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PARTICIPATION GUIDE
HOW TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA
FOR BUSINESS
By John Boyer
v2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) Social Media
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What is it
Why Should YOU Care
Keys to Social Media
Mistakes to Avoid
Integrate it into Business
What�s Worth my While
Other Social Media Sites
2) Social Networking
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What Is It
Why Should I Use It
Participation
– Linked In
– Facebook
How Often to Participate
Tips
Tracking Your Success
Applications
Affiliate Samples
Other Samples
Get Started
4) Blogging
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What Is It
Why Should I Use It
Who Should Write a Blog
Where to Blog
How Often to Blog
Tips & Don�ts
Sample Blog Topics
Tracking Your Success
Assistance with Blogs
Affiliate Samples
Other Samples
Get Started
5) Video
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What Is It
Who Should Use It
Why Should I Market with Video
How Should My Video Look
Video Do�s
Tips
Tracking Your Success
Applications
Affiliate Samples
Other Samples
Get Started
Sharing Photos
3) Microblogging
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What Is It
Why Should I Use It
Twitter Lingo
Who Should Use It
How Often to Tweet
Tips
Tracking Your Success
Applications
Affiliate Samples
Commercial Real Estate
Samples
Get Started
6) Managing Social Media
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What Each Site Specializes in
Social Media Comparison Chart
Combine your Efforts
RSS Feeds
iGoogle
7) What is Next
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Localization
Augmented Reality and QR Codes
iPad / Notepads
Purpose
The main topic of this How to Guide is How to Use Social Media for Business. First, however, I want
to explain the purpose of this document. The main purpose of this document is to convince you that
Social Media is worth your time and effort. This will be a difficult task. However, if you�ve decided to
read this, then you are interested in Social Media and want to see what it is all about.
This guide isn�t really going to instruct you on how to use the various Social Media platforms. You
may get some tips and pointers, but the individual Social Media sites do a pretty good job with
instructions on how to use them. Also, Social Media is pretty simple once you get on and try it out.
We�ve conveniently combined information from a variety of sources in order to keep you from
getting lost in the abyss of Social Media information located on the web.
This guide starts by portraying details about how to use Social Media for business, then it delves into
Facebook & LinkedIn),
Micro-Blogging (Twitter), Blogging and Video (YouTube).
4 major types of Social Media: Social Networking (
It not intended for you to read the entire guide in one sitting (it is over 100 pages); who has time to
Social Media.
read that much! The main section to read is the first one which is titled
Then, you would read the section of the Social Media that you are interested in trying. In the back of
the guide, there is a comparison of the different Social Media platforms if you are unsure which one
to explore. We�ve also added a
assist in getting you started.
―To Do Checklist‖ at the end of each section to
The concept of Social Media is constantly changing as the sites battle over supremacy. The guide
will be updated regularly, so it is always best to download the most frequent version from Blueprint.
Enjoy, and we hope you are able to integrate Social Media into your marketing plan!
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What is Social Media?
Social media is a term that is often viewed as complex, but in actuality, it is a simple concept.
According to Wikipedia.org, here�s how the public at large views the term Social
Media:
―An umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social
interaction, and the constructing of words, pictures, videos and audio.”
In plain English, Social Media is people having conversations online.
―Social media is people
having conversations
online.‖
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SOCIAL MEDIA VS. SOCIAL NETWORKING?
A lot of people think that Social Media is the same as Social Networking. Social Media encompasses
Social Networking as well as a slew of other online activities including:
Blogging
Video
Sharing
Podcasts
Message
Boards
Photo
sharing
Key
Social
Platforms
Chat
Rooms
Micro
blogging
RSS
Widgets
Social
Networking
Each have their own community of users, but often times these communities overlap.
For instance, a Facebook user may post pictures that were also uploaded to Flickr or link to videos
uploaded to YouTube.
This creates a huge online web of interweaving communications that helps people stay connected with
others and share the things that are of interest to them.
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SHIFT IN THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT MARKETING
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Social Media created a shift in the way we traditionally think about marketing. Typically, you would
market your properties to your sphere of clients. It was usually a one-way street, it was very local
and there wasn�t much interaction.
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Internet gave everyone a megaphone and a means to talk to anyone else, no matter where they are
located. Consumers who like or don�t like a service can now amplify their opinions on blogs, online
discussion forums -- or just blast their thoughts about a company or service to friends via e-mail,
MySpace, Facebook, instant messaging or text messages.
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Consumers trust their network, not your marketing. This is the most profound change brought by
Social Media. Most people no longer trust company marketing messages when they make decisions.
They don�t have to. They trust the opinions of their friends and the people in their network. 78% of
consumers trust peer recommendations, only 14% trust advertisements. 1
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Also, Social Media created a shift in the way we think about networking. Typically, most networking
took place at an industry event. You handed out a couple of business cards and talked shop with a
limited number of people. Most of the people were from your market. With Social Media, these
boundaries can be broken. You can network with 100s of people that are local, regional and
national.
Watch Socialnomics: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypmfs3z8esI
Part 2: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng
1 - Web 2.0 and Social Media by Shantanu Adhicary; www.slideshare.net/shantanu.adhicary/web-20-and-social-media
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SOCIAL MEDIA & COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
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The offline concept of Social Media is something that Coldwell Banker Commercial professionals
have already mastered. As professionals, you�re already connected within your local communities.
You know who the best landlords are. You probably know the best restaurants too. Your contact list is
as long as a wait at the DMV, and your business grows because of referrals.
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That�s the very essence of social networking. Your business forces you to be connected with your
community of customers. Social media is just an outlet for you to expand those connections online,
and expand to a far greater audience than you could ever imagine.
Why should I care?
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SOCIAL NETWORKING MISCONCEPTIONS
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It�s only meant for teenagers
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More than half of the users of Facebook are outside of college & the fastest growing demographic
is those 35 years old and older. 60% of all US users are over the age of 25. 2
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The top demographic for Twitter is men age 35 to 44. 3
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46% of US adults now participate in social networks. 4
Only for Women – Let�s be honest, the commercial RE business is primarily dominated by
men. So if only women are using Social Media, why should I? Well, on Facebook, women are the
dominant users, but only by a margin of 57% to 43%. So, you don�t need to reach the 135,000,000 men
on Facebook?
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It is just a fad - It�s not a fad, but rather a seismic shift in the way people communicate.
Remember when there was no such thing as email? Can you imagine running your business today without
an email address?
If you feel email is as important to your business as any other tool, think about this: In 2008, Social Media
usage surpassed email usage.7 That’s not a fad.
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You can�t use it for business – you are probably right…it isn�t really meant for selling
you, your company or your listings. However, it is a great tool for networking, which drives most of your
business. It is also great for branding and customer engagement.
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My Clients aren�t using Social Media
- This is an assumption that people often
make. How do you know your clients aren�t on there if YOU are not on there? Check their business cards
or email signatures. Chances are, your clients are on Social Media sites and you don�t even know it. You
won�t know until you take the plunge and sign on. Also, you may only be thinking about your ―current‖
clients. Potential new clients are waiting for your connections.
You have to be a tech wiz - The last thing that should stop you from leveraging the
networking opportunities on the Internet is the technology itself. Some people may find the concept of
online social networking intimidating, but the applications and platforms are typically intuitive and easy to
learn. It takes time to learn about the technology and the interactions. But once that's done, social
networking should be no different than traditional networking.
2- www.insidefacebook.com/2009/10/01/latest-data-on-facebooks-us-growth-by-age-and-gender-october-1-2009/
3- www.briansolis.com/2009/10/revealing-the-people-defining-social-networks/
4 The Democratization of Online Social Networks. Pew Internet & American Life Project, October 8, 2009,
http://www.pewinternet.org/Presentations/2009/41--The-Democratization-of-Online-Social-Networks.aspx
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QUANTCAST.COM SOCIAL MEDIA DEMOGRAPHICS
Here are some of the demographics for the three major Social Media sites. Does this cover your target market?
US Demographics - LinkedIn.com
US Demographics - Facebook.com
US Demographics - Twitter.com
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#1 LET THE NUMBERS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES
LinkedIn
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Over 65 million professionals with an account5
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Growing roughly one new member per second5
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When LinkedIn launched in 2003, it took 477 days — almost a year and four months — to reach the
first million members. The last million took only 12 days. 5
Facebook
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Facebook serves 400 million people across the world 6
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The website grew from 200 million users to 300 million in just over 5 months 6
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Facebook accounted for 58% of all U.S. visits among the category Social Networking (between 155
Social Networking sites) in a report by Hitwise. 7
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More than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are
shared on Facebook…weekly 6
Twitter
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The actual number of live Twitter accounts - just above 50 million 8
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3,000,000 – average number of ―Tweets‖ per day 8
The larger issue is that by the time you finish reading this
document, these numbers will all be obsolete!
5 - http://press.linkedin.com/about
6 - www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics
7 - http://bit.ly/Hcxet
8 - www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/05/twitter-data-analysis-an-investors-perspective/
More #s to Blow your Mind9
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Years to reach 50 millions Users: Radio (38 Years), TV (13 Years), Internet (4
Years), iPod (3 Years)…Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9
months…iPhone applications hit 1 billion in 9 months.
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If Facebook were a country it would be the world�s 3rd largest, ahead of the
United States and behind Indonesia.
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% of companies using LinkedIn as a primary tool to find employees….95%.
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Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Spears (combined) have more Twitter followers
than the population of Sweden, Ireland, Norway or Panama.
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The #2 largest search engine in the world is YouTube.
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Wikipedia has over 13 million articles…some studies show it�s more accurate
than Encyclopedia Britannica…
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There are over 200,000,000 Blogs.
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54% = Number of bloggers who post content or tweet daily.
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Facebook USERS translated the site from English to Spanish via a Wiki in less
than 4 weeks and cost Facebook $0.
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Social Media has overtaken pornography as the #1 activity on the Web.
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25% of Americans in the past month said they watched a short video…on their
phone.
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24 of the 25 largest newspapers are experiencing record declines in circulation
because we no longer search for the news, the news finds us.
9 - Social Media Revolution - www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8 and Social Media Revolution Part 2 www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng
What is Social Media: One Year Later - www.slideshare.net/mkonder/what-the-fuck-is-social-media
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#2 YOU NEED TO
FORM RELATIONSHIPS
#3 SPEEDS UP
NETWORKING
The commercial real estate business is all about
relationships. Most business is won not because
of who you are affiliated with, not because of your
marketing materials or even your experience. It is
who you know. Potential business can be won just
because you have a good connection with
someone.
I want you to ask yourself a few questions: Which
clients do you consider your best clients? Now, how
well do you know that client? Typically, the answer to
the two previous questions is, ―my best clients are the
ones I have the best relationship with.‖
Social media can be used to expand existing
relationships, and form new ones:
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Interact with potential clients and get to
know more personal things about them to
use to your advantage
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Establish relationships with other brokers
and market to them
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Keep an eye on the competition
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Build your cross-selling platform
Now ask yourself, how long did it take to get know
that client?
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Here is another scenario. You attend a
networking event that cost $150 for admission.
You go there, put on your best suit and perform
your business spiel. You might talk with 10
potential clients and try to gather as much
information as you can. Sometimes, you write
info on the back of business cards so you won�t
forget. Since you talked to so many people,
much of the information you learned has
jumbled together. Also, you only networked with
people from the area. The next day, you ask
yourself, what was the value of the $150 I spent
to go to that meeting?
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That is the beauty of Social Media. You can find
tons of information all within seconds, and it is
all organized neatly so you can refer to it later.
You can view 25 clients (local or non-local)
within an hour, and find out much more
information about them than you ever thought
possible. Thus, speeding up networking and
cutting down local boundaries.
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#4 GENERATES BUSINESS
Don�t take our word for it. These quotes explain how business was conducted over various Social Media
Platforms:
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A corporate user contacted the CBCВ® Corporate Twitter account because they needed assistance on
the West coast. Information was pushed down to a CBC professional and the transaction began.
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I became friends with the community leaders and asked them what restaurants our community
needs. I got an overwhelming amount of response and they told me what businesses they wanted. I
started bringing in those restaurants. Now they come to my page to find out what is happening in
the retail world.
Colleen Butcher, Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate Solutions
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―I have put several transactions on LinkedIn. Once I learned to be more specific about what type of
buyer I was looking for, I have gotten emails on every deal I�ve posted.‖
Rob Boehning, Coldwell Banker Commercial Pennco
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―We have not generated a close from Social Media yet, but have generated a lot of activity. We have
made a referral to NRT residential in Florida from a Coldwell Banker in CA. We have received a
referral on a listing in Houston from Coldwell Banker Metro North in Denver. We received a referral
two weeks ago from Coldwell Banker Commercial United that was referred to NRT in Salt Lake City.
Recently, we just picked up our 1st listing from Facebook. All this within Social Media.‖
George Alexander, Coldwell Banker Commercial Properties Unlimited
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#5 LOOPNET HAS ALREADY BOUGHT IN
LoopNet, one of the commercial real estate industry standards, has already not only bought in, but has
made it easier to link your properties to your Social Media platforms. Other listing aggregators have also
jumped on board.
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#6 USE IT FOR RECRUITING
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Screen prospects even before the interview process
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Gain access to candidates that you didn�t have access to
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Save money (won�t have to pay for Monster.com or newspaper ad)
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Get far more information than you would get from a resume
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Use resources - If you have a connection with someone that is connected with the applicant, you can
reach out to the mutual friend for the inside scoop
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#7 SOCIAL MEDIA IS THE HOME OF FUTURE
CLIENTS
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Three-quarters of Generation Y (Gen Y), or Millennials, use MySpace, 65% use Facebook, 14% use
Twitter and 9% use LinkedIn10 making Gen Y a dominant player within Social Media.
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99% have a profile on a social networking site.11
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Gen Y accounts for close to 80 million individuals, outnumbering the 78 million baby boomers
reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.12
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Gen Y has $1.3 trillion (yes, trillion) in direct spending power. 13
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Gen Y is beginning to take over positions that make decisions.
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They average 53 friends per profile.1
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And, most important of all, they care what their friends think.
10 - Anderson Analytics, ―Social Network Service(SNS) A&U Profiler,‖ provided to eMarketer, July 13, 2009.
