I have a confession to make; I ‘get’ Facebook. I really do. I admit that when I first heard that I, as a real estate agent, should’ be on Facebook, I was seriously skeptical. But my business partner, whose job it is to market me and my listings, told me that I needed to give it a chance because if it was going to work I would just have to do it and figure out why after the fact. I trust her so I did it.
Here’s what I know now. I am not on Facebook because I am a real estate agent. I am a real estate agent who is on Facebook. First of all, I do not and have never ‘friended’ just anyone who asks. I have my profile page pretty restricted. You can’t read my wall posts or get info about me unless I let you in! Counterintuitive to real estate, you say? Not really. I’m not looking to meet new people on Facebook. I’m looking to stay connected to people I a
lready know!
I signed up, put up a professional profile picture (who knew… if this would become a HUGE referral source I didn’t want to be looking like my cat or my baby self at 5 years old.) Then I started scrolling through the friend suggestions Facebook automatically makes based on my (selectively provided) personal information. The first folks I ‘friended’ were other agents in my company. (Still not seeing how this was going to be a great referral source.) But then some of my sorority sisters from UNC started popping up! Great! I’d find one or two and then scroll through their friends and find more folks I hadn’t thought about in years! Then my high school friends started appearing; the adult children of my friends, my neighbors, people I know in my community. This was getting addicting.
Guess what? Everyone I know has a life, career, family, children, grandchildren and interests they’ve developed since I saw them last. Go figure. Facebook is not a place to hang your shingle. It is a place to connect with and learn more about the people you know. When I run into people I haven’t seen in years now, the conversation is different. Instead of “Hey! How are you? How’s it going?” “Great. Good…nice to see you.” We‘re immediately talking about vacation pics just posted, new grandchildren, new ventures and shared sorrows. I know what you’re up to because you posted it and therefore I’m part of your life again.
You still don’t get how this works for your business? OK, don’t join Facebook. I promise it won’t work if you aren’t interested in your ‘friends’ and their lives. But let me share a few things:
- My oldest friends have kids who need places to live at UNC.
- My college friends occasionally look for investment property in Chapel Hill.
- The friends who find out I still have a family home at the beach want to know how the real estate market is at the coast.
- My real estate friends from my hometown have business they need to refer to the Triangle.
- My clients who became friends and have moved away meet people who are coming to the Raleigh Durham area.
- My young clients ‘friend’ me after closing and I can see how they are doing with new jobs, careers, marriages and children so I know when life is leading them toward a lifestyle change.
- I know which of my friends are in industries I need to connect with, whether for business or personal reasons, and we can network to help each other succeed.
Shall I stop now or do you need me to keep going? Still don’t want to Facebook? Then by all means, don’t. There are many things I will never do because I don’t enjoy them. I would stay on Facebook now even if I never received a real estate related call. If you’ve been avoiding Facebook because you don’t ‘get it’… jump in and give it a try. If it’s going to work you’ll figure out why after the fact.
It's Simple...When You Have A Great Agent!
SarahGray Lamm is a licensed, full time, residential real estate professional in the Raleigh Durham area of North Carolina with over 60,000 hours of experience. She specializes in serving the real estate needs of home sellers, home buyers and investors in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham and Northern Chatham County and is proudly associated with Allen Tate Realtors, the Carolinas #1 independent realty company.
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This is so true. I joined facebook because I was told to do it for my business. Instead, I have enjoyed the reconnecting of friends that I lost track of 30 years ago. There's a lot more to this site than what it does for our business. It really can enhance our lives.
Hi Tammie! Shhh...don't tell anyone...it seems to be all the rage to disparage FB if one is an oh so busy, busy real estate agent. It occurs to me that 'kids' today will never know what it is like to loose touch for 30, 40, 50 years. They breathe social media!
SarahGray,
I am struggling with Facebook, and REALLY like this post.
I have befriended most anyone who asks, but now I think that diminishes the value of the site. I suppose I will have to go in and cull out a lot of friends I really do not know.
Mike, cull away! I don't friend local real estate agents unless they really are "friends"! I also am a prolific 'hider' of anyone who posts stuff I don't like and I NEVER play games or answer surveys. NEVER. I will 'fan' my AR friends and I sort their posts into a category so I can scroll their posts at my leisure but with a little organization and discretion I never spend more than 10 minutes a day on FB unless I'm just having a blast.
PS, I'll 'friend' you.. ;-)
SarahGray,
I would rather blog away with Friends on AR than "friends" on Facebook!
I hear you. What I refer to is the reciprocal arrangement of "fanning" them so they can get unique urls for their fan pages. Fan pages have nothing to do with 'profiles'. I still see very little value in having a real estate fan page. I got my fan page url with AR agents help and if I ever figure out why in the world someone would become a fan of a realtor I'm set! If any real estate agent ever figures out a clever way to use a fan page odds are it'll be an AR member!
Amazing post, SarahGray. It is not that I don't get Facebook, it is that I don't get how it works technically. It is not easy to use, so I will have to spend more time to tune it the way you have. Thank you.
SarahGray:
Fantastic article .. amazingly written! Like you, I have found unexpected benefits and pleasure (and admittedly, FUN) on Facebook. I've hooked up with friends going all the way back to grade school. I've even had a mini-reunion with high school friends living in the area ... many of which I didn't know were closeby. We're now planning more outings for the future and are on the look-out for others via the benefits of social networking. The advantages to being present and visible on Facebook have been many ... and oh yes ... beneficial as well. Business has come my way as a result and I know my credibility has grown along with it.
Articles serve to spread the word ... thank you!
Gene
Featured @ Club Chaos
Hi Sarah!
I have discovered the same thing. It can go in reverse as well. I was looking for someone to develop an art website for me. I asked for suggestions on FB and lo and behold, one of my daughters does this for a living, she is a friend on FB and now I have a trusted person to give my business to. Gotta love it!
@ Jane, I agree, it isn't particularly intuitive but as you have questions you can just search "How do I ___ in FB" and you'll get it. Dip in! I know you'll love it!
@Gene, I am SO not surprised that you have embraced FB! Letting it happen and being open to the result is all it takes and well worth the result! Thanks!
@C Tann - Thanks for the feature! I'm nipping at your heels on this social media stuff! ;-)
@Paula, you are so right! My neighbor asked for suggestions for a new washer/dryer and got awesome responses! Did you say your daughter? And you didn't know she did it? Go figure. We even learn stuff about people we thought we knew!
Sarah I too am befudled by the fan page stuff. So many people want me to be fans of this and fans of that - NO! Not that I don't like them - they're great folks - but what is the point of fan pages?
Well, Ms. Banana...if you don't get it, I'm sure I never will! ;-) Thanks for sayin' so...I was waiting for someone to say I'm crazy!
Sarah, I get FB and love it. I was skeptical at first, but it is fun and you do connect with some long lost friends. The fastest growing demographic is a 55 year old woman. Many of my clients say they won't do FB, and then I find them commenting on one of my posts. They are lurking out there! :-) Now, Twitter is one I can't quite "get" at this point..
SarahGray - This is an excellent post that gave me pause to rethink my facebook strategy.
@Marcia, You are so right. Mostly my 50's friends tell me they aren't interested in FB and the next thing I know, there they are...commenting and posting! I love it!
@Claude, happy to give you pause... :-)
I joined for networking and have been delighted to find old friends. I have recently learned about setting up a business page and am amazed at the fans I have gotten. I think it may be from links to twitter, but it amazes me how all this stuff works without a whole lot of effort.