You or your company may have already declared affinity or disdain for Facebook as a 
marketing and public relations tool. Either way, it’s imperative to remember that your level of engagement with any given social networking platform – in person and online – will ultimately lead to success or failure in the digital space.
More real estate professionals announced their dedication to Facebook this week as speculation over the social media giant’s fate raged. With an IPO that is expected to create 1,000 millionaires, the company’s latest move is giving rise to countless news articles and commentaries focused on how its 900 million users could be affected.
CBS Money Watch said the offering, which could make U2 front man Bono richer as a Facebook cofounder defends his decision to renounce U.S. citizenship and move to Singapore, was “more whimper than bang” in early morning trading.
Back in reality, where hard-working business owners and professionals consider the value of Facebook in terms of a PR and marketing solution, one social media guru in the real estate space said recently that he had walked away from a different social media platform.
I can’t say I agree with Tom Royce, a social media marketer in Peachtree, Ga, who founded “The Real Estate Bloggers” in 2005. Royce, who has more than 8,000 Twitter followers, wrote in an April 7 post titled “Real Estate Blogging is Dying – Fast” that he was “calling this game.” I found it interesting that on May 11, he followed that entry with a new post related to the The National Association of Home Builders.
No matter where your branding and networking efforts take you, it’s important for real estate professionals and financial services companies to know that it’s the value you bring and thought leadership you display that leads to a return on investment in any given networking space – both online and in the real world.
Social media is not a fad. For millions of people everyday, logging onto Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is just as commonplace as you or I opening up an email account. The technology and products behind the social media phenomenon may evolve, yet it will remain.
My advice? Find a starting point and get in the game. Integrated public relations and content marketing plans give construction pros, real estate agents and financial services providers multiple outlets to share their value propositions. Without very good reason, I’m not calling it quits on any communications tool that allows me connect directly with my brand ambassadors, my industry partners, my customers and my prospective clients.
Are you?