By Todd Carpenter, Director of Digital Engagement, National Association of REALTORS®
I had the opportunity to speak last week at the Social Media Club Chicago’s holiday party. Talking to a group of your peers is always great, but the best part is the opportunity to network before and after the presentation. The event went well, but I came away thinking about the dynamics of networking events and how they relate online.
During the event, I talked with seven people I already knew well. It’s always good to bolster the relationships you already have, and frankly, it’s the easiest networking you can do. Six people came up to introduce themselves to me. A benefit to speaking is that everyone in the room knows who you are. Obviously, having people come up and introduce themselves is also pretty easy. What’s hard is being the one who approaches someone else. I introduced myself to three people. Out of those three, one turned into a real connection that could lead to future opportunities.
Looking back, I don’t really remember the people who introduced themselves to me. I know I met them because I have their card. If a relationship grows from the event, it will probably be because they put in the effort. The same is true for the one good connection I made by introducing myself: I will need to make the effort. So, out of an opportunity to meet lots of great people, I only met one. I felt like I was doing a good job networking, but now that I look at it, I’m kind of disappointed. Networking is hard.
Online social networks aren’t really all that different. Just because someone follows me or want to friend me doesn’t mean I will make the same investment in them. I know this applies to me as well. I need to work to develop the relationships that can help me the most. Continue reading »
By Erica Christoffer, multimedia Web producer, REALTOR® Magazine
It was a truly a “small world after all” in Anaheim Thursday night. More than 300 representatives from 30 countries gathered for the International Welcome Reception during the REALTORS® Conference & Expo.
Annemieke Cronje of Annemieke Properties in Kmysha, Garden Root, South Africa, was one of nearly 100 South Africans in attendance. “We want to see what the rest of the world is doing, network, and form a community,” she said. “We want to learn how we can help each other in this economy.”
Sponsored by Century 21, the event highlighted ways NAR is expanding its global reach through several new initiatives. A new global site, www.REALTOR.com/International, launched on Nov. 3. Friday was also “Global Day” during the conference, framed with educational sessions on working with international clients. The nearly 1,200 international attendees were able to enjoy sessions via translation headsets in French, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese and Spanish.
Today, NAR is recognizing the 313 new Certified International Property Specialists awarded their designation this year. CIPS has grown to include nearly 2,500 designees and candidates worldwide.
“More than a quarter of REALTORS® had international clients this year and we are seeing more and more enter the global real estate field,” said NAR President Ron Phipps. “To help REALTORS® diversify their clientele, NAR has built a truly global neighborhood with over 80 bilateral agreements and affiliations with nearly 60 countries.”
By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
You may have heard the buzz surrounding Facebook’s impending launch of the “timeline” profile. If not, get ready…it’s sure to take users to the next level in how we share information, make personal connections, and experience Facebook as a whole.
The timeline feature itself is described as an online scrapbook – “the story of your life” as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called it during his company’s f8 conference in San Francisco Thursday. Facebook fills in milestone events it knows from the existing profile information, such as your high school and college graduations, the start of your current job, the date of your wedding anniversary, etc. But you can take the timeline back further and fill in all your life events starting from when you were born, your first job, places you’ve traveled, or even when you purchased your house.
“Now REALTORS® who are friends with clients can help them mark those events – add photos in front of their new home, mark the date on their timeline,” said Brian Copeland, REALTOR® at Village Real Estate Services in Nashville and the national YPN Advisory Board chair. Plus, the new timeline feature is quick to navigate; in just a few clicks you can look at statuses, photos, or events from years past in your archived Facebook content.
Curious? While Facebook is planning to roll out timelines over the next couple of months, according to Chief Technology Officer Bret Taylor, those who want a jump start can add the new profile now by following these steps outlined by Mashable.
[As a side note, I just have to point out just how on fire Zuckerberg is: His net worth is now over $17.5 billion, up $10 billion from last year. And this week he landed 14th on the Forbes 400 list. ]
Yours truly downloaded the new profile today and my first impression was that it’s reminiscent of a WordPress blog template. A large “cover image” stretched the width of your profile header, which could easily serve as a branding tool for real estate pros, Copeland pointed out. Continue reading »
By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
It was a worldwide real estate party at the Doubletree Hotel in New Orleans Thursday night. Real estate professionals from Europe, Asia, the countries down under, Central and South America, and others received a warm welcome during the REALTORS® Conference & Expo International Reception. Guests mingled, sharing stories and ideas from across the globe.
“In order to have great network, you have to have great connections,” says broker Shonee Henry, CIPS, TRC of Allegro Realty & Mortgage in San Diego. “In global real estate, no one can top NAR.”
Here are a few photos of the festivities:
Photos by Kevin Berne
By Todd Carpenter, Social Media Manager, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
I’m a big fan of RE TechSouth. It’s a regional real estate technology conference that’s been held in Atlanta every spring for the last three years. As you would imagine, the focus is on Web tools, blogs, online reputation management, and social media. While attending last spring, an agent said to me, “Why can’t NAR be more like this?”
The NAR Annual Conference and Expo isn’t designed to be just like RE TechSouth. There’s a much more diverse audience and a broader assortment of topics covered. Technology is not the only component of a successful career in real estate. But just because #nardigras doesn’t focus solely on cutting edge technology, doesn’t mean there will be any shortage individual sessions and opportunities focused on it this year. Continue reading »
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