Scott Newman
By Scott Newman
You’re on Facebook and Twitter four hours a day and you’re telling me you haven’t closed a lot of business lately? Of course not! Social media is just a tool in your arsenal — and when used effectively and efficiently it can help you cultivate business. So, how do you best use social media to benefit your business? Funny you should ask…
Make Your Time Count
I speak frequently on the subject of social media to all kinds of real estate professionals, and one of the first things I usually do is ask the following question of the audience: “Having reviewed my social media presence, how many of you think I spend more than an hour a day on social media?” Almost all the hands go up. Then I ask about two hours, then three, then four. Believe it or not, usually at least a third of the room thinks I am spending at least two hours a day on social media, but the reality is that isn’t even close — it’s more like 5-7 minutes, MAX.
There is a greatly diminishing rate of return on the amount of time you spend on social media. As a real estate professional, it is your job to have a solid, well thought out presence, which showcases you in a positive light and makes it easy for people to reach you. Beyond that, if you think playing on social media for hours a day is somehow going to replace tried-and-tested business cultivation techniques, you’re dead wrong.
Understand Your Audience
This is the easiest thing in the world to breakdown. Write this down, save it somewhere safe — even consider tattooing it on your arm so you NEVER forget. Continue reading »
Stefanie Hahn
By Stefanie Hahn
I loved the idea of endorsements on LinkedIn. A fast, easy way to show someone what you are truly great at in your career. When I dove more into endorsements, seeing how LinkedIn displays and asks your first level connections to endorse your skills and expertise, I was a bit disappointed in the not-so-random nature of which skills appear for others to endorse.
How do you feel about LinkedIn endorsements?
Stefanie Hahn is the education director for Coldwell Banker Hearthside, REALTORS® in Collegeville, Pa. Visit her Web site: www.StefanieHahn.com or connect with her on Twitter @sahahn.
Melissa Krchnak
By Melissa Krchnak
I’m often asked by REALTORS® how they can increase their online presence. What’s the best blogging platform? Which social media site will yield more ROI? Should I beef up my e-mail signature? What should I put on my Facebook page? How many Craigslist ads should I post a day and when? The answer is simple: Stop getting in your own way and do whatever it is that you want to do — and make it something you will actually stick to once you’ve time-blocked for it.
But here’s my take on these common questions listed above for boosting online presence.
- For me, the best blogging platform is WordPress: it’s easy to use, navigate and edit (i.e. A+ in my book).
- Instant messaging on Facebook and the search function on Twitter are tied for my favorite ways to build relationships with social media. Pinterest or LinkedIn might be better for you, but these two methods work most ideally for me.
- My e-mail signature is simple and it’s always been that way: I have two lines of info and a third row of 10 small social media/online icons that link to my online presence, which is courtesy of WiseStamp.
- For me, I don’t have a Facebook business page. Continue reading »
Crystal Webster
By Crystal Webster
Let me tell you a little story of what actually happened to me just the other day:
I met with a new client just out of college. We met through one of my networking groups and he seemed like a very nice guy. At the end of our meeting he suggested I come and “check out what he does.” I always like to learn more about what others do and help other KCYoungProfessionals.com members.
Fast forward a couple weeks. The day before our appointment I get a LinkedIn.com request from him. Cool, I accept.
The next day at our appointment, I’m taken into a room with him and his “mentor” and I’m grilled for an hour and a half. I don’t learn what he does and how he’s different from all the others– what I discovered was they’re trying to sell me something! At the end of our meeting he opens up his folder and scoots across the table a four page list of my LinkedIn.com contacts. “My assistant pulled this list of names of people she thinks I should know from your profile. I plan on contacting all of these people and just wanted to let you know.”
Um, I don’t think so. But I was so flabbergasted that I just stared at the list until they escorted me out of the office. Continue reading »
Stefanie Hahn
By Stefanie Hahn
Social Media policies are becoming commonplace with businesses today. Companies want to make sure their employees understand what online behaviors will not be tolerated of their charges. For many of us, these “tolerated” behaviors seem obvious, but we all know that one guy or girl who likes to share a little too much.
I think it’s important to try to post to your audience. So if Facebook is my personal space, I will post personal (but not too personal) updates, photos, etc. LinkedIn is my business network everything I post here is business-related. Twitter is my grey area, I post both work and personal updates and photos here and my connections vary from my mother to Anderson Cooper. Not that I think Anderson Cooper reads my updates, but if he ever did …
I charge you with creating your own social media policy. Figure out how you want to interact on these sites and with whom. Creating your own social media policy means understanding and implementing your social contracts within these sites. Your social contract will dictate who you connect with, how you interact with your connections and your behavior on that site. I’ve always had certain rules that I’ve stuck to with my social media sites. These are mine, yours may be very different and only you can determine what your social contracts should be for these sites.
Facebook Friends
I like to keep the social in Facebook … I post personal updates and photos here. I might post a tiny bit of business here, but it’s very minimal. I maintain a Facebook Page for my company that contains all of my necessary work updates. Typically with Facebook, if we’re not friends in real life, then I’m not accepting your friend request. There are always exceptions to this rule of course. If we don’t know each other, but you write a little note with your request, I usually accept. I’m a sucker for the little note. Continue reading »
Stefanie Hahn
By Stefanie Hahn
LinkedIn- www.LinkedIn.com: This is one social media tool that I recommend for all real estate agents. LinkedIn is your Web 2010 resume. When consumers Google your name – and they are Googling your name – you want your LinkedIn profile to show up in the results.
What is LinkedIn? In a nutshell, it’s your online resume, complete with recommendations. Spend some time setting up your LinkedIn profile and really building out your information, start connecting with your sphere of influence: former colleagues, classmates, group members, vendors, and your past clients; then work on scoring a few solid recommendations.
If you are new to social networking, LinkedIn is a nice smooth way to slide into the hot tub. You have to put the work into your profile initially and then spend some time reaching out to your connections, but after that, LinkedIn can become pretty passive. You can easily manage your profile and connections in just five minutes a day.
There are a few questions/concerns that I seem to get over and over again with regard to LinkedIn that I am addressing specifically in this post. Continue reading »
Drew Burks
By Drew Burks
So what’s all the Buzz?
It is safe to say that I am a believer in social media and blogging! To my surprise, many are not and I know this because I hear from countless people daily…
… “I have a website with a blog, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a LinkedIn account and as of this week I now have Google Buzz but I am not getting any business from them!”
“What am I doing wrong?” they ask.
Before I answer that, let me clear something up for all you non-believers: Social Media is just another tool that you have available AND if you don’t know how to use it effectively you will get very poor results.
Now that we have that out of the way, let me share with you the 5 secrets to attracting motivated clients through social media! They are simpler than you might think. Continue reading »
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