1. ignore social media – there are still a large number of folks that don’t see the need to engage in social media in any form – facebook, linkedin, activerain, blogging, youtube or twitter.  they still don’t see the need, don’t understand it, or are afraid of it.  my advice?  get over your fear, learn about it, read the success stories.  but get on it.  not 6 months from now.  get on it now.
2. spend too much time on social media – i’ve seen a number of people get caught up in the new gadgetry, gizmos and whizbang tools that come along.  they spend so much time – figuring the new technology out, playing with it, tweaking it – that they forget what their core purpose is in business.  it’s something i succumbed to years ago when i was still selling.  i was working on creating the perfect contact management program for my business.  i spent so much time building the perfect mousetrap, i lost sight of the primary objective – catching mice.  don’t spend all day on facebook.  don’t tweet all night on twitter.  don’t spend 3 hours per day on your blog.  use these tools to engage consumers and prospects.  then go out and meet these people face to face.  do business.
3. use social media to sell – so many people see these tools as another method to advertise their wares.  they jump on facebook and start posting advertorials in their status updates about how great their service is or posting a new property listing.  and that’s all they post.  they spam their twitter followers with advertising messages.  you know what?  if you’re not going to provide me with some value or tell me something interesting that’s going on in your world, i don’t want to hear about your listing.  and if you continue to do so, i’m gonna kick you out of my network.  i love sioux falls, south dakota, but i’m not moving there.  so stop advertising your listings to me.

don’t let any of these mindsets kill your business.  you’d be crazy to.

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if you’re relatively new to social networking, let me offer one word of advice: don’t talk business all the time.  ok, that’s more like six words of advice, but it bears repeating: don’t talk business all the time.  there.  now you’ve got twelve words of advice.

what i’m talking about here is the status updates so prominently featured in all social networks – facebook, linkedin, plaxo, ecademy, twitter, etc.  you know them by various questions – “what are you doing?” or “what are you working on now?”  invitations prompting you to tell your network what’s going on in your life at that moment.  handy little snippets of information to help your connections keep up with you.

some take the status update literally, offering up every nuance of their day, such as “having pancakes with my 9 year old,” or “going for my 3rd cup of starbucks this morning.”  not that there’s anything wrong with that.  just as long as these types of updates are done in moderation and with a modicum of taste.  believe me, when you start telling me about your dog’s bm’s, i’m gonna have to pass and say tmi.

others take the status update opportunity as an open invitation to smother you with marketing messages.  in the real estate industry, i see this all the time, and especially on facebook.  realtors who throw every listing into their status updates, hoping to expose their property to a buyer lurking in their network.  these same realtors place every price reduction, open house, buyer tour and offer they’re presenting in the feed, thinking that their network wants to hear about it.  well, newsflash kids.  they don’t.

would you subscribe to comcast if they only showed commercials?

the reason i accepted your friend request on facebook or decided to follow you on twitter was that i wanted to get to know more about you, the person.  heck, even connecting with you on linkedin i had hoped to learn something more than the product or service you were selling.  i was looking for some value in our connection.  instead, you give me spam.

you see, i’ll take a promotional plug every once in awhile, but if you’re going to pollute my stream with advertising constantly, why would i want to stay connected / continue following / be your friend?  i mean, would you pay comcast a monthly subscription if their programming only offered commercials?  didn’t think so.

stop social network pollution

if you’re currently using your status updates, wall posts and tweets to talk business incessantly, stop it.  stop it now.  do it before i unfollow / unfriend / disconnect you from my network.  and if you run across someone within your networks that’s bombarding you with marketing, send them a nice note encouraging them to provide those messages a little less frequently. and if they continue spamming you after your friendly warning, nuke em.

if you don’t, they’ll make you crazy.

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Flickr image by Sparticus007

vacationing muse returns

after wading through 46 comments posted to the blog from escort companies in kiev, i’m ready to throw some blog spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.  and no, i didn’t abandon the blog – i was waiting for just the right moment for my muse to reappear and whisper in my ear.

that whispering became an ear-splitting shriek in recent weeks as i’ve talked with brokers from around the country and come to the realization that our industry could be headed for more trouble.  the reason?  the use of social media by agents and the complete disregard or lack of education in how to use these tools properly.

it’s all fun and games until somebody puts an eye out

i’m stoked more real estate professionals are jumping on board the social media bandwagon. they’re starting to recognize how blogs and social networks can impact their business positively by enlarging their marketing influence, reducing their advertising expenses and providing communication with their spheres.  but i’m also nervous that many of them are treating these new tools as if there were new (or no) rules, and not considering how some of the things they say and do in the social spaces can actually harm them.  and their companies.

which “o” are you?

what’s more surprising and more frightening is that brokers and managers have not stepped up to address the possible risks involved with their agents’ use of social media.  i’m seeing posts on facebook that clearly violate most states’ advertising requirements, and tweets that would cause ambulance chasing attorneys to salivate over the chance to sue an agent and company over their breach of fiduciary duty.  not to mention all the possible violations of article 12 of the realtor code of ethics. it’s crazy to say the least.

but what i can’t figure out is why we in management are not doing anything about it. is it because we’re overwhelmed?  the market is tough, deals are harder to come by and make stick, and we’ve got got to nurture and support our agents as they struggle through a difficult market.  surely we’ve got more important things to attend to than to worry about monitoring an agents blog?

or does the problem lie in the fact that we’re oblivious to what’s going on out there? not tuned in to the fact that thousands of agents are rushing to the social media party because it’s the happenin’ place?  sure, we’ve heard of facebook, myspace, twitter and the like – it’s all over the media.  but aren’t these sites for people who have too much time on their hands?  sharing inappropriate photos and talking about what they had for breakfast?  who’d use these networks for business?

the other, more dangerous possibility is that we’re aware of these risks, but we’re choosing to ignore them.  placing our head in the sand like the proverbial ostrich (yeah, i know – they don’t really do this, but it’s a metaphor).  hoping social media goes away, or that our agents will ignore these diversions.  unfortunately, neither is going to happen.  social networking and blogging are not fads, and are not going to go away.  and our sales associates are not going to ignore them, when millions of consumers are using these sites to connect and communicate.  not to mention that agents recognize these sites are a great way to market and prospect.  for free.  not bad in this market

time to face the music

regardless of the reasoning or cause (which “o” are you?), we in management are going to have to accept that these tools can be used effectively for our business, as long as we’ve set some ground rules.  so, if you’ve identified which “o” you are, here are some simple steps to get working on those ground rules:

• overwhelmed – get help.  pure and simple.  this business isn’t going to get any easier, and my experience has shown that it gets more challenging every year.  gear up.
• oblivious – get educated.  the world is changing ever so rapidly around us, and if we’re not in tune with those changes, we won’t be able to adapt.  and if evolution has taught us anything, it’s that those that can’t adapt become extinct.
• ostrich – pull your head out of…um…the sand. thinking social media will go away if we ignore it is on par with thinking computerized mls information was a fad.

call me crazy, but that’s the way i see it.

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