We all know that social media is one of the most powerful technological tools with the lowest cost of entry we have available. It is a remarkable tool to expand your reach, connect with new prospects, and to create passive touches for top-of-mind awareness, but it can be a trap if you let it be. When engaging in social media be sure to go in with the right mindset and expectations. Everyone’s results will vary, and the rules are always changing.

And so… it’s story time:

For those who don’t know, I am considered to be an old millennial (or if you’re like me, I like saying I’m part of the Oregon Trail Generation. Yes, I died of dysentery. We all did.). I was born in 1982 and have seen a world before the internet. I was one of the first to get online with services like CompuServe, Sierra Online, and of course, AOL. I remember BBS dial-in services that used to be printed in the newspaper, IRC chat, AIM, and the countless PHP based web forums that existed in the early days. Then came along a little thing called Friendster, and then later, Myspace, and this is where social media as we know it was born.

At the time I was a musician who wrote mostly electronic music. Like everyone in their 20s, I wanted a platform to get my music out there so I could be rich and famous. Myspace was the biggest player in the game. During that era I amassed close to 30,000 friends on the platform (which was no small thing) and actually ended up launching one of the first Podcasts in existence with my best friend where we played trance and techno that had over 50,000 regular listeners. The only way to listen to us back then was to go to our website, or to directly download it to your iPod. And people did that the world over.

These were the stone ages of the internet, and I was one of the few with a sharp, flint-headed axe.

You might be wondering, why do I tell this story? It’s because a few years in, while I was humming along, getting attention, an exciting thing called Facebook came into being. First it was a way for college students to connect, later it became more of what it is now, and my 30,000 friends on Myspace became useless overnight. Facebook was never able to fill that space again, not for my music projects. Then came along YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Vines (RIP), and the countless string of other startups since. I’ve watched artists, businesses, and individuals build massive followings only to have a dopamine craving public lose interest the second a platform shift happens, resulting in their downfall. And boy did it happen, time and again. In the early days, caught up in all the excitement, people lost the plot when it came to social media, and built their entire businesses around someone else’s platform, which is kind of like renting without a lease. Never forget that these are for-profit companies, and in an instant, your reach can be undone.

We all know this kind of churn happens time and again, platforms rise and fall, and while I am by no means discouraging using social to grow your business, you have to be clear what your objectives are. You have to find a way to engage with these friends, followers, etc on YOUR terms. The reason I mention this is we’re likely about to see another upheaval in this space with TikTok and the changes in how Facebook is handling posts. These are prime examples of how the rules can change overnight, and the ground you’re standing upon can fall out from under you. Often times, this can even happen within a platform, as you find your engagement starts losing the traction you once had despite your best efforts. It doesn’t mean the “platform” is dead, it just means you’re not getting the result you once enjoyed from that mysterious black box they call the algorithm, usually because what makes them the most money at that time is content different than what you create, and so they just don’t show what you post.

And so, with changes ahead, as we always have, here are some quick tips for making the most out of social media that apply to everyone:

• Never forget that on social media you are the product, not the user. There’s too much to explain in this article, but their aim is to gather data and sell it to advertisers. Your “customer experience” is limited to making sure you stay online longer and more often.
• The rules can change any day of the week and without warning, be that the end of a platform or a realignment of an algorithm.
• Social media is a great way to stay in front of people who already know, like, and trust you. It is also a way to build trust at scale. Always consider making it a part of your touch programs.
• Whatever Social Media play you are running, make sure there are easy to find ways for friends / followers to give you more information about them, a funnel to capture leads, and a means to engage with them at a deeper level. The purpose of social media in real estate should be to tell your personal story and run a growing business, not just as a means to stroke the ego.
• Number of friends/Follows/Comments/Views/Likes/etc… do not always equal sales. Often times a small social platform with great lead capture and conversion is better than one that hits numbers in the tens of thousands. Be intentional. Don’t go wide for the sake of it. Own your niche.
• Having a bunch of agents follow you is not a valid strategy for success in real estate sales. Get everyone in your current database to follow you, friend you, engage with you, but don’t go add friend, or follow for follow, your entire MLS.
• Social Media should not be all about MARKETING (which Is passive) but also PROSPECTING (which is active). You can learn a lot about your clients, prospects, and competition from what they post or share.
• Make content that educates and entertains, while being authentic to yourself and your audience. Know what matters to them and give it to them. Make them laugh, make them cry, make them not forget how you serve your community. Do not be salesish (is that a word?).

Remember: Facebook is not your database. Instagram is not your database. Your database is the collection of those contacts and leads which you can directly reach, be that by phone, email, or text (in a TCPA friendly and compliant way). Success on social can be transitory, where deep relationships with your core database with proper attention can last forever.

Don’t build your entire empire on rented real estate. Rent to grow, sure, but own the land you build your house on. Use these platforms to stay in front of people, to capture leads, but always, and I mean always, give them a way to be part of your world forever. And KW Command, well… what a great place to do just that.

See you in our next Command class!

Register at r19zoom.com