By Amanda Ross
Remarkable. Feel the weight of that word for a moment; it’s substantial and impressive. Many of the Realtors I’ve met along my journey are just that – remarkable. You surprise me every day with your creative minds, business savvy and feelings of responsibility over your client’s happiness.
You also surprise every time I hear how you are not taking advantage of the vast and “here-to-stay” world of social media. It’s an amazing and free outlet that can change the way you manage your business. It allows you to reach a broad audience in a moment and begs for you to engage on a personal and authentic level; to truly sell YOU and your knowledge.
There are many and I mean MANY of us who have no idea what to do with this fabulous beast. Those who have yet to discover or understand that power we now have at the tips of our fingers. But how do you know which to use and how to use it? Is it really something you should be doing? I totally know where you’re coming from; I was an avid Twitter-hater for years. But I have finally seen the light (or the tweets) and I “get it”.
Let me give you a high-level overview and a couple of tips that may (fingers crossed) make this easier and less terrifying for you.
Facebook: Come on; who doesn’t love a good-old high-school reunion? Think Gross Point Blank or Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion. Facebook is all about re-connecting with people you know or used to know and those who you think you sort of, maybe, “was he the guy that wore the mascot outfit?” recognize. Plus, there are pages where you can feed business information to your audience.
Twitter: Imagine yourself mingling at a networking event. You would stop and chat with a group here and there; passing on information you heard from these different groups along the way and adding your own knowledge to those around you. That’s sort of what Twitter is about.
Linkedin: Here we have the serious, grown up outlet; all business all the time. It’s like being part of a seminar or event where you engage with other professionals by sharing your business savvy. You can ask and answer questions, get involved in different groups and build your business network.
How do you keep up and how do you manage these different avenues? Don’t worry; I have a few secrets for you.
Secret #1: Blog Scheduling – You need to write an informative blog post a minimum of once a week. Most blog hosting accounts allow you to write a blog and schedule it to go out at a later time. For example, you can write a number of blogs and schedule them to go out every Wednesday for the next few weeks.
Don’t be sales-y all the time. Post about the market, a community event, construction in the neighbourhood, a restaurant review, photos of your newest listing and so on.
Secret # 2: Life-altering Tools – Twitterfeed: This is a fantastic little tool that allows you to take RSS feeds and “feed” them to your Twitter, Facebook profile / page and Linkedin accounts. Remember that blog you write? Grab the RSS feed and have it feed your accounts. Why not grab local news or other real estate business blog feeds and add them too?
Hootsuite: Ever wonder how you’re going to log in to each account every day to chat and respond to people? You log on to one place and chat across different platforms – Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and more. Oh, did I mention that you can also “schedule” your posts? How cool is that?
Mobile Apps: You can access and upload photos and posts to your social media on the go. You can even download the mobile HootSuite app.
Secret 3: Just Tips: Prime posting times are in the morning; which means this is not the best time to get noticed. Try for the hours between 2 pm and 5 am. Post photos – we love them! These are the best and most noticed posts there are. Take a photo with your Blackberry or iPhone and upload it to your profile(s). Ask people to follow you, LIKE you, be your friend, re-tweet you and comment on your blog. Be fearless.
Want a simple seven-day social media schedule? Contact me on Twitter and I’ll email it to you.
Amanda Ross is the broker/manager of Sutton Group Quantum Realty (www.SuttonQuantum.com) with locations in Oakville and Mississauga, Ont. She is also the owner of www.RealtyBoost.ca, an online social networking website for the Canadian real estate industry. Follow Amanda on Twitter, @AmandaMaeRoss and/or @SuttonQuantum.
