Social Marketing Stages of Intimacy

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If you ask any serious marketer, they will tell you that real estate marketing is just as much about basic human psychology as it is about designing an advertisement. Of the many types of human psychology, social marketing is defining the way in which we conduct our business.

Social Marketing has been and will always be about relationships. Don’t let the new web 2.0 fool you. Social marketing has been around in a business-like setting since the days of the hunters and gatherers. It was always used to start conversations with people who shared interests. The collection of these groups are called social capital. Read my post about the importance of obtaining social capital.

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The beginning of the internet simply brought more exposure and numbers of like-minded individuals and it removed the need for a physical meeting. Of course the use of tele-conferencing also removed the need for physical meetings but it lacked the ability to search people by their interests.

Traditionally, relationships are defined by the degree in which sharing and intimacy occur. This remains true in the online world as well. If we know this to be true then we can define the three stages and some web tools that currently exist within these stages to promote the level of intimacy and sharing that are appropriate.

Stage 1: Knowledge of Existence
Before anyone can share their interests, they must first be found. Before the internet it was difficult to find large groups of like-minded people. In the case of real estate groups, social after-hour groups were created but a lot of effort and time was put into making these groups into a reality. Below are sites professionals use to be discovered. You are able to create your circle of ‘friends’ based on conditions that you choose. The best part is you are able to see friends of your friends without asking them, a feat which wasn’t possible before the internet. Sites that can be included in the Knowledge of Existence stage include:
Facebook
MySpace
Linked In

Stage 2: Elevation of Interest
As with any forming relationship, once you discover someone, or something for that matter, you are enticed to learn more. Maybe it is a new musician, a restaurant your friend just told you about or hopefully a homeowner is trying to learn more about you! Whatever the case may be, more information is needed and in the Googleized world in which we live, they will get the information they are seeking. Here’s where you make sure that the only information they see is what you are putting out there.

Twitter
Twitter is micro-blogging in 150 characters or less at a time. Very often it will reveal personal information and thoughts about the people that you are ‘following.’ This insight provides a chance for you to know a person on a deeper level then what their blog will often allow.

Personal Blogs
Blogs engage a reader. They will eventually determine whether or not a reader will stay loyal to your blog. Although stage 2 is a stage of evaluation the majority of people on the internet will not advance the relationship any further. Most often your blog and advice is what they are really after anyway. I will argue that the few people that do advance the relationship will become clients and/or partners.

Stage 3: Involvement

The Involvement stage is all about a realization that there is a strong interest connection between you and them. More often then not and when proximity allows, it results in a face-to-face meeting. For real estate agents this could mean a potential client or another real estate professional who shares your interests.
Spock
Spock (If Spock is used in the same way as My Space or Facebook it can also be considered as Stage 1 site)
Spock is similar to the MySpace’s of the world although it was designed to be low-key and to be kept to a group that you truly ‘know.’ This then allows the user to not have to censor his or her message to the group.
Tumblr
There are many people using Tumblr as a way to share personal information and thoughts in addition to their blog or micro blog. These thoughts are often random in nature. I’ve also seen some agents using it as a listing and showcase tool. They can direct clients to this micro-site and include video, photos and additional notes about particular properties. In a day of personalized message deliveries, Tumblr allows the users to provide relevant information for clients in a way that doesn’t showcase it to the entire world.
Meet Up.com
Combining traditional with new, Meet Up.com promotes groups waiting to be discovered for just about any interest. The purpose behind every one of these groups is to meet up, in person, with anyone who may share the same interests.

To develop interpersonal relationships we need to understand how they begin and what makes them progress. The above tools should help you stay organized especially if you are one of the few with enough foresight to develop a social marketing plan.

Matthew S. Gosselin is the author of My Blue Goose, Exploiting The Wow Factor In Real Estate Marketing. The book can be purchased on MyBlueGoose.com or Amazon

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