February marked the fourth year Social Media Week returned to New York along with 20 additional cities around the world. Social Media Week is an exciting experience revolutionizing the way individuals all over the globe collaborate on the impact social media has had on business.
Whether you are an individual looking to gain a working knowledge of how best to use social media or a corporation interested in capitalizing on the power of social media, Social Media Week offers a full array of stellar content. With sessions ranging from Social Media 101 to an in-depth look at the role social media is playing within specific industries, Social Media Week offers a little bit of something for everyone.
On Thursday February 16th, Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate was proud to be the only real estate company to host an event at Social Media Week. The event was titled, “From House to Home: Social Media’s Impact on Buying, Designing and Selling a Home,” and included an impressive panel of real estate, design, lifestyle and social media experts who discussed how social media and other online tools are impacting the home buying, selling and design processes.
Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate president and CEO Sherry Chris moderated the lively panel of experts which included Kim-Marie Mullen, Business Development Manager at Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate Rand Realty, James Nichols, Vice President Strategy at New Media Strategies, Elaine Griffin, Owner of Elaine Griffin Interior Design, and Sarah Newell, Lifestyle Editor for TheNest.com. Each participant shed light on how they use social media within their business and how they tap into the needs and wants of today’s consumer.
Social Media and the Consumer
Kim-Marie Mullen is an active real estate agent who shared how “logging on to social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter” are so important to her business that it’s how she begins and ends her day. She was also eager to express that “social media provides a great opportunity for agents eager to build a relationship over time with consumers or looking to re-connect with clients they have lost touch with over the years.”
The panel went on to agree that we are living in an era of the informed consumer. “Social media has helped revolutionize the processes of buying and decorating a house as they look for free advice and inspiration” Elaine Griffin said.
This puts the homebuyer and seller in the driver’s seat thanks to social networks and websites designed to provide the information they want at the exact moment they need it. Given this environment, Sherry Chris shared a few important reminders for all real estate professionals.
“Agents must be authentic and transparent as they seek to establish themselves as the expert. They must clearly demonstrate the value-add of their professional perspective or risk being thought of as replaceable. Use social networks to engage and inform. Become a trusted source of information and stand out by delivering the most useful information to your audience.”
Social Media and Your Business
As the evening wrapped up, it seemed hard to believe that with the abundance of information available, social media as we know it did not even exist a decade ago. However, one thing was clear. While the information sources may continue to change, a real estate professional will never be obsolete as long as they continue to evolve. A large part of that evolution is the use of social media within their business. A key takeaway for real estate professionals came from James Nichols. “Remain selective and stay focused on one platform. Create relationships and interact. Most importantly: Remember to LISTEN.”
At Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, we understand the importance of not only creating relationships, but developing and preserving trust over time. Social media offers a way to stay in front of our network and consumers, answering their questions and providing real solutions in today’s market.
We believe our substantial growth over the past four years is driven not only by our passion for the home and community, but also by our confidence in the power of social media. To us, it is a world of infinite possibility!
Stay tuned for more insight from Social Media Week in the coming weeks!
