Social Media Marketing and Real Estate

Earlier this month I spoke at the Social Media Marketing National Conference in Orlando.  The conference itself was over twelve hours of real estate marketing ideas you can implement right now.  Each speaker was a recognized expert in their field and I left with my head spinning.  This post is part of a series in which I will share what I learned.

By now most of us have heard the term Social Media Marketing.  It is variously described as the future of prospecting, a revolutionary version of networking for a 2.0 world, the miracle of permission based marketing and - if I remember correctly - a cure for the common cold.  Do you ever feel as if there is some tremendous movement sweeping through the industry and no one has stopped to explain it?  You hear all the sizzle but what’s needed is for someone to actually throw a big, juicy steak on your plate.  Well I hope you’re hungry because Brian Brady worked the grill for hours at the Unchained Conference in Orlando and he did not disappoint.  Not only did he serve up the meat of the matter, he cut it into bite size pieces and made it easy to digest.

His very first statement set the tone for the rest of his presentation, but regular readers of mine will not be surprised by it: “Marketing is an Obsession.”  I couldn’t agree more, although I might add more: “Marketing is More Than an Obsession… It’s a Passion.”  He goes on to lay out the basis for marketing in a nutshell:

• New customers are the life-blood of a practice
• Farming new customers produces new customers
• The Internet allows us to automate our Unique Selling Proposition

Think about the power in that last point.  Automating your USP and reaching an exponentially larger audience with no extra effort or cost is a magical formula.

The Five Pillars of Social Media Marketing (with my notes)

1. DECLARATION OF IDENTITY - Here I am and I am and here’s what I do.  Don’t hide your light under a bushel.  There is no point to marketing if people don’t know how they can use you or why.
2. IDENTITY BY ASSOCIATION - You are judged by the company you keep.  This is true in all aspects of life but can be utilized advantageously on-line.  Make purposeful decisions about what groups you join and who you associate with; the perception of who you are can be greatly enhanced.
3. CONSUMER GENERATED CONVERSATION - By declaring your identity in well chosen places, you open yourself to contact by consumers.  Either directly, through forums or in question & answer format, the consumer will talk to you if you are listening.
4. PROVIDER GENERATED CONVERSATION - This is what you push out; the answer to the question, the story that relates a benefit, the information that is useful.  This is your opportunity to really shine.
5. OFF-LINE CONVERSATION - The secret!  This is the step missed by so many.  The first four pillars will enable you to acquire prospects, but this game is a contact sport.  The whole point of marketing is to cause the consumer to take action.  This reminds me of a little retail wisdom I heard from Home Depot’s founders.  They said “we didn’t spend all that money paying for advertising and buying products just to have the consumer walk away because the check-out line was too long.”  When someone walks up to your register with money in their hand… engage them!

Setting Traps on the Internet

You want to be where your potential clients can find you and engage you.  The easiest way to find that place is by asking previous clients where they go on the internet.  Once you know, show up and build a profile.  Your profile is pure marketing, by which I mean a golden opportunity to share your USP and not a place to hammer consumers with sales gimmicks.  Keep track of your profiles, revisit them from time to time and make sure they are all up to date and expressive.  Connect with everyone you know.  Be an active member of the community (both online and off).  Another idea Brian shared is to update your status bar on Facebook.  (What’s that?  You’re not on Facebook yet?  Your clients are…)  Also comment on other people’s status bar updates.  Again, be an active part of the community.

Goals

So what are the goals of social media marketing?  Brian points out the primary goal is get people to your landing page, your blog or website.  This is your office… your home.  Once there they can get to know you and transform from a cold call to a warm lead.  You would like them to subscribe to your Provider Generated Conversations.

• RSS feed is OK
• email subscription is better
• e-zine subscription is way-better

If you are doing it right and providing useful information to people you’ll get what’s called a full data dump.  In other words, the consumer will share all of their relevant information with you.  This allows you to start moving them into your community and practicing Mayoral Marketing.  Just don’t forget to continuously feed the community with good ideas.

The Ubiquitous Road

Ubiquitous \yü-ˈbi-kwə-təs\ - from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: existing or being everywhere at the same time : constantly encountered .  Here are a number of the best places to practice your social media marketing according to Brian:

• LinkedIn - go to the “answer questions” section and get involved
• Meetup - whatever your interest, it’s out there
• Facebook - average age is now over 35 years old
• Zillow - another opportunity to answer questions for potential clients
• My Space - younger and hipper than Facebook - source of the next generation of buyers
• YouTube - real estate’s use of video will be widespread in the coming years

In the end, Social Media Marketing is all about being in front of your prospects, consumers, clients and community on a regular basis.  It is the process of creating your own community of raving fans by being where they are, making sure they know who you are and giving them answers and information they can use.  Consumers have the power in the real estate business relationship.  They can choose to learn about you (or not learn about you) as they see fit.  They reject most forms of “push” marketing (cold calls, email spam, flyers on the door step, etc.) and are out there - in the various mediums just mentioned.  Imagine a potential client stumbling across your front doorstep… make sure your porchlight is on and your door is open.  Maybe even offer them a steak.