I live in Southwest Florida and I attended a business meeting last night where they had a panel of representatives from many of our area’s major media organizations discussing how the traditional media companies that they work for are currently using social media in their daily business operations. In attendance were representatives from the Naples Daily News, The Fort Myers News Press, FOX 4 WFTX-TV, NBC-2 (Waterman Broadcasting) and BOBFM. From traditional newspapers to radio and TV, the panelist included a fairly broad spectrum of traditional media corporations.

I was both intrigued and rather surprised to find out that many of these organizations really do not know what to do with social media. Though they have all significantly adopted these sites- mostly Twitter and Facebook- they remain unsure and almost skittish about predicting what place social media will have in their organizations in the future. It seemed to me that there was an adoption of practice, but a reluctance and uncertainty as to how to use it to improve their bottom lines. Effectively, they know they need to do it, but they’re not exactly sure why.

The radio stations probably have the clearest perspective on how social media can and will affect their business. They have already established Facebook Fan Pages and are driving traffic to these pages while they are on the air. Though interestingly enough, the disk jockeys remain skeptical on how mentioning these sites on the air will effectively help drive business. They even indicated that many of them were very reluctant in the beginning to even adopt the practice of mentioning their website. That said, the marketing gurus of these agencies clearly see how a mere mention of a contest on the air and encouragement to view their Fan Page causes a spike not only in their Fan Page traffic but to their website as well. They feel this is an excellent indication of how they are reaching a broader base of consumers through their on air to online interactions. Ultimately, they feel that at the end of the week when the Nielsen ratings are taken, the more exposure their consumers have had to their brand through these new media outlets, is and will have a significant impact on their advertising sales.

Radio has also found the celebrity factor useful through sites like Twitter. Though they are only local celebrities, they are well known in the community and appear to be gaining Twitter followers quite quickly. Radio marketing experts feel that through these utilities, they are creating a more human connection and interaction directly with their consumers and radio broadcast personalities. Essentially, now the public can follow what these people do all day even when they are off their air. It was not specifically discussed how their radio personalities feel about this new type of ‘fame’.

TV News Broadcasting is even more interesting from a social media perspective. They indicated that social media is new on the scene at these companies and has not exactly affected their business or changed their strategies from a marketing perspective. However, they said it has definitely changed the way they gather their news. I found this rather interesting- essentially saying that reporters may be starting to ‘listen’ to the Tweets to find interesting news stories as they are happening through their followers. A sort of ‘reverse Tweet’ if you will. They indicated that though there has not been much resistance on the part of the reporters to adopt social media, they do not have any public Facebook profiles where you can interact with them and they are not necessarily actively using it in their day to day reporting business. It will be interesting to see whether or not this trend begins to shift more towards the use of social media to gather news information as its happening around the area and around the world. Certainly the recent election in Iran was an indication on how powerful social media sites can be in broadcasting news as its breaking. It begs the question, however, if the news is free…does the value of these organizations begin to decline?

Which brings me to our local newspapers. I found them to have the most interesting perspective on social media with the Naples Daily News appearing to be a tad more savvy and directed on how they are currently using social media and will continue to use it in the future. The Fort Myers News Press, though certainly well informed on the topic, seems to be a bit less sure of how they intend to utilize it in the long rung. Interestingly enough, none of these outlets have any policies with their employees (including reporters) on the usage of sites like Twitter and Facebook; though the Naples Daily News indicated there is a policy in the works and on its way down the pipeline.

In terms of news dissemination, these local newspaper reps indicated that social media may be changing the delivery of news overall. Whereas news used to be delivered to the people, there is a growing trend of other people delivering news to each other through the use of social media. They related this shift to the notion that we are now getting some of our news from each other via these websites verses directly from news sources. Blogs are one good example of this; many of us get our industry news and information from blog writers- they get their info from other blog writers and so on and so forth. The Fort Myers News Press stated that where just a short year ago much of the news was distributed by news sources and then perhaps ‘tweeted’, the current practice may now include someone tweeting that they are going to write a story, then asking their followers to contribute feedback to the story, then tweeting as they are writing it and finally submitting it via the web where it is then distributed through various news channels.

