We’ve all talked a lot about our use of Twitter, Facebook, Blogging and the like and don’t we all get the same question from people who haven’t drank the kool-aid- “yeah, but have you made any money off of it?”
Yes.
The “secrets” to social media that no one has quite spelled out yet are the following:
- Being present. Most people sign up for services and hope people will follow them. It takes a physical presence to garner a substantial following (aka potential clients that become friends).
- Being yourself. I make jokes on Twitter, I cuss sometimes, I write random crap, I just interact with people the way I do in person. It’s gone over well so far.
By being present (aka available) and by naturally being yourself (aka approachable), friendships forge which is the foundation for many client relationships and naturally occurring referrals. Billy Bob is not buying or selling right now, but his friend Jimmy John is and since you’re his buddy, he’ll have Jimmy John direct message you on Twitter. *BAM*
Tapping into social media is NOT however a lead generation machine, it is a pipeline filler. Understanding that defines your success.
- @MrMan (a made up name to protect the innocent-ish) and I usually talk about Austin food and music, we’ve been Twitter friends for a few weeks. We meet @MrMan at a Tweetup over burgers and talked about oil drilling in Alaska, beer preferences and technology but not real estate.
- @MrMan begins making jokes in the general Twitter space that divorce proceedings have taken place. In private, I sent him condolences and asked if he needed anything. Knowing that we’re in real estate he noted he’d need an apartment.
- Benn (@agentgenius, who is his twitter friend also) tells him to meet us at Starbucks in the morning, he already knew the perfect place for him. @MrMan orders some fancy coffee and we are off to the apartment community up the road (that are really nice by the way and I’m a little jealous of all the amenities).
- 24 hours later, @MrMan picks up his keys and starts the moving process and the invoice is immediately processed and although Benn (@agentgenius) focuses on residential sales, he knows apartments like the back of his man fist. Check’s in the bank.
- Since then, we’ve happy houred several times with @MrMan and gone to coffee and he has sent three referrals because he got to know us in a non-invasive, very organic, natural way.
Don’t force the connections, just be available, become part of the social stream, and be the best source of information and entertainment (my specialty) as you possibly can. It is a natural process and it is happening every day. Feel free to follow @agentgenius (Benn on behalf of AG) and and stay tuned for more social media case studies to come.
