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Social Networking for Real Estate Agents 101

Social Networking is: Typical networking usually takes place at events, but we can accomplish the same goal of making connections with others-online, and even better. Online social networking websites show us the connections we have with people and make it much easier to communicate and stay connected. Think of your social network as a map of all the relevant ties between you and others (people, businesses, interests, etc).

Can it really help my real estate business? What are the real benefits?

Expose your RE blog to others & gain readership
Connect with past and current clients
Provide Transparency (people can relate or move on)
Motivates you to write better blog posts and stay focused
Brand yourself further as a niche expert/real estate expert
Learn new marketing/technology tips and resources
Easier and faster than working a party or event

Are there different types of social networking sites?

Yes, but all require the creation of a profile. After that, you participate using the tools or applications provided by the community. Some are more detailed than others, some stick to building business connections only (Linkedin), others invite you to share pictures and get more personal (Facebook, MyBlogLog), some are for real estate only (ActiveRain), some are used only for bookmarking your favorite sites and blog articles (StumbleUpon, Digg).

Which online communities should I join? And how can I start participating?

MyBlogLog:

create a profile
add your blog
choose your avatar wisely
add the "recent readers" widget to your blog
click around (avatar jumping and blog rolling)
tag yourself with your key words
use the search to find other "real estate" blogs,
make and return comments
become a "Hot Member"

Facebook:

create a profile
add friends (clients, past clients, bloggers, other professionals, etc)
add applications that interest you and pertain to your business (BlogFriends, iLike, FirstLookz, Hot Page, Maps, Gifts, Compliments, Business Cards, etc.)
activate Facebook Mobile
create a group page for your business
send email messages
add Linkedin contacts

ActiveRain:

Create a profile
add your blog address
make comments
add associations
join groups
post articles

Linkedin:

Create a profile, professional summary, & detailed resume
add your website and blog
add connections (business colleagues and professional friends/associates)
get recommendations
ask questions
send email messages, etc.

How to Stay Connected

Schedule at least 4 hours weekly blog time into your schedule (2 hours for reading and 2 hours writing)
Visit networks often
Make comments often
Return comments same/next day
Visit other blogs (visit favorites daily, click around at least once a week)
Cross-promote your networks by adding widgets to your blog
Join your niche/interest real estate groups on Facebook
Add all the blogs you like to your Google Reader and organize them in folders

Related Articles:

"3 Online Communities That Will Give Your Real Estate Business a Boost!" -HelpMyAgent Blog
"Interview: Brian Wilson of the Zolve Real Estate Network" - MyTechOpinion

Posted by Nicole Nicolay on 11/28/2007 04:04 AM

Comments (70)

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70 Comments on Social Networking for Real Estate Agents 101

NOV

2007

Nicole - Welcome to the ActiveRain Community! I grew up in Livermore,...graduated an LHS Cowboy! Yee Haw!....I've just subscribed to your blog and look forward to your future contributions!....Let me know if you have any questions along the way!....

Nicole, Thanks for the information, I will beging putting it to good use!

Great job summing up the various social networking options. Do you have a LinkedIn profile?

Nicole, Thanks so much for the info!!! I just started doing the majority of all of those things. I feel like I am in outer space somewhere! Thanks for giving me a little more clarity!

Rich- Nice to see someone from my neighborhood! I went to Amador and managed to make my way back here after college. Thanks for the nice welcome and I look forward to connecting with you more!

Tony & Darcy- Let me know if you have any questions! Looks like your on your way here at ActiveRain!

Lisa- Thanks....the best way I learn is from making outlines and summaries....so I thought I'd put them to good use now. You can access my Facebook and Linkedin profiles by clicking on the widgets next to my avatar on the right. :)

Thanks for the rational overview of the different sites Nicole. I have been working on three of them just recently (AR since Jan) but I seem to spend much more time on the sites than your suggestion...lots, and lots more time! : )

NOV

2007

Wow, I didn't know there were so many options. thanks Nicole

I'm a member of all the above. I just need to get in there and do something with them! Thanks for the kick! :-)

Great to have your insights here in the Rain, NikNik! I'm working on clarifying a Social Networking/Blog Marketing plan right now, and your bullet points are a big help. Do you have an opinion on Gather? I sat in on one of their sessions at BlogWorld and liked their categories and the search feature.

Believe it or not I have not done the facebook thing. I think I have registered at all the others but I have not done anything with them. I also just added these to my business plan to work on and develop! Thanks for the info!

Great info, Nicole! Thank you!!

Thanks for sharing.I have bookmarked this and will read it again.

