Photo: twobee/freedigitalphotos.net
By Amanda Ross
Recruiting is the most important thing to your business…yet it’s the one thing that most brokers put off until it’s too late.
Social media is often overlooked by brokerages as a recruiting and retaining tool because of the unknown factor. Questions like, “What should I say?”, “Who should I say it to?” and “Will anyone care?” pop up.
The most important of those questions in the last one, and the answer is yes, if you care about them. Social media isn’t a tool to blast things all about you to the world; it’s about connecting with others.
It’s not about you – it’s about them. So before we even get started, let me cover a couple of basics to help you move forward.
– If you aren’t on social media…what on earth are you waiting for? At the minimum you should have a Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn account.
– Be authentic in a professional manner. While it’s important to “be real” on social media, we all have slightly different faces that are still us. Leave the “rants” to live conversations with people who will easily forgive you.
– Don’t overwhelm yourself. Focus on spending only 45 minutes a day on social media. For example, I use 25 minutes in the morning, then I “check in” for a couple of minutes here and there throughout the day on my mobile.
– Use tools that can help you manage everything. I’ve written about this before, so I won’t go into too many details, but there are amazing tools out there to help you manage all of this so you don’t want to stab yourself in the eye with a hot poker!
– The goal is for people to see that you care about this business, about your agents and about helping others grow. Always think that way and you’ll post things that fit that goal.
Tip #1: Get a little personal on Facebook: Recruiting also means retaining. There’s no point in recruiting 25 agents if 25 of your current agents are walking out the back door. Or, maybe there’s a specific agent or two that you would really like to impress and bring over to your brokerage.
Every week, choose one person to “get personal” with by connecting on a different level.
For example, one of your current agents or an agent you would love to join your brokerage posts, “I’m so upset. I missed the soccer game. I heard it was a great one!” Ah ha! You respond in real life by sending or dropping off a full-colour photo book for that team, or a team jersey or a soccer ball with a note that says, “Sorry you missed the game, hopefully this will help until the next one!”
Guess what? The first thing they’re doing after that is posting on their social media about how great you are. Who doesn’t want to work with a broker who cares that much?
Tip #2: Connect with agents on LinkedIn: When you don’t know someone personally, LinkedIn and Twitter are easier connection points than Facebook as people view Facebook as a more personal venue and are wary of accepting friend requests if they don’t really know you.
Why LinkedIn? Well, it’s far easier to stand out and connect on LinkedIn than Twitter and you can learn more about them on LinkedIn because it allows a ton of profile information whereas Twitter only offers 140 characters.
Plus, you can add tons of great stuff to your LinkedIn to showcase your brokerage, your personal knowledge and what others think about you (recommendations from your current agents go a long way). Check out my profile to see how I’ve beefed it up.
Tip #3: Use Twitter to search for newbies: Twitter has a great advanced search option. Why not use it for recruiting? Search for things like, “real estate license” in “Calgary” (your city) or “real estate courses” in your city.
Do this every week or so to see if anyone’s talking about this on their accounts. If so, reach out to them and offer a free coaching session to help them with whatever issues they may be having. Perhaps it’s just to learn and understand what being in real estate is really like or maybe they’re struggling with some course material that you can shed some light on.
Social media may seem overwhelming, but with a little time you can be a serious expert, start bringing in amazing talent and build relationships with your agents who never come in the office.
Amanda Ross is the owner and creator, educator and strategist of RealtyBoost (www.RealtyBoost.ca), where she helps brokerages and sales reps build strong brands, smart strategies and more knowledge that brings value to their clients. Follow Amanda on Twitter, @ImAmandaR and/or RealtyBoost at @RealtyBoostCA.
