Social Networking in Real Estate

A lot of you reading this blog have come to it probably by searching it down using google.  If you didn’t find LouLynch.com by way of search engine, chances are you came in through one of my social media channels.    According to recent statistics, Facebook  has over half a billion active users.  Youtube now ranks second as the most used search site, with its parent company Google, ranking at the top.  Facebook has for the first time ever, just surpassed Google in weekly hits.

Social Media is Everywhere

While watching the Super Bowl a couple weeks ago, it amazed me how many of the commercials had social media logos peppered all over of their multi-million dollar ads.  There is no debating that businesses are spending millions of dollars on social networking and social media.  Nowadays Facebook and Twitter logos are seen just about everywhere, whether it is advertisements, TV or printed materials.  All the latest gadgets have some type of connectivity to Facebook.  Even President Obama uses Youtube to communicate his message to the masses.

Stay Connected

As a real estate broker, it is imperative that you make the most of this social media revolution and what it can do for your bottom line.  With a lot of these tools available free, time is your only real investment.  New business and maintaining connections with your existing sphere of influence is invaluable.  Or perhaps blogging might be what you need.  There so many sites where you can make your own personalized profile—Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, ActiveRain, MySpace and Realtown among others.

Social Networking vs. Social Media

One thing I would like you to understand is that there is a distinction between social networking and social media.  Let’s examine this difference and get a lesson in history while we’re at it.  Social networking is not a new phenomenon.  In fact, it has been taking place for centuries.  Chatting with coworkers during a break, attending a party or a fund raising event or any other kind of get-together are examples of social networking.  Today, with tools like Facebook, RealTown, LinkedIn, Active Rain and even email, you interact with friends and associates every day.  These are all tools and methods to have a similar interaction with people or groups of people who share your interests.

Person vs. Impersonal

While social networking basically consists of personal interactions, social media is quite different in that it is mainly impersonal.  Traditional methods include radio or television.  Like social networking, social media has also been around for a long time.  Social media is essentially used to broadcast your message to your audience without the personal interactions.  Among the online media tools available are Youtube, Podcasts, Vimeo or Virtual Tours.  Social media, you typically make use of video, images, sounds to communicate your message to your audience.

Above All … BUILD YOUR BRAND

What can you do to leverage the new technologies in the online medium to benefit your business without getting overwhelmed? The most successful approach I have seen is to build your brand recognition.  The key is to take your time to familiarize yourself with the new tools.  A good first step would be to make your own Facebook profile and use it to connect to friends, associates, colleagues and prospective buyers.   The next step would be to create a Facebook page for your business.  Then create a business profile on LinkedIn.  RealTown and ActiveRain are both specialized real estate networking tools, which anyone involved in real estate should at least be familiar with.

Once you have created the said profiles, work on allocating the right amount of time for social networking.  According to experts, it should not take more than 15-30 minutes per day when you’re getting started.  Even one hour in a week may be sufficient.  These are new tools at your disposal, and should not drastically change the way you do things.

Integrate Everything (Bring it all together)

Social media is an effective method to integrate your social networking and increase your brand recognition.  With Virtual tours, you can add a new dimension to your property marketing.  The service can even be used for personal branding and marketing.  Youtube videos can also be very useful for this purpose.  What you want is a virtual tour service that integrates social networking and social media services seamlessly, with a powerful yet user-friendly platform.  This way you don’t need to worry about a steep learning curve in integrating and managing all these services individually.  Integration and user-friendliness are key to thriving in the realm of social technology.