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Social Media Lessons Learned From Agent Reboot Conference Boston

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Vetstein Law Group, P.C., TitleHub Closing Services LLC

I was fortunate to have attended the Inman Agent Reboot Conference in Boston yesterday. From the buzz surrounding the conference here at the Hynes Convention Center, it’s clear that Boston area agents are embracing the power of social media, and that Boston is well on its way to becoming the next “Hub” for social media savvy agents!

Mike Mahoney of Keller Williams-Boston and Richard D. Vetstein of TitleHub Closing Services & Vetstein Law Group

The conference kicked off with Daniel Rothamel, Founder of RealEstateZebra.com, awakening the early morning Dunkin’ Donuts coffee drinking crowd with his John Lennon-transcendental homage about why love matters in real estate. While we hardscrabble New Englanders may not be that into the touchy-feely stuff, Daniel’s message was sound: conduct yourself with the utmost professionalism and ethics to counteract the negative perception the public has for Realtors. Daniel then got into what he really knows best: technology! His takeaway: if you buy one major technology purchase this year, make it an iPad. He’s right. Your potential sellers will be blown away by the iPad during your listing presentations. And your buyers will appreciate your ability to pull up MLS information at doorsteps.

Next up was Lesley Lambert, who trekked down the Mass. Pike from Westfield in Western Mass. A true Dancin’ Queen (check out the video), Lesliewas one of the stars of the conference, speaking twice about converting clicks to closings and social media strategies. Lesley had some great tips:

Blogging

  • Start a self-hosted Wordpress Blog and use it as a hub for all your content
  • Stream your content to your Facebook Fan page and Twitter account
  • Create a weekly themed post like Fun Fridays

Twitter

Facebook

  • Create a Facebook Fan page for your business
  • Connect with old classmates, friends, family, referral partners—you never know where a referral can originate
  • Be careful about what you post. Avoid pictures with alcohol, skimpy clothing, etc
Mike Mahoney of Keller Williams-Boston and Richard D. Vetstein of TitleHub Closing Services & Vetstein Law Group

I’d just add to Leslie’s tips and suggest using the RSS Graffiti application for Facebook, This killer app allows you to stream your blog’s RSS feed (and any RSS feed for that matter) onto your Fan page or personal page.

Rebecca Chandler, of BrokerSherpa, had some humorous yet sensible tips on Facebook that your mother taught you: Don’t whine. Don’t complain. Don’t overly sell. And if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all! That’s a big pet peeve of mine as well, and a sure fire way to get “ignored” by potential clients and referral sources on Facebook.

During the conference the #agentrb Twitter stream was going full tilt. One of the most tweeted comments was from Darin Parsinger who was tweeting from Seattle! He said, "Twitter is a cocktail party. Facebook is a backyard BBQ." Great quote.

Diane Guercio of Towne & Country Realtors, Sherry Chris of Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate and Lesley Lambert, Co-Founder & Realtor, TwitterQueens

After some great discussion about mobile being the next big thing (agreed!), local agents David Millett, of The Masiello Group and Jon Ufland, Managing Broker, Prudential Unlimited Realty, concluded the conference with a discussion about the local Greater Boston real estate market. Jon said that we are now basically back to the year 2000 in terms of market value and sales activity. Ugg. Certainly, the last decade has been a roller coaster, and those agents who have survived deserve a round of applause. Jon also opined that there are too many unqualified, untrained, or part-time agents who do not keep up with the latest news, trends, guidelines, laws, and techniques. Taking off from Jon’s comment, those who attended the Agent Reboot conference are now one step ahead of their competitors, and are learning the tools to better serve the clients of the future.

As the crowd filtered out of the Hynes onto Boylston Street, many agents were already plotting their new Wordpress Blog Site, Facebook fan page design and Twitter strategies. A very educational and successful day was had by all!

About Me: Richard Vetstein (@richardvetstein) helps Massachusetts agents with their social media needs. An attorney by trade, he created the Massachusetts Real Estate Law Blog, the top real estate legal blog in New England. He also blogs weekly at Boston.com. Rich is the Chief Social Media Officer of HubConnected LLC, a leading provider of social media solutions for real estate. He is also the co-founder and an attorney at TitleHub Closing Services. Both companies are based in Needham, MA.

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Comments (1)

Marlene Goldstein
Berkshire Country Homes LLC - Great Barrington, MA

thanks for the wrap up.

i was there your post is a good reminder.

marlene

Oct 16, 2010 01:40 PM