Facebook

Quick & Dirty Guide: Making A Real Estate Facebook Fan Page That Delivers

February 5, 2010 by Ian Greenleigh · 7 Comments

Respect your network. (photo credit: jurvetson)

Let’s get the question everyone asks out of the way first: Is there a simple, free show-my-listings app for my Facebook page?

Answer: No, unless your particular IDX provider has created one and failed to put it in the Facebook apps store. There are a few free apps, but all of them require membership to third party sites, or are ad supported, most don’t work, and most don’t even run via IDX but require manual input of each listing and some weird restrictions on your “basic” account. Save yourself the frustration and link to an external page with your listings (I know you’ll still look for that one true app anyway, but at least I warned you).

Here’s where a normal blogger might put a quick rundown of “Why You Need a Facebook Page”, and that might be a wise choice, but I’ve answered the question so often lately I’d rather focus on Stage 2, that is, how to make your Facebook page rock. If you need to know the answer to why, I suggest Jay Baer’s 11 Mind-Blowing Reasons Your Company Needs Facebook. Every drop of it applies to real estate, perhaps especially to real estate. You should also read Mike Mueller’s run down, Why a Fan Page? if you’re still not convinced (at which point I give up).

Let’s begin.

Don’t reinvent the wheel. When Facebook’s native apps do something well, stick with them. Your Photos tab is the best example of this. Nothing you or your web guys make will rival it, unless you just love paying a king’s ransom for redundant technology. Smart page owners find interesting ways to feature and link to these standard apps, while placing an emphasis on superior content in these decidedly un-flashy frameworks.

Make it look good. Use Photoshop or hire someone to create a landing page that represents you and lets visitors know that your page is going to be better than those boring, static pages other agents have. Upload your image somewhere secure and then paste this basic code into the FBML box you’ve made for this tab (with the URL replaced by that of your image):

Reserve an SEO-friendly username. When you reach 100 followers, go here and grab a URL (facebook.com/XXXXX) that accurately represents what you do, but also takes into account what people are searching for online. It doesn’t need to include your business name, it shouldn’t be too long, and it should establish you as the authority in whatever space you’re attempting to fill, at least on Facebook. For instance, working with Nanette Labastida, we were able to reserve facebook.com/EastAustinHomes, which is generic enough to be a hot search term, but specific enough to ensure she won’t be competing for traffic with impossibly-established terms like “Austin real estate”. Understand that once you choose, your URL is permanent.

Your page name—separate from your username—absolutely has to include either your name or the name of your business, per Facebook’s own terms of service. You should want this, too. Search engines will associate the more generic terms in your username (URL) with the specific information in your page name. For example, if Nanette keeps up her page with content people like and interacts with fans and visitors, Google will soon associate the search “East Austin homes” with Nanette Labastida, and serve up results accordingly. This is especially true if others link to her page form within Facebook and without.

Wall posts aren’t enough. Whether it’s exclusive information or your contagious charm, people fan-up and stay for a reason. You interact with them, keep them in the loop, ask them questions, and find a way to stay in front of them in interesting ways. Jay Baer, in the post I referenced above boils down an interesting recent study:

9. Wall Posts Don’t Impact Popularity

The Sysomos study also found very little correlation between how frequently the Facebook page admin posted to the wall, and total number of fans. However – and this is important – there is a strong correlation between amount of other content (notes, links, photos, videos) and number of fans.

Thus, if you want to grow your Facebook fan base, it is imperative that you move beyond simple Wall posts and add photos, videos, links and other content.

Think: What are you able to give them that others aren’t? It’s not as simple as reading a blog post and plugging in some badass content. Sit down and think about what you’re offering and how to get it to them.

Your page is about them, not you. So is your business, actually, but that’s another discussion. Keep this in mind as your cardinal guiding principle and your Facebook page will not only rock, but net an ROI that no one can sneeze at.

Filed Under: Facebook, Social Media ·

How-To Quickly Build and Manage Your Online Reputation

January 30, 2010 by Ryan Hinricher · 6 Comments

Building and managing your reputation online can be puzzling. There are many networking sites, blogs, micro-blogs, property listings sites, bookmarks, and more. This leaves many real estate professionals wondering how they can manage all of these sites and portals at one time. The answer? You can’t. There simply isn’t enough time to be hyper-connected and do a significant amount of real estate business at the same time.

So what’s a real estate professional to do? The new goal? Create profiles where the majority of people are; Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and maybe a few others. Then build a consistent online reputation through meaningful interactions. Continue to manage your online reputation and monitor it effectively. Well, if only it were that easy. Of course that’s what the social media gurus and ninjas will have you believing. Let’s take a closer at the fundamentals which you can control.

1. Go where the people already are

Your goal is to set up online profiles at the sites where the majority of people already are. Avoid the start up social media sites, for now. Focus on the big 3; Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin. These sites have over 400million people on them. Why chase rainbows with all the new startups? You simply don’t have time. Focus on your own site or blog and where the majority of people already are.

