Social Media for Real Estate Agents (2011)

Social Media for Real Estate Agents

Presented by Paul Roetzer, PR 20/20 February 23, 2011

A Continuing Education course sponsored by First Federal of Lakewood

Challenges and Concerns

• Unknown marketing tactics

• Personal vs. professional use

•  Loss of privacy

• Doing it wrong

• Time commitment

• Measuring effectiveness

• Disclosing too much information to competitors

Agenda

1) What is Social Media?

2) Why Does it Matter?

3) What Can You Do To Get Started?

About PR 20/20

• Brand marketing

• Website development

• Search marketing

• Social media

• Content marketing

• Public relations

Inbound marketing agency & PR firm

What is Social Media?

What is Social Media?

• Consumer-generated content. We are all the media, the publishers.

• People trusting the opinions of their peers and collaborating online to help and support each other.

• Consumers choosing when and where to interact with brands. Tuning out of traditional, outbound marketing.

What is Social Media?

•  Listening, learning and building relationships. • Building authentic and personal connections.

• Creating value.

What Social Media is NOT?

SELLING

What is Social Media?

Social Media by the Numbers

16+ billion core searches conducted in August 2010

Source: comScore, Inc

1.9 billion online videos are streamed each month on Google Sites (mostly YouTube)

Source: comScore, Inc

There are more than 145 million Twitter users

LinkedIn has more than 85 million members in 200+ countries and territories around the world

Source: LinkedIn

More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.)

shared each month on Facebook

Source: Facebook.com

• More than 600 million members on Facebook.

• Average user has 130 friends. • People spend more than 700 billion minutes per month

on Facebook.

•  50% of active users log on to Facebook at least once each day.

• Average user creates 90 pieces of content each month.

Source: Facebook.com

• Social networking use among internet users ages 50 and older nearly doubled—from 22% in April 2009 to 42% in May 2010.

• Between April 2009 and May 2010, social networking use among internet users ages 50-64 grew by 88%—from 25% to 47%.

• During the same period, use among those ages 65 and older grew 100%—from 13% to 26%.

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project

•  200,000+ real estate professionals are on ActiveRain, the world’s largest real estate online network.

•  1,700+ LinkedIn Groups relating to “Realtors.”

• Among respondents to the National Association of Realtors’ 2010 REALTOR® Technology Survey, the majority have an account with Facebook (85%) and/or with LinkedIn (64%).

•  84% of the respondents who took the NAR survey indicated they use social media to some extent.

Sources: ActiveRain, LinkedIn, National Association of Realtors

Source: NAR Center for REALTOR Technology

Source: NAR Center for REALTOR Technology

Source: NAR Center for REALTOR Technology

Source: NAR Center for REALTOR Technology

Section Summary

• Social media is about creating value and building relationships, not selling.

• Millions of people are using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and search engines to create content, communicate, collaborate, gather information and share.

• Real estate professionals are becoming increasingly active in social media to build their careers and grow their businesses.

Why Does Social Media Matter?

Social Media Goals

Generate Leads & Build Loyalty

“I skate to where the puck is going, not to where it has been.” — Wayne Gretzky

The Facts

Social media should be an essential component of every organization’s integrated marketing strategy, and every professional’s career and business development plans.

The Facts

It’s irrelevant if you personally use or believe in the value. It’s what matters to your current and future clients, prospects, peers, colleagues and partners.

The Facts

The Facts

Social media presents an opportunity for real estate pros to differentiate themselves and build strong personal brands that directly impact their success.

So what’s the ROI?

More important question: What is the cost of doing nothing?

How Do You Measure Success?

It is NOT a direct ROI.

How Do You Measure Success?

But it is measurable

• Reach (followers, friends, fans)

• Referrals

• New clients

• Repeat purchases (i.e. loyalty)

• Engagement

• Website traffic

How Do You Measure Success?

• Social media gives professionals the ability to generate leads and build loyalty.

• Social media is essential to connect with audiences and build personal brands.

• It’s not about the ROI, but it is measurable.

Section Summary

7 Steps to Get Started

1.  Define and differentiate your brand.

2.  Profile your buyer personas.

3.  Know your goals (and theirs).

4.  Establish or enhance your presence.

5.  Listen and learn.

6.  Create value.

7.  Measure and evolve.

Define and Differentiate Your Brand

What is a brand?

Brand = experiences + perceptions

Defining your personal brand

• What’s important to you.

• What do you value.

• Where are you going.

• What are you doing.

• Whom are you with.

• What do you buy.

• What do you think.

• What are you passionate about.

Profile your buyer personas.

Defining your buyer personas

• What are their goals and aspirations?

• What motivates and inspires them?

• What are their problems/pains/obstacles?

•  How do they consume information (online and offline)?

• What/whom influences their buying decisions?

• What's important to them?

