I feel part of my job as a Real Estate Virtual Assistant is to be on top of the latest marketing techniques. I take the time to educate myself in the latest tools needed to build a successful real estate business. I then share what I have learned with my clients to help them grow their businesses. I am currently taking a 4 week course with Social Media Magic learning how to create a strategic and comprehensive social media marketing campaign for real estate. Here is what I have gleaned from the first course… I’m sure you have heard the latest catch phrase, social media. Like me, you probably realize that social media has to do with sharing photos with friends, telling about the great party you went to last night and what you are having for dinner tonight. You may not understand what it has to do with your real estate business. Sure all the real estate trainers say you need to be on Facebook and Twitter, but what exactly IS social media and WHY do you and your real estate business need a presence there!! What is Social Media? Social media is a complex, organic online conversation between multiple people. The keyword here is ‘conversation’. In the old Web 1.0 Internet, you had no interaction or relationship with people. Your website is most likely is very static. The content doesn’t change much and there is no real time interaction. With the new Web 2.0, which social media is a part of, you are involving people in your business and empowering them to have a relationship with you. Social media is not just Facebook and Twitter. It does include social media networks, but also includes, blogs, microblogs, video and photo sharing, message boards, wiki, virtual reality, social gaming, podcasts and Real Simple Syndication (RSS). Why Do You Want to Participate In Social Media? <!--more--> Your clients and prospects are there and you want to know what they are talking about. Social media websites are the fastest growing category of the Internet and doubled in size in the last year.*
- 73% of Internet users have read a blog
- 45% have started their own blog
- 39% subscribe to an RSS feed
- 57% have joined a social network
- 55% have uploaded photos834 % have watched video clips
Of all social media site users:
- 33% use social media to research products before deciding to buy
- 47% are influenced by social media to buy specific brands
- 26% have decided not to buy a specific product because of social media
- Facebook has 600,000 new users DAILY!
How Can Social Media Benefit My Real Estate Business? 
Implementing a social media marketing strategy will
- Provide exposure 63% of business owners increased exposure to their business through social media marketing
- Increase traffic 80% of business owners increased traffic to their website and 67% increased email/newsletter lists
- Build new business partnerships 62% of business owners closed new business and established new business partnerships
- Increase leads 50% of business owners increased the number of new leads
5 Step Process to Increased Business with Social Media There is a 5 step process to increasing your real estate business through social media. 1. Develop a Social Media Marketing Strategy Create a strategy to: give exposure to your services, to create new business by converting prospects into clients, to reinforce credibility and retain clients and improve search engine visibility. 2. Establish your social media presence with profiles on various social media networking sites. 3. Expand your reach by inviting prospects to join your networks. 4. Nurture relationships by updating your profile and joining in discussions. 5. Properly maintain your presence through consistency. Top Social Media Websites for Your Real Estate Business
- Twitter (www.twitter.com) – 86% of users of social media are here
Twitter is a microblog with posts limited to 140 characters. Here you can share timely information, promote contests, share useful links, personify your brand, build credibility and follow competitors
- LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) – 78% of social media users are here
- Facebook (www.facebook.com) – 77 of social media user are here
With LinkedIn and Facebook you can share photos, video, audio and links. Send private messages and instant messages. Join groups and gain fans. You can create a page to promote your business. Point fans to your blog and encourage and join in discussions. Dominant Niche Sites
- www.Biznik.com
- www.Plaxo.com
- www.FastPitch.com
- www.ActiveRain.com
- www.Localism.com
- www.Meetup.com
- www.Yelp.com
- www.Trulia.com
- www.Zillow.com
Like any marketing strategy, social media marketing for real estate takes a commitment. Anyone can setup a profile, but it is what you do after that that counts. Did you ever create a geographic farm? To be successful in a farm you couldn’t mail one flyer or one postcard. But planted many seeds and your success came after many months of working in that farm. It wasn’t a one shot deal. Social media is virtual farming. You are planting seeds through conversation and interaction. Like your geographic farm, it will take time to produce results. But your consistent efforts will result in increased leads, increased exposure, and increased business. And the good is your consistent efforts can be outsourced to a real estate virtual assistant who understands social media marketing! * All statistics provided by SocialMediaMagic.com.
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