11 - Participatory Marketing Network Study: Gen Y�s Are Not Yet Taking Flight on Twitter; June 1, 2009, http://thepmn.org/pressreleases/060109
12 - ―Using Computer Simulations to Recruit and Train Generation Y Accountants‖ by Polimeni, Ralph S, Burke, Jacqueline A, Benyaminy, Diana; May 2009,
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5346/is_200905/ai_n31965174/
13 - ―Welcome to the New Millenials‖ by Littman, Sarah; May 1, 2008, www.responsemagazine.com/response-magazine/welcome-new-millenials-1192
1 - Web 2.0 and Social Media by Shantanu Adhicary; www.slideshare.net/shantanu.adhicary/web-20-and-social-media
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#8 YOUR COMPETITORS ARE ON THERE
What happens when you are not at a networking or broker event and your competitors are…you miss out
on a potential opportunity. Whether you want to believe it or not, your competitors are on there, and you
should be too.
The commercial real estate business is one of the only businesses where you market directly to your
competition. They help you close deals, and you help them close deals. Take a moment and think: how
much do you actually market to your clients? You don�t really. You send property blasts to your
competitive brokers within your marketplace.
Using social media can make it easier to market to your competition and it is more conversational than an
email.
Let�s be honest –
brokers do deals with brokers that are doing deals.
If you see that someone is completing a lot of deals, you start to think to yourself, ―I need to be doing
deals with him.‖
You can build credibility within your marketplace using social media.
Keys to
Social Media
success
Although the different types of Social Media follow their own rules
and have their nuances (which will be discussed in the following
sections), there are general principles that all of them abide by. If
you follow these simple concepts, you can be more successful with
your Social Media.
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KEYS TO SUCCESS: GETTING STARTED
Experiment Personally before Professionally
Choose your Public Account Name Wisely
• There is not a precise formula for Social Media
success. It takes some trial and error. Create a
few profiles, test out a few sites, but don�t
create business profiles first.
• Usually, with Social Media sites, you choose
your public account name. This is how others
will find you. You don�t want to use a nickname
that only a select few know. Choose it wisely,
because usually, you cannot change it once
created.
• Once you�ve tested the waters and have found
a comfortable lane to swim in, incorporate it
into your business practices. Try several, but
you don�t have to try all of them.
What Sites are your Clients on?
• Don�t jump in with your guns blazing. Find
where your audience is participating and
identify the key influencers. Get an idea of
what�s being said, how they are interacting and
think about how you can join in the
conversation.
• You can find out what sites clients are on by
looking at invites sent to you to join a certain
Social Media site, or on their business cards or
email signatures.
Listen First
• Listening gives you a better sense of not only
what people are saying, but also how they are
feeling. In virtual spaces where there are no
visual cues, good listening skills become a
powerful asset. Read posts by people in your
industry or competitors� posts. Pay special
attention to the comments being made. Are
consumers reacting positively or negatively to
what�s being posted?
Decide your Objectives Before you Start
• What are you looking for? Better brand
awareness? Engagement with prospects?
Interest in properties? Web Traffic? What
kind of posts will you make? These are all
questions to ask before you start.
Professional Email
• When you are on Social Media sites, email is often
the preferred method people can search for you.
Make sure you use your professional email, not
your Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail account.
Photo
• Upload a picture, it makes you easier to be found
and recognized by people trying to find you. Not
posting makes it seem like you are trying to hide
something. The photo doesn�t have to be
professionally taken, it just has to look professional.
Profile Pages
• When you sign up for many of the Social Media
sites, they give you the option of creating a
Profile Page. You can utilize these pages to
explain who you are. Make sure yours is filled
out with accurate, up-to-date information. After
all, it is free advertising. The notable areas are
URL, bio, picture and a brief description about
you or your company. It also lets others know
you plan on hanging around for awhile.
Find People Easier
• Many of the Social Media sites have a ―Friend
Finder‖ – you can import your contacts from
Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc. and they will
search for those people by their email address.
Some sites will also tell you when those people
join at a later date. Don�t forget to search for
competition. The RE business thrives off strong
relationships with competitors to complete
transactions.
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IDENTITY
Keep Separate Business & Personal Accounts
• While it is essential to be ―personable‖ on your
Social Media sites, it is also important to keep a
separate personal account. Use your personal
account to make friends with your relatives and
non-business friends. Create your ―professional
account‖ to post items relative to your business.
You have to remember – whatever posted on
Social Media sites is public, or only seen by
those who you are ―friends‖ with. You don�t
want business colleagues to see a college
friend that insists on posting stories about your
younger days.
Be Interesting
• On Social Media sites, people are craving
connections with people. Mix up personal
posts about what you are doing in your
personal life, with what is happening with
your business. It will make you much more
interesting and three-dimensional.
Sound like someone who is part of the
Coldwell Banker CommercialВ® Brand
• Remember you�re a commercial real estate
professional and you represent a brand and a
local company. Keep your posts professional
too. Also, each office is independently owned
and operated, so please do not speak as a
representative of the CBC Brand or parent
company (Realogy).
Use your Company Name
• Make sure you use your company name
(DBA) when you create a Social Media site.
There are over 240 Coldwell Banker
Commercial companies, so if you don�t use
your DBA, how will they know it is you?
CONTENT
Share the Wealth
• ―If you�ve got it, share it, spread it around.‖ In
Social Media, sharing is the fuel of the
conversation engine. If you find an interesting
link, blog post, video, photo or story, post it to your
Social Media page. Don�t claim that something is
yours if it isn�t. Give credit where credit is due.
Share Content across sites
• Share your content across Social Media sites and
make it easy to share. Incorporate tools that
promote sharing: Share This, RSS feeds, Email a
friend. One of the greatest compliments in Social
Media is to have another person take your
content and share it with their own audience.
Have some Originality
• While it's great to resend interesting recycled
information, if that's all you do, you will lose
many of your friends and followers. Generate
some original content, or comment on the
content you are sharing.
Speak in an Open-Ended Manner
• This is kind of difficult to explain, but post in a
way that spurs conversation. Leave thoughts
open-ended or post only part of what you want to
say, forcing people to ask questions,
Don't make me Think
• Web 2.0, texting and Social Media are hit-andrun. You have the person's attention for only a
few seconds before they jump to the next post on
Facebook or surf to another Web site.
Consequently, the words you use must be crystal
clear. You must also be as literal as possible.
Speak in the client�s language rather than
traditional industry jargon. Focus on clear
headlines and bullet points. Reducing confusion
increases conversion.
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BUSINESS POSTINGS
Respect the Spirit of the �Net
• The Internet was not meant for marketing and
selling but for communication and connecting
to people and information. Understanding this
can flip your marketing and selling strategy
on its head, but you�ll have far more success
respecting the spirit of the ‗Net, rather than
throwing money at hard-sell tactics.
• Don�t promote yourself in every post and don�t
post everything you or your company does.
Add Value
• Enter any online conversation with the aim of
adding value. Before posting a message, ask
yourself: ―How is this providing value to the
conversation? To the community?” In some
circles, talking about your product or service
can be considered unwelcome and intrusive.
Don’t Spam
• As much as your friends like you, spamming
them on Social Media sites will be met with
the same reaction as if you were spamming
them through email – you�ll drive them away.
Some people don�t realize they are
spamming, but if you�re sending messages to
your friends multiple times a week about
properties you�ve listed or transactions you�ve
closed, it will not be seen as an astounding
achievement, but rather a nuisance. Try to
keep blast communications to a minimum.
Share Market Information
• This is the information that can really set you
apart from the rest. You have access to
knowledge and statistics that few others do,
and the ability to share that with an audience
is advantageous to your business. Look for
market trends, vacancy, recent sales and
other essential points of data that will make
you a resource that people want to follow.
ETIQUETTE
Act Like a Person
• Don�t shout. Don�t brag. Don�t think that your
content is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Respond
• A quick response is more important than ever
because it is expected. Don�t be a dam in the
conversation flow. When someone sends you a
direct message, make sure you respond.
Comment / Two Way Communication
• Don�t make your Social Media efforts a one-way
street. You will get far more traction
commenting on other people�s posts than just
constantly posting your own info.
Be Social
• If you accept a friend request on any social
network, don't just click on the "accept button."
Instead, take the time to look at the person's
profile and send a reply to their request. The
reply can be as simple as saying "thank you." A
better approach is to reference something on
their profile such as where they live or what
they like to do. The person then knows that
your response came from you rather than from
some impersonal auto responder.
You can’t Fake it
• On Social Media sites, your goal is to project a
positive and professional image to prospects
and clients. However, you should not attempt to
create a new persona that you think customers
would desire, rather, you should be the same
person that you are in your everyday, face-toface interactions. Just by being yourself, you�ll
have far better and more long-lasting positive
results than if you try to be someone — or
something — you�re not.
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NETWORKING
TRACKING & FINDING
Network
Track Where People Are
• The RE business is all about networking:
meeting new people, discussing similar
interests, finding more about clients and using
it to your advantage. Once you look beyond
the obvious social features like sharing
pictures and chatting with friends, there are
plenty of ways to tap into the online
professional community.
• In the beginning, it will be difficult to remember
what sites your clients are on. We suggest
creating some form of tracking. When you get
an invite from someone, track it, even if you
aren�t on that site. You may be on that site in
the future, and if you took 2 minutes to track, it
will make it easier in the long run.
Join Groups
Continue to Monitor
• On LinkedIn and Facebook, you can find
groups that share similar interests.
Friend your Competitors
• These are the people who you typically do the
most business with. Also, you can follow what
they are posting about. Who knows, you may
get some great information.
Build Credibility
• You can build credibility by being in front of
competitors that otherwise didn�t know you
existed. People do business with people they
are comfortable with.
Pose and Answer Questions
• Is there anything more complimentary than
having someone ask your opinion about
something? The same is true for Social Media.
Collect insights by posing questions. Don�t be
afraid to answer questions as well. You will be
surprised at the number of people willing to put
their ―two cents‖ in when you ask a question.
Also, you may get answers and insight that you
would never get by trying to ―email‖ the same
question.
• Just because the person you searched for wasn�t
on a Social Media site, that doesn�t mean they
won�t join next month. New users sign on
everyday. Occasionally, double check to see
who has joined.
Ask
• If you don�t know if a person is on a Social
Media site, just ask…it is much easier than
searching for them.
Invite
• Social Media sites make it easy to invite your
clients. If you find your clients or competitors are
not on there, send them a courtesy invite, but
don�t use the automated language. Take the
time to compose a message telling them why it
would benefit them to join.
Follow Friends of your Friends
• Take a look at who your friends are following
or engaging with. They may be people of
interest to you.
24
GENERAL RULES
TIME & EFFORT
Give Kudos
Schedule Time for Updates
• Social Media works when you are generous.
There is nothing wrong with self-promotion, but
things really take off when you give others
praise or a moment in the spotlight (especially
your clients or landlords).
• What happened when you went to a networking
event, and didn�t network: you didn�t get a value
from attending. The same principles apply for
Social Media: if you don�t use it, it won�t work for
you. At first, you may post things a few times a
day, but after the novelty wears off, how are you
going to make sure you keep using it? Schedule
time to work on your Social Media marketing
each week. Make it part of your daily routine.
Take it a step further and put it on you Outlook
Calendar, for you know you always listen to it.
We're not your Mama
• No one is here to look over your shoulder, but
please use common sense when it comes to the
use of objectionable language, sensitive topics,
etc. Also be sure to proof-read and use proper
grammar / spelling.
Be prepared to Learn from Criticism
• At some point in time, you will be criticized in
the public forum. Don�t try to delete it or you�ll
just make things worse, because now that
person will post about how you deleted their
comment. Listen to those who are your
detractors. They may have a point, and if they
do, you can admit your shortcomings. There�s
nothing wrong with being wrong. It�s how you
react to it that makes the real difference.
Shift your Print Marketing
• In today's Web 2.0 environment, print still plays
an important role, but how you use it must shift.
Print marketing works best when you use it to
drive potential clients to your Web site, or to
your Social Media page. You also need to
change what you put on your business card.
Instead of listing several telephone numbers,
list one phone number, your e-mail address,
your Facebook address and your Twitter handle.
Time your Updates
• Posting updates when no one is online is foolish,
you won�t be talking to anyone, and by the time
they get on, your updates will be buried. Find out
when the most people are on and post during that
time.
Don’t be a Costanza
• George Costanza from ―Seinfeld‖ was always
looking for a way to get out of doing work. He
wanted to be as lazy as possible while still
holding a job. Don�t be lazy with your Social
Media presence. It takes some time to build
your empire.
Put Marketing Effort Into it
• Until you can drive traffic to your Social Media
efforts, you've got a tree falling in the forest,
heard only by those standing nearby. You have
to let people know about your Social Media
pages and how to find you.
Don’t Give Up
• I think we all realize that this Social Media ―thing‖
is out there to stay and needs to be part of our
marketing campaign. Just don't give up too
quickly. Social networking is all about building
relationships, and that doesn't happen overnight.
If you're going to commit only one month, it's not
worth doing. Like any traditional networking
activity, it's going to take longer than that for it to
pay off.
AND FINALLY,
A WORD OF WARNING:
DON�T MESS
AROUND IN
SOCIAL MEDIA
Mistakes to
Avoid in
Social Media
By now you should be familiar with what you�re supposed to do on
Social Media sites. But here�s a list of what you don�t want to do.
These are the common Social Media mistakes that others have
made so you don�t have to.
27
SOCIAL MEDIA MISTAKES TO AVOID
Social Media is not
the Business Savior
You have to realize one thing: If you have a bad
business model, Social Media isn't going to help you.
It isn�t the savior you�ve been waiting for. Don�t bank
everything on your Social Media success.
Using the Same Strategy on Every Site
Facebook is not MySpace. Twitter is not Wordpress.
LinkedIn is not Naymz. And they�re all different from
Friendfeed. Every social networking site is different
and you need to create a unique strategy for each site
— one that is customized to that site�s specific rules
and code of conduct. Trying to run a one-size-fits-all
approach will limit your ability to be successful.
Creating Profiles Everywhere
You don�t want to set up shop in every Web
community. Instead, research the various sites and
locate the ones that will give you the most bang for
your buck. This will help you focus your efforts and
prevent you from suffering from the dreaded Social
Media Account Overload (SMAO). Don�t dilute your
efforts by trying to be active on too many sites.
Not Completing your Profile
Once you engage in Social Media, you need to
commit and genuinely become part of that network.
That means completely filling out your user profile.
Doing so helps you attract like-minded members but
it also shows people that you�re here to stay and
people will know who you are.
