Social Media and You

Do you have a personal account on either Facebook or Twitter? Have you noticed that most of your clients do? Today social media is not only used to engage your clients, but also to market towards new ones.
Facebook and Twitter can be used as a more approachable way of communicating with your clients. Social media is becoming more and more necessary for modern businesses to thrive, and yours shouldn't be any different. With these new outlets, you can upload photos and videos of tips for potential clients, of available houses, or even of you and your team.

While all social media can have the same goal in mind, different outlets can accomplish different tasks.

Facebook:

• For a business, it would be best to use a "Fan Page." There is no friend cap and with this type of page, clients are free to join simply by "Liking" the page.
• Able to start discussion threads on a dedicated page, labeled "Discussions."
• Able to send out mass messages to all members.
• Instant messaging through "Facebook Chat."

Twitter:

• Real-time updates about your business.
• One-on-one messaging between clients.
• 140-character limit means smaller messages and faster responses.

But your social media efforts don't have to stop with Facebook and Twitter. Another social media site you can register your business on is foursquare, a smartphone application (sometimes shortened to "app") that's a free way for your clients to promote your business by telling their friends where they are. You can even reward your dedicated clients or attract new ones by offering "foursquare Specials" –certain prizes or offers–that you design.

Social media isn't for kids anymore. It's now a serious way to market yourself and connect with your clients in a friendly manner. Social media sites are easy to use, easy to manage, and best of all they're free.

These days, there are more ways to engage your clients than e-mail, so consider using sites like Facebook and Twitter, which many of your clients already enjoy using every day!