One huge mistake that many people make in Social Media is trying to personify themself as perfect. Let me ask you a question. Who do you trust more, a knowledgeable person who doesn't appear to have a single fault or a knowledgeable person who is willing to admit they make a mistake now and then?
If you said the knowledgeable person who makes an occasional error, your being honest. That raises a question. Why would you choose the knowledgeable person with some flaws over a perfect person?
The answer is simple...because there is no perfect person in today's world and deep down we all know it. Why then are we as real estate professionals sometimes afraid to give the public a more authentic view of who we are?
The reason I bring this up is because when it comes to Social Media, that is an essential element to getting more business from the online world. If we come off as someone perfect, devoid of any kind of unique personality, with no shortcomings, we cannot hope to attract people to a place where they truly trust us.
That doesn't mean that we come off as crass, egotistical or selfish, but merely that we allow for the fact that we have genuine opinions or admit to our own mistakes at times. When we are willing to admit where we might have made a mistake, people see us as real people, just like themselves. Of course we need to have the knowledge of real estate that the public is trusting us to have, but we do not pretend to be something we're not.
In my own case, I realized that I didn't know as much about Social Media as I should. I also recognized that whether I like it or not, Social Media is, and will continue to play an important part in our Profession. The old school of real estate is just that...old. Today people are interacting with each other on a level that was simply not possible a few short years ago. To ignore it, is to lose business. None of us can afford to lose business in our current economic climate.
The lesson that I was taught by my personal Social Media mentor, is that we make use of this new medium in a way that is believable and reflects who we are as people. Don't ever be afraid to show the online world who you are as a person and what you stand for. Again, you want to demonstrate your professionalism, but you want to do so as an expert with real thoughts, feelings and passions. You may make mistakes along the way, but by showing people you're not afraid to be wrong, they will see you as a believable person rather than an image that they cannot connect with on an emotional level.
There is a great quote I remember hearing from an expert that said, "In a virtual world where nothing is real, people crave authenticity." He went on to say that if you are passionate, truthful and someone who is willing to take the lead by uniting a group of people for a common cause...success will have no choice but follow you. This is called Personal Branding.
But many agents lack the confidence or 'know how' to Brand themselves in this new online Social Medium. How do you gain the know how and confidence you need to become a leader in the new era of Social Media? Stay tuned for the next post.
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