Give away Insider Information
Remember, once information is on the web, it is out
there for anyone to find. So be sure not to post
information unless you want anyone and everyone to
see it. If you ever pause before making a post
because the information may become a liability, it
probably will.
Posting False Information
Just because you may see something on the Web does
not make it true or public knowledge. Check the source
before you blast it out to your network.
Get Caught in the Social Media Vortex
Fake Friending
When you first start on Social Media, you get
caught up looking for new people and befriend
everyone you might know. Don�t do that! It�s a
complete waste of time and will dilute your efforts.
Go for quality over quantity. Seek out the people
who will be most valuable to you. Then, go out of
your way for them. Fake friends aren�t going to
click your links, they won�t visit your site, and they
won�t use your service. Plus, when you are trying to
read through updates, you will find yourself just
skipping over them. They actually won�t do
anything for you. It�s okay to be choosy with your
online relationships. You wouldn�t walk into a
coffee shop and immediately ask everyone to be
your best friend. Don�t do it online either.
Very easily, you can find yourself getting caught in the
Social Media Vortex. There is a lot of information to
read or reply to. Don�t let it take over your day. Use it
in increments.
Not Measuring it
If you�re not going to come up with ways to measure
your Social Media efforts, don�t jump in. Before you
get into Social Media, know why you�re there and what
you plan to get out of it.? How are you going to
measure these goals? Whatever your metrics are,
make sure you�ve identified them before you throw
money into programs you�re not tracking. Otherwise
you�re fishing in the dark.
28
Integrate
Social Media
into my
Business
Ok, so you�ve read through the Keys to Success and Mistakes to
avoid, yet you still don�t know how to use this monster for business.
30
DON�T JUST JUMP RIGHT IN!
•
Since Social Media is a new concept, everyone is trying to figure out the best practices. The number
one piece of advice is…don�t just jump right in. This is how you will fail. You will waste time and
energy, and feel you�ve got nothing out of it. Then, you will abandon your Social Media efforts and
won�t ever try it again.
•
It is important to understand why you want to bother with Social Media. Simply, it is because people
will do business with people they like. Social Media Marketing is all about creating connections with
clients, family and friends who can ―suggest‖ you to their extended group of friends.
•
We know that Social Media users talk with friends. So if you want to talk to them, you�ve got to be a
friend! And not in the ―I add you, you add me‖ sense, but as an actual, real, live human being.
Someone with a personality, someone who�s interested in the people around them, someone who�s
not a 24-7 pitch fest for their website, property or service.
31
YOU HAVE TO BE A GREAT AGENT FIRST!
One of the biggest mistakes real estate pros can make in approaching the Web is to think that the simple
act of creating an online presence—whether through a blog, a Facebook profile, or a fancy Web site—will in
itself bring new business.
•
In reality, to see results, you must already have strong business fundamentals and a solid marketing
plan. If you're not a great agent, don't worry about Social Media right now. It's not the silver bullet for
your business. If you're a bad agent or even an average agent, you won't be able to fake it on the
Web. People will be able to see right through you.
•
Part of being a great practitioner requires knowing what type of communication resonates with your
customers, including when it might be better to use offline marketing vehicles. Even with the power
of Social Media at your fingertips, be wary of using it for messages that are still best conveyed
through personal or other means.
•
Even if you can increase your prospecting efforts through the Web, that won't mean much if you
―You get leads‖ because
you're on Social Media, ―you close the transaction‖ because
you're a great agent!
aren't able to get deals done and generate real profits.
32
COMPANY OR INDIVIDUAL PAGE
With most of the Social Media sites, you have the option of creating a page for your company, a page as
an individual, or both. They are similar, but follow different rules and have a different language.
•
•
It is important to understand the difference and decide which is the proper path for you:
–
A company page would have more general information about the company as a whole,
including transactions that any professional within the company completed, company info,
etc.
–
An Individual page would display the personality of the individual, including their style of
writing, their interests and topics.
However, if you do create both, make sure they have the same message and link them to each other.
Individual
page
company page
33
GROUP
One thing that might be successful with commercial real estate and social media is to create a group for
the local brokers in your marketplace. Linkedin or Facebook would be perfect for it. You already have
your local broker list that you blast properties to, why not upload that same list to either site. and start a
group. Don�t just send the canned invite.
You need to be specific as to why it would benefit them.
Say something like, “Hey, if you are a commercial real estate professional in the
market, then
you need to be in this group. You can post your current listings or recent transactions and find out what is
going on within the market. Let’s cut down on the emails, as we all get over 100 a day and it is hard to
weed through them. Join the group and invite others.”
Then, you can share listings, market knowledge and deal closings. It would be much more conversational
than email. You can start the group, invite all the local brokers, and post as necessary. Let the other
members run the page!
34
INTEGRATE SOCIAL MEDIA INTO YOUR BUSINESS
Once you get past the picture sharing and friend updates, you realize that Social Media CAN be used for
business.
Networking
– Get to know your clients better and
faster
– Recommendations
– Referrals
– Interact with people you normally
wouldn�t interact with
•
Interact with people to build your crossselling platform
– Furniture
– Lenders
– Construction
•
Market properties to an expanded
audience
•
•
•
More advanced ways to showcase
properties: Video, Custom Web pages, etc.
Build credibility – get recognized by
competitors that previously didn�t know
you existed
•
Expansion of your website
•
Become known as a subject expert
•
Access to more than just local clients
•
Use it to gain industry knowledge
•
Link information across platforms (more
exposure)
•
Generate instant feedback about topics
•
Join relevant industry groups
•
Follow competitors
•
Receive answers to questions
•
Integrate it into Outlook
•
Repost national CBC® information – use
the brand, promote the brand
•
Recruiting
•
Free PR
35
#1 - NETWORKING ON SOCIAL MEDIA SITES
The RE business is all about networking. It�s about customers. It�s about pleasing customers, acquiring
new ones, and connecting with them. If you are good at networking, you can apply those skills to Social
Media sites. This would be the number one reason to integrate it into your business. You don�t have to
focus your attention on people that are in commercial real estate, for you know that potential clients can
come from any leads. Here are some tips on how to use Social Media sites for networking:
•
Make friends by sharing interests.
•
Compliment people on good blog posts.
•
Make contrary points if you're sure you're right, but if you think you might make someone look bad,
is it really worth it? And what if you're wrong? Get your facts straight, sleep on it, pick your battles.
•
Follow interesting people and have interesting conversations with them.
•
Be yourself, unless you're a jerk, in which case you should go somewhere and have a personal
transformation. Otherwise, just show off your sparkling personality. Show what makes you different.
•
Be interested in other people and help them out whenever you can.
•
Join Groups – many of the Social Media sites have 1000s of groups that you can join to facilitate
networking.
•
Remember, with Social Media, you are not limited by local boundaries!
•
And…
you will get far more traction by
commenting on another person�s post than constantly posting something yourself. This takes a little
getting used to, but once you master this, you will see your efforts pay off.
COMMENT, COMMENT, COMMENT,
36
#2- MARKET YOU, YOUR COMPANY OR PROPERTIES
After you understand the networking aspect of Social Media, you realize it can also be used to market You,
your Company or Properties. When posting, it is important to mix in topics from two categories:
About You or Your Company (30%)
Why only 30%? Would you follow your dentist�s page if all they talked about was patients they treated?
–
–
–
–
–
–
Current listings
Awards you or your company has won
Deals you have completed or recently won
Drive Traffic to your website by linking to an article you�ve posted on it
New Hires
Promote your Blog
Not About You or Your Company (70%)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
New developments / construction in your market
Significant transactions (even if you weren�t involved) that may effect the market
Local business information
Post questions: Such as, ―Does anyone know of a good printer vendor?‖ or ―Does anyone know
who is the tenant in building A?‖ – use it as your personal supplement to a Google search
Client Testimonials
If you are in a suburb, talk about something going on in the larger city and its effect on your
community
Read the local newspaper and comment on articles
Give ―Props‖ to your clients – Post about their business, or what their new space will do for their
company
Post information about Landlords you represent
Market information: Vacancy, Absorption, Rent, Employment, Population, etc.
Links to other articles or something you found interesting on the web
Offer a discounted service if a client mentions the discount you posted
Offer a bonus if someone brings a tenant to a building and mentions the Social Media post
37
POSTING TIPS
When it comes to Social Media, we realize that you are going to post listings , it is the nature of the RE
business. However, if you follow these simple tips when posting, it becomes more than just a listing.
BE SPECIFIC
Instead of:
New Office Listing http://www.cbcworldwide.com/cbclistings/4610595.html
Try:
Seeking tenants for Class A Office space, prime downtown location, walk to mall and public
transportation. Rent is $22/PSF, 10,000 SF Avail http://bit.ly/GpkLh
OFFER A GIFT
Instead of:
New Listing http://www.cbcworldwide.com/cbclistings/4610595.html
Try:
Class A Office space, great location & views. Walk to 5 restaurants. Bring tenant & mention
this, get $25 giftcard. http://bit.ly/GpkLh
CREATE VALUE
Instead of:
New construction on corner of Main & 2nd St. View article
Try:
New bldg being built on Main & 2nd St. This will move vacancy rates up to 8% unless tenants
are found. Highest it�s been in 4 years. View article
GIVE PROPS
Instead of:
We recently sold 10,000 SF building in Parsippany, NJ
Try:
We represented Alter Group in buying a 10,000 SF bldg in Parsippany, NJ. They excel in
ensuring tenants are pleased with their space.
POSE QUESTIONS
Instead of:
New office space for lease, 3,500-8,000 SF avail, Burgan Co. email [email protected]
Try:
We have new office space avail on Main St, St Louis. Anyone know where the best food is
near there?
ORIGINALITY (ADD A COMMENT TO A LINK)
Instead of:
New NREI report: Weak Jobs Report Is Unwelcome News for Leasing Markets
Try:
New NREI report: Weak Jobs Report Is Unwelcome News for Leasing Markets. However, I
don�t think this is going to affect the Atlanta market.
38
POSTING TIPS 2
Here are some additional posting tips:
SPEAK OPEN ENDED
Instead of:
Recently closed, 10,000 SF lease downtown
Try:
Recently brought Tenant X to the best location downtown. Guess what building?
Instead of:
Visiting space with Tenant X, we stopped at Dino�s for a burger.
Try:
Visiting space with Tenant X. We are eating a slice of the best pizza in town. There is no
comparison.
COMMENT, COMMENT, COMMENT
Other Poster:
We represented Alter Group in buying a 10,000 SF bldg in Parsippany, NJ. They excel in
ensuring tenants are pleased with their space.
Props:
Congrats on closing the transaction, any details you can share about it?
Share:
We have also worked with Alter Group. We represented them in one of their downtown
locations and we have retained every tenant.
Network:
I am currently working with the Alter Group. I would love to hear more about how you dealt
with them.
Be interesting: An interesting fact about the Alter Group, they own more Class B buildings than any other
developer in our marketplace.
You can see how expanding your posts makes them more interesting. This is something that is very simple
to do and you will get far greater value out of your Social Media efforts.
Always ask, “What is the value to the reader?” before you post
39
WHAT�S WORTH MY WHILE?
Now that we�ve discussed what Social Media is, why you need to use it, how to be successful and mistakes
to avoid; it is time to dive deeper into some of the Social Media forms. For Commercial Real Estate, there
are four facets that currently make the most sense to participate in business. That�s not to say
participating in alternatives won�t be worth your while, but we�ll focus on the following four segments in
greater detail:
1.
Social networking
2.
Micro blogging
3.
Blogging
4.
Video sharing
forever changing.
You must realize that Social Media is
but who knows what will be popular a year from now.
These are the popular sites of today,
40
OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA SITES
Here is a list of some of the other Social Media sites. This list is more so you are aware of the other sites
that are out there that aren�t covered in this How to Guide in case you want to try others.
SOCIAL-MEDIA/SOCIAL-BOOKMARKING SITES
Social-Media/Social-Bookmarking Sites
Reddi
Upload stories and articles on Reddit to drive traffic to your site or blog. Submit items often so that you'll gain a
more loyal following and increase your presence on the site. www.reddit.com
Digg
Digg has a huge following online because of its optimum usability. Visitors can submit and browse articles in
categories like technology, business, entertainment, sports and more. Coined the term ―Digg This‖ www.digg.com
Del.icio.us
Social bookmark your way to better business with sites like del.icio.us, which invite users to organize and publicize
interesting items through tagging and networking. http://delicious.com
Technorati
If you want to increase your blog's readership, consider registering it with Technorati, a network of blogs and writers
that lists top stories in categories like Business, Entertainment and Technology. http://technorati.com
Ning
Squidoo
After hanging around the same social networks, you may feel inspired to create your own, where you can bring
together clients, vendors, customers and co-workers in a confidential, secure corner of the Web. Ning lets users
design free social networks that they can share with anyone. www.ning.com
According to Squidoo, "everyone's an expert on something. Share your knowledge!" Share your industry's secrets by
answering questions and designing a profile page to help other members. www.squidoo.com
Windows Live Window Live Spaces is Microsoft's blogging and Social Networking platform. You can do a lot of different things
including blogs, photos, music or invite friends. http://home.spaces.live.com
Spaces
Professional-Networking Sites
Jigsaw
Ecademy
PROFESSIONAL-NETWORKING SITES
Jigsaw is an online directory of free downloadable Company information and more than 16 million business
contacts. It has recently gained some popularity. www.jigsaw.com
Ecademy prides itself on "connecting business people" through its online network blog and message-board chats
as well as its premier BlackStar membership program which awards exclusive benefits. www.ecademy.com
XING
Another professional networking site that has recently gained some traction. www.xing.com
Plaxo
Plaxo securely hosts address books for more than 40 million people. You can easily connect your Social Media
efforts. www.plaxo.com
Naymz
Naymz is a powerful tool for any professional looking to advance their career to the next level. www.naymz.com
GENERAL SOCIAL MEDIA SITES
General Social Media Sites
Besides creating your own business reference page on Wikipedia, you can connect with other users on Wikipedia's
Wikipedia
Community Portal, where you'll find professionals enthusiastic about news, business, research and more.
www.wikipedia.org
Newsvine
Feature top employees by uploading their articles, studies or other news-related items to this site. A free account
will also get you your own column and access to the Newsvine community. www.newsvine.com
Yahoo!