Finally, all of this begs the question, “Why do it, and how do you measure it?” Many of the panelists were unsure what to say. Newspaper reps were especially unsure; they seemed to feel that because the newspaper industry is changing so quickly that only time would tell exactly where social media would fit into their business objectives. Currently they are able to see a rather significant inrease in traffic to their online new sites from their social pages. Radio reps were a bit more certain. They indicated that they could see clear results in their Nielsen ratings from incorporating social media by the increased traffic to their sites. They indicated this increase of traffic would not online increase and enhance brand awareness, but also turn page views into marketing dollars; after all, these companies all survive on advertising revenue. The banner ads and in some cases commercials they run on their site will get more ad views the higher their traffic. Ultimately, they said, THAT is where social media will begin to show its effectiveness.

In closing, I should mention that one of the major sponsors of this panel discussion was a local real estate team. They were not on the panel, but it speaks to the growing trend of social media adoption and participation within the real estate space. Nowhere else can you gain the kind of one-on-one interaction with your clients as service professionals than on a social media site. You must learn this practice, embrace it and do all that you can to begin thinking of creative ways to make those personal and professional connections. People do business with people they know and like. Never before has this been more true than today. Embrace this practice and you’ll easily see how social media can and will fit into YOUR business (even if these media giants can’t yet.). Maybe I should direct them to my blog series, 50 Ways to Use your Fan Pages for Business. ;)

Labels: Facebook, Real Estate Marketing, Social Media, traditional media, twitter

Welcome to Part 2 of “50 Ways to Use Your Fan Page”. Each post I will give you 10 more ideas on what kind of information to post and provide on your Facebook Fan Page. I’ll give you unique and creative ideas on how to promote yourself, your listings, your website and your company online using Facebook. I’ll also provide you how-tos on promotion of the page, reading statistics and more.

The next 10 ideas on how to create value and promote your Facebook Fan Page are listed below. If there is something you would like to know more about or if you have an idea or suggestion you feel works, please feel free to let me know or post it below! After all, social media is all about sharing and collaboration. It is only successful when others participate.

1. Post personal photos. Photos are probably one of the most popular uses for Facebook. Photos grab attention and encourage people to take a look at your page. You can and should post personal photos but keep it professional. Make sure you keep in mind that this is a professional fan page and use discretion.

2. Post photos of properties. If you have a particular property that you are featuring on your website and would like to get some extra viewing time on, post an album in the photos section that is of the property. Be sure to put the properties address as the name of the album. For added benefit, go into the settings area of your album and set it to ‘everyone’ can view. That way, even if someone can’t see your profile, they will be able to see that particular photo album. (You can designate settings for each album.)

3. Post photos of events you attend. Make sure you take great photos of any events that you attend. If there are people you know who appear in the photos, get their permission and “tag” them. Tagging can be done as you are uploading your photos or after you have posted them to your album. When you tag a photo of someone, Facebook sends them an email letting them know and encouraging them to visit your page. This is what creates the “community” feel of your page. The more personalization you put on the page, the more likely it will be it gets visited.

4. Start a Discussion. Discussions provide a way to initiate conversation on your profile and encourage people to network with each other. Allow others a chance to communicate with you and your friends. It draws users in creates commentary. Click on the ‘discussions’ tab at the top of your fan page. Click the ‘start new topic’ link and enter the information. Once you’ve entered it, be sure to post on your wall that you’re starting a discussion. Keep it interesting; talk about current market events, or use it as a question and answer session. If you can provide valuable advice, you’ll get fans coming back for more.

5. Advertise your Open Houses. At the top of your fan page is a tab called “Events”. Here you can post upcoming events like your upcoming open houses. You can even attach links to a map for driving directions.

6. Add your own functionality through FBML (Facebook Markup Language). Facebook Mark Up Language allows you to add advanced functionality to your fan Page using this application. If you know HTML, you can design and create your own pages or have someone do it for you. This application will add a box to your Page in which you can render HTML or FBML (Facebook Markup Language) for enhanced Page customization. Click here to add the application: http://harvard.new.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=4949752878

7. Announce your blog posts. You can advertise new posts to your blog simply by posting it as an update on your wall. You can attach a link directly to your blog that will direct fans right to the article.

8. Use Twitter to drive traffic. Use your Twitter updates to let your followers know of unique and interesting content or new content you’ve posted to your fan page. Cross marketing is an extremely effective way to get social media to work for you.

