Social Selling is one of those buzzwords that everyone seems to be talking about these days, but few truly understand what it actually is. Some tend to think it's selling your services or products on social media; others think it is leveraging social media to prospect for new business. Neither of those definitions is correct in regards to what Social Selling IS, but instead are simple elements of the bigger picture. When it comes down to it, Social Selling is about building relationships.

Now I am sure I am not the first person to define it this way, in fact, Social Selling has been around for a long time. We just called it by a different name; Relationship Marketing. As agents, all of you are already adept at Social Selling since Real Estate at its core is a relationship business. The difference now is you have the greatest tools at your disposal that will allow you to 10x your reach and engagement. With the rise of Social Media in the last decade, agents can now reach thousands of people in a mouse click and for a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising. Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube have given all of us an easy and cost-effective way to connect, engage, and build relationships.

While I could continue to pontificate on why Social Selling is awesome, and give you more background on what I think it is and why it's important, I would rather give you a real-world example so that you have a blueprint on how to get started today. Before we get into the process, there are five core elements that you need to understand and be ready to execute on.

1. You need to be able to build relationships. Relationships allow the consumers to Know You, Like You, and Trust You" which is key to any Social Selling strategy.
2. To expand on point #1, you HAVE to be willing to put in the time to build a persona of who you are trying to engage with. Understand THEM. Learn about THEM.
3. You have to be willing to engage digitally. Not everyone likes to talk on the phone. I know I don't. Some like to text, use Facebook Messenger, Email, etc.. Meet the consumer where THEY are at.
4. Understand that the consumer doesn't care what you like or what you want. In short, keep it ALL about them. Their wants, their needs, and their time.
5. Understand your brand. If you think it is your logo or marketing, you're wrong. Your brand is what consumers tell other consumers about what it is like to do business with you.
6. DO NOT SELL - DO ADD VALUE. Social Selling is not about closing and is not about selling. It is about adding value so you can create a relationship.

Remember to not discount your importance as a professional and a subject matter expert in the area of Real Estate. This allows you not only to be confident in what you are talking about but also allows you to come from a place of contribution when answering questions. Why is this important? Because answering consumers questions is the easiest way to build relationships. Now let's dive into the blueprint.

Millions of consumers have questions and are looking for answers online every day. They will use Google, Facebook Groups and sites like Quora to ask these questions and talk to their peers about their experiences. Facebook Groups and Quora are gold mines when it comes to Social Selling. Facebook Groups have a lot of community groups that focus on Buy/Rent/Sell. Some of these groups have tens of thousands of members, all asking questions that you can answer as an agent. If there isn't one in your local community, create one right now! (But that is for another article).

All of these are actual questions from Facebook Groups:

"What do I need to do before deciding to sell my house?" "Do I need a Real Estate agent?" "Are Real Estate agents and Mortgage the same company?" "Do I still need 20% down to buy a house?" All of these are questions that you can answer and giving answers equals value. Below is an actual exchange that took place, I just changed the personal details.

"Hey John, my name is Jason and I am a local Realtor here in South Jordan. Having 20% down is not a requirement to purchase a house. Obviously, the more money you have to put down the better your loan terms will be, but many lenders have low down payment programs available. In fact, I work with a lender who could give you all the details on what is available and would be happy to put you in touch with her. You can shoot me a text at 555-555-5555 or just reply to this comment."

What happened next was the consumer sent a text to the agent which then began the process of that agent representing that consumer on their home purchase.

As you can see that agent did not sell his services, answered the question that was asked, did not force a phone call, gave the consumer options to contact him on their terms, and provided value. In essence, they checked off all the boxes on how to execute a proper social selling technique. This is how simple social selling can be and is just one of many examples. Will this always work? No. But I guarantee you that if you spent a few hours each week answering questions online, you will generate business that you would not have had a chance to do otherwise.

Jason Frazier is an award-winning marketer, national speaker, technologist, thought leader, social media evangelist, and marketing coach. Along with being the CEO & Founder of The Agent Marketer, he also serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for Wise Agent.

The Agent Marketer focuses on coaching agents and loan officers on how to take advantage of the evolution of marketing to reach the modern consumer. The program consists of highly tactical marketing courses designed to be easy to follow and relevant to real estate agents. This is the first of its kind coaching group where complex marketing practices and theories are broken down into executable strategies that agents can use to grow their business.

Find and follow Chelsea Peitz here;

Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube
Instagram: @chelsea.peitz
Snapchat: @chelsea.peitz

Find and follow Jason Frazier
Facebook
Instagram: @TheAgentMarketer
Twitter: @AgentMarketerIO