Social Media Basics for Real Estate Agents

Social Media for Real Estate
Agents
Presented by:
Jeff Rising
jeffreyrising@gmail.com
Tuesday, June 4, 13

Why should you use Social
Media?
Find local buyers and sellers
Build credibility: your posts on
social media position you as an
expert in the ﬁeld (listings,
news and updates on local real
estate)
Networking
Top of mind positioning
Presented by: Jeff Rising
Tuesday, June 4, 13

 51% of all home buyers are 25-44 years old
 54% of 1st time buyers were 25-34 years old
 41% of all buyers FIRST step in the home
buying process was to search online for
properties for sale
 In 2001 only 8% of home buyers found their
home online
 In 2012 that increased to 42%
 Source: NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2012
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Tuesday, June 4, 13

Social Media Pages
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Google+
Tuesday, June 4, 13

Facebook = People
 Connect on a personal level through both
your personal and business pages
 Your little black book or reunion
 You can connect with others you
otherwise wouldn't have
 Facebook isn’t replacing personal
relationships - it’s multiplying them
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Tuesday, June 4, 13

From: http://sdlsm2.com/
Tuesday, June 4, 13

Getting Started on Facebook
 Create a Business Page and a Personal Profile.
 Add all of your information: contact info, website,
Timeline Cover Photo and Profile Picture with your
photo/business logo.
 Post your business page link on your personal
profile – and other Social Media pages to promote
the page and ask friends to share it.
 “Like” other community pages and organizations
and share their post too.
Tuesday, June 4, 13

Facebook Best Practices
 Create a URL/username to make it easier to
promote your page on your business cards,
ﬂyers, and website.
 www.facebook.com/YourName or
www.facebook.com/YourCompanyName
 Post photos, questions and reviews get the most
attention – more likes, shares and comments.
 Respond to all comments and questions others
post on your page.
Tuesday, June 4, 13

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So what’s the difference between a
Personal Facebook Proﬁle and a
Business Facebook Page?
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Your Personal Proﬁle
 Your personal home on Facebook
 Where you talk about your life,
occupation, education, relationships,
music & social interests
 Best for connecting with friends, family
and other personal connections
 Where you can be yourself...maybe
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If you’re doing beer bongs on the weekend - keep the
photos off of your pages
Tuesday, June 4, 13

What to post on personal
proﬁle?
 Talk about what interest you (sports, local
attractions, hobbies, etc.)
 Talk about local restaurants
 Talk about school events, sports games, etc.
 Talk very minimally about your real estate
business - post “closing - sold a house today” OR
“ showings some homes this afternoon!” OR
“Listing appointment in Tecumseh today! Check it
out on my business page later at facebook.com/
jeffrisingrealestate”
 Be personable but professional
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Tuesday, June 4, 13

The “check-in”
 Great way to reference what you’re doing
 Check in at a restaurant you are at
 Check in at the Title Company “closing
today”
 Check in at your office “Great office
meeting today”
 Check in at a community event, park, etc.
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Tuesday, June 4, 13

Your Business Page
 Your business home on Facebook
 For your business content
 Good for generating leads, sharing industry
information, promoting listings and your business
 Show people why they should do business with you
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Tuesday, June 4, 13

What to post on your
business page?
 Post market updates
 Community news
 Listings
 Buyer/seller resources (houselogic.com,
realtor.org)
 SOLD!!! Post sold listings w/photos
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Tuesday, June 4, 13

Twitter = Perceptions
 Twitter provides a view of the world (news, happenings, etc)
 Send short posts on real estate news, market updates,
occasionally listings, link to blog post
 Build your community (Followers)
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Tuesday, June 4, 13

So what is Twitter?
 From Twitter’s home page: Twitter is a
service for friends, family, and co–workers to
communicate and stay connected through the
exchange of quick, frequent answers to one
simple question: What are you doing?
 Quick simple communication. It only allows
140 characters
 Get to the point and provide a shortened link
to the entire story
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Tuesday, June 4, 13

What are it’s advantages?
 It allows family, friends, and others to follow
your activity throughout the day and keep up
with your life.
 It allows you to meet new friends, who tend to
be on the cutting edge of technology and the
real estate industry. I am following several
people that I would have never met otherwise.
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Tuesday, June 4, 13

What is a #hashtag?
 Deﬁnition: The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to
mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created
organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize
messages.
 It’s a great way to search for content or speciﬁc tweets
and articles - #shortsale #realestate #SEMichigan
#Monroe #Lenawee, etc.
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Trending Topics
 A Trending Topic is a topic that is getting
a signiﬁcant number of tweets and/or
referenced in a hashtag.
 For example - when the Boston Bombing
took place you could search the hashtag
#bostonmarathon to see up-to-date
news and photos from the scene.
Tuesday, June 4, 13

