How One Agent is Using Social Media & Email to Strengthen Real ...

I met Lori a few years ago ? she was an experienced agent looking to make a change, and she wanted to learn a little more about my brokerage.

Lori and I met numerous times over the course of about 18 months, and we really got to know one another. We learned that real estate wasn?t the only thing we had in common; we happened to be neighbors as well. We shared stories about our dogs. And when my wife and I had our twins, she made me chuckle by sharing how she coped with newborn-induced sleep deprivation by napping under her desk at the office.

And the week my wife and I returned home from the hospital, terrified and uncertain about how we were supposed to care for 2 tiny people, Lori was the first to show up with dinner to help ease the burden of new responsibility.

What started out as a business relationship turned into a friendship.

We?ve stayed in touch even after I moved on to REALTOR.com? ? following the progression of each other?s families through Facebook, and communicating by email.

And recently, Lori sent me an email about a home she?d just listed in a neighboring development:

To me, this wasn?t just a nice way to stay in touch, it was darn good marketing. It wasn?t fancy. It wasn?t flashy.

It was personal. And uniquely tailored for ME.

And they way Lori has maintained a relationship should be a chapter in a real estate marketing textbook. She?s beautifully meshed a personal relationship with social media and email marketing to create an experience that?s unique and personal:

• Personal Relationship: Lori?s genuine. She really cares about other people, and it shows. When she asks you how you?re doing, she REALLY means it. She isn?t pushy about sales; Lori spends more time getting to know you than she does delivering sales pitches. As the old saying goes, ? trust, rapport THEN business ? Lori understands this implicitly, and she?s good at it because it?s genuine.
• Social Media: Lori and I communicate a lot by Facebook ? she always has a funny comment to add to photos I post, and since we?re both rabid college football fans (myself a Virginia Tech Hokie, and Lori a supporter of some small school in Oklahoma that goes by ?Sooner?), there?s always an insightful comment or two about the slate of games scheduled for a given Saturday in the fall. We share common interests, and the relationship is one that?s more than real estate. For Lori, Facebook is a natural outlet to stay in touch.
• Email: Lori?s used email marketing beautifully. And it isn?t used as a generic ?HEY! It?s a GREAT Time to Buy!? type of solicitation. Instead, Lori?s tailored her communication so that it resonates specifically with me. She knows I have a growing family, and that soon, I?m probably going to want to look into getting a bit more space. She knows that I LOVE living in the area I do. And she also knows that even if I may not be interested in this specific home, some of my friends who are in the same stage of life as me might be. Plus, it lets me know that she?s not just an agent, she?s an agent that cares and understands ME.

Lori?s a successful agent who has been in the business for a lot of years. She?s been able build strong personal relationships, and then, she?s been able to use social media to help her strengthen bonds and stay in touch. And Lori?s been able to use email marketing to deliver specific real estate related information that?s personal and tailored to the person receiving it.

Trust. Rapport. And then, a discussion about business.

It?s something Lori?s mastered, and it?s something that can work for any agent, at any stage of their career.

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