There is a swell brewing which will turn into a massive wave of “hypersocial” marketing for real estate agents.

What’s the definition of hypersocial you ask?  There isn’t a real definition for the term yet, at least not in Google’s eyes as I ran several searches to no avail, so I will give you my version.  This term came to my attention while spending time with Ernie Graham, founder of Social Bios, at Inman’s Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco.  We were discussing his service, as well as Trulia’s new offering and were comparing the two, citing differences in execution.  We started exploring the term hypersocial and this is what came out of the conversation.

Hypersocial - Content that is pertinent and specifically directed/tailored to a subset (aka social circles) of a person’s social graph.  The most hypersocial of content is directed at just one friend or connection.  This content reflects the commonality of the relationship (friends, interests, events, blog posts, news, checkins, etc) and may have direct influence upon ones actions.

Ernie has a firm grasp of this theory because he may have built the most hypersocial service available today.  Ever since our conversation I haven’t stopped thinking about the topic and how agents could leverage this concept in their day to day marketing.

Making yourself hypersocial may be just as important as being hyperlocal.  Over the last few years we have been bombarded with plans on implementing hyper local marketing – “Go after niches, neighborhoods, and subdivisions in your online marketing using tools like blogs, websites, and domain names!”  Why? Because it’s basically impossible to get on the first page of Google for anything else.  An agent has an easier task trying to be number one on Google for these highly localized terms, as the large companies like Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia and all the major brokerages have the generic real estate terms locked up. However, marketing is evolving faster than ever and “social” has taken over and kicked down doors to new ways of promoting oneself.

According to Meteor Solutions “influencers –- those who share your campaigns across their social graph –- can directly influence 40 to 60 percent of all visits to an advertising campaign page.” This is a powerful statistic and one that may prove that a hypersocial mindset will begin to play a part in your marketing plan.

I don’t enjoy talking about theory, most likely because I am not usually capable of clearly conveying my thoughts, so let me provide you with a way to execute a hypersocial strategy right now, without spending a dime. I stumbled upon an insanely simple way (as of the day I wrote this post) to appear on the first page of Google for search terms like – real estate, homes for sale, home values etc. Don’t believe me? Watch the video…. it’s all about your sphere of influence, your social reach, and the faith we have in friends, family, and acquaintances.

About Stephen Pacinelli

Check out AgentIgnite’s demo on their Facebook page here.

Why? Because it’s hard to hide things on Facebook. A party that a teen attends wouldn’t dare be posted on Facebook if they didn’t want their parents to know about it. Guess where it’s going to go? You guessed it, Google+! It’s easy to disseminate who sees your post due to Google’s ingenious circles. So if its a picture of them studying in the library, that goes to the family circle so the fam can see their little Einstein working. See how this might catch on?

What does this mean for Real Estate? If the kids like it and begin to use it, then the trend will be set and this will be the preferred medium of communication for the next eternity or at least a few years until iFace+ comes out .

I hope and think it will take off as it seems to be a happy little combo of Facebook and Twitter. I find myself going to it first to follow all of my “gurus” in the business, before using that social network that requires you to use another service to make sense of it….yeah, I am talking about you Twitter. Following… errr I mean putting someone in your circle on Google+ is a much better experience than following someone on Twitter. Chris Brogan’s Google+ stream IMO is immensely more satisfying to read than the 140 character limited Twitter stream. Obviously, everyone’s stream will be more satisfying because of the space to express your thoughts fully. The entire user interface is more friendly and easier to understand than Twitter’s. I can see this new social network doing some serious damage to the little bird.

I am going to go on record and say I like Google+. I didn’t like Google Wave and never got into Google Buzz, but Google+ is something I will use. I guess only time will tell what’s going to happen here, I could be eating my words.
About Stephen Pacinelli

What’s great to see from this survey’s results is the confirmation of how widely mobile is being used (specifically applications used to search for homes), and also how video is truly expected to be an integral part of Realtors selling homes by the homeowners themselves.  No longer is a few images of the interior and exterior of the home ok to be used in marketing – video is a MUST!

Take a look at the below survey result numbers and let me know your thoughts.

Are the results what you would expect?

How do you measure up in your social media use?

Also, a big “Thanks” to Alexis for sharing this information with all of us!

It’s definitely cause for a stabbing pain in the chest when you have spent the hours and used blood, sweat and tears to obtain your leads and then for them to turnaround and drop you like a one night stand…

To know the reasons why you may get the cold shoulder from your hard-earned leads should help you to keep them on for the long haul, so here are our Top 5 reasons why your leads leave:

1. Too High Frequency

The line here isn’t too fine really. Weekly mailings may be too frequent, but monthly may be too infrequent. It may also depend on your lead “level”. I always suggest that leads are divided into three levels:

A – Hot
B – Warm
C – Cold

Your frequency should be dependent on their perceived level, when possible. But get that wrong, and you could loose them!

2. Irrelevancy

What information are you providing the Leads with? Does it meet their needs – do you know their needs? Putting together a survey of some sort, or even asking your sphere what information they liked seeing the most may provide you with some valuable insight that you can use for holding on to your leads for a longer period of time.  Be strategic in what you are providing – don’t simply just do it.

3. Repetitive

Sending the same (or seemingly the same) information will put anyone off. Switch up the information that you are sending out. Remember: it’s not JUST about the house – it’s about the lifestyle too! Events, attractions and ore things to do in your market area are always great ideas to include in the materials you are sending out…

4. Boring

Do you really think that your canned newsletter about how to dry clean curtains is going to leave a lasting impression? If you said “yes”, I don’t think I can help you!! I don’t see these types of correspondence a good “touch”; sending these out would be more like saying “I don’t care about you, please leave”!

5. Better sources

Review what you are providing your leads with on a regular basis. Just as social media is ever changing so should your means of attracting and maintaining leads. If you slack off on your efforts, your audience will slack off too.

This is a universal phenomenon – we’re not just talking emails here – were talking Facebook and Twitter too.  If you do the above on either of these two social networking sites, you will also see your friends, fans and followers drop.  So the moral of this story is, be selective in what you are sending out into the world, be creative, and be strategic.

Have something to add to this?  Let us know in the comments below.