9. Become a fan yourself. Not only should you make sure that you become a fan of your own fan page through your personal profile, you should also make sure that you become a fan of other causes, companies, brands and people with whom you know and do business. Reaping the benefits of social media means you have to participate in it as well. Make sure you are cultivating the online community by searching around for pages that match your specific interests. A consummate professional pays attention to the causes and companies that matter most to their clients and becomes fans of them as well. One good turn deserves another.

10. Visit at least two fans per week. Social media is like any other kind of socialization. You have to make yourself available to others for it to work. In today’s hectic business climate, you may find it difficult to pick up the phone and call people just to say hello. Facebook profiles make it much easier. Be sure to pick at least two fan’s profiles per week to visit. Post a friendly ‘hello’ on their wall. They will get emailed that you posted and feel good you reached out to them.


This concludes part two of my series. I hope you’re playing around with your fan page and starting to get a hand of its functionality. Check back soon for 10 more ideas as we work towards providing you with 50 ideas on how to use your Facebook Fan Page!

Until then, Happy Socializing!


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CyberSunshine, Inc. is real estate web design firm that has been developing website and intranet applications for the real estate industry since 1998. Regarded as one of the industry's premier technology development companies, and recently named as one of Florida’s Top 100 Small Businesses, CyberSunshine, Inc. enables clients to maximize their marketing and sales potential through the internet by providing flexible, dynamic systems with robust web-based solutions tailored to their specific needs. For additional information call 239-437-2628 or visit http://www.cybersunshine.com.

Labels: CyberSunshine, Facebook, Fan Page, Real Estate Marketing, Real Estate Web Design, Social Media

My last post told you all about how to create a fan page on Facebook. Oddly enough it can be really hard to find exactly where you can create a page, once you have a login to this popular social media site. In my last post I provided you a quick link. Check it out if you still haven’t created your Page.

To those of you who have created your Page and are now ready to move to the next step, let me first commend you for your efforts! I know this can be scary…but don’t worry! It’s FREE and the only way to truly goof up is to not do anything! Keep in mind that your goal in developing a social media marketing campaign is to keep it professional, build networks and cultivate relationships that will ultimately turn into business leads.

The first thing you need to do is look over your info section. Make sure that you have filled everything out entirely. You don’t have to give everything away but make sure that it at least provides your contact info and where you work. If someone is interested in getting in touch with you, this is where they’ll look so make sure it’s all accurate and up to date.

Secondly, you’ll want to check your settings and information. At the top left hand of the page, there is an ‘edit’ link. Within the edit section, you’ll find settings, wall settings, mobile, discussion boards, events, information, notes, photos, video, wall and more applications. To edit any one of these sections, click the small pencil icon to the right and then select ‘edit’.

• Under “Settings”, make sure that under “Published”, the “Published (publicly visible) is selected. Once you have “published” your fan page, it will become visible to other users.

• Under ‘Wall Settings” you can change the default view for fans and control who posts to your wall. This is where you can control who can post what to your page.

• “Mobile” allows you to publish your status updates via mobile phone for when you’re on the road. Once you get comfortable with Facebook, this can be a great way to let people know your status updates quickly. You have to have a carrier that works with this service so check your service plan.

• “Discussion Boards” allow you to get a conversation started about topics of importance or interest. This can be a great tool for you to get some valuable feedback from your clients. You set the topics and promote the discussion.

• “Events” is a great feature. This is a fantastic way to get the word out about any event you have coming up. Post open houses, grand openings, social gatherings, real estate seminars and more. If you send emails out to clients about events you would like to attend, make sure you post them to your fan page as well. Once you create the event, you can promote it to your fans through Facebook. Your fans are sent the info and they can even RSVP to it.

• “Information” is where you can manage the information settings on your page. This is where you can add your website, picture and basic info.

• “Links” provides you the ability to determine who can post links to your fan page. You can post websites, blogs, videos, and songs, as well as content on Facebook, like profiles, photos, notes, groups, and events. You can allow all fans to post links or only allow admins. This is your decision.

• “Notes” allows you to share information through written entries. You can tag people you know in these entries and others can leave comments. If you want to write an article about something important, or perhaps you want to write a thank you to a recent client, you can use this feature and then tag that person. They will get an email that they are in that note and can go right to it on your page.

