Don't miss the social media wagon, it's not too late.
Social media is your old fashioned rolodex on steroids. Get involved. The following is a blog located at:
http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=5538
Thanks Brian Brady for the most excellent post!
"
“Screwing around on social networks is fun but it isn’t gonna get me paid !”
Say it ain’t so, Joe ! I addressed this topic in my “Ninja Social Media Marketing” session at Unchained Orlando. I’ll lay it all out in Phoenix, this May. The truth is that a disciplined plan for social media participation...WITH THE IDEA OF CONVERSION in mind, can be very profitable.
The best advice I can give participants is to treat the social media
platforms like a wedding reception. You would never push your business
card on some unsuspecting schlub at your cousin’s wedding but you
better be prepared to answer the question, “Where’s the market headed?”
if asked.
What is your ultimate goal from your social media marketing? Conversion. Jeff Turner gives us a nice starting point with this quote from his panel at the NAR Convention:
Your overall business goal of social
networking should be to expand your sphere and move conversations
offline, panelists said. “There’s always going to be need for
face-to-face communication in real estate,” Turner said. “Find a way to
marry the two worlds.”
I’ll take it one step farther… I know the way to marry those two worlds. Pick up the damned phone ! In this world of hi-tech toys, the single best device you own is a real-time voice interaction tool (READ: telephone).
If you connect with someone on a social platform, you’ve exercised the second pillar of social media marketing;
declaration of identity. While that can be beneficial as a standalone
virtue, the hidden gold is not your new found social network contact,
its buried in his contact list. In a world dominated by legislation
designed to prevent you from cold-calling people during dinner, you
must think creatively to build up a potential client list. Social
media represents the single best way to operate within the current
business unfriendly environment. Jump from the second to the fifth pillar as quickly as possible.
Remembering the wedding reception analogy, your initial call should
be designed to point out a common interest and give you a chance to
introduce yourself and your business. If someone has befriended you on
the social platform, they saw something in your profile that piqued
their interest. It could be as simple as a pretty smile or as complex
as a shared political philosophy but that interest is your starting
point and you can build upon that.
People who disagree with me will claim that “it’s all about the conversation online“
It’s all about the conversation OFFLINE. That’s where the
belly-to-belly salesmanship happens and money gets exchanged. I’ll
share some of my war stories with you:
1- I met two former Marine captains
on Facebook. Today, they’re hustling real estate deals in San Diego
County. While searching for the keyword “REALTOR”, one of their
profiles caught my attention. I figured that two Naval Academy
graduates (and Iraq war veterans) probably had a pretty good work
ethic. I requested to befriend them with a polite note (Facebook allows
for a brief message with the connection request). That connection
resulted in a meeting which has turned into $2 million in fundings over
the past four months.
2- I make it a point to check LinkedIn and Facebook for all loan
applicants and I add them. While I had to decline a LinkedIn
connection for a loan in 2005, he has been the source of three loan
fundings, from personal referrals, with $15,000 in GCI since then. 40
folks like him puts me at $200,000 GCI EXTRA, each and every year.
3- MLS on Myspace seems
like a juvenile approach to social networking today. In 2006, it was
the source of over $50,000 in GCI. Today, that number has dwindled
with the efficacy of Myspace but the contacts I’ve made from that
simple idea have been fruitful as we’ve all grown up and away from that
game-changing network.
4- A testimonial on LinkedIn resulted in a second generation contact
introduction. The addition to the Facebook friends list allowed me to
retain “top of mind status” and resulted in a closed loan, three years
AFTER the connection and answered question.
5- Finally, in what is my favorite social media contact, a single
mother queried about homeownership over 13 months ago. Our connection
on Facebook afforded her the casual question about mortgage finance,
throughout the year, that resulted in her confidence to purchase a home
for her and her daughter. That relationship was nourished with
comments on her status bar, a few phone calls (my number is right on my
Facebook page), and the sporadic Facebook IM conversations to alleviate
her fear of homeownership. She closes at the end of this month.
Connect online and cement the relationship offline. Here are some tips to help you:
1- Upload your Outlook address book to all of your social networks.
Redundancy is not bad manners, it’s a desired result. You want them to
see your face every time they log in.
2- If you’re on Facebook, use the status bar to communicate what’s
going on in your life but, more importantly, look and “listen” to the
wonderful things happening in your contacts’ lives. I logged in to FB
this weekend and discovered, to my horror, that one of my “friends” was
“enjoying her nice new home in Rancho Bernardo”. I didn’t make the
phone call and it cost me money.
3- Participate in the LinkedIn Q&A function. You can “listen”
to the questions being asked in various “channels” or initiate one
yourself. Want a simple suggestion? Ask the LinkedIn network “Does
anyone think home prices have bottomed in the (Your City) real estate
market? “ Be prepared to host a spirited debate from VERY smart
people. Then…call everyone who replied. They don’t have their phone
number on their LinkedIn profile? Google them.
4- Do you want to do business with more people like your last
client? I closed a loan for a chiropractor earlier this year. I had
a blast doing her loan and realized that I’m pretty good at deciphering
1040 forms. I googled her colleagues
and found a gaggle of social media-crazed chiropractors. Let’s see if
we have something in common… I’m good at funding loans for
chiropractors and I love using social media. Point, click, dial, and
“Hello, Dr Smith? I’m Brian Brady. You’re gonna love telling the
story about how we met.”
5- Do you find your connecting well with a particular immigrant/ethnic group? Search that group in the “forums” and look for housing discussions. (Geno or Tom, I just found you a potential customer-click the link)
6- Finally, look for like-minded people. Check out meetup.com for a hobby group.
This is a great way to interact offline with people whom you connected
online. This can be a very unassuming approach to meeting new people
and I recommend meetup.com for everyone. In addition to meeting new
people, you might lose some weight or rekindle that loving feeling
along the way.
The old saw about working smarter not harder applies when looking to
convert social media contacts into customers. You can Tweet eight
hours a day and you WILL find customers. That, however, is akin to
standing in front of the 7-11 and handing out your business cards; both
will get you results if you do it consistently. I choose a more focused (and profitable) approach to social media marketing.
Today being Veterans’ Day, I’ll paraphrase a quote from the late, salty submariner, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover:
If you want to sink an aircraft carrier, you don’t
surface from afar; you surface inside the carrier’s battle group and
fire upon it.
Online conversations are great but we want to fire our torpedoes
with alacrity when opportunities manifest on social media. In
closing, another great Rickover quote:
Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must
be driven into practice with courageous impatience. Once implemented
they can be easily overturned or subverted through apathy or lack of
follow-up, so a continuous effort is required.
Be courageously impatient in your continued effort on social media.
Adhere to the “wedding reception rule” about behavior but always remain
courageously impatient. This disciplined, results-oriented focus will
reap quick rewards to the committed.
Happy Hunting!
"
- steve's blog
- Login to post comments