Other buyer-persona criteria • Geography

•  Demographics

•  Career

•  Preferred communications

•  Buying cycle

•  Home style and features

•  Budget

•  DIYer

•  Lifestage

•  Technographics (social media activity)

How do you research personas?

•  Draw on your experience. •  Analyze customer database.

• Monitor/participate in social networks. •  Ask them.

•  Budget: $175,000

•  Age: 25-30

•  Current Status: Renter

•  Property Type: Single, townhome

•  Current Community: Lakewood, Rocky River, Westlake

•  Interests: Golf, nightlife, parks/rec

•  DIYer: No

•  Desired Location: West side

•  Timing: Next 3 months

•  Influencers: Parents, girlfriend, friends (not in that order)

•  Technographics: Creator

“Single Steve ”

“Newly Wed Wendy” •  Budget: $300,000

•  Age: 28-35

•  Current Status: Owner

•  Property Type: Single

•  Current Community: Medina, Strongsville, Brunswick

•  Interests: Schools, shopping, dining, community center, parks, safety

•  DIYer: Yes

•  Desired Location: Southern suburbs

•  Timing: Now

•  Influencers: Spouse, friends, family

•  Technographics: Critic, Conversationalist

Know Your Goals (and Theirs).

Your goals

• Create connections and build stronger relationships.

• Build your personal brand and profile within the industry.

• Stay on top of industry news and trends.

•  Learn from your peers.

• Nurture referral sources.

• Expand your business development network.

• Monitor and engage with industry influentials/thought leaders.

Their goals

•  Knowledge

•  Confidence

•  Peace of mind

•  Trust

Establish or Enhance Your Presence.

Building powerful profiles

•  Secure your name on major networks.

•  Build your profiles to be found.

•  Consider your personal brand and your buyer personas.

•  Include photos.

•  Pick your applications for monitoring and participation.

What NOT to do

• Pay for followers.

• Send auto-DMs on Twitter.

• Be too self-promotional (you want to balance between networking, self-promotional and property promotion).

• Be too general (you want to stick to your local market and niche audience).

Resources

•  Twitter Strategy: The Incomplete Guide for Beginners — Paul Roetzer, PR 20/20

•  6-Step Corporate LinkedIn Strategy — Tracy DiMarino, PR 20/20

•  Foursquare, and the Mobilization of Social Media — Todd Carpenter, National Association of Realtors

•  3 Tips for Building Your Facebook Network — Laurel Miltner, PR 20/20

•  Facebook for Business Marketing Hub — HubSpot

•  Twitter Marketing Hub — HubSpot

Listen and Learn.

Monitor connections and communities

•  Set up Google Alerts.

•  Subscribe to top blogs via emails and RSS feeds.

•  Install phone and desktop applications.

•  Join groups, “Like” pages and create “lists”.

•  Follow influentials.

Create Value.

Participate and publish

•  Share articles and ideas.

•  Post updates.

•  Provide tips and insight. •  Support communities and local businesses.

•  Feature peers and competitors.

•  Engage with audiences.

•  Leave comments.

•  Answer questions.

Measure and Evolve.

RECAP: 7 Steps to Get Started

1.  Define and differentiate your brand.

2.  Profile your buyer personas.

3.  Know your goals (and theirs).

4.  Establish or enhance your presence.

5.  Listen and learn.

6.  Create value.

7.  Measure and evolve.

Case Studies: Pros Integrating Social Media Into Their Businesses

Case Study #1: Carole Cohen

Source: http://www.clevelandrealestatenews.com/

Case Study #2: Jay Thompson

Source: http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/

Case Study #3: Teresa Boardman

Source: http://www.stpaulrealestateblog.com/

Resources •  National Association of Realtors - The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF

REALTORS®, “The Voice for Real Estate”. •  REALTOR Magazine – the official magazine of the National Association of

Realtors that offers real estate agent tips, trends, data and more. •  Speaking of Real Estate – Realtor Magazine’s blog that offers timely

insights and observations from the editors of REALTOR Magazine. •  American Trust Escrow Blog – Technology Tip Tuesday – Tips for

Realtors on technology, social media and internet marketing. •  RIS Media – The Leader in Real Estate Information Systems that is home

to real estate publications, current news, preferred providers, events and RealTown’s social networking platform.

•  Cyberhomeblog.com – Blog that covers real estate technology, ideas and professional insight.

•  PR 20/20 Inbound Marketing Blog – The PR 20/20 public relations and marketing blog features trends, news, resources and technologies for underdogs and innovators.

• Put their needs and goals ahead of yours.

• Be patient. Don’t give up!

• Be yourself. • Build relationships and goodwill. • Create value and elevate the industry.

• Have a plan.

Closing Thoughts

• What are your concerns and fears?

• How do you think social media will impact your careers?

• What else do you need to know to get started?

Questions & Open Discussion

Thank You!

Paul Roetzer, PR 20/20 www.PR2020.com paul@PR2020.com

(216) 333-1242 Twitter: @paulroetzer