MAN! Has it been a whirlwind of a week(s). I am super excited to have two new clients AND a new blog! Bark Radio, Thinkhaus Designs, and Investing Now. (These clients are in addition to my already awesome clients Just List ‘Em, Christine Walters, and Dana Merkel). 

I just wanted to take a moment to introduce you to my new clients and give them a virtual “shout out,” if you will.

BARK RADIO: Man, oh man, am I excited about working with Bark Radio. Bark Radio is currently a podcast, soon to be live radio show, hosted by Dee and Terry and they LOVE dogs. I mean, who doesn’t love dogs? I do. You probably do. Cruella DeVille doesn’t. Anywho, Bark Radio is EVERY Tuesday and Thursday and you can listen to them right on BarkRadio.com. They discuss all things dog and even share funny stories about their dogs. They offer advice, they discuss the latest trends, great activities to do WITH your dog(s), and even promote awesome causes FOR dogs. You should check out there blog here and follow them on Twitter: @BarkRadio. 

thinkhaus designs: A socially conscious design company. Thinkhaus is owned by an adjunct VCU professor named John O’Neill who is AWESOME. Currently, I am working with John and thinkhaus to discuss the promotion and production of their monthly talk and networking event called “HausTalk” (I actually promoted it in my last post). John’s first haustalk was great although it was small, but the last event had 80+ people. How awesome is that?! Needless to say, I am so excited to work with him. He and I are actually in the midst of planning an awesome social media workshop series to go on this summer (taught by YOURS TRULY ). So, keep checking back for more info on that. Oh, and you should follow him on Twitter, too: @thinkhaus. 

Investing Now: Investing Now is a real estate blog aimed at educating people on what is new, hot, and great about the real estate market right now. It REALLY is a buyer’s market and it’s time people really knew the 411, if you know what I mean. Their blog is updated weekly with awesome information for sellers AND buyers. We’re working right now on following a home through the whole process of staging, to placing it on the market, to selling, to closing. Awesome, right? Yeah, totally. You should follow their sister/brother company on Twitter: @justlistem.

Well, it’s Friday and I just had a tetnus shot this morning and my arm hurts so I’m going to stop typing. BUT I just want to reiterate how excited I am about working with new people. Know anyone who is looking for some consulting, blogging, social mediaing? Let me know.

All for now.

BTW: you should check out my comedy blog. I’m just saying. Who Has Two Thumbs?

Being an extrovert, you’d think I’d want to host parties all the time. Well, not so much, not in the traditional way, at least. However, I was recently turned on to a book called Social Media is a Cocktail Party by Jim Tobin of Ignite Social Media, and even the title got me thinking.

Look, the facebook pages are mingling!

Social media IS a cocktail party and I want to be the life of that party. No, not the annoying one, I want to be the one everyone likes. [Hey, sometimes we just want to be liked, am I right?!]. Therefore, I have decided that I want to treat my social media work as an awesome cocktail party, full of camaraderie, community, and fun. Yes, I said it, social media is FUN.

So now that I’ve been working in the realm of social media strategy, coaching, and community managing for a few months, I wanted to share why I’m so excited about taking on new clients and hyping up this hip and exciting new soiree.

One of my clients is a company called Just List ‘Em, a group aimed at helping homeowners sell their own home without being ripped off by brokers and losing money because of high commission rates. Being the age that I am, I didn’t know much about the real estate industry, but I was eager to take on the challenge of working and blogging for their company. Along the way I’ve learned a LOT about the growing and ever-changing real estate business, built a great relationship with Just List ‘Em, AND they have even recommended my services to other companies [yay!] In the end, it’s a win-win for both of us.

I think one of the greatest things about being active, responsive, and engaged in the realm of social media is taking on new challenges and actively pursuing new information every day. We know that this social media thing and the “interweb” are changing rapidly, so it’s my goal to be one step ahead and always on top of my game.

In addition to all of this, I’m REALLY excited because I’m going to my first “New Media Mixer” hosted by Madison + Main tonight. Social media has enabled me to make great connections and meet some awesome people… so I’m really excited to meet even more tonight!

