It can be overwhelming, trying to keep up with the many advances in technology and particularly with social media tools.  Yet it's important to keep one’s  "ear to the ground" and know which tools are gaining in popularity.

Although individual experiences vary, if you aren't already an active user of these tools, here are some reasons why it's important to at least be familiar with social media.

1- Consumers are social beings.
A recent report by ComScore shows that social sites are growing exponentially.  At the end of 2008, Facebook was one of the top sites with 200 million unique visitors.
All this activity is a sign of connections being made and information being exchanged on social media sites.  While this might be just friendly everyday chatting, in the long run you are establishing a connection and building them at a comfort level that may help you to stand out from the crowd.  Whether you are observing, friending or tweeting someone - are you part of the conversation?

2 - Your friends and competitors are on social media sites.
Talk about a sphere of influence...social media sites are a good way to cultivate your networking base by engaging friends and competitors.  The way this works is that your social media connections have followers who are likely to "tune in" to what you are saying. Alternately, someone in your network may mention you in one of their social media posts.  This expands your sphere of influence and increases the number of people who are paying attention to what you are saying or doing.  Imagine, the next time you are helping a client relocate- you may know the REALTOR^® to contact because of a connection made via a social site.  That's not to say that you may not already have established that relationship via other mediums, but social media is simply one more opportunity.

3 - The media may be looking for you.
Yes, they too pay attention to what's being said through social media.  Keith Garner, VP of NAR ITS, pointed out that this is an important point to consider as social media grows.  More and more media outlets are looking to interview local experts with specialties in different fields.  One way they go about finding such experts is by searching the web and looking at blogs, for example.  Here’s how one real estate professional manages his relationship with the media; the Phoenix Real Estate Guy's blog page includes a tab called "press room." 

As you can see, the tools we use to communicate are evolving.  What works for you?  Only you can decide where social media fits in your business plan.  Most importantly, stay informed about what social media sites have to offer.  Below are several resource links for your consideration.

NAR Social Media Resources & More

Field guides

eBooks

Find out more about all of the Right Tools, Right Now products and resources brought to you by NAR.

Ana Schmitz
aschmitz@realtors.org