Personal or Business Page?
It goes without saying that if you haven’t already created a Facebook account, now is the time! Some agents prefer having a personal page while others create a separate business page on Facebook. It’s free and some feel by launching a second business page they can more effectively target their particular real estate niche. Of course, the downside to this strategy is that you must develop a fan base in order to generate any traffic to such pages. This means you will have to invite all of your contacts to become a fan at least twice a year. Some agents make such invitations quarterly. In addition, it takes more time to run two pages. If you find that the majority of material you post to Facebook is business related then it might make more sense to create a business page and spend most of your time using it to promote your real estate business. But if you discover that most of your sales are generated by your friends or relatives -- then you might forget about creating a business page altogether and simply concentrate on marketing via your personal page.
Protect Your Image
No matter which kind of page you decide to go with, it is critical that you never let your guard down when you are posting, communicating or commenting on Facebook. A seemingly innocent opinion or joke can hurt your image and therefore your brand. While I firmly believe in the freedom of expression and speech, it never makes good business sense to alienate a potential client. You must remember that Google indexes Facebook faithfully into its search engine. The worst thing that can happen to you is to lose a potential client who is searching for your name online, only to find a comment or opinion that offends them. In addition, it’s important to be just as vigilant, maybe even more vigilant, when it comes to posting photos of yourself, others or objects. Be careful to only present yourself in the most positive and non-offending images. Images of clowning around, or worse, can only diminish your professional persona. If you have already posted what might be considered by some as offensive comments or images, why not remove them? Save your personal thoughts and images for those close to you. Again, it’s good business to keep them offline.