Answers
Start fielding questions with this social-media service. Search for questions in your particular areas of expertise by
clicking categories like Business or Finance. If you continue to dole out useful advice and link your answer to your
company's Web page, you'll quickly gain a new following of curious customers. http://answers.yahoo.com
Slide Share
Scribd
Mixx
Yelp
WikiHow
Google Knol
1,000 of presentations have been uploaded for viewing. www.slideshare.net
Search for tons of content on a variety of topics. www.scribd.com
Mixx prides itself on being "your link to the Web content that really matters." Submit and rate stories, photos and
news to drive traffic to your own site. You'll also meet others with similar interests. www.mixx.com
Social Media Yellow Pages. Find out ratings of restaurants or other local businesses. www.yelp.com
Create a how-to guide or tutorial on wikiHow to share your company's services with the public for free.
www.wikihow.com
Little unknown research area where people can post ―Knols‖ about anything. http://knol.google.com
41
Social Networking
1.
2.
3.
What Is It
Why Should I Use It
Participation
a) Linked In
b) Facebook
4. How Often to Participate
5. Tips
6. Tracking Success
7. Applications
8. Affiliate Samples
9. Other Samples
10. Get Started
42
SOCIAL NETWORKING
As a commercial real estate professional, you�re probably
already involved in networking, but possibly not involved
online.
Social networking is simply taking the same ―networking‖
you do on a regular basis (business card exchanges,
meeting people for lunch, etc.) and moving it into the
similar to a business
cocktail hour, except without time
constraints.
online realm. It is
Here are a few highlights of the most common things to
do on a social network:
•
Create an online profile
•
Share photos, videos, links and more
•
Send private messages, post public comments or
instant messages
•
Learn more about people, brands, competitors and
organizations
•
Join groups of interest
•
Ask questions and get multiple answers
•
NETWORK
“If you are good at traditional networking, you can be even
better with Social Networking. If you aren’t good at traditional
networking, you can still be good at Social Networking.”
43
WHY SHOULD I USE SOCIAL NETWORKING
1. You are already networking anyway – why not take it to the online realm?
2. It�s Free – Social Networking is a quick and easy way to generate publicity for you and your
company.
3. Reach Unexpected Clients – When you post Status Updates or comment on other
people�s status updates, they can be seen by your friends and their friends, thus reaching unexpected
people.
4. Client Testimonials or Endorsements– You can get your clients to post good
testimonials about you or your company. On LinkedIn, current or past co-workers can endorse you.
5. Facebook can be your all-encompassing Social Media realm –
You can link your Twitter Account to your Facebook account (you can even automatically post to
Twitter by updating your Facebook account). You can start a Blog using a Facebook Blog application
and you can post video and pictures. Thus, it is all you need in one location.
6. It is an alternative to your boring website – Your clients don�t always go to
your website. Instead, they check to see if you are on LinkedIn and other social sites because they
know they can get more personal information about you.
7. Get your client�s resume – Turn the tables on your clients. Sure enough, they are
checking up on you, but now you can read their profiles and find out information about them. You
can find interesting or personal things about them that normally would take you several meetings to
find out. If it gives you an inside track for one deal…it is all worth it.
I think the proper question is “Why aren’t you using it?”
44
SOCIAL NETWORKING PARTICIPATION
There are hundreds of social networking sites out there, each with their own niche, but you�ve probably
heard of the more popular sites like MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn. While MySpace is credited with
Facebook
launching the social networking craze,
has currently taken over and has had much more
usage and growth. According to Facebook�s own site, over 200 million users login to Facebook at least
once every day. 6
LinkedIn
While
does not have the same size audience as Facebook, it does cater to a more
professional crowd and is a good tool for networking amongst peers.
Both LinkedIn and Facebook can have a role in commercial real estate, but the two sites are very different
in approach and audience.
There are some who will tell you that everyone should participate on social networks. In my opinion, that�s
not true. It�s not for everyone. If a person tries to force himself into participation, just because everyone
else is, ultimately he will fail and will have wasted his time.
Social networking is for eager participants. It takes time and energy to
incorporate a social network into a business, especially doing it in such a way that is not overly selfpromoting.
6 - www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics
45
LINKEDIN
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a great site for networking with other real estate professionals.
is not as social
as Facebook, but is more of a ―business‖ tool. Think of it as an extension of your cbcworldwide.com
profile page. LinkedIn gives you an expanded profile and gives you an online place for managing your
business contacts. It is a good place to participate in message boards and groups with other
professionals both in your area and across the country.
LinkedIn is for almost everyone. It�s simple to sign up and create your profile. There�s really no upkeep
necessary. You can participate as much or as little as you want, and update your profile as you gain new
experiences or achievements just as you would your resume or profile page.
LinkedIn Demographics
Recent LinkedIn statistics show the following data14:
Average age:
41
Male:
64%
Household Income:
$100K+ = 53%
Own Smart phone or PDA:
34%
College Grad/Post Grad:
80.1%
Business Decision Maker:
49%
Job Titles:
C-Level Executives
EVP/SVP
Sr Mgmt
Middle Management
7.8%
6.5%
16%
18%
14 - http://thebrandbible.blogspot.com/2009/06/linkedin-demographics.html
46
FACEBOOK
Facebook
If you were to think of LinkedIn as an online business luncheon, think of
as the shopping
mall. On Facebook, you�ll run into anyone from your co-workers to old classmates from college to your
neighbors to your clients. It�s a casual, informal online social network that gives you a peek into the
everyday lives of people.
The Essence of Facebook – people post ―what they are doing‖ to their wall that can be
seen by anyone they are ―friends‖ with. You can comment on other people�s ―status.‖ People also share
videos, photos and links.
US Facebook Unique
Users by Age2
16-25
10%
55-65
7%
45-54
12%
13-17
29%
35-44
19%
26-34
23%
60% of all US users are over the age of 25.
2- www.insidefacebook.com/2009/10/01/latest-data-on-facebooks-us-growth-by-age-and-gender-october-1-2009/
47
FACEBOOK STATISTICS (FROM THEIR SITE)
General Growth
–
–
–
More than 400 million active users
50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day
The fastest growing demographic is those 35 years old and older
User Engagement
–
–
–
–
Average user has 130 friends on the site
More than 8 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide)
More than 60 million status updates each day
Average user spends more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook
Applications
–
–
–
–
–
–
More than 3 billion photos uploaded to the site each month
More than 14 million videos uploaded each month
More than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.)
shared each week
More than 45 million active user groups exist on the site
More than 1.5 million local businesses have active Pages on Facebook
More than 3 million active Pages on Facebook
Mobile
–
–
There are more than 100 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile
devices
People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are 2x more active on Facebook than nonmobile users
*stats taken from 2/2/10, stats change regularly. Check
http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics for most updated stats.
48
FACEBOOK LINGO
Here are some terms to help you better understand Facebook:
•
Profile – Your personal space on Facebook. This is where your friends can contact you, leave
messages, view photos or other information.
•
Status – How are you feeling? What are you doing? Let your friends know by updating your
profile status. This is where you can post listings, etc.
•
Wall – This is where your friends can leave you messages (your other friends can read these
messages too). To send or receive a more private message, use your Inbox.
•
Inbox – Much like your email inbox, this is where you can send and receive messages that require
a little more privacy than you�d get from a wall post. Inbox messages can only be seen by the sender
and the recipient.
•
Discussion Board
– This is an area where fans of a Page can engage in topic-based
dialogue. Usually the topics are questions posed by the Page admin to spark conversation and
interaction.
•
―Like This‖ – when someone likes a status update, they can check the thumbs up tab.
•
Poke – Let your friends know you�re thinking about them, without saying a word. When you send
a poke, the recipient gets a message telling them that they�ve been poked. I really don�t understand
the point of it.
•
SuperPoke – more advanced Pokes with objects or pictures
Tag – Whenever you post a photo on Facebook, you have the option of ―tagging‖ – identifying the
people in the photo, be it yourself or someone in your immediate group of Facebook friends.
49
FAN PAGES VS.
INDIVIDUAL PAGES VS.
GROUPS
Facebook has different levels of accounts that
you can setup. Fan Page, Individual Page or
Groups. It is important to know the difference
between them.
PRIVATE VS. PUBLIC
Facebook gives you varying options when it
comes to privacy. To change these settings,
go to Account / Privacy Settings / Profile Info.
• Friends: means that only those that
are ―friends‖ with you can see your
information.
• Fan Page: Created by companies,
organizations, musicians, politicians, etc.
Facebook members can become ―Fans‖ of
a Page to communicate support for the
group, company, etc, and to interact with
other members who share their
sentiments. This is where you would
create your company page.
However, it is strange how Facebook has
set this up. You can create a Page, yet,
when you try to search or utilize anything
on Facebook, it asks for you to create a
profile attached to the page. Note: when
you create a profile, this will add a
“personal page” to that account. Once this
is done, it cannot be erased. After creating
your profile, you will gain access to
Facebook�s options.
• Individual Page: As the name
implies, this is more for the individual. You
can add friends, share posts, etc. This is
the ―standard‖ Facebook page. Note: You
do have to be careful posting business
related items on your Individual Page. If
one person complains about your page, it
can be banned very easily.
• Group: A group is more for a particular
topic, such as ―Commercial Real Estate‖.
You would create a group if there was a
topic of interest that you wanted to write
about and have other people share that
interest.
• Friends of Friends: As it sounds
like all friends of friends can see your
information.
• Everyone: means that anyone can
see your information, and it is searchable
by search engines such as Google.
–
We recommend that you change most of
your account settings to ―public‖. This
makes it easier for those trying to connect
with you. When they search for you, they
can see your information.
• Privacy: You can also limit what
certain friends see on your Facebook
page. You do this by setting your privacy
settings. If you don�t want to create both
a personal and a business account, you
can take this route, where you set higher
privacy settings to limit the information
your clients would see. For instance, if
you have personal pictures, you can
―block‖ your clients from seeing the
pictures. You can also hide what your
friends post.
• Sharing: Facebook added the ability
to share photo albums with people that
are not on Facebook. This would be good
if you created a photo album of a listing.
50
USE FACEBOOK FOR BUSINESS
Although you may think otherwise, you can use Facebook for business. Here are some examples of how to
utilize this Social Networking site:
• Post Listings as pictures:
You can create an album with 4-5 listings with pictures and
put a description of the listing. TG Associates does this:
www.facebook.com/pages/Washington-DC/Coldwell-Banker-Commercial-TG-Associates/147779267636
• Photo album of employees:
Bosanek & Flores does this:
www.facebook.com/pages/Yuba-City-CA/Coldwell-Banker-Commercial-Bosanek-Flores-Yuba-City-CA/112696172568
• Branding: Post accomplishments, new hires, events, etc.
• Listings Tab:
On Facebook, you can change the tabs that show on your page. You can add a
―links‖ tab and list links to your listings from www.CBCworldwide.com.
• Reviews Tab: Have clients submit testimonials of your services.
• Discussions Tab: Start conversations and let your clients respond.
• Property Videos: You�ve taken the time to create a video for your property, make sure you
share it.
• Recruiting: You would be surprised at how many people would respond to a recruiting bit on
Facebook.
51
HOW OFTEN TO PARTICIPATE WITH
SOCIAL NETWORKING
•
Your LinkedIn profile does not need to be updated on a daily basis. Update it when you have some
new milestones or career changes. If you�re participating in a group discussion,
you should follow the conversation stream on a regular basis.
a ―news feed‖
•
Facebook works through
showing activity of all friends in chronological order.
If you�re not participating on a regular basis, your updates will continually be pushed down and your
friends will soon forget you�re even on Facebook.
•
Update in moderation. No one wants to be friends with a person who only talks about
themselves. The same is true on Facebook. Your participation should be to get to know or stay in
touch with people and not a soap box to constantly proclaim your real estate expertise. You don�t
need to update every five minutes as to ―what you are doing.‖
•
The general rule of thumb is social networking shouldn�t take over your time; it
should be a
function of your business.
It is really easy to get sucked into the vortex of Social
Media. There is a lot to read and a lot of people to try to stay in touch with.
you try it out for at least a month
•
In the end, if
or so and aren�t generating much
traction, it is time to spend less on it. However, if you find you generate more traction with clients
than you did in the past by calling or trying to set up meetings, you should focus more time on it.
•
If you don�t have time to maintain it, see if you can
. They are on
the sites anyway. You can give them content to keep your page updated. It gets them more involved
with your job, and it may make you closer with them. Plus you win because your page is regularly
updated.
get your kids involved
Source: www.don’tfeedthegeek.com
52
SOCIAL NETWORKING TIPS
Don�t Manually Search for Friends
Friend Suggestions
Use Friend Finder – you can import your contacts
from Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc. and Facebook
or LinkedIn will search for those people by their
email address. LinkedIn will also tell you when
those people join at a later date.
Both LinkedIn and Facebook
suggest people you may know to
make it easier to find new friends
and make more connections. You
can also suggest people that your
friends or clients might know.
Get Personal When BeFriending
Online Real-time Chat
Don�t just ask someone to be your friend, send
a personal message such as how you know
them, etc. Don�t sound like a sales person
when you add your message.
Sometimes, conversation just aren�t
meant for email. Those
conversations where it is back and
forth with one-word short answers
are meant for an online chat. With
Facebook, you can start an online
(chat) conversation with someone
you are friends with and the
response is real time. It is located in
the bottom right of the screen.
Search by Company
You will find that Facebook�s search is very
basic. They had an advanced search
feature, but have since removed it. They still
have the search by company feature, but it
isn�t really called out on their site:
www.facebook.com/srch.php?coworker&ref=search
Don�t Always email the
masses Send personal messages to
individuals - it is part of the relationship building.
Keep blast emails to a minimum. You can only
blast 20 at a time anyway.
Birthday Reminders
Never miss a client�s birthday with
Facebook�s birthday reminders.
Send them a nice message.
Don�t expect everyone
to see every post:
People may have plenty of friends, so your
post may get lost on their homepage. Don�t
take offense if they didn�t see a particular post
53
TRACKING YOUR SOCIAL NETWORKING SUCCESS
This is one of the most difficult things to do with Social Networking. How do I track my success? Before
tracking your success, you need to know what you are looking to get out of Facebook or LinkedIn:
business, PR, relationships, etc. There are a couple of ways to measure your Social Networking success:
•
Comments to your posts or general interaction
•
Number of Friends / Connections you have
•
If you are getting any ―Direct Messages‖
•
If people tag your post as ―Likes This‖ – it shows they are interested in what you are posting
•
If you setup a Facebook Page for your company or product, you can use the "insights― to view critical
visitor statistics of your page. You can see everything from the number of new fans to unique visitors
to a breakdown of demographic information.
