Advanced Access Blog

Conversations between a real estate agent and client used to begin with a referral or search through a phone book or other community directory. Then they would speak on the phone and, if all went well, meet in person. Sometimes agents would get those phone calls just seeking advice for a future transaction, but the agent knew if they were helpful, it would make the client more likely to call back when they were ready to do business. With 80% of home buyers beginning their search online, it seems the conversation has moved. Now, clients are using various sites (it’s not just Google anymore) to find all the information they can before they formally contact an agent.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about using Yahoo Answers to engage people in conversation. Yahoo Answers is an easy way to provide your real estate expertise to people in your area, and even from outside your areas of service. It is a great way to find out what people are asking about or thinking about when it comes to real estate.

This is part of the interactive Web (Web 2.0). It is another way to “pound the pavement” to make connections. And it is more important than ever.

The first thing to understand about using social connections online to generate business is that it won’t always generate business. It is the same concept of walking door to door passing out your notepads and American flags on holidays, hoping you get to shake hands with someone and plant a seed to earn their business. Canvassing your neighborhood to connect with people and establish yourself as a trusted name in real estate is still important, it’s just that the neighborhood has changed a bit.

One thing people often overlook is how wonderfully the Internet is divided into billions of little sections. If you want to find people who only wear blue, you can. There is probably some forum somewhere that people are having serious conversations about wearing blue. The same is true for real estate, except it’s a far less obscure subject. There are not only mainstream social sites, but there are niche social sites specifically for real estate. And, you’re in luck, real estate is one of the hot topics of the day!

The only way to truly understand the best way to navigate a social site and become involved in the community is to join and click around. Each site is a different experience for each person. If you want a place to start, I bet you can find some friends and clients you know on Facebook. Start there, and look for all the real estate groups and join some that you find interesting, or start your own. You know how to talk to people already; you do it all the time. Now you can pound the pavement 2.0 style: wearing pajamas and drinking your coffee!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 at 4:48 pm and is filed under Social Media, Weekly Marketing Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.