for that person to make the descision about who he wants to call your at the top of mind.
But how can you set yourself up for this. The one thing that all of you will agree is that everyone hates a kiss arse. Someone who says look at me, pick me blah blah blah. Online it is easy to be like that but if your marketing yourself right you will be seen as a person of help to these people. Inbound marketing tactics work the best online. This is marketing that does not need to be intrusive or interruptive, is one of the most organic and effective ways to accomplish these two goals. Social networking is the prime example of effective inbound marketing – if done right of course. By plotting your social networking strategy and / or employing professsionals to manage or consult you on your social networking strategies, you will be able to define yourself as a true resource on the web – the place where a pool of prospective clients continues to grow each day. They will benifit you in the long run.
If you want you should take the time to learn more about the social networks mentioned above. Marketing for your real estate and your business online in these types of ways can truly increase your client base by making you a trusted resource online. Remember, you may be one of the top producers in your market, but if your clients can’t find you online when they are looking for your services then you may as well be a brand new agent with no experience or credibility yet. It is never too late to get started, especially on social networking as this is still relatively new for the real estate industry, so take advantage of it before you fall too far behind the pack. And as I said it doesnt just stop at marketing your business online.
These social network sites are only the party. This is where people get channeled in. I will talk a little later on how to channel these from the social networking sites to your own site and to your properties which is where you ultimately want traffic online to go. But just remember its all about the party and entertaining your guests that have arrived and stearing them into the right direction.
Deon, wonderful post and always good to learn stuff – keep it up – cheers Peter
Thanks Peter – this is stuff that really interests me. Its fun and exciting when u get into it.
Goodness, I see my site didn’t make it to the top 20, are you sure these stats are correct? 🙂
Deon, that’s a great article and I love the way you liken the social networking sites to a party. It creates a simple visualisation of what’s going on, and like a party where you meet and chat with many, there are some whom you want to spend more time with and therefore direct them to your own site.
I look forward to your next post, Sharon
By the way, love the new look to your blog, keep up the good work
Sharon – Yes these stats are correct. They are pretty much how it is, some places you look say a slightly different order but this is about how it is.
This is a great article. Setting up a social networks is difficult, but after creating all the profiles and linking up with people it becomes an expedited process.
Your right. It takes a fair bit of time to set each of the profiles up but once all set up the connections to be made are priceless.
I always aim to connect to three people a day on all my platforms.