How Social Media Saved My Real Estate Career

By Jonathan Osman

Jonathan Osman

I'm a westruck at those who have totally disregarded blogging and other forms of social media as a medium for generating business for themselves.  For me, it's thanks to social media that I'm still in the real estate business today.

Rewind four years ago: I hatched a great plan to move from Annapolis Md. to Charlotte N.C. OK, it wasn't much of a plan.  During a long holiday road trip I decided to sell to sell our house, asked my wife to find a new job, and to move to Charlotte - all in eight hours (Yes I'm impulsive).  Four months later, mission accomplished.

In Annapolis, I had built my real estate business around helping friends and family. In Charlotte, I only knew other real estate agents and they didn't need my help. To say I fell complete flat on my face in my first eight months in the Queen City is an understatement. The market was shifting, sales were slowing, and I was going broke faster than Gary Coleman. Add to that, I had entered a market totally new to me and I was desperately trying to build business in a new city.  It was at that point I started blogging about real estate. A couple  months later, buyers and sellers were seeking me out to help them.

Fast-forward to today: I have a small real estate group built from the business I continue to generate through blogging.  In 2009, my group closed 28 transactions with clients who found us through our social media efforts.  Almost all of them admitted that they knew of other agents but that the blog authenticated us as the real estate experts.

So I guess you can say I'm an unabashed social media cheerleader, and rightly so.  After all, if it can save my real estate career, imagine what it can do for you.

About the Author:

Jonathan Osman is a broker and team leader of the Charlotte House Hunter Group with Keller Williams Realty in Charlotte, N.C. Connect with Jonathan via Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter or his Web site CharlotteHouseHunter.com.