The Pope Is Using Social Media - Shouldn't You?

I was reading a post about Google & SEO on WebProNews when I saw a link to a story about the Pope using social media The Pope Urges Priest to Get On The Blogsphere.

I learned the Pope has a FaceBook app (application), a Vatican YouTube Channel, a website P2Y (Pope To You) and an iPhone app (available in 8 languages). I was unable to find Pope Benedict XVI on Twitter (at least not the real Pope) but I'm sure we will see it soon.

I'm not Catholic, nor particularly religious. But with all due respect, Pope Benedict XVI has got it going on when it comes to social media.

Pope Benedict XVI is nearly 83 years old. He is the leader (you could say Chief Executive Officer) of one of the oldest, most well known and respected, and arguably, one of the most conservative organizations in the world. An he is urging priests to embrace social media in order to spread thier message.

Here's an excerpt from the Pope's speech for World Communications Day:

'The spread of multimedia communications and its rich "menu of options" might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web, or to see it only as a space to be filled. Yet priests can rightly be expected to be present in the world of digital communications as faithful witnesses to the Gospel, exercising their proper role as leaders of communities which increasingly express themselves with the different "voices" provided by the digital marketplace. Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis.'

Not that the Pope needs my vote of confidence, but I think his embracement of social media is brilliant.

What does this have to do with real estate?

I frequently meet real estate professionals who say "I've sold houses for X years the old fashioned way, and I see no reason to change now" or "All that social media stuff is just a fad that will fade away. I don't see a reason to put any effort into it". The Catholic Church was doing things "the old fashioned way" for a whole lot longer, and they've seen fit to incorporate social media into their outreach program. I wonder if the anti-social media crowd understands all the missed opportunities their head-in-the-sand stance costs them.

I'm active on Twitter and Facebook, and I have gotten jobs because of that. My social media activity is introducing me to a much larger sphere of potential clients. I got a home staging job a few months ago, just because I was active on Twitter. The clients found me on Twitter and hired me because I was on Twitter (They were in their early 30's and worked for Google).

The Pope has decided that the best way to reach the people he wants to reach is to employ both traditional and "the latest generation of audiovisual resources". Because of that he is able to reach out to many more people, not just people who do things the traditional way.

We should all be taking a page from the Vatican's social media playbook. If you're not doing so already, start embracing the Internet and social media to get your message to the people you want to reach - potential clients. 

Photo Credit: Sam Herd on Flickr

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2010 RESA Professional Stager of the Year

Michelle Minch, owner of Moving Mountains Design, is one of the most successful home stagers in Los Angeles, CA.

Michelle measures her success by the speed in which her staged homes sell, often with multiple offers above listing price. She works with home sellers, listing agents and asset managers to prepare homes for sale.

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