Written By: Elias Nathaniel

The Real Estate Guy

Tuesday 7 July 2015

I Took Time Off Social Media and Wow...!!

After reluctantly cutting my ownership ties with the Real Estate Community on Google+ recently, I came to realize how much the continuous time commitment and stress affected my freedom to do all the other things I like. The flavor of freedom was so intoxicating, that I even decided to take things one step further by unshackling myself from all of social media for a few weeks. Well guess what? The world continued to turn and there were no dire consequences. 

That got me thinking, how on earth did the social media hype get us into a state of voluntary and blind submission. Frankly, we all got herded in by hearing that social media is a must if you want to be successful with internet marketing. Most of us got in without a plan and tried to learn on the job. It became a task just like brushing your teeth or paying bills. However, before we knew it, most of us got overwhelmed, with not a whole lot to show for it.

So how can we navigate social media without drowning? In my opinion, we have to realize that social media is not an answer to all things related to internet marketing. First, social media does not have a monopoly on SEO. SEO is a product of good content, proper html tagging, links and other factors among which is social media activity. Second, social media is not a lead harvesting machine like some newbies tend to think. It is just another tool, among several, that can help secure leads.

If we are ready to accept these facts, then we can intelligently devise our own plan of action, tailored to our individual needs. Here's a list of things we can incorporate into our plan to use social media more efficiently.

1. Dedicate a specific number of hours a week to social media and stick to it.

2. Do not waste time trying to interact with followers that do not reciprocate. But, make sure to always reciprocate favors as they come. I know that some out there will raise their eyebrows hearing this. But, give me a goods reason why we should spend time with those that ignore us?!

3. Use automation tools such as Hootsuite to save time. I have never been a big fan of these tools. But in the interest of saving time, I am considering crossing the line.

4. Reuse old content that is still relevant.

5. Do not forget that your mobile device is great for social media during non-productive periods of the day.

6. Do not waste time posting content on topics that have already been posted for the umpteenth time by others. The objective should be unique interesting content that is relevant to your target audience.

Hey, reducing the burden of social media is such a relief. I tried it and the feeling is amazing. Try it, you may like it!

For other related topics:

The Ten Commandments for Real Estate in Social Media
The Introduction To Your Google+ Real Estate Posts
Your Real Estate G+ Influence
Why Am I Not Getting Attention on G+?
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You
My Real Estate Posts Attract Little or No Attention
Advantages of Joining a Community on Google Plus