Social networking in 2011 - Youtube

[RESteve]

If you got about 15 minutes or so, check out this talk by Gary Chambers regarding social networking in 2011. It seems like he believes we need to be more personal and intentional about conveying more than just real estate; it needs to be more about your life (read: lifestyle branding).

On Youtube

[erogers]

It's interesting to hear that. I've been thinking of a revamp of my "About Me" page for a couple months here to go almost 180-degrees away from listing all of my accomplishments and going more towards a "who I am" point of view. Right now I have the typical "why I'm the shizzle" page up with accomplishments and programs and such. I'm thinking of actually going non-real estate and talking about who I am, my family and what I like to do. Maybe even a bit about my work philosophy but very minimal sales pitches. Perhaps I'll put a CV or something on another page for those that really want that but I'm thinking maybe an "About Me" page should be more personal and less sales. I do actually get quite a few hits on my "About Me" page which is a bit suprising since it's not in a prominent position on my site nav.

Any thoughts on the matter?

[RESteve]

I probably wouldn't take it 110% personal, but I would definitely try to portray the personality qualities you possess that feel make you unique and a great real estate agent. Some ideas on how to tie them together (using me as an example):

Because I'm a father, I have the patience to work with tenacious buyers who always want to lowball my listings. I'm able to provide a logical and tangible reason why my seller's property is worth what the list price is set at, and I use this same technique with convincing my son to clean his room. "If you clean your room, Mom will probably let us order pizza tonight and we can hang out and play video games!"

Because I have a passion for awesome photography, I spent an inordinate amount of time taking high quality photos for my sellers. This in turn creates a better presentation for the home, and hopefully results in a faster sale.

Because I love meeting people and networking, my sphere of influence is large enough to drive a large amount of attention to my properties for sale. I love social networking, so my Facebook and Twitter buddies all take a look at the properties I list and I ask them to keep a look out for anyone looking to move into an area.

Just a few examples - but you probably get the idea. Use a personal character trait that you enjoy to correlate with real estate, and the site visit should be able to put two and two together. Go into detail on those qualities on your about me page and see how it does.

[erogers]

Thanks for the advice - I was a musician in my former life and I'm always talking to clients about how the two professions share a lot of the same skill sets - maybe it's time I put it down in writing

[D.Worth]

Great advice! Definitely agree with it.

[rschaerer]

I completely agree! I think that the whole point to the social networking sites is NOT to just scream to the world that you are a real estate agent, but show the world that you are human.

[Flasch186]

Yes yes yes. By the time Ive shown pics of my son and talked about things other than real estate is when your old friends start asking you about Real Estate. If youre just hammering them over the head with it then they simply dont want to be around you anyways.

[941realestate]

I definitely agree - humanity is a big part of the social networking, and you want to make sure that you seem like a human instead of just as a business person, it adds credibility and can put potential customers more at ease.

[zcoplan]

I have started creating videos and using them on my about me page, in an attempt to gain credibility and humanize myself.

[rschaerer]

I have thought about doing the same thing with the videos. Have you noticed the videos helping at all?