Over the last month, we have built a very strong
foundation to support the fact that social media is here to stay and have described how our clients can best utilize this trend to increase market share.  In the last two
editions (1, 2), Ben announced our new solution, why we chose to invest in it, and how
we believe it will help you recruit, manage, and lead the real estate industry in this
new direction.  
 

There was a day when your brick and mortar
office was your complete identity.  It was your castle…your fort.  It was the
only place that your troops gathered for strategy and inspiration, as well as
the place they assembled to perform the majority of their work.  This is slowly becoming
less and less the case.  People, especially young professionals, are increasingly
mobile and have more access to the things they need outside the office.  They are also
quite tied to their social media platforms, in general.  The internet has changed
the game, and within the most innovative companies, social media has changed
marketing, communication, collaboration, and recruiting. 

While many smaller companies are trying to find
a way to capture the benefits of this trend with Facebook, Twitter, and
Pinterest, they continue to be frustrated with the results of these endeavors.  Why?  

Ben described it well in his last article… You
as a manager, won't benefit from the above platforms unless you have a way for
everything to point back to not only you personally, and not only your company,
but to your individual office and the people within it.  

First, imagine that you have your own online office
where much of the collaboration, inspiration, problem solving, daily tips, and
success stories could be communicated.  Now, imagine that outside agents,
vendors, customers, and clients were able not only to see inside some of the
collaboration of your office, but they could join in on some of it as well.  THIS is
what the bigger companies are doing, and we're betting this is how the younger
generation will strive to go about their work.  

Don't get me wrong, brick and mortar offices will
always be necessary for a variety of reasons…but your online representation of
your office and all of its communication and collaboration will be a key
ingredient to attracting, retaining, and collaborating with the best and the brightest.  

So, here are four reasons why you need to seriously
consider an online social media office:  

1. You need your own online TURF.  As Ben
mentioned in the last edition – Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other social networking sites should be
used solely as your outposts and embassies, all pointing back to your turf…your
office. 

2. To build new channels for collaboration.
 Imagine your agents pitching in (in real time) to help someone with an
urgent question or problem. 

3. To create value.  Imagine
developing a network of customers, vendors, and perhaps outside agents that
you've been trying to recruit, and leveraging their collective brainpower to
explore and develop new ideas.   

4. To Recruit.  Agents want to get a
glimpse of your culture.  They want to have conversations with agents, look
around, and perhaps even develop some ongoing dialogue in order to see the dynamics of your office and how you and your agents think before signing on.  This is one powerful way of accomplishing that.  

Karl Moore, of Forbes summarizes this trend
well: 

"The benefits of collaboration networks
are limitless.  These networks breed co-creation, shared value, and cultures of
collaboration that can be leveraged beyond the network.  The new generation
of Millennials and Generation C (connected,
computerized, and community-oriented) have fully adopted the collaborative mindset
as their own.  They are educated, interactive, and collaborative, and have grown
up using social networks as a tool for brainstorming and problem solving.  This
reflects a broad shift in generational thinking that is taking place.  The
broadcast generation from the industrial age is being met by a collaborative
generation from the new knowledge age.  The old ways of staying within the four
walls to solve problems, guarding company information, and developing products,
services, and solutions in isolation are gone.

Companies that can create or participate in a collaborative
network and organize themselves to best leverage the benefits will enjoy a
competitive advantage.  Companies of all sizes can start by setting up a network
of internal experts, suppliers, partners and customers." 

And now you can too. If you haven't done so
already, scroll back to the last two editions (1, 2) and learn about the conception of what we now call "RecruitingSocial."

Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.