Social Media - It's Not For Blatant Advertising Folks!

That's like the agents that answer questions on sites like Trulia:  "Hire me and I will get you all the money for your home," or, one of my favorites, "Call me even though I'm in a different state 3,000 miles away and I will help you find an agent in your town."

Even buyers and sellers don't want the hard sell.  And I'm sure they don't need you to make a referral fee by referring them to an agent you probably don't even know...

Renae, I agree "not so subtle spamming" (it is what it is) really has no place on the social sites.

"Without the nurturing of intelligence, stupidity will spread and grow like weeds!" --K.C. The Prosperitor!™

Building friendships on social networks will generate lots of business.

"Select potential friends and business associates as you would select your attire. Search for QUALITY... you will be happy much, much longer!" --K.C. The Prosperitor!™

Many people that join social sites think they can generate business quickly with "not so subtle spamming". The feel the don't have the time to get to know and connect with people their only concern is how quickly they can turn connections into dollar signs. Building quality friendships take time so the time must be wisely used to nurture long term relationships that will be beneficial for all parties and reap tangible and intangible prosperity. Taking the time is vital!

"Time is not created equal. Time for things we WANT to do can be easily found... Time for things we NEED to do is much more proficient at hiding!" --K.C. The Prosperitor!™

You have said something you felt needed to be said, and I fully understand and see your frustration.

"Fearlessly and confidently say things that need to be said, only when they will aid in the realization of improvement!" --K.C. The Prosperitor!

Here are the basics of sales that these individuals are not aware of or don't care about:

1. People do not like to be "sold", they like to "buy".
2. Buying is emotional; people buy based on emotion then justify with logic.
2. People want to buy from people they know and like (not strangers that spam them).
3. People buy wants and needs.
4. People want and need solutions.

To be successful in selling (even on social sites):

Get to know your contacts and let them get to know and like you, find out what is giving them a headache and present them with the cure.

I realize this may not be easy and quick, but this is the right way and the foundation of the relationship will be solid and long lasting.

Hopefully those needing this information will take the time to read and absorb this information.

"If you think it's hard giving a gift to someone that has everything... Try giving information to someone that knows everything!" --K.C. The Prosperitor!™

Stay positive, do not fall into doing things other than the way you really feel they should be done!

“Being POSITIVE ADDS to you… Being NEGATIVE SUBTRACTS from you… It’s simple math!” --K.C. The Prosperitor!™


Be Prosperous!

K.C. The Prosperitor!™

"High levels of success may be easier to achieve than most people realize. So many successful people are so enamored with their achievements they often fail to rise to their capabilities, thus leaving lots of room at the top!" --K.C. The Prosperitor!™

I'm not quite sure if K.C.'s tongue is in his cheek or not, but...

Well said!  I'm amazed at the different relationships that I've formed  on Twitter - it's NOT about advertising ourselves, but about just connecting to other people.  I'm not about to refer a client to someone that I don't feel I know well enough to entrust them to, and you don't get to know someone thru blast ads.  I've learned so much about people that I just knew as agents from participating there and it's given me a new respect for so many of them.

Yes, Lisa... it is all about connecting with people! I'm sure you may have heard the saying, "People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care!" Often times people on the social networks will hit you with a sales pitch before they even know what it is that you do. In those instances it's pretty easy to spot what it is that they care about, separating you from your cash!

Be Prosperous!

K.C. The Prosperitor!™

"Select potential friends and business associates as you would select your attire. Search for QUALITY... you will be happy much, much longer!" --K.C. The Prosperitor!™

I may be wrong, but I don't think anybody is going to get a job through Twitter.  There must be something wrong with me, because Twitter is the most useless thing to me that I've seen lately.  Some of my friends do the Twit thing all day long...talking about going to the store, etc...but it's just not me, I guess.

What I do think is that if you do a detailed, honest, and well-presented profile on the other social sites, and you have some testimonials on there with contact info to give out references, it's a good way to advertise.  I've had several Realtors call me and say they saw me on LinkedIn or Plaxo.  I personally think Facebook is more for fun, as is MySpace.  But the more you do, with some links pointing to them, you will show up in Google under your keyphrases.  It's easier if you are localized, and harder if you're trying to be generic.  "Real Estate SEO" is much harder to show for than "Real Estate SEO Myrtle Beach". 