2. Use a semi-professional photo

Don’t do the old suit-and-tie gig. There are simply too many of these already. You need to be different, but not different to the point people think you are too strange to do business with. See my sample photo on the top right of this post. Look casual, confident, and relaxed. Find a bright setting and make sure people can clearly see your face. Your goal is to earn trust and not look “salesy”.

3. Build a consistent profile across all channels

Having a consistent profile is key. People, including potential customers and your peers, will start to recognize you online in various places which will build trust over time. This makes your online presence more reputable. Consistency is king when managing your reputation online and in the trust game. Use a similar profile description on these channels. Condense the same profile for Twitter’s 140 characters.

Samples of Consistency:

Sample Facebook Profile

Sample Linkedin Profile

Sample Twitter Profile

4. Be professional.

I wish there was s stronger way to say “be professional”. I was sitting down for coffee with my friend, Chris Clothier yesterday. He told me when he’s discussing social media with people he often asks them if they are playing Mafia Wars or growing tomatoes on their farms within Facebook. If the answer is yes, he tells them their level of professionalism and trust has been impacted. Being professional is more than image. It’s the way you communicate with people. Make sure your email etiquette is strong and that you appropriately respond to people using concise points and properly using the “cc” and “bcc” fields. Lisa Harmon recommended me the book dedicated to email etiquette, “Send” by David Shipley which I feel is a must for any real estate professional.

5. Focus on having meaningful interactions

While I won’t go into social media and how to Tweet, Linkedin, or Facebook with people, I will summarize this point into a simple phrase, “Focus on having meaningful interactions.” In doing so, the rest falls into place. Don’t worry about making sales, number of followers, clicks, links, etc. By connecting with our clients, prospects, and colleagues and adding value to their lives and interacting in a meaningful way, everything will fall into place.

6. Effectively Monitor Your Online Reputation

With Google moving to real-time search the management of your online reputation has been simplified greatly with the Google Alerts system. With this one can quickly set up automated alerts which will be sent via email when your name, business name, or web URL is mentioned online somewhere. You can even get these set to be emailed to you as they happen.

With Google Alerts you can choose if you want these alerts set up for real time, a daily digest, or a weekly digest. This is critical, especially when you start producing content. Google Alerts came in handy when a disgruntled ex-business partner used online media to say something negative about me in an erroneous article. I immediately received an alert. This alert allowed me to comment on the article and at least offer my stand point. In this way, managing your reputation online can be just as crucial as building it.

Building and managing your online reputation doesn’t take social media expertise and technology skills. With today’s tools, you can easily set up a consistent and professional profile across multiple channels. Worrying about what others say about you can be automated, leaving you with more time to focus on connecting and having meaningful interactions.

Filed Under: Facebook, How-To Guides, Online Branding, Photography, Social Media, Twitter · Tagged With: email ettiquete, Facebook, google alerts, linkedin, online reputation, send, Twitter

Why I’m Not Passionate About New Media

December 28, 2009 by Ian Greenleigh · 5 Comments

Life is full of misplaced passions. We’re subject to more and more stimuli every day, so it’s no wonder it’s becoming more difficult to identify the ones that really reach us. Can you blame me for thinking I was passionate about new media itself?

New media—and no, I won’t think any less of you for calling it social media—is not all buzz, it’s not just a fad. I’m no hater or Luddite. Until roughly a week ago, I’d even call myself a lover.

But it’s not the channels, widgets, tools or networks I love. It never was. My passion has always been for the people. The people I meet, the tireless app developers, the noobs that aren’t afraid to ask for help, those that help them without asking anything in return and even the 15, 740 self-described “Social Media Experts” on Twitter.

Let’s pretend that Twitter, for instance, held absolutely no value as a tool for lead generation. What’s left? What’s in it for us? A world of learning and relationships, for starters. Some people act as if that’s not enough. I can only pity them.

While writing this, a friend of mine had a question about fair use as relates to blogging, a subject I know nothing about.

I instantly tweeted:

Who knows anything about fair use and blogging?

And seconds later, got the reply:

@be3d talk to @plagiarismtoday he should be able to help you out or get you in the right direction.

Instant help. New relationships. It wasn’t a bot that helped me out, it was Michael Pearson, someone with whom I’ve barely interacted up until now, but has now won his place on my Rockstars of Reciprocity list and my sincere thanks.

It’s the humans behind new media I’m passionate about. I’m thrilled by all the evolving means by which these connections are established, crystallized and amplified, but it has always been about the people on the other end.

Keep them in mind, and your experience with new media will be all the more rich and fulfilling.

Filed Under: Facebook, Social Media, Twitter · Tagged With: advanced, beginner, intermediate, new media, Social Media, Twitter