Why Social Network?
Once
upon a time, we real estate business people had to speak
with our raving fans, past clients, and prospects to
learn what was going on in their lives. Actually, individually,
speak to them!
Today,
we can connect with these key individuals and relate
with them online whenever we want, by computer, by phone,
in our offices, or at home in our favorite chair!
Don't
confuse Facebook with a homes magazine! It's not some
2011 alternative to printer's ink! Twitter, Facebook,
Linked In, whatever your key people use to communicate
is just that, a way to communicate. NAR's annual publication
describing home buyers and sellers and the way they
choose, work with, and refer to REALTORS®, illustrates
that consumers want to work with knowledgeable, competent
business professionals whom they know or to whom they're
referred by people they know and trust!
If
your key people are on the net sharing what they're
doing and what's important to them, are you there and
are you listening?
Have
you created and are you using
your QRCode on everything?
It's
free & easy to use for your cell-phone centric prospects,
customers, and clients!
Social
Network Your Way to More & Better Referrals!
Have
you ever tested your website to see how many clicks it takes
to send you a referral? Do your past clients know your cell
phone number so they can contact you in real time? Is your
face in front of your raving fans every time they “talk”
with their friends?
If your answer is no, consider
how social networking sites can add these benefits to
your business:
1. Give your raving fans 1-CLICK access for sending referrals!
2. Put your face on their screen when they network with
friends via Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, or Twitter!
3. Be in “1-Click” range of your key people!
As
a coach and consultant, I’ve discovered that many top
REALTOR® websites don’t provide 1-click referral sending
to business ambassadors or even 2 or 3-click access! Often
consumers must wade through a questionnaire to send an
email from your site and they frequently click off at
these roadblocks. We’d love to believe they have our numbers
and addresses readily at hand when a friend or colleague
needs a REALTOR, but do they? Do they have you as handy
as their friends on their favorite social network?
Consider “FaceBook” for 1-click referral contacts! Here
are the stats :
• More than 250 million active users
• More than 120 million users log on at least once a day
• More than 2/3’s are out of college
• Fastest growing demographic is those 35 years and older
• More than 30 million active users access Facebook via
mobile devices.
• Mobile users are almost 50% more active on Facebook
than non-mobile users.
When your business ambassador hears about someone needing
professional real estate service, he can open FaceBook
on his smart phone, 1-click you from his list and send
the referral in real time! However, if you’re not there,
the lead either dies or goes to some other CRS who’s there,
positively “in his face!” 51% of American web users visit
or maintain a social networking profile and usage by individuals
under 35 years old is virtually universal!
How do we start using social network sites to build referrals?
Let’s get started.
1. Choose the best site for your market. Talk to your
key ambassadors and determine where they network. Statistics
tell us that FaceBook surged past MySpace last year to
the top position and has the largest number of users while
Twitter, the newest star, soared from 22nd in 2008 to
3rd in 2009! In I’m On LinkedIn, author Jason Alba states
that the average age of a LinkedIn user is 41, his household
income is $109,703, and 64% are male.
2. Take advantage of “branding by association ”! When
you’re linked to key people in your market area, you benefit
from that relationship. A double edged sword, this means
that you must tightly control your linkages to avoid problem
people but also gain credibility relating to those positive-image
clients whom you’ve served.
3. Add a appointment to work your social network daily!
Just like your other lead generation tasks, social networking
must be slotted into your schedule and controlled. It’s
easy to let time slip away when you’re networking, so
take command of this task but don’t avoid it because it
might consume too much time.
4. Practice demographic smarts! Know your market, your
raving fans, and your center of influence by age group
so that you’re covering the types of networking that produce
leads from your key people. If you’re heavily into under
35 year olds, then text, instant message, and Tweet. If
your COI is heavily business-person oriented, then LinkedIn
might be your best bet and use it to offer consumer research
on your marketplace. Know your people and their preferences!
5. Add videos, photos, & testimonials! Today’s consumers
want not only speedy responses and thorough information,
but they want the human touch ! Give them easy access
to photos, videos, and testimonials from raving fans through
your social networking.
According to NAR’s annual consumer surveys , your best
referrals sources are your past clients, friends, and
family. Stay in front of them--easily approachable and
1-CLICK reachable--and collect quality referrals using
smart social networking!
© 2011, Corky Hyatt, Corky Hyatt Seminars.
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