•
Number of endorsements you get on LinkedIn
54
SOCIAL NETWORKING APPLICATIONS
There are a number of third party applications that take the Social Networking experience to a new level.
Some of the top applications include:
Facebook
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Getting Started:
www.facebook.com/help/new_user_guide.php
Self-paced Facebook 101 Training:
www.gcflearnfree.org/computer/topic.aspx?id=154
Facebook for Grown-ups (Series of 10 short videos):
www.butterscotch.com/tutorial/How-To-Sign-Up-For-A-Facebook-Profile
Post to multiple social sites at once:
http://ping.fm/
Facebook Apps directory:
www.facebook.com/apps/directory.php
30 Apps for Doing Business on Facebook:
http://mashable.com/2009/01/22/business-facebook-apps/
Facebook Lite (less on the page):
www.lite.facebook.com
Set up Facebook for Mobile:
www.facebook.com/mobile
Outlook Facebook Integration:
www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=7229743486
Blackberry App:
www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2254487659
Iphone App:
www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=6628568379
Improve Facebook experience with scripts (Advanced Users):
http://mashable.com/2008/12/25/facebook-greasemonkey-scripts/
LinkedIn
•
LinkedIn Apps:
•
•
•
•
Getting Started on LinkedIn:
Complete LinkedIn Learning Center:
Set up LinkedIn for Mobile:
Outlook LinkedIn integration:
http://learn.linkedin.com/apps/ or
www.linkedin.com/static?key=application_directory
http://learn.linkedin.com/whats-new/
http://learn.linkedin.com/
http://learn.linkedin.com/mobile/
www.linkedin.com/static?key=outlook_toolbar_download
55
SAMPLE AFFILIATE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES
With
Facebook, you have to search for “Coldwell Banker Commercial” as there are no direct links
•
•
•
•
•
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Alfonso Realty
Coldwell Banker Commercial Bosanek & Flores
Coldwell Banker Commercial CoastalMark
Coldwell Banker Commercial Cornerstone
Coldwell Banker Commercial TG Associates
Coldwell Banker Commercial United, Realtors
LinkedIn
On
, The Coldwell Banker CommercialВ® organization has a group that you can join and see
many of the affiliate profiles that are in the group. Here are a couple of samples:
Company Pages
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Bennett Williams
– www.linkedin.com/companies/coldwell-banker-commercial-bennett-williams
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Thompson Realty Group
– www.linkedin.com/companies/coldwell-banker-commercial-thompson-realty-group
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial SoundVest Properties
– www.linkedin.com/companies/coldwell-banker-commercial-soundvest-properties
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Griffin Companies
– www.linkedin.com/companies/coldwell-banker-commercial-griffin-companies
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Fisher Group
– www.linkedin.com/companies/coldwell-banker-commercial-fisher-group
Individuals
•
Colleen Butcher
•
Rob Adams
•
Stepan Babanin
•
Mike King
•
Brian Beede
•
Jeff Moody
Facebook – search for Colleen Butcher
www.linkedin.com/in/robadamscbc
www.linkedin.com/in/stepanbabanin
www.linkedin.com/in/mjking
www.linkedin.com/in/bbeede
www.linkedin.com/pub/jeff-moody/14/aa/480
(note: notice the URL above if you don’t customize it with
your name, it is much longer)
56
SAMPLE SOCIAL NETWORKING PAGES
FACEBOOK PAGES
•
•
•
•
•
www.facebook.com/coldwellbanker
www.facebook.com/vitaminwater
www.facebook.com/blackberry
www.facebook.com/cocacola
www.facebook.com/aflacduck
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE FACEBOOK GROUPS
•
•
Commercial Real Estate Guru: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2242588620
Commercial Real Estate: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2215516601
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ON LINKEDIN
•
•
•
•
Real Estate Finance & Investment Society with almost 30,000 members
Corporate Real Estate with almost 13,000 members
The Commercial Real Estate Network with over 3,000 members
Over 800 other groups found by doing a search of ―Commercial Real Estate‖
57
LINKEDIN GET STARTED CHECKLIST
Go to www.linkedin.com & register as a new user
Fill out your profile or create a Company Page: (you can upload your resume)
Get your vanity URL (makes it easier to find): (Edit, public profile). Use your name
Upload professional photo
Find Friends using ―Import Contacts‖
Start Connecting & Accepting Connection Request
Search & Join Groups
Join the CBC LinkedIn Group (search for Coldwell Banker Commercial)
Begin Posting – follow the posting tips in the first section of this book
Periodically check ―People You May Know‖ for new members
Set Email Reminders (―Account & Settings‖ at top of page)
Set your Privacy Settings (―Account & Settings‖ at top of page)
Set up LinkedIn for Mobile (If applicable):
http://learn.linkedin.com/mobile/
Outlook LinkedIn integration: www.linkedin.com/static?key=outlook_toolbar_download
Add your LinkedIn URL to your email signature and any marketing collateral (business
cards, etc.)
If your properties are on LoopNet, use the ―Share on LinkedIn link‖ to distribute properties
Link your Linked in to your Twitter account
58
FACEBOOK GET STARTED CHECKLIST
before you even post an update.
There are several simple things to do
followers, your updates won�t be seen by anyone.
If you have no
Go to www.facebook.com & register as a new user
Fill out your Profile or create a Business Page: www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
Upload professional photo
Find Friends using ―Friend Finder‖
Start Connecting & Accepting Friend Request
Search & Join Groups or become ―Fans‖ of pages
Set Email Reminders (―Settings‖ at top of page)
Set your Privacy Settings (―Settings‖ at top of page)
Create Friend Groups / List to control privacy settings at once
Begin Posting to your Wall or other people�s wall - follow the posting tips in the first section of
this book
Start an online real time chat (located at the bottom of the screen)
Set up Facebook for Mobile (If applicable):
www.facebook.com/mobile
Outlook Facebook Integration: www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=7229743486
Connect your Twitter Account – search for ―Twitter‖ Applications on Facebook
Periodically check ―People You May Know‖ for new members
Add your Facebook URL to your email signature and any marketing collateral (business
cards, etc.)
If your properties are on LoopNet, use the ―Share on Facebook‖ link to distribute properties
Search your friends ―friends‖ for interesting people to connect with
59
Microblogging
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
What Is It
Why Should I Use It
Twitter Lingo
Who Should Use It
How Often to Tweet
Tips
Tracking Success
Applications
Affiliate Samples
Commercial Real Estate Samples
Get Started
60
MICROBLOGGING
A blog, or web log, is a type of website that consists of regularly updated content, traditionally displayed in
reverse chronological order. Microblogging is slightly different than blogging. With microblogging, you are
limited to the number of characters or words you can post, as it provides a way to get quick, up-to-date
information.
Twitter is the most recognized and widely used microblogging site. I�m sure you�ve heard about Twitter in the
news or from a friend. National businesses such as ESPN and CNN quote Twitter on TV. But what is Twitter?
The best answer is: it�s USAToday-style of writing for blogging. It�s short and concise posts on a specific topic
shared with whoever is following.
Twitter limits posts to 140 characters
The Essence of Twitter: people post ―Tweets‖ that anyone can see, especially since
the Google and Yahoo have integrated Twitter post in their searches. People can follow a particular person�s
Tweets. Twitter has it�s own language and is sometimes difficult to understand. If someone is responding to
another person�s post, they would use the @ and that person�s name. The only issue is, you might not see
what the original person posted, so the response doesn�t really make sense. Many times, people use
shortened URLs to stay within the character limit. It only takes a couple of seconds to post something.
•
Some people use Twitter to keep up with what their friends are doing. Their friends post updates about
how they are taking a nap or eating a hot dog or other such mundane tasks.
•
For Coldwell Banker Commercial affiliates, it can be used for a business perspective. You can follow
competition or business related posts such as LoopNet or CCIM.
•
You can use Twitter to get real time news. If something is going on in the news, chances are, someone
is ―Tweeting‖ about it and you will hear it first.
61
WHY SHOULD I USE TWITTER?
Don�t believe the hype that you�re too old or too young or too busy to get some benefit from Twitter. There
are a number of smart reasons why at the very least you should be ―listening‖ to what�s transpiring on
Twitter, even if you are not participating.
Reason #1 – Good to know what the competition is saying
–
You can�t always be a fly on the wall at competitor�s sales meetings, but Twitter can give you the
next best thing. Start following the competition�s professionals on Twitter. Who knows? You may
get some good ideas.
Reason #2 – Good to know what the experts are saying
–
Experts in your local area as well as in the commercial real estate industry are active users of
Twitter. Look for real estate writers, bloggers and top producers on Twitter. Often they share
discoveries that have helped their business.
Reason #3 – Creates a holistic Social Media profile
–
If you have a blog, you should be on Twitter. If you�re an avid social networking participant, you
should be on Twitter. If you regularly post photos, videos or content to a variety of sites, you should
be on Twitter. Twitter can help distribute your content from other Social Media sites, grant
additional exposure and drive traffic to your other Social Media presence. There are a number of
automated sites that can take content posted to Social Media destinations and seamlessly
distribute it through Twitter.
Reason #4 - It�s Free
–
Twitter is a quick and easy way to generate publicity for you and your company.
If it gives you an inside track for one deal…it is all worth it.
62
TWITTER LINGO
Here are some terms to help you better understand Twitter
• Tweet: the act of updating your Twitter status
• Retweet: abbreviated ―RT‖, the act of taking another person�s tweet and sending it out again.
Now shown by the
symbol in front of the Tweet.
• Followers: those people who have selected to follow your Twitter updates
• Following: those people whom you have selected to follow
• Tweeple: people that are on Twitter
• Hashtag: similar to tags on blogs, hashtags add contextual descriptors to tweets to categorize
them around a common topic; hashtags are preceded by # (i.e. a tweet about real estate may contain
the hashtag #RE)
• Reply: similar to email, the act of responding to another person�s tweet
• Direct message: a private message sent to another Twitter user
• FF�s: Follow Friday– common act of posting other twitter sites that you recommend to follow on
Friday
• Lists: a way to organize followers into a category or group
• @: When you see the @ symbol, it means someone is referring to another Tweeter
63
WHO SHOULD MICROBLOG
Thousands of people setup a Twitter account, but never send a tweet. However, that�s not such a bad thing.
You don�t have to be a blogger or an avid social network participant to get some value out of Twitter.
There are different levels of Twitter users who each find a different value from it. Let�s look at a few of
these users to determine which one suits you best.
The networker:
The networker uses Twitter to increase his sphere of influence
while maintaining the relationships he already has. This person
uses Twitter to keep in touch, find out what�s new, and gain
insight from his ―tweeple.‖ The networker uses Twitter as an
extension of instant messaging or as a replacement for quick
emails and sends updates to stay connected.
The investigator:
The investigator uses Twitter to listen but not to speak. This
person follows a variety of different people including friends, coworkers and competition so he can stay on the pulse of what
others are saying, doing and sharing. They rarely post a ―Tweet.‖
The distributor:
The distributor uses Twitter as an enhancement to his Social
Media profile. He has a blog and new blog posts are automatically
sent to Twitter followers. Twitter auto-updates his Facebook
status. Any newly uploaded YouTube video is linked to a new
tweet. Articles and retweets are shared. Twitter has become a hub
for distributing information across the social web.
The tweener:
The tweener is a combination of all the previous profiles. On some
days his use of Twitter is for distribution, and other days for
investigation. He is not a ―power user‖ but is comfortable enough
with the medium to get key information and reciprocate with
those who follow him.
64
HOW OFTEN SHOULD I TWEET?
There is no right or wrong answer to this question. One person may find Twitter to be helpful without
sending a single tweet while others find success by tweeting every hour.
The idea is to first
determine your objectives for using
Twitter and then finding a comfortable way to integrate it into your regular business activities. If
you�re thinking of using Twitter just to monitor what other people are saying, a good idea is to set aside
some time each day to review what people are posting. Fifteen minutes during your lunch break or ten
minutes when you first get to work are great ideas to help incorporate Twitter into your business day.
For those that want to be active participants, you really have to jump right in and start using it. Watch what
others are tweeting and get a sense of how you want to participate.
TWITTER TIPS
•
65
Customize your page: Add the CBC Twitter background, post a picture or CBC Logo
w/DBA. Make it inviting to others.
•
Delete ―Spam‖ followers: Occasionally, you will get ―spam‖ followers (unwanted
followers that follow people or groups in masses or automated). Twitter is on the web, and the web is
prone to spam, just like your email. To delete followers: login, click on “followers”, click the right action
button and click “block follower”. You will want to keep your Twitter page free of spam followers so their
post don�t show on your homepage.
•
Twitter Search tip: Use the word ―near‖ immediately before a location (or a zip code) to find
tweets near that location. Example: ―real estate" near:―San Francisco" will find tweets containing the
exact phrase ―real estate" and sent near ―San Francisco".
•
Use the @ sign: To create a reply or to talk about another Twitter person, simply place an @
sign in front of their Twitter name. This will create a direct link to them when you post.
•
Shorten URLs: Remember, Twitter only allows 140 characters. Posting a long URL can eat up a
lot of valuable space. Use http://bit.ly/ or www.tiny.cc to shorten your URLs.
•
Choose Words Wisely: Again, only 140 characters. They fill up quickly. Get to the point.
What you say should be relevant. You can always link to a full document if needed.
•
Don�t abbreviate too much: Yes, you do have a character limit, but don�t brviat 2 mch
whr no 1 knows wht U R sayng
•
Find Good Tweeters: Once you find a person with similar interests that has a lot of
followers, read their Tweets, and see what is driving people to follow them.
•
Share timely information: Timely is the key word here. Post items to Twitter as things
happen. Twitter is very ―in the moment‖ type of medium and it craves information in real time. If
something happened last month or last week, don�t tweet about it.
•
Build credibility and relationships: Don�t think that only YOUR tweets are the
most important. Retweet interesting items that other people post. Send a reply of thanks to those that
retweet your posts. Communicate with those you follow and who follow you. Remember Social Media is
about engagement. Don�t make your Twitter feed a one way street of information. Participate with your
network.
•
Don�t get sucked in: Following people on Twitter can take up great amounts of
time if you are not careful. You don�t have to read every tweet, nor post 75 times a day.
•
Don�t expect everyone to see every tweet:
People may be following a
variety of Tweeters and Tweets often get lost in their Twitter homepage. Don�t take offense if they didn�t
see a particular Tweet.
