10 Reasons Why Your Social Media is Not Working

You listened to all those tech-savvy gurus who told you that social media was the key to your success. So you went out and got yourself a Facebook page and a Twitter account. You started a blog and put your profile on LinkedIn. And nothing happened. Why?

1. You have no friends. You’re talking but nobody’s listening. Or reading. Without connections, you’re playing to an empty room. So start by importing your contact list from your Gmail account, Outlook, and whatever other databases you use. LinkedIn has a great tool for analyzing your profile and suggesting people you might want to connect with. Other social media sites have ways of searching for people you know or might want to know, based on data you’ve provided.
2. You have too many friends. When it comes to making social media connections, go for quality, not quantity. Don’t “friend” everyone you know, just because you can. Make sure you are connecting with people that you actually have some sort of relationship with, or that you want to have a relationship with.
3. You’ve forgotten who your friends are. Of course you have kept basic contact information for past clients and business associates. Haven’t you? Most social media will let you look people up by their email addresses. That’s works well in case there are a lot Joe Smiths online, and none of them has posted a photo!
4. You have no personality. If you’re going to succeed in social media, you need an image and only one image at that. It’s called branding, and it’s all about the look and feel of your blog, your Facebook page, your LinkedIn profile and generally how you look no matter where you are. Be consistent across all these platforms. Use a signature color, a readable typestyle, and a clean and uncluttered look.
5. You’re all about hype. Social media is not designed for the hard sell. If all you’re doing is pushing your properties, raving about your hot new listing, you’re missing the boat. It’s a soft sell environment, a relationship-building tool. Realtors who use social media to drive sales as opposed to providing value-added information to potential clients will ultimately fail.
6. You’re inconsistent. Your New Year’s resolution was to Tweet daily and blog weekly, and by February you’re down to once a month, if that. You’ll never develop a following if your existing and potential followers don’t know what to expect. Develop a pattern that gives your readers something to look forward to—a Monday-morning market update, or a Friday comment on current interest rates. Value-added posts like a weekend movie or restaurant review can be fun too.
7. You’re uninteresting. First rule of social media: Never Be Boring. In the social media universe, content is king. You need to create a steady supply of blog posts, tweets, updates, video, photos, and whatever else is relevant to your business. If you don’t have the time or skill to create content yourself, our service can do it for you—it’s well worth the investment.
8. You don’t talk back. Would you believe there are bloggers out there that never reply to any comments made on their blogs? That’s like ignoring someone who says hello at a cocktail party—it’s just plain rude. Someone took the time to read your words of wisdom and expressed her/his feelings And you did nothing? Your purpose is to add value and keep the conversation going. If someone expresses an opinion, agree or politely disagree and then add something new. If someone asks a question—answer it!
9. You don’t share. You’re not alone out there in the blogosphere, you know. It’s called social media for a reason—because you interact with other people. If you want to have a friend, be a friend. If you find something interesting or useful on another blog or web site (even if it’s a competitor), link to it or tweet about it. Comment on other peoples’ blogs. Repin posts on Pinterest.
10. You hide your identity. Use your real name, or at least some recognizable version of it. In real life I’m sure no one knows you as “realestateguru.” No one will take you seriously if you comment or tweet with semi-silly names. Social media is about relationships, not keyword stuffing and you can really irritate your fellow bloggers and Facebook friends if you try to take advantage of them in this way.

Social media is not hard. Social media success demands content, consistency and caring about your audience. If you have those three things you’ll raise your grade from an F to an A in no time. Let us know if we can help.