Before I finish writing a sentence in this very respectable blog, let me preface this by making a confession: I am utterly terrified of social media. I didn’t have a personal Facebook account until I had to. I sometimes still catch myself saying sardonic remarks under my breath about Twitter (at least I don’t “tweet” it).
I don’t know, maybe I’m just from the old school — where making the cash register ring is valued over making yourself feel and look good or trying to sell through abstract art, crass humor (“people don’t buy from clowns”) and minimalist words (if you’re buying a car or a house, you want to know everything about it). But that’s beginning to change. As my little brother would say, “you’re evolving.”
The reason I “evolved” is I after spending 4 years in the rough neighborhood of search engine marketing (SEO), I’m beginning to see the benefits of tying my websites to the onslaught of traffic these “socials” bring. And most importantly, the possibility of meaningful conversations over the internet.
I used to set aside 2 weeks just before Christmas to personally deliver my presents to all my past clients. Problem is, starting in 2008, almost half of my friends jumped ships (due to short sales, foreclosures, etc) — and I didn’t have the foggiest idea where they moved! And Facebook saved me. Dramatically changing the way I reach out to my friends and past clients. I love it. I don’t even forget their birthdays now.
But the key is, and I’m still learning, that after they see you on FB or Twitter, they need to find “professional” value — something that would close the deal. The formula is something like this:
“I like Joe, he remembered my birthday he commented on my baby’s cute picture.”
(A need comes up…)
“I need to move out from my apartment”. “Hey doesn’t that Joe guy sell homes? Oww..here, he has a blog, ow, stats…must be smart. Hon, can you call Joe and set up an appointment.”
(Now that I think about it, Mike does a great job of connecting these two worlds through this site — heart-warming, professional)
I’ve gotten at least 5 those calls since I started using Facebook early this year. And these people wouldn’t have found me any other way. A mentor of mine used to exhort me: “Joe, it’s better to be interested than to be interesting.” And that’s exactly what Facebook and Twitter allows me to do.
But don’t stop there. Build your website to make you look like the expert, and you’d be surprised after a year of learning and writing you will be the expert in your area. Learn how to build a killer real estate website. It’s fairly simple (but time-consuming): buy a great domain, update content (blog) daily or weekly (as long as its consistent, create a nice layout-design and build relationships with other experts on their fields by utilizing links.
“Be Interested, and You’ll be Infinitely More Interesting”
P.S — I still refuse to sign up for LinkedIn. But anyone care to add me on Twitter? ; )
