Most of you are probably already used to “being” online. You have an email account, you surf the web and check the weather report. You use the internet to get information. And while “being” online is a great first step toward building your online identity, interacting online is what will separate you from most – if not all – other real estate agents in your area.

Think about it in real world terms. If you just sat in your open houses with a name badge on and never talked to the buyers who came in, chances are you would never convert any of those buyers to clients. But the minute you start talking to – or interacting with – those same people and sharing what you know about the home, the neighborhood, the schools and property values, you start to form the basis of what could become a great agent/client relationship.

Now transfer that to the online world. You can go online and surf the ‘net and never have to interact with anyone else. Even if you have your own website or are paying for online advertising, you are still not engaging potential clients. Now imagine that you start interacting directly with the people who are visiting your website or viewing your ad. You give them information about neighborhoods, talk about your daily life as a Realtor, and learn about their interests and backgrounds as well. All of the sudden you’re building rapport with people online just like you would in the real world at that open house. And there are a couple more people online at any given time than you probably get during your average open house!

So how do you make the jump from passive bystander to active participant in the online sphere? This is where the online resources we touched on in the previous lesson come into play. Tools like blogs and Twitter and social sites like Facebook and LinkedIn are just a few of the ways you can get in touch and get involved with your current sphere as well as your local online community. There will be a series of TechShorties lessons covering each of these tools in depth, and they will be coming online soon at http://www.techshorties.com

Exercise: Make a list of all the things you regularly do online, for example, checking email, booking flights, checking the weather, etc. Do any of your online activities involve interacting with others? How?

Also make a list of anything you’re doing to promote yourself and your business online, including the expenses involved in those promotions. Are any of your online activities and advertising currently resulting in leads and/or closings? If so, what percentage of your business is currently coming from your online efforts? Calculate this number and keep it handy as we move forward.