You’d have to be living under a rock, or some equally dark and distant place, to be completely unaware of the increasing influence of social media in today’s marketplace. More business deals and personal connections are being made at the click of a mouse than ever before.
If you aren’t already a computer type though, you might be hesitant to gamble on new media for your real estate investing business, imagining that you’ll be stuck in front of a screen for endless hours for questionable results.
The truth is, once you understand the fundamentals and have systems in place, online networking will take much less time than traditional networking. You can potentially reach more people faster with less effort.
You don’t have to be successful at offline networking to get results with online networking but you do need to start with the same basics. You will waste time and energy if you don’t approach networking with the proper attitude and respect.
It’s important to keep in mind that networking as a marketing tactic is never about selling but about positioning yourself in the right place to garner recommendations and referrals to people you can help.
Focus on their needs, not yours
You’ll never be remembered for anything but being pompous and pushy if you come out of the gate going on about yourself, your business and your goals. People just don’t respond well to that. For networking to work well, especially online, you’ll need to be much more subtle and sincere than that.
You need to position yourself as someone with a solution to their problem. So before you begin, you’ll need to be clear on what problems you solve for what people. Then you’ll need to find out where your ideal client, partner, or tenant spends their time hanging out in the digital space. There’s no point in being where they are not. The online space seldom allows for an “if you build it, they will come” approach.
Once you’ve established where you’ll network, you’ll need to figure out which tools or platforms are going to suit both their online habits and your daily business practice.
This will typically mean utilizing an application like HootSuite for the standard social media platforms, like Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter, as well as apps for community forums, local websites and relevant blogs that you want to monitor and participate in.
Start Small
Don’t think you have to jump on and participate on every site that might possibly be relevant to your business and goals. That’s just going to lead to the type of overload and overwhelm that will make you feel trapped in screen-land.
Start with just one, or if you must move quickly, a maximum of three or four online networks. Get to know them well before you add more. This will keep your networking time under control and allow you to develop a simple system for monitoring and managing your networking efforts.
Get a feel, before you spiel
After you sign up for different networking sites, you may be tempted to dive right in and start posting and connecting. Rather than give in to temptation immediately, take the time to get to know the environment first. This will help you tailor your approach to the community which will ultimately be much more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach.
Give it time
Just as with offline networking, you are going to need to prove that you’re around for the long haul and aren’t performing a hit and run ad attack. Show that you’re listening and follow the community protocols for sharing.
Have fun
While you always want to keep your business targets in mind when networking, you’ll want to avoid getting caught up in an “all business all the time” frame of mind. Look beyond the obvious and concentrate your networking efforts on areas you’re really passionate about; it makes the effort more fun for you and showcases your unique expertise. People remember what is communicated with passion.
Just do it
Online networking is not much different than offline networking. It’s simply a different venue for building the connections and relationships with people that lead to recommendations and referrals. It’s not effortless, but it is highly effective when done well.
