Boston Logic Mixes and Mingles with Boston BarCampers
What Did We Discover?
The rainy June day started sleepy and a bit disheveled, as most traditional conferences do, when we arrived at the Back Bay Center to begin setting up our Exhibitor Table. BarCampers were slow to arrive, and cautious to post or host unpopular topics on the big empty whiteboard – but the afternoon turned out to be anything but traditional or underwhelming!
In fact, it was refreshingly noisy, social and unbarring. It almost seemed as if the vibe in the room was mimicking the very nature of the subject we all came to discuss: integrating social media into our businesses, relationships and accepting it as the new fabric of our lives. While the process feels messy and begs a substantial humility of sorts, the end result is one that’s honest and produces eye-opening results.
Our CEO and Founder, David Friedman, led the pack with what he called “A Realtor Wake-Up Call: You’ve Been Looking at Social Media the Wrong Way”.
This seemed to be just the caffeine everyone needed as thoughts and theories began to open up about the future path of the technology tornado. One Agent expressed his concern that the role of the realtor may soon become altogether inconsequential, as social channels bypass directly to the buyer and seller. Some participants seemed more weary than others of the trend, as Union Street Media’s Founder, Ted Adler, added his belief that social media “makes it harder to be bad at your job”- but David offered a final sentiment by expressing that “social media doesn’t have an agenda, nor does it have a conscience- it’s just a tool”- a tool that will only bypass us if we let it.
From left: David Friedman, Spencer Taylor, Sven Andersen
The following session on social media presented the question, “what’s working?”- a tag-team effort by David, Spencer Taylor of Union Street Media, and Sven Andersen of RE/MAX. Sven shared an interesting notion with the group that his most effective marketing technique was the ‘personal touch’ achieved from throwing lavish or family-friendly client parties- and that social media tools like Yelp and Facebook came in a close second.
A dialogue then began about the value and ROI of ‘community management’ techniques, such as partnering with local vendors to send out an “Angie’s List” type magnet to neighbors through direct mail – or participating in local activities and then sharing those experiences through a Facebook profile. An interesting Twitter anecdote was also offered about a realtor who was recognized at a client showing from a Twitter profile and won the client’s business as a result. The discussion soon took a turn and shifted into a panel about how much information is appropriate to share- it seemed many of the realtors were most concerned about appropriate social media etiquette and how much ‘personal touch’ to offer up online. What I heard loud and clear is that a real estate agent’s hesitancy behind social networking can be largely attributed to the very fine line that exists between personal and business life.
So what did we discover at the end of the day?
For Boston Logic, the real take-away was this: it’s not about the tool or gimmick, or even the means – it’s the matter that matters and it’s the connection that counts. Whether a magnet sent through the mail, a client party thrown with a clown, a Yelp review, a Facebook “Like” or a Tweet on Twitter- it’s the rapport that can be drawn from these frequencies that actually pushes a relationship forward and helps a business grow. There’s a sense of commonality and familiarity still at the driving center of all social networking- and this is something technology will never succeed to bypass.
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Posted on June 24, 2011 Filed Under Blogs, Boston Logic, Facebook Marketing, Facebook for Business, Inbound Marketing, Online marketing, Real Estate Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Classes, Social Media Marketing, Social Media for Business, Twitter, Twitter Marketing, Twitter for Business, Uncategorized, Yelp | 1 Comment
Boston Logic at RE BarCamp
Boston Logic President David Friedman recently attended the RE BarCamp event in Chicago, Illinois to kick off our expansion into the Chicago area. Fresh on the heels of our integration of MRED, the Chicago area's largest MLS, we thought RE BarCamp would be a perfect avenue for introducing ourselves to this exciting, growing real estate market.
RE BarCamp events always involve great conversations, and this one was no exception. David had a fantastic experience at the event: "I have to say that the day was one of the most discussion oriented Bar Camps I have experienced. Most sessions weren't lead by any one person. Often, there were people in the session who knew more about the topic and answered a lot of questions, but really, a conversation ensued."
The Chicago RE BarCamp event, which took place on June 6th, featured sessions revolving around the use of social media to reach new leads. A topic Boston Logic has long been preaching, it was refreshing to see an increased focus on the use of tools like Facebook and Twitter to expand your network and your ability to make new connections through as many channels as possible.
Join Us at the Upcoming RE BarCamp in our Hometown Hub!
REGISTER NOW
Boston Logic will also be presenting at the upcoming RE BarCamp event in Boston's Back Bay - it will be held at the Back Bay Events Center (see map) on Wednesday, June 22nd. We are proud to be a Platinum Sponsor of the event to support this rapidly growing educational forum, as it becomes one of the premiere learning opportunities in the real estate vertical. Registration starts at 7:45am and the event runs all day, until 5pm (and surely there will be an after-party to mix and mingle). David Friedman, along with fellow Inbound Marketing guru Spencer Taylor (@unionstmedia), will be co-hosting a lively "Ask The Experts" question and answer forum that you don't want to miss! Other members of the Boston Logic team hope to facilitate additional sessions throughout the day focused on putting technology to work for you and your real estate business.
Far from your average trade show, RE BarCamp events are a fantastic opportunity to learn from both peers and experts, and to share your questions and thoughts in an insightful and open forum. Oh, and did we mention it's FREE to attend? Please visit the Boston RE BarCamp website to learn more.
We look forward to seeing you there!
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Posted on June 10, 2011 Filed Under Boston Logic, Boston Logic News, Facebook, Facebook Marketing, Facebook for Business, Inbound Marketing, Networking Events, Online marketing, Real Estate Lead Generation, Real Estate Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Media for Business, Twitter, Twitter Marketing, Twitter for Business | 1 Comment