The simple fact that the internet is a part of the returning real estate market is not big news, but with so much information coming out so fast, understanding it can be difficult. This article is the third in a series of six that decodes the basics, and even some mild intricacies, of the world of electronic marketing and will show you how to compete and succeed in an area of marketing where you might have previously feared to tread. In this part I will break down social networking into its basic parts and explain how it works to your advantage to incorporate social networking into your marketing strategy.

	New Jersey Estates/ Real Estate Group Paul Stillwaggon September 2009 LINKING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY TO OLD FASHIONED SERVICE Copyright © 2009 Realty Times All Rights Reserved.

Social Networking

Social Networking has actually existed on the internet for quite a long time. The first act on the then ARPAnet (now internet) was a student sending a transmission from UCLA to Stanford that simply said 'login.' Unfortunately the system crashed after the 'o' but it eventually worked an hour later. Ever since that time we have been working on better ways to interact with one another via the internet - hence social networking.

Today's social networking pallet is an evolutionary jump from the roots of text based multiplayer games and fido-net based BBS's (Fidonet was similar to the internet, but transmissions only occurred twice a day over phone lines). There seems to be something for everyone.

Whether you are looking for a younger platform such as MySpace or something more professional such as LinkedIn, there is a social network for you out there. If you look hard enough you can find a social network for nearly anything. As a matter of fact there are social networks that you might not believe exist. Hamsterster is a social network for rodent owners, Zii Trend for amateur clairvoyants and prognosticators, and Lost Zombies a site for zombie enthusiasts. With options like that, it is obvious that there are social networking options for nearly everyone and nearly every interest.

Why You Should Get Involved

There are three practical reasons to get involved in social networking. The first of these is marketing; social networking gives you the opportunity to brand yourself - either the way that you wish to be branded, or as a readily available expert in your field, thereby connecting you to new customers. The second reason is that it connects you to existing customers. Larger companies such as HP have actually created customer service profiles on Facebook and Twitter and you are far more likely to get more personalized service through those mediums due to the fact that those service reps are relegated to those particular services.

The third reason is personal; to engage in social networking for your own education, need for affiliation, and the opportunity to give your skills a freshening up.

Social Networking for You

Fortunately, as a real estate agent, you have many options for your personal use. There are a number of quality social networking sites that take different forms. Try one or more and find the ones that work best for you as an agent. Let's be honest, we can always benefit from other's advice. Let's examine a few of the more popular sites:

Active Rain (activerain.com) - Starting with Active Rain is a must. Not because it is the oldest, or necessarily even the best network for everyone, but they have done the best job of making themselves present in the real estate marketing world. I find Active Rain slightly confusing to navigate, but with the number of resources available at Active Rain it simply cannot be ignored. Users: 150,000+

Real Town (realtown.com) - Real Town was one of the first social networks exclusively for agents and their partners. While I wish there was a bit more disclosure regarding the Point2 / Real Town connection, this is a site that I do like otherwise. It is easy to navigate and there is a lot of great, easy to find, information available. Users: 137,000 +

Broker Agent Social (brokeragentsocial.com) - While smaller than the other social communities there is still valuable information to be had here. Try it out. The smaller community may fit your personality better. Users: 20,000 +

Wannanetwork (wannanetwork.com) - I would be remiss if I did not mention wannanetwork, however they have been besieged with technical problems due to the platform they were on. As of this writing they are working on a solution. It should be a great social networking option once they get every up and running once again.

Social Networking for Marketing

Social networking is also a great way to attract new customers, but let's be careful here. No one has ever gone on Facebook, Twitter or Myspace and created a reproducible method of making money just for signing up. It simply doesn't happen. The problem is that it is the 'personalities' that make the money on these networks. That is, the people that have branded themselves for the purposes of making money on these networks. As such, I have been reminded many times by real estate SEO guru Tim O'Keefe, from Spiderjuice Technologies, "You can't reproduce personality." What they have done, you may not be able to easily reproduce simply due to the fact that you are not them.

Find a social networking medium that works best for you and use it often. For marketing you are more likely to use social networks external to the real estate market than sites such as Real Town or Active Rain. The reason for this is as simple as marketing itself. Where is your audience? They are far more likely to exist on Facebook than on Real Town. If you are new to social networking here is a quick overview of the big three to help you find the best fit for you.

Facebook just recently overtook Myspace as the number one social networking site. To put this in perspective look at Alexa's rankings for the top 100 sites in the United States:

 

1. Google

    

2. Yahoo

    

3. Facebook

    

4. YouTube (social media networking)

    

5. Myspace

The power of Facebook is quite apparent. You will pay a fee to list your services in the Yahoo directory, but all you need is time and tenacity to have a distinguishable Facebook presence. The disadvantage of Facebook for marketing is that it is such a closed community. You are really only viewed by the people that add you as friends. Best marketing use: Pay per click ads on Facebook can be extremely cheap. Often you can easily achieve over 100,000 impressions for less than $100 per month in a very selective market.

Myspace - Myspace is the closest to what you think of as a traditional website. The big difference is the interaction between users such as chat functions and the ability to leave messages on each other's walls. Myspace was the king of social networking until Facebook appeared on the scene. Best marketing use: Youth - Myspace has a much younger demographic that may be better for rentals, etc.

Twitter - Twitter is simply a medium wherein you post a short message (140 characters or less) and everyone that 'follows' you gets your message - either on your Twitter page or on your phone depending upon your settings. You can also follow other's tweets. You may recall the use of Twitter by Iranian nationals showing the aftermath of their recent election.

Twitter was not on our list of the top five web sites in the US. It is actually ranked 13th, but you have to take into consideration the fact that there are many people that use Twitter only via their cell phone or smart phone so the numbers here may be slightly skewed away from Twitter in terms of overall use. Best marketing use: Very SEO friendly. Tweet key phrases loudly and often.

Social Networking Success

There is more to social networking than business. I recently reunited with a group of friends from third grade on Facebook and regularly see posts from cousins, aunts and uncles that I would never hear from normally. I spoke with an old friend on a business matter a few weeks ago and we picked up our conversation like we had in fact seen each other in the six year gap apart, simply because we followed each other's activity on Facebook.

At first appearance social networking looks like a young man's game and maybe a little scary to break into, but the single highest demographic entering Facebook for the first time is currently women in their 40's and 50's. Until recently my oldest friend on Facebook was 93 years old - until he passed away this spring. You are never too old or inexperienced to jump into the world of social networking! It's good for your business and it's good for your relationships.

Next Article: The Core of Your Electronic Marketing Strategy - The Website

About the Author: Brandon Smith is a marketing expert in the real estate industry and college instructor. He can be reached at agentexcel.com.

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Paul Stillwaggon, For All Your Real Estate Needs Contact New Jersey Estates Real Estate Group E-mail: njestates@gmail.com Web: http://www.newjerseyestates.net 908-561-5492 (Paul S) 908-310-1358 (Cell)

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