66
TRACKING YOUR TWITTER SUCCESS
This is one of the most difficult things to do with Social Media. How do I track my success? Before
tracking your success, you need to know what you are looking to get out of Twitter: business, PR,
relationships, etc. There are a couple of ways to measure your Twitter success:
•
Track the number of ―RTs‖ you get. You can view RTs right from your Twitter account or see who and
what is RT�d www.retweetrank.com
•
# of Followers you have
•
# of people you follow
•
If you are getting any Direct Messages
•
See success measurements: www.twitalyzer.com or per day: http://twitter-friends.com
•
# of clicks your links get: If you use http://bit.ly/ to shrink your URL, it gives you tracking information
•
Set up a ―Google Alerts‖ type thing for Twitter: http://tweetbeep.com
•
Set up your account to receive metrics: http://twitterfeed.com or http://hootsuite.com
67
TWITTER APPLICATIONS
There are a number of third party applications that take the Twitter experience to a new level. Some of the
top applications include:
•
Twitter Search
http://search.twitter.com/
•
Twitter Help
http://help.twitter.com/portal
•
Twitpic
www.twitpic.com - picture sharing functionality for Twitter
•
Tweetdeck - http://tweetdeck.com/beta - TweetDeck is your personal browser for staying in touch with
what�s happening now, connecting you with your contacts across Twitter, Facebook and more.
•
Twitter Outlook Integration - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/EM102920971033.aspx
•
Twhirl - www.twhirl.org - Twhirl is a desktop client for Twitter, post directly to Twitter, get updates on all
you are following, shorten URLs, post pictures
•
Twitterrific (for iPhone)
http://iconfactory.com/software/twitterrific
•
Ubertwitter (for Blackberry)
http://ubertwitter.com or
http://orangatame.com/ota/twitterberry/
•
Twitter blog feed
www.Twitterfeed.com
•
TweetLater (now called Social Oomph) www.socialoomph.com schedule Tweets
•
Bigger Twitter
•
Twapps
www.twapps.com – search for other Twitter applications
•
Twitter yellowpages: Twellow
www.twellow.com or Just Tweet it - http://justtweetit.com
•
Find Tweeters near you: Geo Chirp
www.geochirp.com or http://geofollow.com/
•
Twitter for Business
http://business.twitter.com/twitter101/
•
Mashable�s Guide
http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/
http://biggertwitter.com post tweets longer than 140 characters
68
SAMPLE CBC AFFILIATE TWITTER SITES
If you or your company is interested in starting a Twitter page, here are a couple examples from affiliates
that may give you ideas on how to utilize it:
Sample Affiliate Twitter Sites:
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Metro Central
http://twitter.com/cbcmetro
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Schneidmiller Realty
http://twitter.com/cbcsr
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Atlantic Realty
http://twitter.com/cbcatlantic
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Griffin Companies
http://twitter.com/cbcgriffin
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT New Jersey
http://twitter.com/cbcnrtnewjersey
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Bennett Williams
http://twitter.com/bennettwilliams
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Orion
http://twitter.com/cbcorion
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Thompson Realty
http://twitter.com/cbcthompson
•
National CBC Site
http://twitter.com/cbcworldwide
69
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE TWITTER SITES
Industry Sites worth following:
•
CCIM
•
CNN Money
•
Coldwell Banker
•
Commercial Real Estate Advice
•
Commercial Source
•
CREOpoint
•
CREW Foundation
•
ICSC
•
IREM
•
LEED Resource
•
LoopNet
•
NAIOP Corporate
•
NAR Research
•
REBusiness
•
ULI
•
USA Today Money
•
WSJ Economy
•
WSJ Real Estate
http://twitter.com/ccim
http://twitter.com/CNNMoney
http://twitter.com/coldwellbnkr
http://twitter.com/CRE_Advice
http://twitter.com/commsource
http://twitter.com/CREOpoint
http://twitter.com/CREWFoundation
http://twitter.com/ICSC
http://twitter.com/IREM_info
http://twitter.com/LEED_Resource
http://twitter.com/loopnet
http://twitter.com/naiopcorporate
http://twitter.com/NAR_Research
http://twitter.com/REBusiness
http://twitter.com/UrbanLandInst
http://twitter.com/USATODAYmoney
http://twitter.com/WSJEconomy
http://twitter.com/WSJRealEstate
70
TWITTER GET STARTED CHECKLIST
before you even send a single tweet. If you
There are several simple things to do
have no followers, your tweet won�t be seen by anyone.
Go to www.twitter.com
Register as a new user
Set up your URL: It is recommended to use your company domain name minus the dot
com; i.e. http://twitter.com/cbcworldwide . Keep it short!
Fill out your Profile
Upload professional photo
Find people to follow using http://search.twitter.com/ or link your Gmail, Yahoo or AOL
account to find people
Start Connecting & Accepting Follower Request
Send an email to your clients inviting them to follow
Create ―Lists‖ to sort followers
Set up your Mobile phone (if applicable) “Settings” at top of page / devices
Set Email Notices (―Settings‖ at top of page)
Set your Privacy Settings (―Settings‖ at top of page)
Outlook Twitter Integration: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/EM102920971033.aspx
Follow the Coldwell Banker Commercial national Twitter page: CBCworldwide
Begin Tweeting – follow the posting tips in the first section of this book
Add your Twitter URL to your email signature and any marketing collateral (business cards,
etc.)
Periodically check and delete ―spam‖ followers
Connect your Twitter Account to Facebook – search Facebook for ―Twitter‖ applications
If your properties are on LoopNet, use the Share on Twitter link to distribute properties
Set up Twirl www.twhirl.org or other desktop program to make it easier to use Twitter
71
Blogging
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
What Is It
Why Should I Use It
Who Should Write a Blog
Where to Blog
How Often to Blog
Tips & Don�ts
Sample Blog Topics
Tracking Success
Assistance with Blogs
Affiliate Samples
Other Samples
Get Started
72
BLOGGING
A blog, or web log, is a type of website that consists of regularly
updated content, traditionally displayed in reverse chronological
order. The thing that makes blogs different than traditional
information sites is the quick, casual style of the posts, and the
personality of the writer that comes through the writing.
•
According to an August 2008 report by comScore
MediaMetrix, blogs have received over 77 million unique
visitors in the United States alone. There�s no denying that
blogging has become a viable medium for Internet users to
get news, information, entertainment and more.
•
Chances are, you�ve read a blog post in the last week and you
may not have known it was a blog post.
•
Blogs are everywhere. Do a search on Google for any topic and
at least one blog appears in the first ten search results.
•
In a blog, the author initiates the conversation, but the real
value is the potential for dialogue between author and reader
and the readers� ability to agree, disagree and comment on
the topic.
•
Of all the Social Media platforms,
blogging requires the most dedication
of time and effort.
73
WHY START A BLOG?
Blogs serve to establish you as being: transparent, relevant, active, top of mind and an expert in your
business.
Transparent
because your blog is a dialog with your readers. You’re not shouting, preaching or lecturing, but
sharing insights and ideas as part of an online conversation.
Relevant
because you are an essential part of the community and know what is going on within the local
commercial real estate market on a day-to-day basis.
Active
because you’re dedicated and will update your blog regularly making it an essential resource on
the local commercial real estate market.
Top of Mind
because if readers come to your blog frequently, they make that connection
that you are the go-to person.
Expert
because you have knowledge that others don’t.
74
WHO SHOULD WRITE A BLOG?
While anyone can be a blogger, everyone should not be blogging. There are three key attributes that make
a good blogger:
Writing skills - In fact the term
blogger should really be replaced with
the term ―writer.‖ Blogging is writing
that�s thought-provoking and
compelling. If you aren�t a skilled
writer, you won�t be a successful
blogger.
Dedication – Behind a
BLOGGER
Personality – What makes
a blog unique is the style and
personality of the author. The
casual nature of blogging
highlights the author�s insights and
personality. It�s another avenue for
customers to get to know you. It�s
what makes readers want to come
to your blog regularly.
successful blog is a
dedicated blogger. A blog
needs to be updated on a
frequent basis and readers
can tell if you�re ―mailing it
in‖ or if you�re putting some
true thought and insight
behind each post. Blogging
is not for the person who
wants to dabble. A good
blog requires time, upkeep
and thought.
75
WHERE TO START A BLOG
If you�re starting a blog, the blogging platforms
•
WordPress (http://wordpress.com) and
Blogger (www.blogger.com) are the two most popular destinations. Both offer simple enough
interfaces to help you create and start a blog within minutes.
There are a few sites that have directories of blogs or are specifically for searching blogs. The largest
site is Technorati, which touts itself as the site for ―collecting, highlighting, and distributing the online
global conversation.‖ The site is basically a search engine for all the posts in the entire blogosphere.
But blogging has become so mainstream that any search engine will help you find topics from any
variety of blogs.
•
•
ActiveRain
(http://activerain.com) is a blogging destination specific to real estate. The site
allows you to create blog posts, share them within the ActiveRain community. With over 152,000
users15, it�s a place any real estate professional should explore when thinking about entering the
blogging world.
15 - Number of users posted on ActiveRain.com home page on July 10, 2009; http://activerain.com
76
WHEN AND HOW OFTEN TO BLOG?
There is much disagreement when it comes to how often you should blog. Many people think you have to do
it every day. I tend to disagree.
•
Unless you are blogging about timely information (June 24th it rained a lot); you don�t have to write on
your blog daily. If the information you are writing about isn�t timely by nature (the effect of tenants
moving into a smaller space), the info is still relevant regardless of when it was written.
•
Plus, if you are like me, you usually don�t even notice dates on articles, unless it is a couple of years old.
•
You should blog as you have topics to talk about. You shouldn�t force a topic just because you think
your blog is going to get stale.
•
Be honest, the average person isn�t going to follow your blog every day. We all have busy lives and
can�t keep up with everything.
•
That being said, I would say that you should
•
Don�t rely on a 9 a.m. post every day so you can check off ―blogging‖ on your to-do list. Make it a logical
part of your business. Did you receive a new report on market conditions? Then post a blog about it.
•
If you regularly update your blog, answer questions of those who comment and interact with your
readers, your blog will become a valuable marketing campaign.
have at least one blog post a week.
www.salem-news.com/stimg/march042008/blog_cartoon.350.jpg
77
BLOGGING TIPS
Subscribers
Use unique headlines
When someone subscribes to your blog,
they are more apt to read it because they
are notified when you update it or they may
have an RSS feed reader (see final section)
to see the updates. Make it easy for people
to subscribe to your blog and encourage it.
WordPress & Blogger.com have automatic
RSS feeds, so make sure you use them.
Catchy and intriguing post titles can pull
readers into your commentary better than
anything else. They may be reading that title
via a search results page, an RSS feed, or
even from the home page of your blog. Just
think about when you read a newspaper
Stay in Front
Follow other Blogs
If anything, use your blog to stay in front of
clients and competition. Make sure you
have a call to action, such as, ―if you have
any questions about a particular topic, send
me an email or give me a call‖.
Before you begin, you should research a
couple of blogs listed in the forthcoming
pages. What topics are they writing about?
What topics do I want to write about? What
would make me follow a blog?
Send Updates
Based on the fact that not everyone has
time to troll blog sites, occasionally, when
you post an update, send a blast to
interested people. This should not be done
on every post. It might help to do it after
you have posted 3-4 new entries. You can
list the title of the entries in a single email
with a short blurb and a link to ―read more.‖
This is a friendly way of telling people you
have a new blog post.
Spell Check
This is an often forgotten step. If your blog
host doesn�t have a spell check, copy the text
into Word. Nothing turns readers off quicker
than misspelled words or bad grammar.
Tell everyone about your blog
Your mom, your dad, your cousin, your
friends, your co-workers and everyone with
a heartbeat should know about your blog.
A good blog is better than any run of the
mill agent website. It�s got better content;
it�s probably more updated and is a whole
lot more interesting. So be sure to promote
your blog as much (if not more) than you
would your normal website. Add the URL to
your email signature, business cards, enewsletters and any other marketing piece
you put into circulation.
78
BLOGGING: DON�TS
Don�t Cut & paste someone else�s work:
There are two issues with this. The
first is plagiarism. Never, ever, take someone else�s story and try and pawn it off as your own without
giving them credit. Plus, cutting and pasting a story does nothing for adding value to your blog.
Anyone can post a link or paste an article. If you come across an interesting article that you want to
share, go ahead and share it, but add some commentary to it. Let your readers know your opinion on
it. That way you�re not only sharing a good story, but you�re initiating a dialog with them.
Don�t Strip out all voice or personality from your writing: In business
writing, there�s the common concern that a writer needs to be more ―professional‖ and that this is
accomplished by removing personal style from the writing. That�s not true for blogging. Your
personality and style should come through the writing. While we should always be professional, it
doesn�t mean you have to remove your sense of humor or perspective from your online commentary.
Don�t Start a fight: If a commenter wants to start an argument, don�t give in and begin an
online fight. You can address their comments and even agree to disagree, but dragging out an online
shouting match is never a good idea. It will turn readers off and you�ll start to lose credibility.
Don�t Hard sell: Don't use your blog to re-purpose press releases, brochures or other content
originally created for marketing, PR or advertising. Readers can smell a blatant pitch a mile away.
79
SAMPLE BLOG TOPICS
When you choose the topic for your blog, choose something you are passionate about. Choose or write in a
style that causes a response. Your blog doesn�t always have to be about one particular topic. However, if you
do keep it to one topic, it further displays that you are the industry expert in that field. The key is to generate
interest, and even better, engagement. Here are some sample topics to start a blog on:
•
If you have a specialty: i.e. Land
•
If you focus on Tenant Rep, Landlord Rep or Sales
•
Anything going on in your market
•
Interesting articles you read. Don�t post the actual article, rather post your comments to the article and
link to it
•
Regional information
•
Anything that will be of value to your audience
QUESTIONS THAT MAY GET YOU STARTED
•
How is the current leasing/sales market in your region broken down by relevant sector (industrial, office,
multifamily, etc.)?
•
What are the key factors currently affecting your marketplace (fuel costs, rising rents, vacancy rates, etc.)?
•
How do you predict the market will change in the next quarter? 6 months? Year?
•
Are there any major changes on the horizon (large new developments, industry shake-ups) that could
notably impact your area? If so, explain.
•
What are your clients� biggest concerns at the moment and how are you addressing them?
•
What are some areas of opportunity that you see in your market and how are you capitalizing on these?
