(Agents by Sector found this article via a contact on Twitter )
http://www.agentsparsecteur.comQuestion: What do Facebook, Twitter, Youtube have in common?
Answer: They are all social networking sites.
OK, So what? What does that actually mean?
Social networking sites are places where you can find new “friends” and build relationships. That makes them potentially important marketing resources. So if relationship-building is important to your business, then you really should not ignore the potential of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and MySpace.
Waste of Time?Of course many people think online social networking is a complete waste of time. As a real estate agent, for example, you might say “I prefer to do my social networking with real people rather than ‘virtual’ people on the internet.”
There is a lot of truth to that. Much of the activity that takes place on social network websites is completely self-serving. There is a lot of navel-gazing and self-promotion going on, there’s no doubt about that.
But on the other hand, you can meet a lot of people very quickly, and if you have something to offer then you can very quickly put your offer out there and see what kind of people respond.
That is exactly what AgentMapIt is about – putting your profile in front of a lot of people who are looking for agents to “network” with and who are interested in sharing referrals. In fact, with AgentMapIt this is such a painless process that it is difficult to know why you would NOT want to do it.
No Effort, No Results
Many people think these sites (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube) are just alternatives to magazines or newspapers, and they are disappointed that you cannot just place an ad and sit back and collect the results.
As with all other social networking sites (Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, etc.), the benefit you derive from them is completely dependent on the effort you put into them. People who are really good at making these resources work for them – not as entertainment, but as business/marketing tools – are unanimous thatyou have to work at building relationships online just as you do offline.
What does that mean?
It means you have to really “network” with people by staying in touch with them. And not just by sending out ads or promos to them (although that’s OK from time to time).
Just as in the offline world, the best online relationship-building techniques involve sharing information and expertise, expressing an interest in what others are doing, helping people with their problems and concerns – especially when there is no immediate payback.
Sometimes all that means is just saying “Hi. I just wanted to touch base with you. How are things going in your neck of the woods?”
Thank you to AgentMapIt for sharing this article with us.
Fabienne Malenfant
Relationist
http://www.agentsbysector.com