• “Photos” allow you to upload your own personal photos to your fan page. In my opinion, photos are a really great way to gain interest in your fan page quickly. People like to look at photos online. Once you upload them, you can add comments and tag other fans in them. The photos are also posted in news feeds of your fans, which can get their attention and encourage them to take a look (which drives them to your page). You can create your own albums and then share them with others. If you go to an event, take photos of that event. If you have a property that is especially enticing, create an album for it. I’ll have more ideas to share about how to use this great application in future posts.

• The “Videos” section allows you to post, record and send videos to fans. This is a great way to generate interest, as videos can be extremely viral. Viral means that others will see it, then forward it to their friends, who forward it to theirs, and so on. If you have a video of a community or property, this is a good place to include it.

• Your Facebook “Wall” is the open forum where you communicate with your fans. It’s the best place to interact with them through comments, posts, insights and more. Think of your wall as your customizable bulletin board where you can post interesting bits of information. The best part about the wall is its interactivity between you and your fans. With it, you can share information and not only become an information resource, but obtain valuable feedback for your business.

That wraps up the overview of your new Facebook Fan Page. In the next week, take a look at all of the features of your page and get familiar with them and how they function. If you’re interested in learning more about social media and Facebook, please follow my blog. Next week I will be starting a new blog series, “50 Ways to Use Your Fan Page”. It will be a five week series that will provide you with 10 unique and creative ideas each week on how to use your fan page in business networking. If you’re interested in getting started but feel stuck on what to do next, you’ll want to check back each week. I hope to get an interesting discussion started on how we can all use this fantastic media to cultivate new and rewarding relationships.

If you use Facebook and feel it has been successful, I’d like to hear from you! Let me know how you have used it in your business to help promote yourself and your services.

Until next time, Happy Socializing!

Labels: business networking, CyberSunshine, Facebook, Internet Marketing, Social Media, social media campaign, Stuff You Need, yberSunshine

Facebook Fan Pages are getting a lot of attention lately in the media and rightfully so. Research indicates that 70% of viral marketers report increasing brand awareness as one of the most successful areas of their social marketing campaigns. Not since the onset of the internet and websites have you been given the ability to reach out across the miles to millions of potential prospects in such an exciting and targeted fashion. Best of all, it’s FREE!

As a real estate professional, you are your brand. You create logos around your name and business. If you’re a broker, then brand awareness is even more crucial. If you have an organization, business, product or personality that you intend to keep in business through this year and beyond, well then you’ll want to setup a Facebook Fan Page.

Facebook Fan Pages are customizable pages setup to help a variety of promotional groups “join the conversation with Facebook users”. They allow unlimited users (unlike personal profiles), business-to-consumer interaction, and content sharing. One of the most important aspects, but often overlooked is the fact that they allow you to create a very targeted focus group for your business. If all that still hasn’t convinced you, well then you should know that they are even beginning to show up quite quickly in major search engines. Did I get your attention now? Everything from corporations, major newspapers and television shows to individual celebrities and non-profits can leverage the power of a Facebook Page to promote brand awareness.

Facebook Pages are similar yet quite different from personal profiles. Instead of “friends”, Pages acquire “fans”. Fans are sent updates (posted by page administrators) via news feeds on their personal profiles, which are then promoted to their ‘friends’. Under ‘News Feed’, you’ll see a list of the updates that have been made by your friends. Along the far right hand side of the page you may see thumbnail images with the title along with an announcement that “John Smith” is a fan. Along with it is a link for you to click to “Become a fan”. Page creation can be difficult to find. I’ve provided you a quick link to help you out (you can thank me later). http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/create.php Creating a page is not difficult or time consuming, and involves only a few fields of pertinent information.

1) First, choose the category in which your Page will be seen in the Facebook directory. Select whether you are Local, a Brand or Product, or an Artist, Band or Public Figure. As a real estate professional, you’ll most likely find the right designation under “Local”. Select ‘real estate’ from the drop down menu. (Note: if you want to setup a Page for a non-profit you care about, you’ll find “non-profit” under Brand or Product)

2) Choose your name. This part’s important. Tread carefully!! Once you have chosen it, Facebook does not allow you to change it. It’s also important to know that whatever you choose will be found in the URL of the page, which is great for search engine effectiveness. That’s why you’ll want to make sure that the name you use is the one that you use in all of your other marketing. Now is not the time to be cute – keep it simple and obvious. If you’re not sure, take a look at your marketing tools; business cards and brochures…how do you present yourself? Go with what you see most often in your real estate marketing materials, whether its your name, your company name or a real estate website, select the name that you feel a potential buyer or seller would use to search for you.

