Spring is a great time to get out and network. This is especially true when your livelihood depends on the real estate market. Isn't Spring traditionally the kickstart of the home buying season in most parts of the country?
The past couple of weeks, I've been bouncing around the Denver metro area to various networking events. Last week I attended a Houzz event at BAC Appliance Center in Englewood CO. Over three hundred design and building professionals showed up to enjoy a yummy buffet and sip wine and beer. The highlight of the event was a presentation by Lindsey from Houzz on how to tweak and upgrade your professional profile on Houzz.com.
Apparently Houzz was the brainchild of an eBay exec and his wife. It now hosts over 3 million photos uploaded by home building and interior design professionals like myself. If you're in the market for a home update or renovation, Houzz is a fabulous online magazine experience with endless inspiration. It's a little like Pinterest on steroids. Once you start looking at photos…. you can't stop. Maybe it's like potato chips!
Last week I also attended a Google+ workshop given by +Sandra Watson of ABCs of Google+ held at Mountain View Window and Door.
Listening to Sandra was eye opening. Google knows more about us than I realized. Not only has our browsing history been collected since day one but also Google is using facial recognition software to verify who we are and our footprint online. Her advice was to match your profile photo and make sure it's up to date.
Google's market share is now 67% of all US searches. To ignore Google+ is to ignore a substantial player in creating your online brand awareness.
One last tip from Sandra. Your own personal profile is more important than your business profile. People want to engage with you, they don't want to be marketed to.
Creating relationships one on one. I keep hearing that over and over. I'm having fun connecting one on one through my networking. So much more fun than sitting at a computer.
So the answer to the question. What do Google+ and Houzz have in common? Two powerhouse social networking sites for you if you are a design, real estate or home building professional.
Hope you're ready for spring thaw. I am enjoying my first Denver winter. Everyone said the winters here aren't really that bad and they're right. Snow followed by sunshine and biking weather is fine with me!
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