Avoiding The Social Media Traps

This is so true!  Nowadays we've been bombarded by all the blogging and social media.  In order to keep up with all the sites and blogging, I won't have any energy to take care of REAL estate sale. I don't believe I even have enough time to sleep.  I'm big supporter on "NO SOCIAL MEDIA". 

Hi Gary, great post and excellent points.  Social media can be a real time trap.

☔ Gary, you took some thoughts right out of my head with this well written post!  I've been re-thinking the whole 'online social scene' too these days.  As with anything 'new' it has it's good points and well it's 'not so good side'.  You've done well in pointing out the difference.   

Happy New Year my friend!

Pamela

P.S congrats on the 

As with anything balance is the key, just how much time do you dedicate to social media? Looks like its not going away anytime soon so do as the romans.  Do you all have a social media policy in your brokers policy handbook? If you don't have one you might think about adding it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Gary, for posting this!   It is nice to be reminded to step back and take note of what's the best use of time and the importance of personal contacts especially in our line of work.   I just got a big listing this winter and you know what sealed the deal?  A personally-written thank you note from me to the clients thanking them for the listing meeting.    Social media is here to stay, and I do find it useful in a lot of ways.  I'm interested to see where it all leads but I, for one, will not forsake my old-school ways over social media.

Gary,

Too many are opining with uncertainty and think this equals the facts if shouted loud enough via social media.  That's why we have reduced some of our social media to add more healthy habits back into our lifestyle... g

I find that time usually becomes the issue as you can become swallowed in spending time with these sites. For most it is important to remember that just because your are posting or prospecting with these tools, it is not a replacement for getting out and actually meeting people.

Very well said. I've learn to balance this a bit now. I don't check in to everywhere I go or tag who I am with. I usually reply to other people's comments. It's a great way to take a temperature on how my "friends" are feeling about the real estate market. It's a great way to pass along great articles like yours! I take social media as a great tool for the search engines to find you. I use my personal page to post successful closings. I have received 3 listings from my facebook page. I've run into people on my FB page that have told me that follow me and am considering selling their homes.

social media is great but can be addictive and time consuming .. .learned to do just a little  ... goes a long way

Time trap and many times a time waster!  Using applications such as Manic Time and RescueTime are great with helping to reduce the amount of time wasted on social media.  Overall a great post! Thank you Gary!

Gary~nice post and will agree you have a point but remember there are ways to make it look like you are on social sites a lot and but not really are. There are programs that you can schedule posts so they drip out throughout the day. You want and need a preseance to make social media work and these programs help with time management.

Personally it's the time management skills that you need the most. Good luck!

Gary, I agree that social media can become a time trap if not managed properly. However, I don't agree that it is a waste of time or that the interactions that you have are not real. I use social media to stay in front of people that I really know! I find it's a great way to pop into the minds of many people in your sphere on a regular basis IN ADDITION to the face to face meetings and phone calls.

I like the warnings in your article though! Cheers!

You have made some excellent poits about social media draining our time.  I have been concentrating on balance lately.

Congrats on the featured post.  I too find social media very interesting.  Personally, I'm still striving to find the right balance that will allow me to share good info in a timely manner. 

Good post and yes, it's all about the balance and the ROI with the social media you are doing. Two of the best strategies for success when using social media is to do some 'guest blogging' and writing comments to develop relationships with people you want to know better.

Thanks...I'll forward this to my wife!

As long as we can stay productive and not forget about those that do not use these networks, we will succeed!

Well put Gary as you also need personal interaction to build/maintain the relationship.  I just posted about how to "Demystify Social Media" in an effort to help give some ideas on that.

So glad to see this post Gary!  Meeting face to face with people is still important.  In some ways, social media has caused people to become more isolated.  Our time is valuable and must be used wisely.