We are pleased to introduce Matthew Coates as our next contributor in our Guest Blogger Series. Matthew is an Agent with West USA Revelations, a blogger and social media guru. We asked him to provide his thoughts about utilizing social media in the real estate industry. Please enjoy his article below.
Real estate has been one of the slowest adopting industries for taking on social media as a marketing platform. Why is this? I believe that since average Realtor has been in the business for a long time, maybe 10 or more years (I see from statistics that the median age of an agents is in their 50s), they believe they have pretty much got it figured out and don't need to change their model or make adjustments that will improve their game.
That being said I tend to see the young-spirited agents (notice I didn't say young as in age) embracing social media as a way to expand their sphere of influence and capture more sales. These "early adopters" I believe are going to leave traditional agents in the dust as they wonder "what happened"?
You can no longer argue that social media is a fad. The fact that Facebook is approaching 700 million users globally should be a huge wake-up call that people want to connect in ways other than phone and in-person. Social media is a way to bridge the gap in time with those you care about during the off hours, not to mention those that live far away.
Notice I didn't say that social media REPLACES what you are doing, rather complements it in incredible ways. If you are still working expireds, knocking doors, printing flyers for your listings, using call and text capture.
First and foremost the goal of social media is to get more clients, right? So if you are using it why aren't you pointing people to your website? Why are you marketing your listings ALL the time? Big mistake - unless someone is in the market right now at this moment you are going to annoy them with constantly posting your homes for sale.
So let's talk about a few social media platforms and how they can enhance your current real estate business:
Facebook has got to be the foundation of your social media. If you don't have a Facebook account, get one, immediately!
Facebook helps connect you with those you know and those from your past. Regardless of how you feel about people you attended high school with you need an account. You also need to be active. What does that mean? Probably posting a status update once a day would be appropriate - the level is up to you.
But equally important is jumping into your friends lives. Do you read your news feed? I don't mean everyone, but do you scan back on previous updates of those important to you and comment when they said their kid was admitted to the hospital. It goes back to the old addage
People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
So you say "I'm too busy to do that, it doesn't make me any money." That may be true for the short term, but how about the long term? That person could send you 5 clients over the next 10 years. How about that expired listing that you cold call? Not likely. By the way, if you complain about using social media and that it's too much work, how's your current plan working for you? If you are doing what you think you should be doing in business, perhaps a change is in order.
LinkedIn:
In my opinion the most unless of the 3 social media platforms. I'm sorry if that offends but I can't think of one client that has come from it. It seems to be a static billboard, a way to connect with those you value in the business world, but the social interaction is extremely limited and cumbersome. Yes, people post status updates, but they are very rarely read. Of the last 10 updates I did to my LinkedIn page, I would be hard pressed to say that even 3 people said something, and I have over 1,000 connections!
That being said I believe LinkedIn to be more effective in companies that do business with other companies. In real estate we do business with individuals. So perhaps if I was a graphic designer, it would be more effective.
Although at this point I don't see alot of value in LinkedIn, I believe you should still have the page. After all, clients may check you out online and if you don't have LI page, they may doubt your professionalism. It is interesting the opinions that others form based on your online presence, or lack thereof.
Twitter:
Twitter is the most misunderstood form of social media, yet I believe the most powerful. The beauty of Twitter is you can make a one-sided connection with someone. What does that mean? You can stay in touch with them without them having to reciprocate. Unlike Facebook, where both parties much agree to be friends, on Twitter only one party must do this.
As a result you can digest valuable information straight from top global marketing figures like Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin, and Chris Smith ( @chris_smth). I read several blog posts every day about marketing, the changing real estate market, building relationships, and social media. The amount of valuable information is immeasurable.
Combine that with the vast networking potential and the ability to get a message out in seconds and you have got a potential gold mine, if you use it properly. That's another topic altogether.
YouTube:
YouTube is a very interesting platform. An attention-grabbing video will be watched millions of times, where an ok one might only get 15 hits. While I use YouTube to an extent with about 50 videos up ( My YouTube channel), I haven't had much success there yet. As my wife says "Unless I see 3 or more people share a video on Facebook I probably won't watch it" Bingo.
Videos have to be extremely entertaining combined with wildly informative for them to work in real estate. I do know of a couple of local agents I believe are doing well with video, but that is the focus of their marketing campaign, whereas it is just a piece of mine.
I also believe the average person doesn't have the patience to sit through a 2-3 minute video unless it's a topic they feel strongly about. And typically real estate isn't it.
I do plan on revisiting this campaign in an attempt to create more interesting videos, and this will take more time and effort.
To sum up social media has revolutionized my business. I have clients that would never have come about without it, and I don't miss old/ traditional marketing methods, as I believe consumers are becoming less receptive to them as technology advances. Just yesterday I had a client in the car that came from one of my Facebook high school friends that I have kept in contact with the last few years since getting on Facebook.
Just remember anything worthwhile takes time and effort. Social media is no different. You are just "working" in a different way. It's not enough to have a social media presence - you have to engage with others. And don't throw in the towel if you don't land a million-dollar buyer within 3 months. It works if you work it.
With warm regards,
Matthew Coates
West USA Realty Revelation
Keep up with Chandler real estate http://livingchandler.com/
602.332.3321 cell
866.715.9284 fax
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/realtormatthew
LinkedIn profile:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdcoates
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