Topics
You
Know
Topics
You
Love
Choose Topics
Here
Topics Your
Audience
Cares About
Choose topics that
overlaps
1) what you know
2) what you love and
3) what your audience
cares about
80
TRACKING YOUR BLOG�S SUCCESS
This is one of the most difficult things to do with Social Media. How do I track my success? Before
tracking your success, you need to know what you are looking to get out of your blog: business, PR,
relationships, etc. There are a couple of ways to measure your success:
•
# of visitors, subscribers or followers
•
If people are posting questions or comments to your blog (it means they are reading it!)
•
Set your blog up on Google Analytics (www.google.com/analytics) to track traffic
•
# of citations your blog gets
•
If something from your blog strikes up a conversation with a potential or current client
Be honest with yourself. Establishing a blog and generating traffic takes some time. In the beginning,
most of the traffic to your blog will come from direct traffic that you drive there. It takes quite some time
before search engines index blogs, and they only index ones that are constantly updated. It also takes
some effort to get ―outside‖ followers.
81
ASSISTANCE WITH BLOGS
•
Blogger – www.blogger.com – free to set up a blog
•
WordPress – www.wordpress.com – free to set up a blog
•
ActiveRain – www.activerain.com – real estate blog site
•
The Official Guide to ActiveRain (the real estate blog site) – http://activerainguide.com/
•
Video: Blogs in Plain English - www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI
•
Apture - www.apture.com add multi-media to blogs
•
Blog Search Engine - http://technorati.com or www.blogcatalog.com
•
Tags – Blogs use what are called ―Tags.‖ A tag is a common terminology to help searches find the
blogs easier. For instance, you can ―Tag‖ an article ―commercial real estate‖, thus helping searchers
find the blog easier. It is important to use Tags so blogs can be found by search engines or
searchers. Some sites allow multiple tagging. When you visit a blog, the larger tags mean they have
more articles in that category (as seen in the picture below).
•
Daily Blog Tips - www.dailyblogtips.com
82
SAMPLE AFFILIATE BLOGS
•
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Benchmark
Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT Pittsburgh
•
•
http://pittsburghcommercialrealestate.wordpress.com
Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate
http://floridalandreport.blogspot.com
Coldwell Banker Commercial First Realty Encore
http://cbcfirstrealty.wordpress.com
Sample Active Rain Usage
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial United, Realtors
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Hathaway Group
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Terra Firma
http://cbcbenchmark.blogspot.com/
http://activerain.com/saundersrealestate
http://activerain.com/bsedlor
http://activerain.com/willporterfield
http://activerain.com/wisemr
OTHER SAMPLE BLOGS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Curbed – www.curbed.com (great example of real estate
blog for New York City)
Phoenix Real Estate Guy - www.phoenixrealestateguy.com
(another real estate example)
Inman New Blog – www.inman.com/blog (good blog for
real estate news)
Future of Real Estate Marketing –
www.futureofrealestatemarketing.com
Seth Godin�s Blog – www.sethgodin.typepad.com (not
real estate oriented, but considered the king of all blogs)
Tech Crunch – www.techcrunch.com (one of the most
popular blogs, technology)
Real Blogging – www.Realblogging.com (good site for
real estate professionals who want to blog)
Commercial Real Estate Blogs
•
•
•
Square Feet Blog: www.squarefeetblog.com
Real Estate Tomato:
http://realestatetomato.typepad.com/
LoopNet: http://blog.loopnet.com/
83
BLOGGING GET STARTED CHECKLIST
Decide a topic you would like to blog about
Set up your blog: www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com
Post your first blog entry
Direct clients to your blog
•
Put it in your email signature
•
Link to it on your website
•
Put it in your Bios on other sites
•
Put it on your business cards or letterhead
•
Send an email to your clients inviting them to follow
•
Send a blast message every time you have a new blog post
Continue to post to your blog
84
85
Video / Photos
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
What Is It
Who Should Use It
Why Should I Market with Video
How Should My Video Look
Video Do�s
Tips
Tracking Success
Applications
Affiliate Samples
Other Samples
Get Started
Sharing Photos
86
VIDEOS
•
According to a June 2009 study of online
video, 77% of Internet users have
watched an online video with 43%
watching videos weekly and 12%
watching videos on a daily basis.16 In
the month of Aug 2009, more than 25
billion videos were viewed.17
•
It�s safe to say that online video has
become a common practice. While you
may think that video sharing should be
left to those wanting to brag to the world
about the exploits of their children or
roller skating dogs, it also provides
significant advantage in commercial real
estate marketing.
•
YouTube has made online video a
mainstream medium, but video sharing
has gone beyond just watching videos on
a single site. Social media sites have
embraced online video and made it
portable. Today a single video posted to
YouTube can be seamlessly and easily
integrated into Facebook, Twitter, blogs
and other Social Media sites with a
simple cut and paste of a link.
•
WHERE TO START
VIDEO SHARING
•
YouTube is clearly the dominant
player in the video sharing arena. A
January 2009 report states that 100.9
million viewers watched 6.3 billion videos
on YouTube.com (62.6 videos per viewer)
in the first month of 2009.18
•
In August of 2008, comScore�s search
engine rankings revealed a surprising
twist: YouTube had become the world�s
#2 search engine behind Google.19
YouTube isn�t even a search engine, so
how could it be the #2 search engine in
the world?
•
24 hours of video is being uploaded per
minute. 20
•
100,000,000 YouTube videos
watched per day. 20
•
If that doesn�t prove that online video is
here to stay, I don�t know if anything will
For commercial real estate, videos are
perfect for:
Video listings
Professional profiles
Company profiles
Market Information
videos
– Listing presentations
–
–
–
–
16 - Magid Media Futuresв„ў 2009: Opportunities in Online Video; June 2009,
http://www.magid.com/metacafe.pdf
17 - Comscore.com Press Release
18www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2009/3/YouTube_Surpasses_100_Million_US
_Viewers
19http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2008/08/Top_50_US_Se
arch_Engines
20- http://www.youtube.com/t/fact_sheet
87
WHO SHOULD USE VIDEO
Anyone can participate in creating videos to market themselves or their listings. However, some may find
excuses not to. Let�s critique some of these arguments:
•
It�s too expensive. No it�s not. Flip Cams are a compact, easy-to-use digital video camera
that you can buy for under $200, and they produce good quality videos. Most digital cameras also
come equipped with a dedent video recorder.
•
I�m not a video producer. Your videos don�t have to be broadcast production quality.
You�re creating short simple videos to either market a property or share information. Chances are,
you already have a video software package on your computer. For Windows users, Windows Movie
Maker is standard on all Windows PCs. For Mac users, there�s iMovie. Both have simple tutorials to
help guide you through the movie making process.
•
I don�t have the time. You can literally create a video in five minutes. For video listings,
there may be some prep time that is necessary, but it isn�t an unreasonable amount of additional
work. Since you�re already making multiple trips to the property for clean up or tours, just bring along
a video camera and shoot some video of the property.
88
WHY SHOULD I MARKET WITH VIDEO?
Compelling videos of properties for sale: Videos can promote in ways the written
word cannot. Your online property descriptions have to be short because no one is going to read ten
pages. But a video can highlight details of a property and showcase your market knowledge and
expertise. Your videos can truly be a virtual property tour.
Local real estate insights and perspectives: This second area is something that
can really distinguish you from the competition. Very few, if any, professionals are providing local
real estate insights through online video.
•
One of the best things you can do to position yourself as a local real estate expert is to share the
knowledge that only you have access to as a Coldwell Banker Commercial professional. Instead of
using video to create a mini-commercial, use it to share what you�re seeing as far as local market
conditions, recent sales or vacancy statistics and other trends affecting your market.
Potentially saves time – less property tours: You�ve done it in the past where
you take a client to a property and there is something that turns them off immediately. Well, if you
had a video tour of the property, the client can possibly rule it out by just seeing the video, thus
saving the time of actually touring the property or scheduling the tour.
Highlight an ―ugly‖ building: On the flip side, clients may not want to see a particular
building just because it doesn�t look appealing on the outside. The video can showcase the interior
and spark interest in an otherwise written-off property.
Differentiate yourself: Imagine trying to win the business and your competitors come with
the ―canned‖ PowerPoint presentation. You show up with a sample video listing and explain that this
is how you will market their property.
89
HOW SHOULD MY VIDEO LOOK?
Is ―good‖ a reasonable answer? Alright, more details would probably be helpful. Let�s discuss three basic
components of video making and then we�ll cover some do�s and don�ts.
•
Video quality: While the quality doesn�t need to be Emmy-award winning, it can�t look like
it was shot by a four year old. Avoid using camera phones to take videos (unless you have the
iPhone 3GS). Chances are, if you have a digital camera, it probably takes video (unless it is an
older model). If you�re going to create videos to market properties, invest in a video camera and a
tripod. A tripod will lessen the ―earthquake‖ effect of shaky videos and produce more professional
looking videos and costs less than $40. Tripods also make it easier to take panoramic videos.
•
Video length: End the video one second before it gets boring. This is the most important
length guideline. The ideal range for a real estate video is 2-4 minutes. The uniqueness of your
content will ultimately decide the length of the video. A showcase video of a multi-million dollar
property may need more than 3 minutes. Professional profile videos or market updates are safe in
the 1-2 minute range. Don�t have enough time to cover everything? Split it and make 2 (or more)
videos.
•
Video style: Don�t let your video look exactly like the next guy�s. Be on camera. Let who you
are as a person and as a professional come through. Next, keep the video moving. Don�t stay on a
single shot for thirty seconds, and as attractive as you are, don�t stand in front of the camera for
four straight minutes. Keep things moving by cutting from one shot to another or adding in
additional imagery. Use a mix of indoor and outdoor shots to create interest. Lastly, make it
professional. If your video looks like the local car dealer�s 30 second ad on cable TV, it�s time to
create a new one. Your video is a reflection of your business, your local company and the Coldwell
Banker CommercialВ® brand.
90
VIDEO DO�S
Show interesting items near the
property
Potential tenants or buyers may not be familiar with the
area. Show transportation, restaurants, shopping,
banks, gas stations, etc, even if it is just still images.
Have a Partner
Video works well with 2 people on the set. Some of the
best videos I�ve seen are of the agent walking through
the property and giving a tour just as he would if he was
walking the client through the property in person. One
person films and the other showcases the highlights of
the property. Even if it�s just one person to do the
filming and the other to keep people out of the way or
to setup the shots, it helps make the process much
more smooth and efficient.
Stage the Property
This may sound like something you do when trying to
sell a house, but it also applies to commercial
properties. Get rid of any clutter or debris. Put fresh
paint on the walls, make sure everything is clean and
keep up with the landscaping.
Watch Sample Videos
Take a look at some of the samples in the next couple
of pages. Watching them will give you a sense of how
property videos are taken.
Branded Contact info at end of video
This sounds like a no brainer, but you would be
surprised at how many videos I�ve seen that don�t have
contact information at the end. At least make it easy for
viewers to contact you. Download the CBC template.
Be informative and entertaining
This is a difficult combination, but those who can
conquer this feat will have great success in video
sharing. You don�t need to break out a slapstick comedy
routine, but feel free to let your personality come
through and to enjoy making these videos as well as
educating or informing your audience.
Label Photos
If you are using still photos, take the time to label or
speak about them. It will help the viewer know what
they are looking at.
Create a good title, description &
tags
Your video�s title, description and tags help people
searching on YouTube and search engines to find your
videos and know what they�re about before actually
playing them. For video listings, the title should be the
address & city/state for the property. The description
should be a sentence or two highlighting the property.
The tags should include your name, city, state, ―for
sale,‖ and then any unique descriptor for the property.
Post your videos elsewhere
your videos just sit on YouTube. You took the time to
create this work of art, so share it. Post it to the
property website on www.CBCWorldwide.com or on
your profiles on other Social Media sites, send it to
Facebook or Twitter, use it for a blog post or even
include a link to it in your monthly e-newsletter. Get
creative and get the word out about your videos.
Send the video link to the
corporate office
After you have posted your video to YouTube, email the
link to [email protected]: attention marketing
dept so we can post to the CBC YouTube Channel. It
generates more exposure for your video.
Allow commenting and participate
in the conversation
As your video is viewed by more and more people,
conversation will follow. Embrace it. If people pose
questions, answer them. Acknowledge comments or
criticisms. Remember that Social Media is all about
participation.
91
VIDEO TIPS
•
Still Shots: An alternative to creating video is to take a bunch of still shots, then put them into
a looping presentation with music. This will look like a nicer presentation than a flyer, and is very
easy and inexpensive to produce. Microsoft�s free download Photo Studio 3 is great. It adds zooms,
sound, picture labels and is very easy to use. Animoto is a good pay site on the web.
http://animoto.com/realestate
•
Don�t Give viewers the spins! Don�t walk from room to room filming the whole
time while you walk. Don�t move or turn the camera quickly either. Try to stay as fluid as you can.
•
Get a Tripod: They are less than $40 on Amazon.com. Tripod makes it easier to remain still
during filming. Take the test by filming a video without a tripod, and then with one. The results will
speak for themselves.
•
Pay for your Video: So you don�t think you can produce a decent video yourself, then
outsource it. You can get an all-in video produced for about $300 including: pictures, music and setup. That is an inexpensive way to showcase your property without all the work. One such site is
http://floorplanonline.reachlocal.net/home.html. Because of the local nature of this type of product,
search your area for photographers that specialize in Virtual Tours. Use www.buildmytour.net to
locate a photographer.
•
Alternative Camera Lens: There are many places that sell alternative camera lens
that make taking virtual tours much easier. One such is www.eyesee360.com/gopano, It is a $600
investment, but if you plan on doing plenty of virtual tours, it is well worth it.
•
Experiment until you find a winning formula: The first video you create
doesn�t have to be perfect. In fact, the second, third and fourth videos you create probably won�t be
perfect either. You don�t have to post every video you make. Experiment with some different styles
until you find one you like and that works for you.
