10 Ways Real Estate Investors Can Use Social Media
Sep 22nd, 2009 | By stefanie | Category: Social Media and Social Networking
10 Ways Real Estate Investors Can Use Social Media
by Peter Kolat
1. Start a group on social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace or Google Groups. You can start a group called “Save my house” to help homeowners in trouble. Since people feel that they’re anonymous on the internet, you’ll be surprised how many people will come and ask for help.
Once you start the group, provide quality information for your readers. They will value, respect you and see you as an expert in your area of expertise. There are dozens of groups on all those social media sites. Here’s an example of a Facebook group Real Estate Internet Marketing Domination that focuses on real estate professionals.
2. Create a blog using a free platform such as WordPress.com, Blogger.com, or TypePad.com. This blog can be your own value-driven lead generation vehicle. WordPress is my favorite platform as it has many valuable themes, plugins, and optimization tools that you can use to help you rank high in search engines.
3. Add social bookmarking tools to your blog posts, articles, and web pages to help your readers share your valuable content. One such tool you can use is addthis.com. The tool is extremely useful and easy to implement.
4. Check your incoming links to your blog and/or website. Start forming relationships with sites that link to your site by commenting on their blogs and bookmarking their web pages. And don’t spam their blogs with poor comments.
5. Create informative videos to help homeowners in trouble and post them to video hosting sites such as Youtube.com, Google Video, Revver, and many more. Once people see the quality content you provide them for free, they’ll come to you for help.
6. Build relationships with other professionals on your LinkedIn profile. Offer your services to them without asking anything in return. Ask them if they need anyone with certain expertise. Then, if you know of someone within your network that fits that criteria, recommend that person to them.
7. Write a press release about your company and any new developments that your target audience will want to know about but don’t know about it yet. Use services such as prweb.com (for best results), webwire.com and prleap.com. For the ultimate Web 2.0 press release, follow the social media press release template format.
8. Use early social media sites such as Yahoo Groups and Google Groups to join communities already engaged in conversation. Become a contributor, help others and don’t pitch yourself in there. Do an advanced search in Google Groups and filter out groups by date to weed out the most recent conversations.
9. Form relationships with people interested in real estate and/or your target audience on sites such a digg.com, del.icio.us, technorati.com, puurple.com and/or other social bookmarking sites. Then, while browsing the internet, bookmark pages that are of interest to you and your friends.
10. Finally, and this last point refers back to all previous 9 ways. Remember that the main core of social media sites is the fact that they are build by and around people, just like you and me.
These people have likely been there for a while, have already build relationships, and might know each other. They will know that you are new. Earn their friendship and respect. Don’t go in with selfish reasons because the community will see right through you.
So there you have it. 10 ways real estate investors can use social media to improve their marketing and gain competitive advantage over their competition.
Now, its your turn. Pick 2-3 strategies I outlined above and use them in your own marketing. Then come back here and share your success stories with us.
One more thing, post your comments below and tell me:
Are you using any of those techniques in your marketing?
About the Author:
Peter Kolat is an active Real Estate Investor that uses Social Media very effectively. Peter is currently offering a FREE e-book The Real Estate Black Book that is a great resource to all Real Estate Investors. You can get this FREE book at www.realestateblackbook.com
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