3) Finally, perform the “security check”. The security check is just simply a Captcha box that requires you to type in the words you see on the screen. This is just so the system can verify that you are indeed a human.

4) Click ‘Create Page’ and you’re done!

Now what do you do?

1) Take a break and get a treat for yourself…you’ve officially began your social media campaign!

2) Start customizing. Select an image to upload- make sure its professional looking. A logo or photo identifying your Page is critical…don’t leave the goofy question mark you’ll see there (you can change this any time if needed).

3) Fill out the info page. This is good for search engines; add as much as you can and be as descriptive as possible. You want people to relate to your group so they’ll become your fan.

4) Fill the page with useful and interesting content. You’ll want to start obtaining fans but if you have nothing interesting to lend, you won’t have any fans.

If you’re a real estate brokerage, post statistics on your market area, show off your company real estate websites, and brag about your sales numbers. You can announce new agents to your team, brag up a particular listing agent who was a recent top producer or even highlight an agent of the month. Use the page as a way to market your business.

If you’re an agent, post open houses to your events, show off your website(s) through link posts, share photos of featured listings and communicate with prospects via updates. Be creative! The more clever you are, the better your Page will be.

5) Finally, start promoting. Remember you are now a needle in a haystack. You need to spread the word about your page. Post your Page information to sites like delicious.com, twitter, your website and your blog.

In my next post, I’ll give you all kinds of information on how to promote your Page, how to update your fans, how to target your updates and more. Until then, Happy Socializing!

Labels: CyberSunshine, Internet Marketing, marketing quick tip, Real Estate Marketing, Real Estate Web Design, Social Media

It’s Spring and love is in the air…so are birds…and as you walk down the street you hear the twitter of birdies and their babies flying about, preparing for the summer ahead. You might even be enjoying one of those fluffy, sugar-coated pieces of heaven we all know and love as “Peeps”. If you’re doing either one of these things, other people want to know and they want to know RIGHT NOW. That's where Twitter comes in...

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? (Source: http://www.Twitter.com)

You have probably heard recently that people are ‘twittering’. For those of you addicted to Facebook and posting status updates, Twitter could be the next best thing to chocolate covered Peeps. (Do they make those? If they do, please let me know where to get them!) But what IS it anyway and how can you use it to benefit your business?

The jury is still out on how Twitter will fit into business, if it will be used at all. Can it go beyond a simple utility that lets people know what you're doing from the grandest of achievements to the most mundane? It seems that the more we retreat into the confines of our offices, delving into the anonymous, ubiquitous world of the internet, the more we long for social interaction and connection. Could it be that the world has gotten so small and yet still feels so big that we all feel completely disconnected from each other? Well if you do, then start Twittering. It allows you to talk about what you’re doing each moment of the day with all of the people who have decided that they care enough to become one of your “followers”.

Once you’ve setup your Twitter account, chose those that you will “follow”. When you follow someone, you are updated when they post to their account. If you’re a news junkie or talk show fan, you can follow your favorites. Find out what their next shows are and get breaking news. Taking it one step further, you can keep in touch with friends by following them and their daily actions. Once you follow them, you’ll get notified when they make updates and you can reply to those updates any time.

How could Twitter benefit your business? If you use Twitter for personal AND business, you might find that you get inundated with too much mindless, mundane updates for it to actually work as a networking site (I prefer Facebook myself). However, I am always open to feedback from those of you who have gained positive connections and/or sales through Twitter (Contact me if you have!) Where I really feel it benefits is from a research and development standpoint – listen to the tweets and you might find it ‘sweet’.

Use Twitter to….

Simply Listen and Learn. As real estate professionals, and especially if you own a real estate business, you should always be keeping up with the latest news and events in your industry. By now you should be getting preference specific news updates like Google alerts on those topics that you care about- your market, local area economic concerns, real estate technology etc. (If you’re not, you better start…email me if you need to know how to set this up). You need to keep up on this information to remain an educated, well-informed service professional for your clients. In keeping with that objective, Twitter CAN help you stay informed. Follow organizations like Inman News, the Real Estate Channel, and even your own local association for updates on things that affect you, your business and your clients.