Getting Started on Twitter
 Create a Professional Twitter Handle @YourName
or @BusinessName – if available.
 Add all of your information: choose a photo of
yourself or use your business logo for your proﬁle
photo, add information to your proﬁle and
include a link to your website.
 Search for people in your industry, groups/
associations, and start conversations!
 RT (retweet) relevant articles, links to local events
or interesting post to your followers.
Tuesday, June 4, 13

Twitter Best Practices
 Keep it interesting – and professional – post relevant
articles, tips and community news.
 RT (retweet) others who provide great information and
say thank you to those who RT you!
 Use hashtags # to start or join in conversations on
certain events or topics.
 Post a listing as you’re leaving the appointment with
the for sale sign and you can link back to Facebook by
saying “New Listing @ 123 Main St. look for it at
facebook.com/jeffrisingrealestate later today”
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Getting Started on Twitter in 8 easy Steps
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1. Set up your account
 Go to Twitter.com and click “Sign up”
 Select a username AKA your “twitter handle”
 Your real name or business name is best
 You CAN change it later but you won’t want to if
it’s on 1,000 business cards - so pick one you
like
 Use initial caps - @JeffreyRising for example - to
make it easier to read
 Twitter will show help topics and FAQ’s
 You will also be asked if you want to search your
contacts for twitter users (gmail, yahoo, etc.)
Tuesday, June 4, 13

2. Tweak your settings
 Set your time zone
 Set your preferences
 Go to the Help menu or FAQ’s if you get stuck
 Click on your Proﬁle tab to upload proﬁle pic
 Insert your bio, website, etc.
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3. Put Twitter on your phone
 Simply Download the app from the
Google Play store or the Apple App store
and login
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4. Follow family, friends, etc
 Go to the search tab to search for people
 You can follow friends, family, co-workers
 News Channels
 Celebrities you are interested in
 Athletes you like
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5. Learn the basics
 Reply - when you reply to someone who tweeted
to you using your @handle
 Retweet (RT) - Retweeting something you ﬁnd
interesting
 Direct Message -a private message not visible to
the public
 Favorite - you can “favorite” a tweet if you want
to easily ﬁnd it later for review
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Tuesday, June 4, 13

6. Start Twittering!
 Just do it and give it time
 Don’t give up after a few days
 Give it at least 2 weeks
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7. Be Careful
 Don’t post “Going out of town for 2
weeks and our house will be empty!”
 Again - stay professional
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8. Consider 3rd party apps
 Hootsuite
 Tweetdeck
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LinkedIn = Professional Connections
 Connect on LinkIn through “Groups” and participate in
discussions
 NAR groups, short sale groups, mortgage news groups
 Great way to connect with like-minded business
professionals
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Tuesday, June 4, 13

Getting Started on LinkedIn
 Create a page and search for contacts (use email
search).
 Add your information: contact information,
photo, links to website and social media pages,
and relevant business experience.
 Network with people you have worked with,
business contacts in your community and those
in your industry.
Tuesday, June 4, 13

LinkedIn Best Practices
 Post relevant information from your resume to
highlight your expertise.
 Recommend people you know by endorsing them
for their skills – and ask them to do the same for
you.
 Post links to articles, listings, and your website.
Tuesday, June 4, 13

Google+ = Passions
 A great place to connect with people on topics you are
passionate about
 Create “Circles” to post relevant information to certain
groups
 Google+ is Google! Where better to talk about real
estate?
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Tuesday, June 4, 13

Getting Started on Google+
 Your Google+ page is your brand’s home on
Google. Click “Create a Google+ page”
 Add your company name and images to
customize your page.
 Fill out the “About” section - including a link to
the website and detailed description.
Tuesday, June 4, 13

Google+ Best Practices
 Want to improve where you show up in a Google
Search? Start a Google+ page!
 Try a “Hangout” – a video chat option.
 Separate your contacts into different groups
called “circles” to keep your personal posts for
your friends and family, and your professional
and business updates for your customers and
acquaintances.
Tuesday, June 4, 13

Next Steps
 Set Goals for using Social Media
 Social Media is just one part of your marketing strategy, how does it ﬁt in?
 What else do you want people who follow your page to do – visit your
website, sign up for emails, call you, refer you to a friend – make sure your
updates help you achieve your goals.
 How will you promote your pages?
 Business Cards, Website, Flyers
 Opportunities to cross-promote?
 Partner with other small business owners or non-proﬁt organizations to
promote each other’s social media pages.
 Make the time to do it well: respond to comments, post new content,
plan ahead.
Tuesday, June 4, 13

Final Thoughts
Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and
others can help you build your brand while being
available to your customers above and beyond the
usual.
By harnessing the power of social networking
sites, you can attract fans and followers that may
end up turning into clients.
Take care not to inundate your readers with listing
after listing. While it’s perfectly ﬁne to share your
listings with fans, you need to ﬁnd a balance between
too much and just enough.
From: http://www.briangardner.com/social-media-real-estate/
Tuesday, June 4, 13

Social Media Basics for Real Estate Agents

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