I just finished reading another brilliant blog post by Brian Brady: the great and powerful Oz. (He gave up his moniker as “America’s Most Opinionated Mortgage Broker” a while back and now he is just “America’s Mortgage Broker”. I think he needs a new nickname and “the great and powerful Oz is more than a little appropriate). Anyway, in his post Brian says: “I make my presence known. Tony Gallegos called me “ubiquitious“. Critics have called my strategy “puking all over the internet” (but placed my results in the top 20 of all real estate bloggers). “ Now this is true and I have heard him accused of “puking” all over the Internet more than once. Here’s the thing: he is absolutely doing the right thing and we should all be copying him, except that it would be pointless. Let me explain:
The concept behind social media marketing has been called many things, but viral marketing is probably the easiest to understand. Simply put, you want to be a virus (and I mean that in the best possible way) that friends, family, clients and just about anybody else that comes in contact with you spreads to others. This is the definition of generating referrals. The question you should be asking yourself (the question we always ask ourselves when ever we start something new in business like “creating a virus”) is WHY? Why do I want people to sneeze me around to everyone else. The answer may seem obvious: to create more business; but that misses a huge part of why social media marketing – and especially blogging – is so powerful.
The Chamber of Commerce Meeting… EXPLODED
Let me ask you a question: would you rather close 25% of 100 leads or 70% of 50 leads? Again, the answer appears obvious but the power of blogging is found here. Your posts are a grand resumé for everyone to read. Think of it as the most successful Chamber of Commerce Networking meeting you have ever attended. Instead of painfully coming up with small talk and trying to ever so smoothly work real estate or mortgages into a conversation about the garbage strike, you get to sit quietly while everyone in the room has a chance to learn about you in intimate detail. Instead of fishing through your pocket for a business card, paper plate of greasy wings in one hand and sweaty handshake in the other, your information is plastered all over the walls and hanging from the moose antlers. In one fell swoop you have not only “introduced” yourself to one heck of a lot of people, but you have communicated to them who you really are.
People do business with people they think are like them. I will repeat that: people do business with people they think are like them. After everyone has gotten a chance to know you, how many in the room will call you? Not as many as if you had kept your (literary) mouth shut. But… the ones who do are a lot more likely to do business with you. Now that is TRUE efficiency in marketing.
DON’T Be the Disease, Be the MAYOR
So here is another question: if you do not want to be a virus and the idea of puking all over people is a tad beyond your comfort level; if you understand the Chamber of Commerce example but have no idea where your local Chamber is located, what do you do? Or, as I pointed out in the beginning of this post: WHY do you do it? Because you want to be the Mayor. If you were to talk to the great and powerful Oz, he would tell you to build a community. Build a community of raving fans that will do business with you and refer you because they see you as an expert. I say: take that one step further. Your goal is to build this community and then be elected their mayor! Think of it: a community of raving fans that looks to you for leadership. Now you are going to want to put as many people as possible into your “community,” but at the same time it does you no good to add people that will never vote for you. Those people are “dead weight” on your campaign and unless your community is Chicago, they can not vote. You want people that have read your platform and agree with it. You want people that know how you stand on the issues and agree with you. You want people that believe in you because they see themselves in you. Put your bumper sticker on every car and your poster on every light post IN YOUR COMMUNITY.
Which bring us back to why copying Brian Brady would be pointless. Your goal should be to get elected mayor of your community. He is running for President… or great and powerful Oz, I get the two mixed up.
Remember: your job is helping people to buy and sell real estate, not writing blog posts (no matter how great the prose that drips from your fingers). Get your platform out there, kiss a lot of babies and shake a lot of hands. You are always campaigning and your are always working to earn your communities’ support. The reward for all that hard work is being mayor for life, which equates to a lot of transactions. MAYORAL MARKETING! Hit the campaign trail!!
Filed under: LIFE THAT POPs, MARKETING, REALTORS , blogging, Mayoral Marketing, real estate agent marketing, Success
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Sean, this post if fabulous, regardless of Seth or Jeff’s ideas. As Gene Simmons says, Originality is Overrated.
Mayoral Marketing or local campaigning, is probably a great name for an information product. Don’t tell me that “My business is different, Brian” becaue you’ll know my answer.
Thank you Brian. I know all too well your answer to that question. Your article on Gene Simmons should be required reading for every entrepreneur and small business owner (heck, for every business owner…).
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