The most powerful new trend in marketing today is social networking on the internet. One of the biggest niches for social networking is real estate. Realtors today must carve out their marketing strategies for the rest of their career using these networks as new channels to prospective buyers and sellers. The most powerful networking site right now is Facebook. The incredible statistics about Facebook from Jeff Clavier:
*5,000,000 users
*Signing 20,000 new users every day
*10th Most visited Internet site in the U.S.
*8,500,000 Unique visitors
*80% penetration among college students at colleges that utilize Facebook platform
*5,500,000,000 page views
*Repeat usage: Daily 70%; Weekly 85%; Monthly 93%
*Coverage of 45% of U.S. colleges (2,000) representing 8,000,000 students
According to the site: “Facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you.” To become a Facebook member:
*Go to the main home page and on the right sidebar look for “Everyone can Join” and click on the large green “Register” button.
*The “Register and Start Using Facebook” screen will appear-fill it out.
* Once completed, a Confirmation email is sent to you.
*Open the email and click on the link provided.
*The “Your Account is Ready” screen appears telling you that you are now a Facebook member. Go back to the site and begin exploring.
The toolbar at the top of the welcome page begins with a “Profile (edit)” tab. Here is where you tell the world about yourself and your business. Next is the “Friends” tab and this is where you can search for friends already on the site, create a “rolodex”, and build new contacts. The “Network” tab allows you to join a “Regional Network” aka group, a College Network, or a Work Network. In this tab you may wish to find alumni from your college, reconnect with former or current co-workers, or meet people from the region of the country you live or a region of interest to you. The options are limitless.
Utilize Facebook and work to build your network. This is the new wave of marketing and it will be immensely important to Realtors and Real Estate affiliates in their businesses.
DeansGuide 