I do have a Social Networking Business Plan. It's pretty simple really, and I don't confuse "social" social networking with "business" social networking. Like all of you, I do run a business, and my social networking plan directs my efforts to those aspects that can grow my business. Sometimes I wander, but not often. There are far too many things out there that are just "time wasters."
It's cute to Tweet but I don't believe that you'll find any agent who can tell you that they derive most of their business from Twitter. Same with Facebook, Linked In, Yammer, MySpace, etc. I'm talking about solid leads, or solid referrals that actually generate business.
The two solid performers for me are, my websites with IDX, and Active Rain. It's taken a while for me to get the "hyper local" benefit of Active Rain but I'll be devoting more of my efforts towards the Localism side.
Don't get me wrong, Social Networking sites do have a place in a business plan, just not as the primary focus. Not yet anyway. That may change several years down the road but right now, I don't believe that you can measure their effectiveness in any meaningful way. If you have that extra hour you should devote it to a good local content blog, or your website. Who really cares that you just ordered a double latte at Starbucks, in a 140 characters.
The ones who are going to put money in your pocket are the ones who do a "real estate search" on Google, or any of the other search engines. If you don't show up high in the results, nobody is going to care that you have a thousand followers on Twitter, or eight hundred friends on Facebook.
In real estate, everything you do to attract clients works, to a degree. As a business owner, your efforts should be concentrated on those activities that can generate the most business. I love Twitter and Facebook, but for my business, right now they have to take a back seat. I am there to some degree, because I don't want to be late to the party if their effectiveness in driving leads ever changes.
If you want to follow me on the Twitter link below, please do. Just keep your expectations low :)
Richard Iarossi, REALTOR®
Long and Foster® Real Estate, Inc.
Crofton, MD 21114
410-451-6255 Office
443-995-9595 Cell
Web: http://www.RichSellsHomes.com
eMail: Rich@RichSellsHomes.com
Annapolis MD Real Estate Specialist
Bowie MD Real Estate Specialist
Crofton MD Real Estate Specialist
©2009 - RichSellsHomes, All Rights Reserved
