What is Social Media Priority #1 for Real Estate Professionals?

Published By Jay Papasan
Source KW Blog

Since Ben Kinney and I wrote SOCI@L last fall, we’ve had the opportunity to teach the material dozens of times. What’s clear is the enormous opportunity social media platforms provide to cut marketing costs and attract new business. It’s also just a bit overwhelming to think about adding Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and a blog to our brimming daily task lists!

So we debated the question: If an agent were only to do one thing on social media, what would it be?

For most agents, their sphere is vital for referrals and repeat business. So one argument would be to work Facebook aggressively to build deeper relationships with our most important advocates. On the other hand, prospecting Twitter for buyers and sellers or just using it to interact with huge audiences are strategies that scale extremely well. Another school of thought argues that blogging is a proven method for increasing your visibility on search engines and helping buyers and sellers find your business. The challenge with all of these is they require regular effort and attention to be effective.

That’s why I argue that if you’re only going to do one thing on social media, let it be LinkedIn.

Besides growing and enriching your network, nothing says “I’m a modern professional” like a well-done LinkedIn profile. Chances are many of your prospective clients search for you online before they meet with you. What they find informs their decision to work with you (or not.) LinkedIn ranks very well on search engines so it will be one of the first four or five results in any search when clients do their due diligence. By investing a few hours of your time, you can make yourself more visible online and help ensure a great first impression.

Here’s what to do:

1) Join LinkedIn.

2) Complete your professional profile. Include a current photo, your professional highlights and make sure you identify yourself as an agent with Keller Williams.

3) Customize your personal URL. From the Edit Profile page, select “Edit” on your Public Profile Link. That how you get an easy to remember LinkedIn address like www.LinkedIn.com/in/JayPapasan which you can add to your business cards, websites and email signatures.

4) Invite your sphere! Select the Contacts tab and click “Add Connections” and follow the instructions to upload your email address book. With a couple of clicks you can invite your entire network to connect.

5) Give 10 recommendations. Pick some of your top, well-positioned advocates and sing their praises to prospective employers. And remember, you can offer character references for people you know and respect that don’t happen to be past or current coworkers.

6) Get 10 recommendations (so ask for 20!) Recommendations and testimonials remain some of the most powerful marketing tools in our arsenal, so go get some. Don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations from people who are not past real estate clients. A testimonial is a powerful endorsement by itself; having real estate related one is a plus. (Tip: Ask for recommendations from individuals you would also feel comfortable recommending. You’re not expected to reciprocate, but it sure feels nice.)

“Out of all the current social media tools, LinkedIn has the best system for encouraging and accumulating testimonials.” says, top agent Michael Maher of Kansas City who averages more than 500 referrals a year. “I have received two new home community referrals as well as many individual referrals from LinkedIn. Plus, the referrals are more affluent.”

That’s it! The best part for busy professionals is that once you’ve invested a couple of hours to set it up, LinkedIn requires little to none of your time and you’ll still enjoy the benefits. If you want to go deeper, power up your referrals by joining some LinkedIn Groups like the Keller Williams National Agent Referral Network and the National Assoc of REALTORS.

Caution: Cutting and Pasting Could Get You Sued

Published By Julie Lane, VP of Legal and Compliance
Provided By KW Blog

Google may have emerged victorious in Viacom’s landmark $1 billion copyright case over infringing YouTube videos, but don’t misinterpret the ruling. YouTube was under a Safe Harbor provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

FACT: Cutting and pasting articles for use in your real estate marketing efforts don’t fall under that Safe Harbor—and it could get you sued. Recently, there had been an onslaught of lawsuits filed against individual bloggers and companies with websites that copy material from newspapers.

To protect yourself and your company from liability, never display, reproduce or distribute copyright protected works. This rule applies as equally to blogs, website articles, and social media postings, as it does to good, old-fashioned written and printed material.

In a nutshell, state and federal copyright laws protect original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression. So, the copyright owner has the exclusive rights to reproduce the work, create derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and display the work publicly. The creator of the work owns the copyright whether or not the copyright is registered or whether a copyright notice is included in the work.

The proliferation of electronic media has made the transfer of information from one person to another easier and more efficient than ever. This does not mean that because we have the physical ability to copy and paste news articles, that we can do so legally.

Do not think that by giving the particular newspaper credit for copied materials that you are protected from being sued in a copyright infringement case. Any copying of work, whether it be from a news source or otherwise, is prohibited without express written permission from the creator of the work. Keep these rules in mind as you continue to build your business online!

Grow Your Business with Social Media...

Are you looking to grow your business by using social media?

Facebook is one of the sites that is powerful in the social media world. In fact, it is the number 3 most visited site in the world right now.

Agents ask me how to maximize lead generation through Social Media. The video below is the basics on how to get started with facebook.

Are you someone who doesn't know what social media is or how to use it? Do you understand social media but you are unclear on how to maximize it's potential to grow your real estate business? If you have answered yes to any of these questions, please email me at amberboyd@kw.com or call me at 972-772-7000 for a list of FREE social media classes or a one on one consultation.

Click below to take the Facebook 101:Getting Started.

Be looking for Part Two soon. Go and try it and let me know if you have any questions.

Do you have a great story of how you got business from a social networking site? I would love for you to share with the group. Please click on the comment button below to share.