Stop Thinking Tick-Tock and Start Thinking Cha-Ching!

When I am talking to real estate agents about social media one statement comes up over and over again. “It takes too much time.” The statement is usually made by an agent who is not using social media so I probe further by asking them how much time should it take and how much time is too much? Usually this forces them to reconsider the statement before answering.

Social media can be a huge time commitment, if you make it one. For a real estate agent the key is to determine your purpose and focus your activities in the social media world. If you try to be everywhere all at once you will have some difficulty with time constraints, but if you identify the platforms that are of most interest and you are the most adept at then you will find it is a lot easier and you are far more successful.

During my presentations or classes I recommend six different sites or platforms to use and the order does actually have an impact.

The Six Must-Have Accounts:

1. Google Account
2. LinkedIn
3. A blog
4. Twitter
5. Facebook
6. Posterous

Why those?

• Google is your overseer – you use the Google alerts to monitor a variety of search terms as well as your name. A Gmail account is a great “home” account to filter into your other accounts.

• LinkedIn is your curriculum vitae, your resume, your homebase to connect to your sphere and reconnect with those from your past career (as most real estate agents came from other fields originally). You can collect recommendations, join groups and network as a professional.

• A blog is your site, providing the fresh content helps with SEO and frequency does matter. Be sure to use logical keywords to connect with your target market or audience.

• Twitter is a conversation and a distribution point to share your blog posts, new listings (only if done properly be VERY careful with this), and most important interact with others.

• Facebook is your “family album” it is where you share with your friends and those closest to you, but keep it professional as the lines blur far too often. Be sure to take a very close look at the privacy settings and customize them for your comfort level. A business page is great for your real estate outlet, post listings and share other great real estate events.

• Posterous is your quick “go to guy” – post photos as you tour properties (be care to note you just showed a property so there is no confusion over the ownership of the listing), photos of community events, and quick blog posts if you are so inspired.

Now as for time involved? Limit it. The commitment is obviously greater when you first begin but maintenance can certainly be done in much smaller time windows. I recommend trying to limit yourself to two 15 minute sessions per day for Twitter (or break it up into smaller segments), 10 minutes on Facebook (or less is possible) and a commitment of about 3 hours per week for your blog (writing and posting with scheduled publishing).

Results may vary but your dedication and commitment to being in the spaces you should be in, where your clients already are, is essential. They are out there so you had better be ready to meet them there.

How time consuming is that really?

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