Global Neighborhoods - A Preview
The co-author of the wildly famous book Naked Conversations, Shel Israel, is working on a new book entitled "Global Neighborhoods -- How Social Media are moving power from institutions to people". What intrigued me the most in reading the preview was the correlation to the real estate profession's bread and butter lead generator, referrals.
"We know the best shortcuts and what areas to avoid. When we need a recommendation, we ask a neighbor. We trust local experts.I think it's critical for one to understand how these networks are being used by internet empowered consumers to exchange information. Whatever means can be used to infuse your brand and top-of-mind awareness within social networks will pay off in spades in the long run. Social networks survive on target advertising and the level of sophistication regarding how relevant that targeting will be is increasing rapidly. Search engine keyword advertising campaigns are becoming more difficult for the average entrepreneur to participate in. Social networks may provide an opportunity to target contextual ads at a very narrow target. One would do well to understand how and where these networks operate and seek out opportunities to participate as both a member and advertiser.
This behavior is now moving to the internet, where people do not have to be physically present to live in a community, or for that matter, be recognized as a leader in it."
"Global Neighborhoods also examines the likely outcomes to the workplace of a generation that gets its information and places its trust on peers rather than institutions. It asks what happens when they enter the mainstream marketplaces as customers, employees and potential competitors. It examines how businesses will need to adjust course to gain credibility with a generation that has cultivated a Teflon resistance to traditional marketing techniques."If banks were robbed because "that's where the money is", your marketing will need to be focused on "where the prospect is". Social networks are shaping up to be one of those places.
Labels: keyword advertising, social networking, web 2.0, web marketing
posted by Mike Price at 10:56 AM
3 Comments:
Thanks for the kind message Michael. While I agreed with almost everything you had to say, I think your perception of "infusing your brand," as you put it, needs some adjustment. real estate people have always been good at joining community activities where they become known and trusted. Now they need to join conversations with online communities and in so doing show they are trustworthy, knowledgeable and generous. I would advise you keep your brand out of people's faces until they ask for it.
Shel, thanks for responding. Perhaps "infuse" was a poor descriptor. I'm not advocating "in your face" marketing of any kind, especially in social networks. In fact, my intention was to describe just the opposite.
Just being there and participating provides the brand awareness that I think provides long term benefits. The real estate sales cycle is lengthy. Any opportunity a real estate sales person has to expose their brand with any kind of frequency will help them build a pipeline of prospects. Social networks could prove to be an important part of the mix in the future.
I'm looking forward to reading and reviewing your new book. Happy New Year!
We do indeed have a lot in common. This book really appeals to me. As soon as I finish Seth's big small book I'll start global neighborhoods. :) Give me a couple of weeks and then we can go out for lunch and talk about the book, corner stores, and what the interent was like before it got so crowded. :)
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home