Real estate and social media: Match made in heaven?

Posted by Annalisa Burgos | March 26, 2009

Now that Twitter is mainstream — with politicians and former naysayers now regularly tweeting (moi, for one) — every industry is trying to figure out how to use this tool to its advantage.

The news industry, for one, is finding it very useful when reporting and finding sources, especially during breaking news events like the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Real estate, meanwhile, is still trying to figure it out. Most real estate professionals have a Web site (maybe with a blog) and a Facebook profile, but many will tell you that they are too busy to Twitter or don’t see the value in doing so. After all, if you Twitter four or five times a day about yourself or your brand, don’t you risk diluting your brand, or even worse, turn off people with your constant self-praise?

Yes, and that’s the problem. Companies — real estate and otherwise — shouldn’t be thinking of social media networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter as straight-up advertising and marketing vehicles, where you plaster your name and expect clients to flock to you. Most people are like me — they’re not going to scour Facebook for a Realtor. But I may tell a friend of a friend that I’m looking to buy a house, and if you (the Realtor) have a relationship with that friend, I may get referred to you.

Think of it this way — you’re at a networking event and you meet that guy who is pushing his business card in your face as soon as you say hello. No one likes that guy. On the other hand, you’re more likely to reconnect with the guy who explained the ebb and flow of mortgage rates to you.

So think broad reach and long-term — think of these social networks as bridges to a ginormous audience, bridges that never existed before, but have the huge potential of helping you build relationships. They are called “social networking” services, not “marketing” services, after all.

Millions of people are on these networks having genuine real estate conversations. Whether it’s a person complaining about the buying process or a seller trying to hawk his home that’s been on the market for 8 months, people are talking about real estate.

And some agents are generating leads by joining these conversations and sharing their expertise, without the in-your-face marketing tactics. Find out how they did it in FrontDoor’s article “Twitter Your House and Friend a Realtor on Facebook.”

Speaking of social networking, you can follow FrontDoor.com on Twitter at www.twitter.com/HGTVFrontDoor and join our fans on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/FrontDoorcom/18669721826.

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