On Social Media Overload

As Zillow's director of industry outreach, my job is to reach out to the industry. I find, however, people frequently reach out to me with all sorts of interesting questions.

Often those questions revolve around social media.

• What social sites work best?
• Are Facebook business pages worth the effort?
• Who cares about Twitter, Klout, Facebook, LinkedIn, <<insert any social site here>>, all that sort of thing?

Lately though I've been getting a lot of questions that go something like this:

First, and probably most importantly, you don't HAVE to 'do social media.' Short of prospecting for clients and closing real estate transactions, there really isn't anything that has to be done to be successful in real estate sales. Of course those two things are huge, and how you go about doing them can vary wildly, but you don't have to make social media a part of your effort any more than you have to do things like door knock, geo-farm a neighborhood, work expired listings and FSBOs, blog, tweet, comment on Facebook or pin away on Pinterest, etc.

Now, should you chose to implement all or parts of the vast social media toolbox into your prospecting repertoire, you would be well-served to take a look at some of the larger social sites out there.

And be prepared to do nothing with many of them.

What? Do nothing? How is that possible? How is that anywhere close to being sage advice? 'But, Jay...' you may be thinking, 'All the social media gurus and thought leaders tell us to jump on every site, create a profile, and 'just engage' and we'll see wild success and untold riches from using social media.'

Poppycock. Balderdash. Nonsense.

Here's the deal folks - no one has the bandwidth to properly handle being involved in every social media network. There are just too many of them out there. Rather than spread yourself so far and wide as to be ineffective, you would be far better served by really digging into one or two, MAYBE three social networks. Really understand what makes those communities tick. Learn the language and the culture of a few chosen sites. Master a few rather than try to have a presence on all.

Which social sites should I target?

I don't know. And, it probably doesn't matter. I'll throw Facebook out there and say you should probably learn it, if for no other reason than it is the biggest social site out there. There are over a billion people on Facebook, so it seems prudent that it should be in your list of  one or two social sites to explore.

For your second choice? Pick one you like and enjoy. If you think Twitter is stupid, don't join Twitter. Life is too short to spend a bunch of time lurking on sites you think are stupid. So don't. Pick something that jibes with you. Into photography? Take a look at Flickr. Like to read? Take a peek at Goodreads. Movies your thing? IMDb has a social component. LinkedIn, Pinterest, whatever strikes your fancy. Give it a whirl and see what's happening.

What's the first thing I should do when I join a social site?

Nothing. Really? Yep. The first thing you should do when considering a new (to you) social site is just watch, and listen. Don't type a single word until you've observed the network for at least a few days. Observe, watch. Look at how people interact. Look at the language that is used, the abbreviations and acronyms. The more you can learn about the 'culture' of a social site before you jump in, the better.

What's the second thing I should do when I join a social site?

Create a solid user-profile. You may think no one ever clicks on a social profile, but you'd be wrong. You should look at user profiles, it's the primary tool for determining whether or not you want to friend/follow that user, and others will use it in determining whether or not to follow you.

So make sure you have a picture. Make sure it's of you -- not your pet or your logo. This is a social site, so be social. Show your face. Fill the about you section. Link back to your blog, or other social sites. The profile is your first step to engaging on the platform. Spend a few minutes completing it.

Only after observing the site for awhile and only after creating a rich profile should you consider dipping your toes in the water and to start broadcasting. Learning the lay of the land, the nuances of how people interact on the site are important for 'fitting in'. No one likes the loud, crass guy at the cocktail party who busts into the room and takes over the place. So don't be that guy in the social space.

Ease into it. While over-competitive, type-A personalities tend to dominate everything we do, try backing off a notch on the social media interaction. Watch, observe, and then gently engage once you've got a feel for things.

You'll probably find social media a bit more palatable, and not quite so frustrating if you ease in, take small bites, and only participate in sites you enjoy. Feeling like you have to partake in every social scene out there is a sure road to burnout.