Thanks for sharing these sites. I got a few ideas I hadn't thought of before. My problem is that when I set aside a few hours to work these social networking sites, that few hours turns into many more than I planned. It's like writing 1 hour blog. By the time I'm done tweaking it, I've got 2-3 hours into it. Maybe I need to quit analyzing everything so much :-)

thanks for the great post

Nicole,

Thank you for some great suggestions. Have to admit that I haven't tried any of those you suggested other than AR, of course. Maybe I'll include this in my January marketing plan.

Nicole, well thought out and great post. What do you think of Twitter?

Nicole, I was just posting on same thing a couple days ago, and commenters asked me to write a post on how real estate pros could use social network sites to build their business. Here's my post What social networks are you using?

I linked back to yours here.

Welcome aboard! Love the outline format and the clear way you laid out everything needed...

When your day is slow, it is perfect to become more techy. I agree. Get out there on line, work it, read, post, etc. This is part of my education goals. Early morning or nights is a great time to be involved in on-line marketing. Use your day to personally meet with folks, use your evenings to meet folks on line. Thanks for the post. Great reminder of what and what not to do.

Nicole - Welcome to Active Rain! Nice to see you here. Social network marketing is very very important for Real Estate agents. I utilize all that you mentioned and quite a few others.

I think I belong to 8 or maybe 10 social networks. I am thinking about starting one of my own too.

Thanks for the great information. I will get organised

Anne

Great post and links ... thanks for sharing and taking the time to list through different options

Great breakdown, Nicole. I find that some of these portals are easier than others, or maybe I'm showing my age. I spent some time last night trying to get up and running on Facebook, and am not nearly there yet.

Thanks for the info, more stuff I need to work on.

Hi Nicole. I appreciate you posting this information. I've heard of some but also learned of others. Thanks again.

I spent a while posting blog posts on MySpace. Maybe I need to go back and give it some more support... perhaps we need to have an A/R "friending" circle for MySpace...

Good post Nicole. The internet is where young buyers are looking and it is only going to grow.

Hi Nicole, thanks so much! These tips are great and so important!

Thanks for the info. Good stuff to keep close to the computer.

Nicole.. wow, thanks for putting all of this together. I will admit that I need to get involved in 2 others.... I know hte importance, but it's just getting started again. Thanks for the links.... I did do blog log, but I lost my log in when I changed computers. Besides, I was having trouble the widget for my AR side tool bar. I couldn't get it to work. Thanks for putting this together.

Welcome Nicole and thanks for the post.
We still haven't done the Facebook thing yet. Maybe if I can get away from reading all these great posts on A/R we'll dive in. Welcome! Bob and Lisa

Thanks for the info! The linkedin site looks pretty interesting. will explore it further. and i too enjoy networking on the computer. just have to watch how much time i spend on it.

I need to work on my facebook more. I kinda left that behind. Thanks for the post, it was a great reminder.

I am new here-THANK YOU for all the good information.

Heather in Indy

Great information! I have the Active Rain account established and will work on the others. Thanks again for the details.

Nicole: Thank you for sharing this wonderful networking information with us.

I think I heard today that News Corp is looking to acquire Linked In. That would combine the Myspace franchise and Linked In. Not sure what I think, since I find MySpace to be the weakest and most childish of the social networks.

Update: Here's the article Linked In to be purchased? Supplied to me on Twitter by Dustin Luther. Thanks Dustin.

Thankfully I never quite got into the whole MySpace thing....I would be very bummed to have my professional profile changed in any way, or even associated with MySpace.

Thanks for the great info Steve!

As always...job well done. Thanks for the tips.

http://www.classifiedflyerads.com

Sounds like you are an experienced soul when it comes to blogging! Look forward to seeing and hearing your unique experience on this and other topics.

Welcome aboard the AR train!

I remember saying a couple months back that it sure seemed like Linked In had lost it's way. They did a nice job of "linking" then really had nothing more to offer.

Competition has a way of doing that you know. They better sell quick

Great interesting information, thanks Nicole

I've been meaning to check out LinkedIn.com. You've given me motivation to create my profile and might as well join a couple others as well. Thanks for a great post!

Nicole, thanks this one is a bookmark! Well deserved gold star! Thank you.

Hi NikNik! You made it to the DASHBOARD!!! Well deserved too; your knowledge of real estate and technology is always a great read! I look forward to keeping up with all your stuff~ I missed to in P-Town today, I should have given you a ring, :(

Whew.. there is always something new to lean and a LOT more to be doing.

Great post on the generalities of SN. Good to have you in the web2.0 group. I have seen you on mybloglog for quite sometime...I'm glad you are in the rain now! I am giving you 5 stars for this one and featuring you on the web2.0 group.