92
TRACKING YOUR VIDEO SUCCESS
The videos you will be producing aren�t meant to be viral videos that spread throughout the internet. Be
, the views your video gets will
be the clients that have interest in your property. Here are some ways to
honest, you may only get a couple of views. However
track the success of your video:
•
The number one way to track the success of your video is if it
helps you sell or lease your property
•
•
•
Check the number of times your video has been viewed
Check if people rank your video
Check if anyone comments on your video
93
VIDEO APPLICATIONS & LINKS
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial YouTube Channel (beta)
www.youtube.com/cbcworldwide.com
•
Coldwell Banker On Locationв„ў
www.youtube.com/coldwellbanker
•
Video: How to Shoot a YouTube Video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd1120KdBUc
•
Video: Movie Maker Video Editing Tutorial
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZXK68NS7gU
•
Video: iMovie Editing Tutorial
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_sZ4AeT8a4
•
Still Shot Video Producer
Photo Studio 3
•
Sites to host or create Virtual Tours:
– Tour Vista www.tourvista.com (very inexpensive & easy to use)
– Fly Inside www.flyinside.com (a free Virtual Tour site)
•
Create using Picassa for Free:
•
Virtual Tour Kit (Camera with a wide lens):
•
Free Background Music
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr1HGk2zYJg
www.previsite.com/en/professional-virtual-tour.htm
www.alterego360.com/freemusic.htm (right click, save target as)
94
SAMPLE CBC AFFILIATE VIDEOS
Here are some examples from CBC affiliates of videos they�ve produced.
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Sun Coast Partners
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC9rKfREpFE
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Shook
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XeOLvOgJus
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlkL4r6f9hE
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial Forehand & Co
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiSeEIkZsso
•
Coldwell Banker Commercial World Group
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTu-IbN9YRQ
OTHER SAMPLE VIDEOS
Industrial Property www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN_zZRrKwWA
Industrial Property http://ts.rtvpix.com/tour/RC/tour.view.php?utl=RC-3647-CILTGM-01
High end house www.youtube.com/watch?v=kouZjuZ-pEg&feature=player_embedded
Market Area Video www.youtube.com/coldwellbanker#play/user/0620A637A8C57478
Another Market Video www.youtube.com/coldwellbanker#play/user/0620A637A8C57478
95
VIDEO GET STARTED CHECKLIST
Get a video camera or a digital camera with video
First, pick one property to make into a video listing. Don�t worry about getting all your
listings turned into video, just start with one and build from there.
For your first video, highlight the key elements of the listing instead of touring the entire
property.
Stage the Property - clean any debris, make sure it is sunny outside.
Find someone to video you as you walk through the listing; it is much easier with a two
people
Film your video
Upload it to www.youtube.com
After your video is finished, direct clients to it
•
Put a link of your video on your Listing Page on www.CBCWorldwide.com
•
Send an email to your clients inviting them to view it
Send a link to your video to [email protected]: attention marketing dept so we
can post it to the CBC YouTube Channel.
96
PHOTO SHARING
Photo Sharing is at least worth a mention in this guide. It isn�t really that relevant to commercial real
estate, but there are times when you may need to share photos with clients. The best site for this is Flickr
(www.flickr.com). Some examples of when you would need to share photos:
•
Industry event
•
If your office has an event
•
Tenant�s 1st day moving into their space
•
Tenant Anniversary
Sample
Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders uses Flickr - www.flickr.com/photos/saundersrealestate
Manage Social Media
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What Each Site Specializes in
Social Media Comparison Chart
Combine your Efforts
RSS Feeds
iGoogle
98
WHAT EACH SITE SPECIALIZES IN
LinkedIn
Best for:
•
Networking with other Professionals
•
Joining Groups
•
Hosting your Resume
Facebook
Best for:
•
Connecting with people you wouldn�t necessarily
consider current clients
•
Hosting Video / Pictures
•
Connecting your Social Media Efforts
Twitter
Best for:
•
Quick Postings
•
Reading Current News
•
Driving Traffic to your other Social Media Sites
Blogging
Best for:
•
Becoming known as subject experts
•
Writing longer ―opinionated‖ stories
•
Sharing your knowledge or insight
Video
Best for:
•
Market Listings
•
Market Info Videos
•
Capabilities Video
99
SOCIAL MEDIA COMPARISON CHART
Now that you have read through the various types of Social Media, which one is right for you. Read the
following matrix that may help you decide
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Blogs
STRENGTHS
Highest amount of active members
X
Easy to maintain
X
X
X
Doesn�t take too much time to update
X
X
X
Post videos
X
only links
only links
Share photos
X
3rd party
Blog Capabilities
X
Join groups
X
X
Fan / Company Pages
X
X
Auto-find people
X
limited
Real-time information
X
X
Live Chat
X
Is your target audience on there?
X
X
Keep personal & business accounts separate
Following too many people makes it difficult to get relevant
info
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
WEAKNESSES
<140 Character Limit
Are people just Posting and not interacting?
Not easy to find people (exact spelling needed)
X
X
X
X
X
X
Too ―job search‖ oriented
Not a lot of two-way dialogue going on
X
X
X
X
X
Takes time to maintain
X
Have to be a decent writer
X
Initially getting subscribers is tough
X
Facebook
Based on having the most strengths and fewest number of weaknesses…
is the best
choice. It encompasses all the Social Media into one. It has a far greater audience than LinkedIn and
there is much more interaction than with Twitter. However, we recommend setting up both a LinkedIn and
Twitter account as well. Twitter seems like the easiest to start off with, and LinkedIn is more for the target
audience of commercial real estate. Once you get started, you can set your Facebook account to feed to
them automatically. You should also consider where your clients are.
100
MERGE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORTS
It is difficult to get on all the previously mentioned Social Media sites and keep up with them. However,
you can make it easier. You can merge your efforts so you are getting maximum exposure without taking
up too much of your time. The sites are constantly trying to find easier ways to share info between them.
•
Outlook integration:
You are already using Outlook, why not integrate your Social
Media platforms.
•
–
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/static?key=outlook_toolbar_download
–
Facebook: www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=7229743486
–
Twitter: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/EM102920971033.aspx
Merge Twitter and Facebook: Facebook has an application that will allow your
Status Updates from Twitter or Facebook to be posted on the opposite site. Search for ―Twitter‖ on
Facebook.
•
Merge LinkedIn & Twitter: If you post an update to LinkedIn, you can now use the
―Share with Twitter‖ button. To share from Twitter, you can: ―check to share all‖ or ―share certain
Tweets‖. If you pick the latter, you have to add ―#li ―or ―#in‖ hashtag to every relevant tweet you�d
like to send back to LinkedIn. For example, ―Looking for an admin assistant. #li‖
•
Feed blog to Facebook or Twitter: http://twitterfeed.com/
•
Update from one website: Hello Text - http://hellotxt.com – auto update the same
status across multiple platforms (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) or Ping FM - http://ping.fm/ or Hootsuite
http://hootsuite.com (also gives you statistics)
•
Connect all accounts on your desktop: Digsby -
•
Connect all accounts online: iGoogle (see following page for description)
www.digsby.com – connect
your email accounts, IM, Facebook , LinkedIn and Twitter accounts; view and even post updates
101
RSS FEEDS
There are a couple of other things worth mentioning when talking
about Social Media. One of the keys to managing information overload
are
RSS-feeds:
•
RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently
updated content such as blog entries, news headlines and
podcasts in a standardized format. An RSS document (which is
called a "feed") contains either a summary of content from a
web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to
keep up with web sites in an automated manner that can be
piped into special programs or filtered displays. (Source:
Wikipedia)
•
In other words, RSS-feeds make it possible to publish your
content and make it easier for people to share and (re)use your
content. People can subscribe to your RSS-feeds using their
browser, a feed reader, their mail client (e.g. Outlook) or an
online reader (e.g. Google Reader). And even more, they can
republish your content on their website or blog using your feeds.
•
You can also subscribe to RSS-feeds (if you see the symbol to the
right) to sites that may interest you.
•
RSS-feeds allow you to push your content: the user does not have
to take any extra action to get the updated content. It shows up
in their reader automatically. And that�s what makes RSS such a
strong channel to spread your content. And what�s more, a tool
Feedburner
like
(www.feedburner.com) makes it possible
to keep an eye on when, where and how your feeds are used.
•
RSS-feeds are important for blogs, so people can stay regularly
updated when you post new content.
iGOOGLE
iGoogle is also worth mentioning. It is a free tool offered by Google.
•
iGoogle lets you create a personalized homepage that contains a Google search box at the top, and
your choice of any number of gadgets below the search. Gadgets provide access to activities and
information from all across the web, without ever having to leave your iGoogle page.
•
Here are some things you can do with gadgets:
– View your latest Gmail messages
– Read headlines from news sites
– Check out weather forecasts, stock quotes and movie showtimes
– Design your own gadget
– Read RSS feeds - If a site has an RSS feed, you can link it to your iGoogle page
– Link all of your Social Media efforts
•
The value of iGoogle is you can consolidate many of your websites into one page
•
You can also create multiple iGoogle pages for different interests
103
What is next with
Social Media
1.
2.
3.
4.
Localization
Augmented Reality
QR Codes
iPad / Notepads
LOCALIZATION
The localization of Social Media is happening. We�ve seen major corporations such as ESPN embrace the
power of the ―local‖ market with their individual web pages for New York, Chicago, etc.
Social Media is following. Sites such as Four Squares – which is a Social Medial site where you ―check in‖
as to where you are, has gained enormous amounts of popularity because if its addictiveness. Google has
Latitude and Facebook is jumping onboard soon. They all know there is something there.
Whether or not this will fit with Commercial Real Estate remains to be seen.
10+
checkins per second,
Foursquare is doing ―
which is about 36,000 checkins
per hour — putting the daily
checkin total somewhere around
864,000. Tweet posted by them
AUGMENTED REALITY
Pay attention to the technology called Augmented Reality, for it is going to change everything…that is of
course ―IF‖ it catches on.
What is Augmented Reality - It is difficult to explain on paper, but here goes. Augmented reality is the idea
that you can view more information about something using your mobile phone. With an ―App‖, you will
have the ability to see more information than what is seen by the naked eye, simply by pointing your
mobile phone at something.
How do we see it being used in Commercial Real Estate?
More information on property signs or flyers. When a person passes by one of your property signs, they
could be directed to the website, or get additional information about the property. The possibilities are
endless.
QR CODES
Something else to be aware of are QR Codes. This is similar to Augmented Reality, except less sexy.
QR Codes are in essence, a ―bar code‖ like you see at the grocery store. When a picture is taken of the QR
Code with a Mobile Phone, additional information can be seen using an ―App.‖ They are very popular in
Japan, and you may have seen them and didn�t know what it was.
You can do some of the similar things you can do with Augmented Reality:
• Drive people to the website
• Get additional information
But there is an additional thing you can do. On your business card, you can place a QR Code, and when
another person takes a picture of it,
your contact information is automatically
stored in their phone.
It is easy to create a QR Code: sites such as:
http://zxing.appspot.com/generator/ or http://qrcode.kay wa.com/ will allow you to easily create a QR
code that can be placed on business cards, property signs or flyers.
Search your mobile provider for QR Code Reader and test out the code below.
IPAD / NOTEPADS
You might be thinking, what does an iPad have to do with Social Media. It isn�t directly related, but it will
make it easier and more convenient to be on Social Media sites. It is very light-weight to travel with, it is
Wi-fi enabled, and the battery life is phenomenal. It is meant for playing video. While it is new, there are
already several hundred apps to make everything easier and over 2 million sold in 2 months.
108
SO GET STARTED
IT TAKES 21 DAYS TO FORM A
HABIT. SO YOU CAN BE SOCIAL IN
UNDER A MONTH
http://roystonrobertson.blogspot.com
109
SOURCES
First and foremost, a lot of the information came from: Becoming Social: A simple guide to real estate
professionals and social media, written by Dave Marine with Coldwell Banker Residential.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
Web 2.0 and Social Media by Shantanu Adhicary; www.slideshare.net/shantanu.adhicary/web-20-and-social-media
www.insidefacebook.com/2009/10/01/latest-data-on-facebooks-us-growth-by-age-and-gender-october-1-2009/
www.briansolis.com/2009/10/revealing-the-people-defining-social-networks/
The Democratization of Online Social Networks. Pew Internet & American Life Project, October 8, 2009,
http://www.pewinternet.org/Presentations/2009/41--The-Democratization-of-Online-Social-Networks.aspx
http://blog.linkedin.com/2009/10/14/linkedin-50-million-professionals-worldwide/
www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics
http://bit.ly/Hcxet
www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/05/twitter-data-analysis-an-investors-perspective/
Social Media Revolution - www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8 and What is Social Media: One Year Later www.slideshare.net/mkonder/what-the-fuck-is-social-media
Anderson Analytics, ―Social Network Service(SNS) A&U Profiler,‖ provided to eMarketer, July 13, 2009.
Participatory Marketing Network Study: Gen Y�s Are Not Yet Taking Flight on Twitter; June 1, 2009, http://thepmn.org/pressreleases/060109
―Using Computer Simulations to Recruit and Train Generation Y Accountants‖ by Polimeni, Ralph S, Burke, Jacqueline A, Benyaminy, Diana;
May 2009, www.responsemagazine.com/response-magazine/welcome-new-millenials-1192
―Welcome to the New Millenials‖ by Littman, Sarah; May 1, 2008, www.articlearchives.com/population-demographics/demographic-groupsgeneration-y/1880895-1.html
http://thebrandbible.blogspot.com/2009/06/linkedin-demographics.html
Magid Media Futuresв„ў 2009: Opportunities in Online Video; June 2009, www.magid.com/metacafe.pdf
Comscore.com Press Release
http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2009/3/YouTube_Surpasses_100_Million_US_Viewers
http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2008/08/Top_50_US_Search_Engines
What is Social Media: One Year Later - www.slideshare.net/mkonder/what-the-fuck-is-social-media
В© 2009 Coldwell Banker Commercial Affiliates. A Realogy Company. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Commercial Affiliates fully supports the
principles of the Equal Opportunity Act. Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated. Coldwell Banker Commercial, the Coldwell Banker
Commercial Logo and CBCWorldwide.com are registered (or unregistered) service marks licensed to Coldwell Banker Commercial Affiliates. All
other marks and copyrighted material are the property of their respective owners.

How to Enhance Your Internet Presence - Squarespace

Social Media for Small Business - ONE

Use Social Media to Grow Your Business - Constant Contact

Workshop Summary “How-To-Guide” for Using Social Media Tools

How to Harness the Power of the Internet - Blaze Marketing

How To Use Social Media To Sell: - AddShoppers

The Best of Both Worlds: How to Effectively Leverage Social - News

How to Get a Job Without a Resume - GetResponse

How to Increase Website Traffic - 700 Tools - Gold Coast Business

How To Win Business Using Social Media - Sanders Says

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