isONLYas GOODas their online REPUTATION
a REALTOR Those were the good old days. Now the Internet has
allowed us to expand our reach to a global audience and all of our communications have gone digital (e-mail, voicemail, text message, social media, forums, etc.). This means they are permanent, and especially with the rise of social media, easily distributable. So if you make one little mistake or have one irrational client who wants to defame you, it can hurt all of the good will you have built up over the years and potentially ruin your business. Now there are somany socialmedia and customer review
sites, chat rooms, forums, etc. where your customers and prospective customers could be discussing you. So how do you focus on your “job” as a REALTOR®
and yet some-
how keep up with all of this?Here are some great tips and tools available to help you manage your online reputation:
>> Always think before you hit Send or Submit as you can’t take it back. Also, always try to use proper online and offline etiquette and avoid negative situations (disagreements, petty or trivial activities, etc.) that can be used against you.
>> Google YOURSELF, and see what shows up and know what you are up against; you know your prospective clients will.
>> Set up GOOGLE ALERTS — enter any keyword or phrase and receive an e-mail newsletter of links to web pages or articles anytime those words are mentioned online
10IGEORGIA REALTOR®
In any service oriented industry one’s reputation and image are vital, but in real estate where every transaction is one of the biggest decisions in a person’s life, it is paramount. In the old days it was easier to build, maintain and monitor one’s reputation because it typically existed within your circle of influence and local market.
>> Monitor the mentions and direct messages on social media sites (or use aggregation tools like
HOOTSUITE.COM to consolidate this effort)
>> Create a defined presence for yourself online. Everything you have online (your website, blog, social media profiles, etc. should be similarly named (
NAMECHK.COM) and linked to each other (
ADDTHIS.COM). This gives the consumer (as well as the search engines like Google) a clear picture of who you are online. If you want to take it a step further for Google, create an account at
KLOUT.COM that will also track your online activity. If you are going to choose one social media site to create a profile on, make it LINKEDIN as it is typically the first thing that shows up when someone searches for your name.
>> Check how you are faring on customer review sites like YELP, ZILLOW,
RATEDAGENT.COM,
HOMEADVISOR.COM. When it comes to Yelp, you may also want to check out the list of affiliate vendors (plumbers, electricians, etc.) you typically recommend to your clients to make sure they make you look good because if a client has a negative experience with one of your referrals it can negatively reflect on you.
>> While it impossible to rule out being implicated in a listing related scam (most commonly on CraigsList),
JANUARY I FEBRUARY 2015
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