I want to thank the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors ( GPAR ) for asking me to speak this past week on blogging and social media. When I was asked if I would speak on the subjects to my colleagues, I accepted immediately as I knew it was an opportunity to give back. Of course I was a little nervous in that there are a lot of smart Realtors out there doing the social media thing. I certainly did not want to flop or be a disappointment to GPAR or the folks that took the time to show up.
Then I found out it was 2 separate topics, blogging was one topic and social media another, each topic being an hour long. 2 hours is a long time to speak in a structured fashion ! So I had some planning and preparation to do which I took head on. There is SO much to talk about that some conferences go on for 3 days with these subjects.
The big picture is that I believe there is a huge opportunity for those Realtors who want to build their brand on the Internet through blogging and social media. Especially in Philadelphia since there are not many real estate bloggers utilizing new media. With the huge growth of mobile and video and the web, it is important for Realtors to stay ahead of the curve to be able to communicate with their customers and clients on these platforms and to be able to market listings with enhanced Internet Marketing skills to give sellers that necessary additional exposure that they need and want to get their properties sold.
Looking back about four years ago, I was just starting to blog myself on Active Rain ! It is amazing how much things can take off with hard work, goal setting, consistency and a strong mind set ! In the crowd there were a lot of potential new bloggers. I gave them some examples of changing business models that are inspiring for Realtors (and any entrepreneur) looking to be innovative and bold:
Amazon vs Borders
Netflix vs Blockbuster
Yelp vs Zagat
You vs Your Competition
It is up to YOU !!!
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I'm curious. Which was the most interesting in terms of business building, the social media or blogging segments????
Most of the questions were on the social media side as that is where the buzz is in the news and media obviously. It is easy to set up a twitter account and obviously everyone is on Facebook. Most people do not have a blog so the blog side mystifies folks and the time commitment scares people.
The big return for business building in my opinion is on the blog side and the social media piggybacks on that. It all starts with the blog/website and building your brand.
What are your thoughts Lenn ?
My thoughts are that Google loves blogs and I love what Google loves.
I have little to no interest in who "Likes" me on FB and I'm way behind in Twitter. When AR automatically posted them, it was great. I simply don't follow up like I should.
Lenn - I could not agree with you more. The beauty of a blog is the Google juice - same for a great website. A potential buyer or seller can find you from a blog that you did a year or even two years ago. I think it all starts with a blog. And the social media outlets helps drive traffic to your blog and websites. And more importantly it helps you communicate with your clients and engage with other people, and it does not always have to be about business. In essence, the social media helps with building your brand. But the blog and website is the key cornerstone and foundation for lead generation and marketing.