I tend to look at everything through Google glasses...:-)

I do agree with you that pushing yourself on any social site is tacky, though.  Almost as bad as spam emails.  You couldn't pay me to hire somebody for anything when they email me out of the blue.

Jan

Well said.  In agreement with Don's comment regarding Trulia - not only does it annoy me with agents thousands of miles away..how about the agents that post questions to drum up business...such as -  Are you looking to buy a waterfront home? Call me, I specialize in waterfront properties or the ones that don't even ask a question but just call me to buy waterfront properties...hence its a question/answer forum if you can't understand that part of Trulia perhaps you shouldn't be on it.  Honestly, I always report that type of question as (spam) to the Trulia moderators and I must say that Emily of Trulia does delete their post and advise them they are not in compliance with Trulia Community Guidelines. 

I must also disagree with Jan. Profiles and references are written to show the individual in a positive light, they are both what is "said". Twitter let's you get a real good feel of the individual because it shows what he or she is "doing" rather than "saying". Yes, the input on Twitter can also be manipulated, however it gives a more conclusive and human picture of the individual when used in conjunction with profiles and references.

Be Prosperous!

K.C. The Prosperitor!™

"Select potential friends and business associates as you would select your attire. Search for QUALITY... you will be happy much, much longer!" --K.C. The Prosperitor!™

Hi Renae, I think that there is so much "selling" today that people are just sick of it.  Let's build some relationships first -put people first - the rest then just falls into place.  Thanks for the post!

I agree.  I hate to have someone shove what they do in my face.  Especially if they're the kind to do it over and over again.  Even with the age of business cards, we didn't just walk up to people and shove a card in their face and say "hire me."  We struck up conversation and gave them reason to want to get and keep our business card.  Why did that change because we are no longer face-to-face?

Kathy

I can't remember where I first heard it, but it was suggested that the business to non-business tweet ratio should be about 12 to 1. People on social networks are quick to reject a marketing barrage. On Twitter it's a fast way to get unfollowed.

I would also agree...I don't think Twitter or any of the social networking sites are an open invitation to have you send "HIRE ME" requests...besides, I wouldn't hire anyone I didn't know or wasn't referred to me...which is yet another reason to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS!

As a marketer who uses social networking for all sorts of reasons I think one of the benefits of participating (key word) is that over time people will find you via the social web you leave behind.  There is no reason to say 'buy my stuff' or 'hire me' if you participate, build relationships and just enjoy meeting and interacting with other people.

I'm with you guys....one thing to socialize...and another to do a ME syndrome. ewww.

Nothing beats belly to belly relationship building!  Nice post that highlights what agents have done to cheapen their image.

People do not like to be "sold", they like to "buy". So true.

It's not about giving out your business cards to everyone you meet - it's about having someone ask to have your business card.

It's pull vs push - let the client choose what they want to do, when they want to do it, and who they want to do it with.

Myrick, I understand where you're coming from in regards to "just giving out your business cards". There's a lot of reasons not to do that. I teach real estate agents to not use "business cards" but to use "business marketing cards"! I am not talking about semantics here. I show them a technique that makes it easy to approach a total stranger, build a connection, and have them actually hold on to the card so that they can send people his or her way!

Bravo, Renee!

And I thought it was only myself who was irritated with some of the blatant hard selling on social networks!  As you and I have known one another for quite some time, I should have suspected you would have the same feeling!

I enjoy building relationships (and I do some some "new" friends I met on Facebook here replying to your post - so, you see it works ;-)) and have never enjoyed begging or bragging for business. I just let my reputation speak for me - some will like me and others will not - but it makes for much more pleasant day working with the ones I have formed great relationships with!

I recently witness this "relationship thing" work when someone I knew from a social network and I started working together.  You see, because we had already built a relationship, he knew exactly what I was about and I knew he was an ideal client.  A complete match made in heaven!  Give me more of those!

Giving of yourself without expecting anything in return is one of the grandest feelings in this world.  Social networking allows us to do just that - and then be rewarded not only with friendship but, sometimes so much more!

As in any business, the ones who scream (or complain) will certainly weed themselves out of any business. We are only  the better for understanding building relationships is where it is at.