Local real estate agents look to social networking to snag new clients

The Pacific Union Real Estate agents now taking a series of five classes are optimistic that creating their own blogs and using Twitter and Facebook will give them an edge during this challenging housing market. Jerry Kidd, who is the firm’s Director of Training, is teaching agents in Sonoma how to companion new and exciting social networking tools with tried and true traditional media marketing. The classes will assist agents in communicating with their current clients and enticing new clients.
“The main objective of the classes, which is called Stealth Marketing, is to raise awareness of the new communication methods of social media and social networking,” said Kidd, who is also a licensed real estate broker. “The classes will help agents set up and use the new methods in their practices so that they can better serve the needs of their clients who are using or will soon be using the new methods in their own lives.”
Stealth Marketing’s first two classes happened last month at the Sonoma Community Center. Kidd offered an overview of the brave new world of social networking and how it can be of great help. Armed with their laptops, a Google account, possible names for their blog, and a current photograph and resume, agents will learn much more during future classes. These classes will be smaller, will be more hand-on, and will happen at the branch’s office. The three classes will be scheduled during the coming weeks.
The third class will focus on the blogospehre. Kidd will help agents register their new blog’s domain name, sign up for hosting with WordPress, and create a customized blog. Their blogs will be optimized for search engines. This new blog will replace an agent’s current web sites. Kidd will help participants create their first posting on the blog and develop a schedule for making future posts. Agents will learn how to access a library of resources to help them proceed with their blogging.
The fourth class will be all about Twitter, which is the very latest in social networking. Agents will set up their own Twitter account and install several tools that will make this an easy and effective way to market. Agents will be taught how to announce new listings, how they can promote open houses, and how to use Twitter’s “tweets” to communicate with their clients. New clients may be found by searching Twitter’s extensive database. Twitter can be integrated with existing blogs.
The fifth and final class will delve into Facebook, which may very well offer the widest use and reach to real estate agents. Kidd will assist agents with: setting up a Facebook account; setting up a business page on that account; and using Facebook without being perceived as being too aggressive. Blogs and Twitter posts can be displayed on a Facebook page and agents will learn how to send all this out to their network. New clients can also be found in Facebook’s user base.
“The whole idea behind the classes is that the Internet has totally changed communications and the way that consumers find the information they need. It has reshaped the business world, including the real estate business,” said Avram Goldman, Pacific Union’s CEO. “We may be the only real estate firm with a full-time trainer as Internet savvy as Jerry Kidd. He is doing an incredible job providing our agents with the tools they can use to assist buyers and sellers.”
“Stealth Marketing is offering agents here in Sonoma new ways to access their market, target that market and thus find their niche,” said Cheryl Berz, who took over the position of Branch Manager in mid-February. “It’s a perfect way to combine more traditional marketing techniques, such as cold-calling, direct mailings, and advertising in newspapers and magazines, to build a vibrant client base.”
Pacific Union Real Estate, which has been serving the Bay Area since 1975, is on the cutting edge of using technology to better serve its agents and its clients. The CNBC Americas Property Awards, in association with The New York Times, recognized Pacific Union Real Estate last year both for being the Best Real Estate Firm in California and for having the Best Real Estate Marketing in the USA. Stealth Marketing is the latest of Pacific Union’s continuing efforts to teach its agents new ways to succeed.
“Pacific Union offers hands-on management, including our CEO Avram Goldman, an excellent information technology department, and a regional marketing director, who all make themselves available to every member of our team,” said Berz, who was previously an agent with Pacific Union in Napa. “It is definitely a buyer’s market. No one can predict if we’ve reached the bottom in this housing market, but here in Sonoma we’ve seen an increase in ratified contracts in the last few weeks.”
Pacific Union Real Estate is located at 640 Broadway, Sonoma; 707.934.2300; Web site: www.pacunion.com.