Social Networking: Why it’s not a joke
Dustin Moore is the Senior Mortgage Sales Manager for a la mode. He has several years of real estate and mortgage marketing experience and is a regular contributing author.
It seems like every time I bring up social networking (MySpace, Facebook, etc.) in a professional setting, somebody rolls their eyes like I’ve lost my mind. Common reactions are, “You can’t be serious”, “That won’t ever make money”, and “I don’t care, that’s just kids’ stuff.” My response? I am serious. It will make you money. You need to start caring if you want to stay relevant.
Before going much further, l’d ask you to spend just a few seconds thinking about what social networking really means in the big picture. It’s easy to think that it’s all about teens planning their next pool party, college students setting up their weekend plans, or super-geeks looking for a date. But that’s not the full story. There’s a reason why Mark Zuckerberg is a bazillionaire and why NewsCorp bought MySpace.
The reality is that social networking isn’t all that different from the things you do at the local REALTOR® Association luncheon, APMW meeting, or Homebuilders association events. At its core social networking is what you should be doing on a daily basis: connecting, sharing, and promoting.
Connecting – As a sales professional, your life is all about connecting. The first thought that should pop in your head when you wake up is, “Who can I meet today that might give me money?” Social networks give you an easy, non-invasive way to make connection. Start with friends, old classmates, past clients, and business partners. You'll make tons of new friends who will remember you when it comes to buy or sell their home.
Then, when you think you’ve got the hang of it, break into the “second degree” – the friends of friends. Introduce yourself, be courteous, and state your purpose. With any luck, you’ll make tons of new friends who will remember you when it comes time to refi or purchase a new pad.
Sharing – Social networks are all about “who knows what” and “who knows who”. The only way to capitalize on social networking is to share what you know. Many social networking platforms let you have a blog or some way to post news about yourself. Take advantage of these tools to share your knowledge with all your friends. But by all means, KEEP IT RELEVANT TO WHAT YOU DO. Forwarding cutesy surveys will do little to establish yourself as an expert in your community
of friends.
Promoting – Once you’re invested in social networks, make sure people know about it. If you’re on Active Rain put the logo on your site and link to your profile. The same goes for LinkedIn. (There is a good example in the middle of www.myoklahome.com/).
And if you want to go even deeper into Facebook, you’ll want to consider being an advertiser there. They’ve built a phenomenal platform that allows you to target customers specifically based on age, location, gender, education level, and many other traits. It’s a targeted marketing dream come true!
If you’re still skeptical, maybe it’s best to just dive in and see what this whole social networking thing is all about. Here are some places you can get started:
- Facebook – This one is great for getting a feel for what social networking is all about. I’m not a huge fan of all the new Facebook applications. But overall, I think this is one of the best social networking sites on the Web.
- Active Rain – This one is all about the real estate community. It’s a great place to kick around ideas and have other real estate professionals see your ideas. Plus, I’ve noticed several Active Rain profiles in Google lately. An added bonus is that Active Rain has been in the news recently with a round of venture-capital funding, so I expect some cool new features soon.
- LinkedIn – this one is the most professional of the social networks. It’s all about using your professional connections to meet other professionals. I don’t see a ton of money being made on this one. But it’s a great place to connect with your community's business leaders.
- MySpace – This site was all the rage 3 years ago (before Facebook took over). It’s still popular and they’ve made some nice feature updates lately. But I wonder if this site is just “too last year” to capitalize on today.
If you’re still not sure if social networking is the way to go, consider your clients. If your “bread and butter” clientele is into old-school forms of communication, social networking might not be the best thing for your marketing plan. But if you plan on serving anyone under the age of 35 (now, or in the future), you can rest assured they’ll check their social networks before picking up the yellow pages.
In the last few days you may have read some news about Facebook here and here. While we’re not certain how this controversy will shake out, we do know that social networks will continue to be a marketing tool you can use to build your business now and into the future by connecting with others, sharing your knowledge, and promoting your business.
Have an opinion on how social networks will shape the future of the industry? I’d love to hear them. E-mail me at to share your ideas.