Thanks Again!

NOV

2007

Hey Nicole. Welcome to the Active Rain online community. I definitely know that you are going to find this site very useful just as it has been very useful to me. Here you are going to meet nothing but the best creative and brilliant real estate agents this business has to offer. Hope to comment to more of your posts soon. Again welcome. Great post.

I need to work on my facebook and linkedin more. I kinda left that behind. Thanks for the post, it was a great reminder.

Thanks for the helpful resources. Networking is very important and knowing that knowledge is priceless.Thanks

Thanks for the pointers! I do pretty well, but could definately improve a bit...

Thanks for the info I am registered on all those sites and even myspace! It all helps!

Great post! It reminded me to make a facebook account :-)

You're an angel

Wow, you got a lot of comments in here. Looks like you hit on something that people find interesting. You provided some great information, if your going to be blogging like all the agents on AR you might as well get in the social networking game with other sites.

-Chris

Welcome & Wow! There is some really helpful stuff here. Thanks for sharing!

DEC

2007

I have been a member of all of these social networks for a little while. I'm interested in how to effectively and effeciently use them for business. AR seems to be pretty easy and I think I get LinkedIn. (I have lots of recommendations and try and answer questions when I can.) Facebook seems to be a lot of noise and static. Does real estate really have a place there?

Well, Geordie I can see you are a well engrained active rainer and reaping the benefits! I like Linkedin for it's professionalism and keeping my resume and professional development in one neat and tidy place.

As for Facebook, I think the major benefit is connecting with your sphere and providing transparency. People get more of a chance to find out about you and relate to you as a person. There are so many great apps like Blog Friends, which provides you with another opportunity for blog exposure and sharing your RSS feed with friends, and friends of friends. Creating a "service page" and inviting all your contacts/sphere that are on Facebook to become "fans" gives you an area to share RE & Geordie updates. And what about professional contacts like the pro-bloggers you come into contact with on a daily basis. (Fan me: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=6003288163) Being able to message contacts through Facebook helps keep the flow of regular emails down and provides safe contact without giving out your email address to everyone. I also like putting names with faces when I attend events like NAR and Inman. With Facebook, I feel like the "first meeting" already took place and it's easier to connect with colleagues.

Just a few thoughts. Not all social networks are created equally...so do what works for you. :)

DEC

2007

Thank you for sharing this,

DEC

2007

Nicole,

There are many great ways to get our name out there and many are free. I have signed up for many, yet have time for few....Active Rain is my main one daily.

APR

2008

Hi Nicole,

Sounds like you have got a great system for following up and staying in touch with your customers.

As a retired Realtor after 19 years in the business in South Florida, it's refreshing to see how you demonstrate your professionalism in real estate.

Way to go Nicole. Hope you're making tons of money.

Best Regards,

Chet Waters

P.S. "Learn How To Find Your BMW And At The Price You Can Afford." Go To:

http://www.bmwsauctions.com/

APR

2008

Great information, Nicole. Just started social networking a few weeks ago and I have already grown to love it, particularly here at AR.

APR

2008

NikNik - LOVE the layout of your blog! Welcome to AR. I'm not too fond of blogging due to time constraints so AR helps me do that when I get the opportunity. I do use the following sites though:

Facebook

I also use Plaxo Pulse but not very often.

Networking events still work so don't sleep on them. It's alway nice to finally meet the person who you may be "friends" with online.

Ral Ndubaku
Commercial Brokers International

MAY

2008

All those are great sites, but I've never heard of bloglog before, thanks for mentioning it, I'll check it out soon!

Hi Nicole,

Thanks for the advice, all of it good! My boyfriend lives in Livermore...haven't been there yet, but hoping to get there soon. We are doing a bi-coastal thing ;)

Nik Nik,

Thanks for reminding me of Mybloglog - I forgot all about it and I'm sure it needs updating!

Tina in Virginia

Hi Nik Nik -- How odd and how cool that I just saw this blog. I'm bookmarking it to add to my "care plan" for my presence in the blogosphere. Thanks (belatedly) for writing this post!

MAY

2008

Nice post with lots of interesting comments. You'll be surprised at the pearls of wisdom in comments posted to blogs.

JUN

2008

I've done it all, except Facebook. I can't get past the feeling that this is TOO social and not enough about business. I'd feel very uncomfortable putting anything on Facebook. So please what can you say to get me past this feeling?

JUN

2008

thanks for all the info..it seems that you have spent some serious time with the different social networking sites...thanks for sharing.

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