You Can’t Polish a Social Media Terd

I was discussing matters with a team member recently.  We both agreed that a system we were using in our office was not working and needed to be thrown out and not re-built.  Without hesitation he summed it up…”you can’t polish a terd.”  Say what?  I could not contain the laughter.

Never before have I heard the “can’t turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse” analogy put quite so bluntly.  For some reason I connected his saying to an issue I have been having with real estate professionals and their social media interaction.

Many don’t think about their on-line reputation and the focus of their on-line presence enough.  You can easily tarnish your image irretrievably.  To be blunt, you can come across as a terd and never quite polish your way back to credibility.  Remember that things you post on-line are out there for good.  Even if you try to remove a post, it is still likely cached somewhere and could pop-up eternally.

I see this all the time especially in more casual social media environments such as Twitter and Facebook.  Real estate professionals will post noise that is unrelated to their profession which makes you more accessible and likeable.  However, they forget that some noise is unimportant and could offend fans and followers that you worked hard to bring into your network.  Those people that it took you time to gather may now un-friend or un-follow you.

Remember too that your clients may choose to check you out on your social media accounts to measure your professionalism based upon your status updates, who your friends are, and what content you share.  These potential clients need to find a stellar on-line presence.

An agent that I like to follow, recently wrote about how frustrated they were to spend two whole days showing properties to buyers.  Any buyer traffic that she is driving to her site who see that status update will likely lose their interest in working with her.  I mean, they wouldn’t want to inconvenience her or anything.

You will be measured by your political leanings, moral fabric, and commitment to the industry.  Don’t contradict yourself.  If you take a position on something, stay consistent and proud of that position.  If you post inappropriate content, remember that is how you will be remembered even if 95% of what you post is helpful information.

Building an on-line reputation is essential for your business success and, if strategically done, will become an invaluable part of both your lead generation and business-to-business networking.