Learn about your competition. What better way to find out what your competitors are doing…each day more and more real estate businesses are adding “corporate profiles”. Usually a staff member or even an executive is posting updates to their page about their latest business happenings. If you’re lucky, they’re posting information about their newest marketing campaign, strategy, expansions, management practices and more. They’re so busy bragging themselves up, suddenly you know as much about them as their own agents.

Learn about your clients. Regardless of what age range you cater to, get your clients enthused about social media. If you have someone contact you through your website, search for them on Twitter. Follow them if you find them. Read all about their daily lives, family and things they care about then make sure you stay on top of it. If they post that they are sad they lost their dog, send them a note of sympathy. Let them know you care. Thoughtfulness is the key to prosperity.

Remind you what is important. As I was writing this, I took a break to be with my three month old son. He was blissfully playing on his back with a play gym I recently bought him. As I approached him, his eyes lit up and he smiled at me. There was something wonderfully sweet about the fact that he has no idea what Twitter is…or the internet for that matter. I’m going to enjoy and relish in the first few years of his life where he is not inundated with constant communication and social networking. I’m sure by the time he is five he’ll know more about all of this than me…but until then, I’m glad all he’ll know or care about is the color of his “Peeps” not the amount of his Tweets.


Happy Socializing!

Labels: Internet Marketing, Real Estate Marketing, Social Media

Social media a new set of internet tools that enable shared community experiences, both online and in person. As social media gains more popularity among all generations, many people are using the internet for both personal and professional reasons. It's a great idea to use the internet for your profession, however much like in life, it's always best to separate your personal life from your professional life. Social media is one example where this is crucial.

Social media is quickly becoming one of the fastest, most effective ways to network. It can be extremely beneficial to connect and network with friends and business associates. Many people have reconnected with people they haven't seen in quite some time, which can be quite fun. Sites like Facebook and MySpace can become virtual class and family reunions that allow you to share and collaborate with people you may not see that often.

At the same time, social media can also be a great way to network professionally with business associates and clients. Many real estate agents have begun using social media websites to network themselves with other business professionals and prospects.

Utilizing social media can be extremely effective. You build relationships with people through sharing and collaboration. The drawback is that you can find yourself sharing information that you didn't expect- or showing your business associates and potential clients a side of you that might be less than flattering. It's important to remember that people may judge you not only by your behavior but by those with whom you associate. Remember that on many social media sites, you can't always control what other people post about you or themselves. Your clients and prospects might not find that photo of you with friends drinking at the bar and being silly all that humorous or professional. You can't control what others say and do online. That's why it's crucial to always keep your online personal and professional life separate.

Keeping your personal and professional life separate as much as possible can be difficult when your business associates become your friends. However, if you want to use social media as a way to network with clients, you must be very skilled at navigating these tricky waters. Your clients and business associates gain a first impression from you based on your initial contact, regardless if it was in person. That means if they 'meet' you on online in a social media site like Facebook or MySpace, your profile page will be their first impression. Make sure that whatever social media site you utilize that you can control the settings – you want to be able to decide who gets to see your information and what they can post. Your friend from college might think it's funny to post that story about your past party escapades, but your potential clients might not find it quite so intriguing.

If you wish to use a site like Facebook, setup a profile for your personal friends and family, and setup a separate one for your persona as a business professional. A word of caution! Facebook terms of use clearly state, "the Service and the Site are available for your personal, non-commercial use only". Do not use a Facebook personal profile page to promote or recruit for your company. You can use it to talk about what you're doing, accomplishments, answer client questions, post photos and more, but if you use it too much as an advertisement, Facebook may contact you and you could have your profile shut off. If you wish to promote your company, utilize "Facebook Pages". Facebook Pages are special profiles used solely for commercial, political, or charitable purposes. You can create a page for your company under your own profile login to make administrating it easy. You can also add other members of your company as admins. There are a varitey of tools you can use on these pages that have been created specifically for business ues. I'll cover how to utilize social media for your business in a later post. To create a professional social media profile, here are some do's and don'ts:

DO:

1. Post personal information about yourself, but keep it professional. Use a professional head shot for your profile photo. Stay away from using photos that portray you casually. The photo of you hanging out with friends at a party is a poor choice. Remember this is a professional representation of you- make sure that you're portraying yourself appropriately.

