Social Media is a Hot Topic For Memphis Investment Real Estate - Part Two

Most of my experience when it comes to real estate investing has been spent actually investing!  Buying properties wholesale each month, determing budgets for repairs, assiting mostly out of state investors with purchasing those properties at discount, overseeing the rehab and then managing the property after the rehab and marketing are complete.

 I tell you this for a reason.  Through the years, I have been slowly picking up additional skills as a business person operating a thriving wholesale business.  We assist real estate investors with investing in over 200 properties a year here in Memphis, TN.  During our growth we have been lucky enough to get a lot of assistance in the areas that we did not have much experience, i.e. - marketing, using the internet, branding, etc.

I decided to write this blog series to underscore the importance of being very careful of the image that you are creating in the online world.  The pace of growth for social media and marketing is expanding very rapidly and most new programs oand gurus only tell you where to go and how to possibly monetize it.  Very few actually tell you how to be successful with the telling of your story.

I have been lucky enough to learn about Social Media and Social Marketing from some very good marketers who have helped me go from a dark shade of green (completely new) to a slightly less shade of green! Without being too self-deprecating, I know just enough to be dangerous and learn a little more everyday. Here are 5 absolute no-no's for online social marketing and the ways you can avoid them:

Shameless Plugger - Does nothing but spam. Every Tweet, Post, blog video or press release is endless garbage.

Online Trolls - Sabotage anything you do attempting to ruin your image among potential clients.

Today, there is legal precedence that what you say online about someone else can be used against you in a court of law when facing suits for liable and defamation of character. Be cautious with the words you choose and the subjects you write about.

For me, when it comes to business, there is a more important reason to be cautious about what you put online with regards to your competition. A mentor of mine once told me that the "worst thing you can have for your marketing strategy is an enemy". I naturally assumed that he meant someone out in the online world printing false or damaging things about me, but he quickly set my thinking straight.

I had already learned to control the message about me and be the dominant voice online when it came to my company. It did not matter what my competition said about me, because I was going to bury that message. The real problem was that when I focused on my competition and gave them any of my online space by addressing them in my social marketing, I was losing focus on what was really important. I want to talk about me and my company and the great things that we do in Memphis real estate investing and not waste time talking about my competition.

Chronic Re-tweeters - Twitter accounts that consist of nothing but re-tweets.

Self Proclaimed Gurus - This describes any one who can notback up what they say..... And do not think prospective clients will notice.

Clip & Strip Advertising - Can not be original in their marketing, so they choose to clip other sites or marketing pieces and use as their own.

So how do you avoid these common traps and create some original content? Here is how...

Shameless Plugger - Communicate about yourself, your company & your community - then sell! Everyone has a story to tell and the great thing about it....your story is original!

Online Trolls - Everything you place on line stays on line. There is a record of it somewhere. So talk nice about you and forget your competition.

Chronic Re-tweeters - On-line social sites are one big party. Get in and party! Then do business. Tell people about yourself, about your day about your company or about your plans and when they are interested....sell, sell, sell!

Self Proclaimed Gurus - Just be honest!

We did a survey of our clients who purchase real estate and found out that they visited on average 3.5 sites before they purchased real estate from Memphis Invest. The reason they bought from us was because of the genuine message and our refusal to use the word expert. Instead, we like to say we have a lot of experience, both good and bad. That message resonates with most prospective clients because they know we are real!

Clip & Strip Advertising - Spying on your competition can be a good thing if you know how to use it. Find out what works, but do not copy. Be original and it will pay dividends.