HOW SOCIAL PROOF DRIVES SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Social Proof is perhaps the most fundamental aspect of any social media marketing campaign.  What is social proof, you ask?  A term coined by social psychologist, Robert Cialdini (in his work, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion), social proof stems from the psychology of compliance.  Essentially, people tend to do what they see other people doing.  It’s basically the concept that, ‘If everyone else is doing it, then I should be doing it, too.’  It’s all about conformity.  If you’re walking down the street and come upon a crowd of people looking up at the sky, your automatic reaction will be to look up at the sky as well.  

Cialdini delves into what “psychological principles influence the tendency to comply with a request”.  He terms these principles “weapons of influence”.  Social proof is a weapon of influence.  And, this is where “compliance professionals” come into play.  Compliance professionals are “those whose business it is to persuade us”.                                      

                                                                                     Can it not be said, therefore, that you, as a business professional, using social media as a means of marketing your brand, are, in effect, a compliance professional?  Your main objective is to influence people to use your services – you want to promote your brand – get it out there so as many people as possible are aware of what you can do for them.  You use social media as a means of doing so, and social media relies upon social proof as its very foundation.

How important, then, do you think it is to be as interactive with others as possible on each of your social networking platforms?  If the key is to drive as much attention as you can to your Facebook page, your Twitter account, your LinkedIn profile and your Blog, then it’s essential that you focus on the ways that each of these sites allows you to amp up the social proof factor.

Case in point: Facebook.  If you don’t already have one, it’s high time that you create a Facebook Fan page for your real estate business.  Facebook makes it very easy for you to use your Fan page as social proof through the use of widgets.  Facebook provides you with numerous social widgets that you can install right on your website, and these widgets can be very useful in terms of letting you know, for example, how many people “Like” your site, or how many people have shared your content on Facebook recently.  And, it gets better!  Facebook ingeniously tailors the widgets specifically to the people who are visiting your web page.  Bottom line:  the social proof that the widgets provide makes it much more likely that people will stay on the site longer or perhaps even subscribe to and/or “Like” it.

Twitter can also be used in terms of social proof.  It has the capability to display follower counts & activity feeds, as well as the number of times content is retweeted.

       

With respect to your blog posts, ensure that you include a comments section so that anyone who wants to, can post.  The more comments your blog posts garner, the more influential you become – you become an expert in your industry and before you know it, everyone is looking to your blogs for advice – they develop a sense of trust in you.  Setting up a comments section on Blogger is easy – simply click on the “Comments” tab, then select “Show” and click “Save Settings”.  When the comments are enabled, more settings will appear:  Who can comment – “Only Registered Users”; “Anyone” or “Only Members of this Blog” – the choice is yours, however, bear in mind that you want as much traffic as possible here.  Choose all of your settings accordingly.

On your LinkedIn profile, you can easily add a Polls application so that you simply ask a question and LinkedIn will distribute it to your connections and virtually millions of other professionals who are on LinkedIn.  And, you can even share your Poll via the Facebook and Twitter integrations, or even embed the voting module on your website or blog.

Remember, social proof is imperative to any social media marketing campaign.  As Copyblogger’s Brian Clark puts it:   “… given the way social proof drives social media, the way you frame your initial message is critical. You want the momentum of social proof aligned with where you want to go, not with where things are.” 

SHOPPING FOR A MORTGAGE? WHY USING A BROKER IS BETTER THAN GOING TO A BANK

A lot of people don’t know the difference between going to their local bank branch and hiring a broker when in the market for a mortgage.  As a mortgage professional, you want people to know the difference and why it is truly in their best interests to hire you as opposed to simply going directly to any old bank!  Here is a blog that you can share with your clients on the advantages of hiring a broker and just what it is that your services offer…

So, you’re in the market for a mortgage?  One way to do it is to go directly to the bank at which your everyday accounts are held – that does make things simple, right?  Well, maybe, but it really is in your best interest to contact a mortgage broker because chances are, he or she will be able to get you a better rate.  How? A mortgage broker does all the leg work for you.  Your broker will shop around to ensure that you get the lowest rate and the best deal possible.  A skilled broker will take the time and work to understand all of your requirements and objectives.  Brokers have access to a plethora of lenders that you otherwise would not come into contact with (on your own).  It’s even possible for a broker to present you with loan offers that come from banks and/or other lenders that exist outside of your locale.   

 Brokers can save people hours and hours of precious time, as they work independently and not for any one bank or financial institution.  Brokers are not themselves lenders.  They work for their clients – you and me!  And, it’s in their best interests as well as yours, to get you approved for the best rate and best terms possible.  Brokers represent you and make their money only when a loan closes.  Therefore, your best interests are theirs. 

Not only can a broker find you the best rate possible, but he or she is also able to get you deals on other associated costs that you would not otherwise be privy to and would therefore never have a shot of getting!  A broker is a master negotiator!

One more advantage is that a broker is often able to arrange a variety of different payment options for you, while a bank can only offer the specific payment method(s) that they use.  Furthermore, should you need to refinance you mortgage loan at a later time, your broker is able to offer service here too.  A broker can arrange to refinance with a different bank or financial institution from the original one, if it is in your best interest.  Once again, your broker is able to get you the best rate and terms for refinancing.

Using a mortgage broker for one of the biggest purchases of your life is really win-win.  If you opt not to, you could be setting yourself up to not only lose hard-earned money unnecessarily, but you might not be getting the best deal, not to mention all the perks that you possibly can.  And, why would you do that to yourself??