Every Tuesday, here at the American Trust Escrow blog, we post Technology Tips designed to help you, the Realtor, grow your business, keep up to date on the latest technologies, and move you forward into the new era of Real Estate.
A few weeks ago, I had a post that addressed Social Media for Realtors, which introduced Realtors to the concept of social media, and provided a case for why Realtors should care about it.
In today’s post, we are going to address a related concept: Social Networking. Realtors know the importance of networking. It is the basis for many successful real estate careers. And for the Realtor who is looking to evolve their business, or find new networking opportunities, the online world provides ample opportunities. You just need to get started!
As a first step, here is a quick video from Common Craft that explains the concept behind online social networking:
As this video points out, there “are hidden opportunities” out there within your network and social networking sites make these opportunities more visible. Think this just might have some positive implications for a Realtor?
I certainly believe so. There are great social farming opportunities for Realtors today who embrace the popular social networking sites. There is a great white paper on Social Media Statistics available at the New Media Lab which summarizes the explosive growth of social networking sites over the past year. If you are ready to get started and participate in this new wave of networking, I suggest creating an account on two of the most popular social networking sites out there:
1. LinkedIn: This social networking site is probably the most professional and formal of all the sites out there. Once you have an account, you are able to search for people you know based on your current and prior jobs, as well as classmates from your educational past. There are many Realtors on Linked In, and a great way to get started is to connect with others from your brokerage. The New Media Lab white paper reports that LinkedIn has 30.1 million users and site traffic grew 153% in 2008 and 319% since 2007.
2. Facebook: This social network has exploded in popularity, especially in the age ranges that are homebuyers. Facebook currently has 200 million users and the fastest growing user segment is those over the age of 35, with women aged 55-65 the most rapidly growing population. Facebook is less formal than Linked In and one of the most powerful features is the ability to share photographs with those you are connected to. You are likely to find some of your past clients on Facebook. If you find someone you want to connect with on Facebook, you send them a “friend request” and they will approve or deny the request. If they approve the request, you will then be “Facebook Friends” and you will have access to their profile.
One thing to keep in mind in social networking, a “friend” is not the same definition of a friend in the offline world. Friend is a very loose term in social networking. You may have never met your online friend in person before. But, you may share something in common that makes it worthwhile for you to connect together online. For example, maybe you both are golf fanatics and belong to the same golf club. You might reach out and connect with this person by sending a friend request (in Facebook terms). If accepted, you would be connected to this person and now you are “friends” in the online social networking world. You will need to pick your strategy to decide if you want to friend people who you know or not. For a few perspectives on this and some “online netiquette tips” take a look here, here, and here.
There is no time like the present to get started. Your next client could be just a friend request away!
Interested in what you are reading? To automatically receive these Tuesday Technology Tip posts in your email box, subscribe to these articles at the top right corner of this site (www.ateblog.com) in the box titled “Subscribe via Email”.
According to Merriam-Webster, escrow is defined as: a deed, a bond, money, or a piece of property held in trust by a third party to be turned over to the grantee only upon fulfillment of a condition.
Whether it is the buying and selling of a home, or the transfer of a business, the amount of legal documentation and financial liabilities can easily create confusion or differences of opinion amongst the buyer, seller and/or their representatives. This is why an impartial, third-party representative becomes essential to focusing on the facts and responsibilities that must be fulfilled.
With so many parties obligated to fulfill so many responsibilities in any given real estate transaction, it quickly becomes apparent why a neutral third party (escrow) is essential to a smooth process.
Escrow is the one who facilitates (just to name a few):
- drawing of escrow instructions which reflect the negotiated points of the contract and act as basis for execution of the property transfer.
- confirmation of clear title from the Title Company
- the recording the deed with the County Office
- filing paperwork with the proper municipalities
- the receiving of wires and funds to be disbursed
In addition to the above responsibilities, American Trust Escrow views our most valuable function as acting as a personal liaison and resource for Realtors, buyers and sellers as they tread through the complicated and often technical world of buying and selling real estate.
Every Tuesday, here at the American Trust Escrow blog, we post Technology Tips designed to help you, the Realtor, grow your business, keep up to date on the latest technologies, and move you forward into the new era of Real Estate.
When discussing social media, technology tools, and trends for Realtors, the term “Web 2.0″ come up a lot these days. Today’s post is designed to define what Web 2.0 is and discuss why Web 2.0 presents opportunity for Realtors.
Before we can define Web 2.0…let’s discuss what Web 1.0 is. Web 1.0 is basically a website that is a brochure for your product or service. It is your offline company brochure or pamphlet represented on line. It is static. It is promotional. It says what you do or what you are selling. Most agents have a Web 1.0 website. I think this is an important part of a Realtor’s online marketing campaign – when your clients go to the web, they should find you. A web 1.0 website accomplishes this. However, it does not provide the new business opportunities that web 2.0 sites do.
So, then, what is Web 2.0? This definition is provided by Wikipedia: Web 2.0 is a “business revolution….caused by the move to the Internet as a platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform”. Web 2.0 websites and technologies often have the following words used to describe them: social, open, connected, feedback, community, networking, transparency, interactivity. Web 2.0 technologies (and the resulting websites) create a fundamental shift in the opportunities for companies (and yes, even Realtors) to do business. Web 2.0 offers the Realtor new ways of communicating with people. It offers the Realtor new ways of prospecting. It offers new ways of creating and building business. This is because the rules of the game are so very different than how Realtors sell offline and in a web 1.0 world (more explanation on this to come in future posts).
There are many websites that you have probably heard of (in real estate and out of real estate) that encompass web 2.0 principles. Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, even Match.com. And there are ways to use all of them to support and build your business because these sites provide the opportunity for interaction or connectivity with other people. In addition, there are many players in the Real Estate Web 2.0 space. Sites such as Trulia Voices and Active Rain are outstanding web 2.0 communities which offer great opportunities for Realtors. For a road map of the leading Real Estate Web 2.0 sites, check out this image by 1000 Watt Consulting:
I also find this comparison by Darren Barefoot between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 useful:
- Web 1.0 was about reading, Web 2.0 is about writing
- Web 1.0 was about companies, Web 2.0 is about communities
- Web 1.0 was about lectures, Web 2.0 is about conversation
- Web 1.0 was about advertising, Web 2.0 is about word of mouth
To me and many others, Web 2.0 presents exciting new ways of doing business. And, for the Realtor who is looking for new opportunities in this challenging time, Web 2.0 offers uncharted territory and hope. There is a growing number of Realtors who are building their business and experiencing success by working and applying web 2.0 strategies (and a growing number who are thriving!). By reading this blog, you will be introduced to several Web 2.0 strategies and sites that you may want to consider adding to your real estate repertoire.
Interested in what you are reading? To automatically receive these Tuesday Technology Tip posts in your email box, subscribe to these articles at the top right corner of this site (www.ateblog.com) in the box titled “Subscribe via Email”.
