The document discusses using social media effectively for real estate professionals. It provides statistics on social media usage and outlines best practices for real estate agents. These include being professional, consistent, and responsive in posts; following advertising and legal guidelines; and using social media to both engage contacts and pursue new business opportunities. The key is presenting a professional online presence while conversing naturally and building connections over time.

1. Climbing The Social Ladder
Jeff Geoghan
jgeoghan@cbsp.com @jeffgeoghan

2. Climbing The Social Ladder
So what
exactly is
“social media”
?
It’s how people connect today.

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Some Fun Facts:
• In 2012, social media users passed 1 billion worldwide.
• More than 1 million websites have integrated with Facebook
• 75 million tweets sent from Twitter every day in 2012
• One out of every seven minutes spent online is on Facebook
• The Google +1 button is used 5 billion times per day.
• 80% of users prefer to connect with a brand on Facebook
• The fastest growing age segment in social media use is 45-54
• 54 percent of Facebook users access the site via mobile use
• 61% of LinkedIn members use it as their primary professional
networking site

4. Climbing The Social Ladder
Myth:
Using Social Media is
like yelling at people
Or
Telling Everyone
what you had for
breakfast

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Reality:
Using Social media is
walking with people
and keeping in touch in
an ongoing fashion, at
your own pace

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Reality:
It’s the world’s largest cocktail party…
Ready to network?

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Regardless of the social media channels you
use, the basic ground rules apply:
1. Be professional
2. Be consistent
3. Be responsive

8. Climbing The Social Ladder
Professional
• Treat others as you would want to be treated
• Show them why you’re a pro in your field
• Link people with your website, listings etc.

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Consistent
• Don’t set up an account and never post
• Use reminders and tools to post regularly
• View it as a long-term project, not a fad

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Responsive
• Reply cheerfully when approached
• Don’t ignore people who talk to you
• Try to include people in your conversation

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As with all real estate advertising and customer
communications, we can’t forget the legal
ground rules:
• Your client’s interests
• Legal and ethical boundaries
– Realtor Code of Ethics
– Fair Housing Regulations
– Pennsylvania Law
– Confidentiality

12. Climbing The Social Ladder
Advertising Rules & Regulations
• Advertising rules must still be followed
• Know your companies E-policy
• Electronic communication for advertising or
marketing, including but not limited to e-mail, e-mail
discussion groups, websites and bulletin boards, must
include on the first page of all communications the
following data:
– a. the licensee’s name;
– b. the name of the firm with which the licensee is affiliated
as that firm name is registered with the commission
– c. the city & state in which the licensee’s office is located
and in which the licensee hold a license

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Advertising Rules & Regulations
• This Standard of Practice acknowledges that
disclosing the name of the firm may not be
practical in electronic displays of limited
information (e.g. “thumbnails”, text
messages, “tweets”, etc.).
• Such displays are exempt from the disclosure
requirement established in this Standard of
Practice but only when linked to a display that
includes all required disclosures.

14. Climbing The Social Ladder
Advertising Rules & Regulations
REALTORS®’ obligation to present a true picture in their advertising and
representations to the public includes the URLs and domain names they
use, and prohibits REALTORS® from:
1) engaging in deceptive or unauthorized framing of real estate brokerage
websites;
2) manipulating (e.g., presenting content developed by others) listing and
other content in any way that produces a deceptive or misleading result;
3) deceptively using metatags, keywords or other devices/methods to
direct, drive, or divert Internet traffic;
4) presenting content developed by others without either attribution or
without permission; or
5) to otherwise mislead consumers.

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Fair Housing Regulations

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Copyright Laws
• Reproduction of online content & photographs
• Copyright is secured automatically when the
work is created such as the first time it is written
• Secure proper approvals or legal owner of the
material
• It’s OK to link to other sites, just don’t copy from
them

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Copyright Laws
• Fines & Penalties: Damages may include lost profits
from the infringing activity or statutory damages
ranging from $250 to $150,000 plus attorneys' fees, for
each infringing copy. Even higher damages may be
awarded if the court feels that the infringement was
committed "willfully."
• You may also be criminally liable if you willfully copy a
work for profit or financial gain, or if the copied work
has a value of more than $1,000. In these
cases, penalties can include a one-year jail sentence
plus fines.

18. Climbing The Social Ladder
Slander & Defamation
• The obligation to refrain from making false or misleading
statements about competitors other real estate
professionals, competitors’ their businesses and competitors’
their business practices includes the duty to not knowingly or
recklessly publish, repeat, retransmit, or republish false or
misleading statements made by others. This duty applies
whether false or misleading statements are repeated in
person, in writing, by technological means (e.g., the
Internet), or by any other means.
• Professional Standards Violations

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Be Smart

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What are the key social media sites?
These sites are best for connecting with the most
diverse groups of people

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Which Channel to use?
PROS
1. Most widely accepted
2. Easy to add photos and links
3. Able to create business pages
CONS
1. Requires “friending” people
2. Text-only posts don’t go far
3. Can be double work for many

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Which Channel to use?
PROS
1. Can “follow” anybody
2. Easy to connect with people
3. Less work to look good
CONS
1. Requires more consistency
2. Can’t post photos, only links
3. No easy business separation

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Which Channel to use?
PROS
1. Tied to Google: search friendly
2. Can post photos and links
3. Can separate people (circles)
CONS
1. Not crazy popular yet
2. Harder to connect with people
3. Business pages are harder

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Which Channel to use?
PROS
1. Professional-focused
2. Easy to connect with people
3. Groups feature is great
CONS
1. Excludes many people
2. Does not have social feel
3. Can’t do much with photos

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Which Channel to use?
PROS
1. Colorful, image-intensive
2. Younger crowd loves ‘em
3. Get your creative juices flowing
CONS
1. Not good for text stories
2. Target audience not as ready to buy
3. More “fun” oriented than serious
Picture/Video
Channels

26. Climbing The Social Ladder
Getting Started
• Set up your account
• Have a simple bio statement and headshot
• Link to your website
• Use the “search” function to find
locals, friends, family members
• Friend them or follow them
• Use the “list” function to divide them up

27. Climbing The Social Ladder
Jumping In
Up to now you’ve only set things up. Now it’s
time to reach out and touch someone…
1. Post a sentence about what you’re
doing/going to do today.
2. Follow the “1 in 3” rule: 1 business-related
post to every 2 personal posts.
3. Reply to any people who reach out to you
4. Offer a “like” or reply to someone’s post

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Conversing 101
How to post so others will respond:
• Talk about common business subjects
• Ask a question of someone knowledgeable
• Offer a photo of a cool house or kitchen, etc
• Incorporate your business activities into
personal comments (ex. “just stopped at
that new deli as I left my open house”)

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Conversing 101
How to post so others will ignore you:
• Sell, sell, sell
• Make political or religious proclamations
• Act like your teenager is borrowing your
phone
• Show disrespect for others

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Closing The Deal
At some point you will get questions about real
estate. Don’t freak out!
• Try to give a good public answer to show
your knowledge of the market
• Offer to send more info by email
• Reach out privately (message) and ask for
the appointment

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Getting Organized
Services that allow
you to add all your
social media
accounts in one
place

32. Climbing The Social Ladder
Summary
 Set up accounts on your favorite channels
 Take some time to search out your contacts
 Post consistently using the “1 in 3” rule
 Be aware of legal, ethical guidelines
 Ensure your profile pages have broker info
 Follow the “ground rules” of conversation

33. Climbing The Social Ladder
Jeff Geoghan
jgeoghan@cbsp.com @jeffgeoghan