2. Include relevant information that would connect you with another individual's personal experiences. Where you grew up, went to school, perhaps whether or not you're married and for how long, how many children you may have and any places you've traveled is all fair game for a professional profile. Other people identify with groups you may belong to- alumni groups are a great way to create a personal connection. * Warning! Keep it brief! Don't bore everyone with too many personal details. Keep it only to that information you would share in a business networking situation.

3. Post professional accomplishments, acknowledgements and designations you have achieved. This is a chance to let everyone know your true credentials. Do not, under any circumstances, embellish your accomplishments! Even though it may be tempting, it's very easy to verify the truth online. If you're caught lying about your credentials, you lose all credibility forever. Be honest, and if you feel your profile needs more "fluff" go out and actually achieve the accomplishments you desire.

4. Post photos that portray you engaging in appropriate activities and refrain from posting too many. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself whether or not you'd hang the photo(s)on the wall in your office.

5. Post information about your company or your industry experience. Where the business is located, how you got your start, and where you are today are all great points. Include contact information and your website.

6. Post your professional news. This is your chance to get the word out about what you're doing lately. Announce a new client/listing, a recent sale, and recent accomplishments. Brag about your successes and achievements- this is your chance!

7. Keep current clients and potential clients informed about changes in your industry or your business practices. If you're now offering title insurance, or you just partnered with a great banker, get the word out on your profile page. It might just prompt someone to contact you!

8. Use "status updates" as a way to show how busy you are. Let people know you just updated your website or posted to your blog. Include a link.

9. Join networks that are specific to your area and profession. These can be great ways to connect with others who share your interests; a great starting point for business relations.

10. Connect with clients by posting relevant information to their profile pages; let your clients know you sold a property in their area, or market conditions that affect them. They'll appreciate the real-time updates and insider information they get from you first hand.

DON'T:

1. DON'T inundate your professional contacts with 'special requests' (like sending someone a shamrock for St. Patrick's Day or silly quizzes, etc.) Remember much of what you do on these sites gets emailed to your contacts when you do it. If you annoy your contacts with a constant barrage of irrelevant items, they'll start treating you like they treat their spam email…they'll delete you!

2. DON'T be annoying! Trying to friend people just to gain as many contacts as you can is irritating. Don't send people you don't know your other contacts unless they have indicated they are interested in them. If you suggest friends to other people, make sure you genuinely feel they might know them or benefit from knowing them. It's irritating to get friend requests from people you don't know and are not interested in knowing. Keep your profile page relevant and personal. Make sure you are communicating with people who will actually find your information relevant to them.

3. DON'T use status updates to show how mundane your life is. No one cares that you just did the dishes or that you just watched American Idol.

4. DON'T talk about your love life. It is unprofessional to air your ‘dirty laundry' to professional business contacts. "Hook ups" and break ups are off limits and whatever you do, don't talk about your relationship problems!

5. DON'T put someone else down. Keep it professional and above board. If you wouldn't say it to everyone you've ever known or talked to, then don't say it online.

6. DON'T put other companies down or use social media to slander others. It's poor business practice and only makes you look unprofessional. This is your chance to shine; don't waste your precious time on making others look bad.

7. DON'T forget that everything you do online is traceable. Make sure that whatever you say or do remains professional. You very often can't take back things that are said and done online.

8. DON'T post photos of you in compromising situations. Photos of you partying, drinking, or engaging in any illegal or questionable activity should be off limits! It only takes one unsavory photo to ruin your reputation forever. If you wouldn't give it to the media, don't put it online.

9. DON'T use your social media outlets just to connect with other real estate professionals. Use it as a way to connect with clients and potential clients as well. Offer them valuable information and they'll keep coming back for more. Encourage referrals!

10. Finally...never, EVER joke about engaging in illegal or dishonest activities or business practices online in either your personal or professional profile. As social media catches on, more employers and business associates will utilize social media to find out information about you. You want it to be a fair and accurate representation of the kind of business professional you are- it should work FOR you, not against you.

Social media is quickly becoming an extremely effective marketing tool. Though it can be great for driving business and contacts your way, it can also be detrimental if you make a wrong move. Make sure that whatever you post online you're prepared to defend.

Once you have setup your professional social media sites online, there are a variety of ways you can use them to benefit your business. I'll cover that in a later post. Until then, happy socializing!

Labels: CyberSunshine, Internet Marketing, Social Media