Is GOOGLE + the new Facebook? And do Real Esate Agents and Brokers need to be on it?
This question is best answered with another question: Why not?
Since the advent of the internet people have been flocking to social media sites as a way of connecting. Whether it be for love, friendship, business, or stalking ;-), sites like myspace.com, facebook.com, and linkedin.com have made it easier than ever to find whatever you are looking for in a relationship. As a result they have seen exponential growth in subscribers, and revenues, as people search for a feeling of self-importance by touting how many people they know. While that is the commonly accepted impetus behind people joining these sites, I believe the reason is even deeper, located beyond the superficial, in a place best described by Freud as the “id”. To put it simply it is people’s fear of being left behind and forgotten that drives them to join, stay up to date, and ultimately become obsessed with social media sites!
You may be asking yourself “How does this apply to Real Estate? Where is he going with this? Why am I wearing this shirt?” And while I may not be able to solve your sartorial conundrum, I promise to bring my “philosophizing” full circle.
In real estate, more than any other industry, it is important for an agent not to be forgotten. In fact an agent’s livelihood depends on them being remembered first, because in real estate you are not unique, you are very replaceable. There are currently around 30,000 others, just in California, that can and will take your place if you are not remembered first.
So what is an agent, broker, or firm supposed to do? Well, in the past they took out ads, handed out business cards, and became experts on making and maintaining relationships, as he who knows the most people sells the most property; but my comrades, our arsenal has been upgraded. Now we have blackberrys, laptops, and ipads. We have our credentials on our websites for the whole world to see, but all of this would be merely organizational tools if it weren’t for one thing: Social Media.
There are many devices that can be used to remember something, but all of them are voluntary. What I mean by this is that when you meet someone you cannot tell them to sit down and write “John Smith, Realtor” over and over until they remember it, they must voluntarily do it. However, with sites like facebook, twitter, and myspace, potential clients give us the ability to force them to remember us; best of all they don’t even realize it is happening.
Anytime, you post a status update, change your profile, or do just about anything at all on one of these sites, all of your contacts/friends/followers are automatically updated. As it is just about a law of nature that the more you see something the easier it is too recall, all of these little updates and minor changes that display your name to your contacts is a way to keep you in their memory. So by making your updates and status’ relevant, you can be just about certain that whenever your contact hears the word “real estate” or anything connected to it, your name will be remembered first!
Enter Google plus. While it is still in Beta testing and you have to be invited to join, it promises to deliver quite a bit of functionality. As it is a late comer to the game, we can enter it with knowledge gained from other sites such as Facebook. So you can take your Facebook contacts and sort them into different “circles”, and create group chats with ease; and best of all it is another step in consolidating everything you have down to one platform: Google.
Do I think Google + is the new Facebook? No, or at least not yet. Facebook is entrenched and is a very dynamic company, but I do think that one would be a fool to let Google plus pass them by. Every Agent and Broker needs to utilize every tool possible to ensure they are chosen over the other 30,000 in California.
So I say, indulge your “id”, and do not be forgotten!
John is the Vice President here at JohnHart, and as such is responsible for managing and directing the firm towards obtaining its ultimate goals.
He is also one of our main contributors on the Blog. (please see his profile page on the main site for more information.)