Those are just a few of my thoughts today. Oh, and by the way, it’s rainy and cold and I just want it to be sunny and warm. So, if you know of anyone that has a weather connection, make it happen. (Let them know I’ll blog for them, or something).

All for now.

So, as most of you know by now, I have expanded my freelancing into the world of social media. I am currently blogging for an awesome company called Just List ‘Em that helps homeowners sell their own home in a non-traditional “For Sale By Owner” way. They are really great and working with them has been a pleasure. Here is an entry I did for them recently on the importance of social media in a business and real estate world. (Oh, and you should follow them on TWITTER. @justlistem.)

Enjoy!

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After reading a great article by real estate guru, Mike Andrews on Real Estate Marketing in an Online World, I felt compelled to write and share some of my thoughts on a related topic. Whether or not a real estate company, or any company for that matter, is working on marketing, buying, selling, or just listing (pretty close to JUSTLISTEM, am I right?), social media has become a viable venue for building and expanding a business. However, when a business is just starting, or if a business is new to the interactive world, it can be overwhelming to decide how to successfully hit and tackle the right social media outlets–there are SO many.

So, here are a few questions and concerns I want to briefly consider and address:

1. What exactly is social media and why is it so important for business, more specifically real estate?

• Social media, in essence, is the new, hip, and ONLINE version of what face-to-face mixers and organized networking events used to be. (Not to say that those things aren’t valid anymore, because frankly, nothing beats meeting, connecting, and relating to someone face-to-face).
• For real estate etc., social media creates an interactive, responsive, and engaged audience 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Can you honestly say you get that with a print, radio, or television ad presence?
• Real estate can be a tough venue, for anyone, particularly in this economy. When someone is buying or selling a house, stress levels are UP, way up. Social media creates transparency, which ultimately, fosters a more inviting and relatable atmosphere giving potential clients the feeling of working and doing business with a trustworthy resource.

2. Which venues should I tackle first in my social media quest? (Yes, there are a lot of places to start. I say start with the big THREE and work your way from there).

• TWITTER: The micro-blogging, status updating, networking tool-of-champions. Twitter helps connect you to people all over the world. Any business can benefit from the networking power of Twitter.
• FACEBOOK: Quite possibly the largest social networking tool out there. With almost 200 million users, creating a prominent Facebook presence through a group, profile, or fan page sets your real estate business up for far-reaching success.
• BLOGGING. It doesn’t matter where [we like wordpress ], but blogging allows your audience to “hear” your opinion and learn what you know. You are the expert in some area and there are people who want to learn more about that particular topic… therefore, share your expertise, and you are ultimately bound to create a sense of legitimacy among your audience.
• **BiggerPockets.com: This is a great social networking tool for real estate companies. Use it. Share tips. Be awesome.

3. What should I or my business keep in mind when creating an online/social media presence?

• Be honest. Now that your real estate business has an online presence, which is somewhat detached from the general public, the general public is and will be savvy to everything you say.
• Be present. Don’t set these outlets up, post once or twice, and then ditch out on them. You will only be successful if your community is always active.
• Be engaged. Don’t talk AT people all the time. These are called communities for a reason, pose questions, answer questions, share links, respond to hot topics, etc. By becoming active among the communities you participate in, you allow your audience to grow and continue to be responsive. Be a participant, not a lecturer.

So what is the overall lesson here? Don’t just use these tools to use them. Becoming a part of the social media spectrum takes time and commitment. Commit to these things like you would any other part of your business. You wouldn’t set up a time to meet with a potential client and not show up… you would follow through. Treat all of these avenues as a client meeting and FOLLOW THROUGH with each one. You wouldn’t buy a bunch of tools and not build the house. (I like metaphors). We are in the process of practicing exactly what we preach. We recently joined the social media spectrum and we are finding it to be extremely beneficial. In a tough economy, fostering a positive community is key to running a successful business.

Share your thoughts with us!