self-promotion » Technology Tools for Real Estate

Google Profile lets you establish your identity on Google. That’s a good thing, of course, when you want people to be able to find you.

Without a Google Profile, when someone googles your name, they might find you, but they might also find others with the same name as you. That’s what happens, for example when I google my own name. I’m there, but so is the Saundra Washington who is a minister living in Florida and who does work in the area of grief counseling.

But once I create a Google Profile, it appears at the bottom of the search page any time someone looks for me on Google. My picture is there accompanied by a snippet of the biographical information I’ve provided. Google users can click my name to see my full biography along with pictures and links I’ve included. In other words, they get to see the me that I want them to see.

Example Google Profile Up to four profiles will appear at one time (presumably the more complete your profile is, the more likely it will appear during a search), but currently so few people are using Google Profiles that, unless you have a very common name, your profile is likely to show.

To get started creating your Google Profile, go to www.google.com/profiles and follow the easy instructions to enter your information. It only takes a few moments and your profile will start showing up immediately.

There’s a fine line between promoting yourself and being a nuisance. Jason Falls describes it best in the Social Medial Explorer when he says nobody likes being marketed to. That’s why the old ways of marketing are falling by the wayside and new social media networks are taking their place.

Big organizations have to be strategic in their use of social media—too much promotion and their communication becomes offensive. (In fact, Falls seems to be suggesting that big organizations should use social media more for listening than for putting out messages.)

In this regard, real estate professionals have an advantage. When using social media, you’re an individual, and the rules are different for individuals, and celebrities, and small businesses. That’s because we expect self-employed people and celebrities to promote themselves.

The rules are also different because self-employed individuals are allowed to be individuals; their posts and their social media personae can be a mix of personality and professionalism. You can show some of yourself and still be about business—and it’s all okay. Big corporations can’t exactly do that.

So, as you grow in your use of social media, look for the balance. You don’t want to be like that boring guy at the party who walked up to everyone in the room and handed them a business card in the first five seconds of the conversation. In that sense, online marketing imitates life; build relationships first and the business will come.

It’s no secret that employers search Google before interviewing candidates or offering someone a job. There’s a great deal you can find out about a person by simply googling his or her name: pictures, profiles, videos, blog entries, comments written by and about the person, tweets. Taken together, this collection of information gives a prospective employer an idea of who it is they’re about to hire.

So think about this: If employers can do it, so can your prospective clients. If a would-be client looked up your name on the Internet, what would they find? Hopefully there are no photos of drunken revelries from your college days or incendiary comments from your ex. But it could happen.

The fact is, everything you’ve ever created or shared on the Internet is out there available for someone to find. Search engines can even turn up information from sites that no longer exist. The information could have been created by you—like your old MySpace page—or by someone else. It could be true or it could be very incorrect. It could even be a case of mistaken identity—a murder suspect in another state with the same name as you. Nonetheless, this is what prospective clients will see if they try to find out more about you.

Start Today

When is the last time you googled your own name? Try it now and see what you get. Also try one of these search tools that pulls information from a variety of sources:

ZabaSearch taps public records and databases

Yasni pulls data from social networking sites and creates a complete “profile” of you

pipl quickly and efficiently identifies photos and websites that include your name and likeness

If your search turns up a lot of information, hopefully it speaks well of you. If you’re finding very little, it’s time to get busy.

Either way, your work is cut out for you. Starting today, your job is to thoughtfully add information to the Internet that builds your credibility and enhances your reputation. In future posts, we’ll discuss the many ways to do that. We’ll also discuss what to do if your Internet search turns up negative information or if some person with the same name as you grabs the top search positions, making it hard for prospects to find you.

Don’t Overlook the Personal Touch

The best defense is always a good offense, and in this case personal contact can be an excellent offensive strategy. If your prospecting includes phone calls, face-to-face meetings, and other personal interactions, people will feel they know you. And people who know are less likely to feel the need to look you up on the Internet to see if you’re any good. Alternatively, you can build a strong referral business, so that prospects come to you because someone they trust has recommended you. That too will keep prospects from feeling the need to research you before giving you a call.

Because the Internet can be your enemy as well as your friend, it’s important to take control and be proactive about your online image.

Human beings are visual creatures. We remember what we see, which is why we’ve all had the experience of meeting someone we knew but being unable to recall their name. Pictures and images stay with us even when words and information don’t

That’s why your social networking profiles should all include a good photo of yourself.

A good photo jogs the memory of people who’ve met you before.
A good photo gives your profile a human touch.
A good photo makes it more likely that a stranger will want to know you or work with you.
A good photo says, “I’m confident, I’m knowledgeable, and I’m good at what I do.”

You’ll need to decide if you want to use the same photo on all social networking sites. Having the same photo creates consistency and helps you build your brand. But a photo that is too stuffy on Facebook or too casual on LinkedIn may look out of place. So if you’re using only one photo, create something that’s business casual but that clearly communicates who you are and what you’re about.

What Makes a Good Personal Photo

Your photo should be relatively current, not something taken years ago
Use a cropped, centered headshot
Don’t include photos of your dog, your children, your home or anything else—save those for your Photo Album
Face mostly forward in the shot so people can recognize you
Make sure the photo is well-lit to give it a more professional look
If you’re using a camera phone, it should be 3 megapixels or better
Have someone take the photo for you and/or use cropping tools to get it just right
Smile

Your brand is the image of yourself that you promote to the world.

It used to be difficult–if not impossible–for an agent to establish a personal brand. You had to have lots of money and lots of time. Money was needed to create publication pieces or to run ads in newspapers. Time was needed to create, stuff, stamp, mail or deliver printed material to your potential audience. Because it was hard to do, agents seldom did it well, relying instead on their brokerages to promote the corporate brand.

Web 2.0 with its interactive tools has changed all that. Now anyone with access to the Internet can create an online identity and manager their own brand. It’s easy, it’s inexpensive, and every agent ought to be doing it.

Decide Who You Want to Be

Are you quirky? Funny? Silly? Serious? Are you a consummate real estate professional who dots every “i” and crosses every “t”? You get to decide how others will see you. You choose the words and the images that best describe you. You craft a version of yourself that lets potential clients know who you are and what sets you apart from other agents. Just always be careful that every word you write and every picture you upload is consistent with the professional image you want to portray.

Decide Which Tools to Use

You can build profiles on social networking sites. You can write blogs or post micro-blogs. You can create podcasts or videos. You can self-publish books and online newsletters. The Internet makes all this possible at little or no cost.

These new tools combined with the “old school” tried-and-true methods of building your business (e.g., phone calling, networking, farming, conducting open houses) can give you a powerful edge over agents who haven’t mastered the new technology.

Get the Word Out

Once you’ve begun to craft your online image, let people know about it. Connect with family and friends online. Use networking cites to find lost friends and classmates. Join online and in-person groups. Reference your online presence on your business card and tell people about it when you talk to them.

This part still takes time, but it’s easier than it used to be because the Internet speaks for you. It gives people a more complete picture of what you do and how you do it than was ever possible before.

Establish Your Identity with Google Profiles