The 80/20 Rule for Social Networking
Thu, Dec 11, 2008
Marketing, Networking, Real Estate 2.0, Social Media Marketing
Here’s a new take on the 80/20 rule:
When I talk to my coaching clients about adding social networking, I occasionally hear that they don’t know how to balance their business goals with the sometimes personal nature of sites like Facebook. I see this a lot when I’m on Facebook and Twitter, as well. So I’d like to share with you a rule I use for my own personal networking.
I believe that for social networking to be an effective business marketing strategy, it needs to be 80% business, and 20% personal.
Business – keep your professional image in mind as you post comments, pictures, personal details, etc. on your social networking profiles. If it’s not something you would be comfortable with most of your current (or potential) clients, colleagues, or members of your professional organizations seeing, think twice before posting it. Many times, people will “Google” the name of someone they just met and are considering working with, and you want to make sure that you are presenting a professional, competent image.
I recommend that you spend the majority of your time on these sites cultivating business relationships, posting valuable and interesting information, and sharing your real estate expertise.
Personal – However, as you’ve probably heard many times before, people do business with people they know, like and trust. You need to share some personal information in order for your network to feel like they “know” you. We’ve all seen someone networking (online or off) that doesn’t seem to get this concept. They just want to promote themselves and shove their sales pitch down your throat. They don’t take the time to share a little personal information about themselves in order to connect with you, much less take the time to notice things you’re interested in.
By offering up a little bit of yourself on these sites, you have the opportunity to connect with someone based on mutual interests. This can give you the edge over other agents with similar expertise. Share the occasional vacation photo, or hobby, or an interesting movie you saw, and you never know who will respond. Just remember not to share something potentially embarassing – you never know who’s looking!
Do you have a certain approach to your social networking? What do you consider out of bounds or off-limits? I’d love to hear from you as well.
Technorati Tags: Rich Rogala, social networking for real estate, social networking tips, online real estate marketing, how to use social networking in real estate
December 18th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Hi Rich,
I found a link to this post from Mike Lyon’s blog. What an interesting take on the 80/20 rule applied to social networking. I find myself feeling like I only have time for the professional side of social networking. Maybe that’s because I really have no personal life. Your 20% rule makes sense and seems like sound advice. I’ll see if I can make some time for the 20%. Thanks for the post.
Jim Adams – CEO
New Homes Directory.com
December 18th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Hi Jim,
Thanks for stopping by! I think it’s always a good idea to put a little bit of yourself out there, it just deepens that connection as you’re meeting and networking with people. I don’t even know that you need to make a specific effort to add 20% personal time to your networking, so much as just adding more personal insights, comments, etc. about you so that personal connection is more possible.
-Rich
May 24th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Hi, that’s a good way of putting it, 80/20. almost all marketers trying social networking and applying 100% business, well, they fail. on the other hand, good old personal blogs work better on search engines. so you need to apply some rules of balance here or you fall off. thanks, I had a great time reading your post. =)
May 26th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
My 80/20 is just sort of a guideline, but I’ve always found everything in moderation. If you put 100% of your effort into one tool or one approach, you’ll never see the successes you would if you vary things up a bit! Thanks for stopping by.