Social Networking Plug-in

There are many social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn that have become very popular with today's online consumers. These social media sites create an environment for people to collaborate, and have become a great source of promoting a business or brand. As a REALTOR®, you can benefit from these social media channels by engaging and interacting with existing and/or potential clients.

Challenge
Social networking focuses on building online communities of people who share similar interests and/or activities. It encourages new ways to communicate and share information. The key to social networking is the participation of its members and the sharing of information. Participating in social networks requires that you constantly update valuable content on multiple web sites which can become an overwhelming and time consuming task.

Solution
There are web sites such as Ping.fm, which make updating all of your social networks very easy. By creating an account with Ping.fm, your messages or content can be posted on multiple sites at once. Based on the same concept of Ping.fm, HAR has researched how to help its members promote their listings and real estate activities on these social networking sites without requiring the agent to manually add a post on each of the social networking sites they participate in.

We developed a tool called "Social Networking Plug-in" which will update HAR members' social networking sites on a nightly basis. Whenever a member adds a new listing, makes a price reduction, has an open house or sells a listing in MLS, we will update their social networking sites automatically based on MLS data. HAR's Social Networking Plug-in will not only save our members' time, but it will also drive consumers back to their listings on HAR.com.

Initially, we will only post to Twitter, but will begin to share the information with other social networking sites, as our members' interest in the tool increases. In addition, members will have the option of having their "tweets" promoted on their HAR Member Blog and/or HAR Member Web Site.



To view examples of HAR generated Tweets, visit these HAR members' Twitter streams:
www.twitter.com/HoustonAgent
www.twitter.com/CallConroeHome
www.twitter.com/DavidFlory

How it Works
Members will need to login the HAR Members Only Portal, click on 'My…' from the HAR Tools Central, and then click on 'Social Networks'. The login information for each social networking site will need to be added. This will provide a constant connection to the social networking service, so whenever you add a new listing, make a price reduction, have an open house or sell a listing in MLS, a social networking notification will automatically be generated to alert their followers.


For example, Jane Doe has opted to promote her listings and real estate activity on Twitter. She has just signed a contract to sell a home, and is adding the listing in Tempo. That same evening a routine will run, and HAR will automatically push the data to Twitter creating a tweet on Jane's Twitter profile.

Benefits

Saves time for our members - no more updating real estate activities manually on social networking sites

Draws traffic to members' listings on HAR.com where many lead capturing tools are integrated

Increases members' social networking participation

To add your account information for your social networks,