The Value of Social Media Marketing for Realtors
The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) held it’s Annual General Meeting in Nanaimo at the Nanaimo Conference Centre on Feb. 26, 2010.
Now, normally such an event would be of little interest to anyone outside the Vancouver Island Real Estate industry but clearly the times – they are a changin’!
For example, the lobby outside the VIREB presentation room played host to mini trade show of marketing companies such as IdeaZone, ImpactVisual and ITC Computers (to name just a few).
Paul Holmes from IdeaZone – Social Media 101
Two speakers, Paul Holmes from IdeaZone, and Ian Watt from Ian Watt Inc presented their case for how realtors in particular can benefit by incorporating social media into their marketing mix.
Paul explained many of the social media options available for local business, as well as the overall pros and cons of social media applications such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Linkedin.
Paul’s humor and enthusiasm for the tools of his trade inspired several realtors at my table to comment that perhaps it was time to take a look at this thing called “social media” after all.
Ian Watt – Successful Vancouver Realtor Using Social Media
Paul was followed by Ian Watt – an extremely successful realtor in Vancouver who has already made social media marketing an integral part of his business.
Ian talked about the importance engaging in a “social contract” with your clients and potential clients. In other words, it is extremely important to be personally connected with your target audience.
Where a realtor once had to spend an incredible amount of time establishing and nurturing each social contract on a one on one basis, Ian made the point that social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter allow him to expand his social contact and nurture it with thousands of people!
Ian also pointed out that for realtors, it has typically been the case that if you’re out of town, you’re out of business…
But Ian provided specific examples and metrics from his own business of how he was able to write contracts, submit legal documents and stay connected with thousands of contacts – all while on the road – by effectively managing his social media networks.
Once again, after Ian’s presentation, a number of Nanaimo Realtors at my table were asking me questions, as a Nanaimo business marketing strategist, about how they could get connected with social media marketing too!
Great Opportunities for Local Business Owners
There is clearly an emerging opportunity for local business marketing service providers AND local business people themselves to connect and really utilize social media tools to grow their business.
Are you a realtor? Are you a marketing service provider? Do you have some great examples of social media marketing for local business that you’d like to share?
If so, leave a comment below – an emerging marketplace of local business owners are eager to hear what YOU have to say!
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Oh that’s all I need… You can practically live on facebook. Funny thing is I said I would never do facebook! Can’t get away from it!
Keith Ellertson
Facebook Tools
It’s interesting times for the real estate world. I think one of the key things is to really think about where your clients are hanging out (facebook/twitter) etc and discovering what their needs are.
Listen first talk second.
Become a resource for the community.
Ian
Real Estate Marketing´s last blog ..Email Drip Campaigns – Don’t Get Dropped
It’s interesting times for the real estate world. I think one of the key things is to really think about where your clients are hanging out (facebook/twitter) etc and discovering what their needs are.
Listen first talk second.
Become a resource for the community.
Ian
Ian@Real Estate Marketing Zone´s last blog ..Email Drip Campaigns – Don’t Get Dropped
Seems like social media is all the rage for marketing people these days. I think it has been blown out of proportion myself. Yes, it can be useful, but is it going to make a huge impact on your bottom line, probably not.
Hi Judy!
Thanks for your comment!
Risking a comparison of apples to oranges – a phone is a necessary business tool for most businesses, right?
Why is that? Well probably because it’s a medium that 90% of people use regularly – and because we’ve had a 100 years to fine tune how it works!
The “World Wide Web” is less than 20 years old and Social Media Marketing is maybe 3 years old.
But technology and people’s adoption of technology is moving forward EXPONENTIALLY. IN other words, it;s not going to take another hundred yers for 90% of the globve to be on the Internet, tweeting, Facebooking, Yelping, etc. etc.
If businesses wait until there is critical mass to then “check out what this thing called social media is all about” they will have already been left long behind by their customer base…
So, like or not, the Internet is a necessary marketing tool – and social media as a subset of the Internet is a necessary marketing tool – whether or not you can currently get an ROI from it or not.
If you wait until you can prove an ROI, you won’t have anything left to ‘I’.
Cheers!
- Don
Don Power – Nanaimo Business Marketing Strategist´s last blog ..Going Local – How do You Use Social Media to Boost Local Business?
What are the foreclosure rates in Vancouver. Is it as bad in Canada as in the US. I know I recently read an aritcle saying that Quebec foreclosures were on the rise.
Social media is no longer a tool of the future for real estate professionals. It has become imperative to have a major presence not just on the web but on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others. It’s been reported that there are now as many Facebook searches as Google searches. Successful Realtors always have to stay one step ahead of the pack!
Geoff@San Diego Homes´s last blog ..San Diego Houses Selling Fast
I am so fed up of Facebook. Practically everying in life is done on there!
lynne@builders merchants´s last blog ..PLASTERBOARD
Thank you for this post. Great blog!
I’ve seen a lot of real estate people that are gather inside these social media sites, because they are marketing their services through these sites. It does works a lot for them.
I haven’t yet joined the social media craze, but it sounds like it’s really a great way to develop many relationships with clients and quite probably make a lot of friends as well.
Hi Susan!
Thanks for your comment. If you are in the real estate game, it’s a demographic fact that your clients are involved with social media (most likely Facebook and Twitter). There are strategic ways to use social media to grow your business…
- Don
Don Power – Marketing Consultant | Social Media Strategist´s last blog ..Using Social Media as a Networking Tool for Your Business
Hi everyone. I’m making my first web site and I want to include some videos. I searched Google and I found some sites but none of them is understandable enough for a newbie like me… I can’t understand anything since I don’t have any experience with html/php coding… so if any of you knows a good site with information for newbies please share! Thanks.
Good post! We can’t deny the fact that social media is a great help to promote businesses, it is where most people go to connect with people around the globe.
Excellent post Don. Very few people talk about the power of social media with realty.
The fact of the matter is that social media is actually closer on the spectrum of referral and word of mouth than advertising, seo, ppc and other forms of online marketing are. Social media is trust, vote, referral and community – all of the elements that make realtors successful when they are.
Real Estate Vancouver´s last blog ..OPEN HOUSE
Thanks for your comment.
I bought my first house just over two years ago. I wasn’t on Twitter then and neither was my realtor. I I were buying a house today, I’d probably have more ‘conversations’ with my realtor vis Twitter than I would over the phone…
By the way – consider getting a gravatar at http://www.gravatar.com so that your logo/picture appears whenever you leave a comment on a blog/website, etc.
Cheers!
- Don
Don Power – Marketing Consultant | Social Media Strategist´s last blog ..Partnerpedia- A Great Example of How to Use Social Media for Business