Social Media: Necessary Evil?
So, as part of my business and when I’m training real estate agents about using social media in their business I always make a point to say, “people are voyeuristic by nature, they don’t only want to see all the homes you have listed but they want to learn more about you in the process.”
Well, I’m pretty sure I’m going to change that up a bit…
The other day this blog post was circulating all over Facebook, and it was even sent to me via text by my Aunt. Maybe you saw it too?
I was intrigued when I read the post, not because I am unaware or uncaring about what my girls can be exposed to on social media, but more so the detailed look at the mental effects late night chats with their friends, social peer pressure, and even a sense of responsibility for friends who are crying out for help in the only medium they are familiar with and secure enough in to do so.
I’m not going to paraphrase the blog post but seriously click here to read it!
I will tell you over the last year or so this has come up more often in my household. With two teenage daughters, keeping up with their cell phone usage, social media profiles and whatever group texting app they are using these days is a full-time job. I used to think taking away their phone was a form of “punishment”. Now I realize it’s a form of protection.
I have seen hateful messages from so-called “best friends”, racist jokes from 7th graders who have no idea what they are even talking about, sexual overtures and yes…even suicide remarks and pictures of children cutting themselves in texts from kids my girls go to school with and are friends with!
But I’m going to flip this around a little bit and focus on us for a minute, the adults. In the real estate industry and many other industries for that matter, social media and constant communication via our cell phones have become the new marketing, advertising and water cooler talk of our workplace. It’s how we make sure we are resources to our consumers, how we grow greater followings for future sales, and yes…how we often “judge” ourselves through comparison.
Daily, we carry little computers around in our back pockets, purses, or let’s be honest our hands 90% of the time, that we can immediately open up, click on and see how we “compare” to everyone else’s businesses, relationships and lives. Moment by moment and post by post we can ride a roller coaster of conscious or subconscious emotions based on what other people want us to see.
to every other blogger in the universe!
For me personally, it can sometimes have a real impact. If I see a beautiful sunset at some vacation destination, I feel like I should plan a vacation, or be envious that I haven’t had one in a while. Someone has a new beautiful listing, you can often feel like re-evaluating your business practices are necessary because it’s been a while since you’ve had a listing like that. Someone takes an incredibly filtered photo of themselves having the time of their life at happy hour, you start to wonder why you’re still sitting at your desk and seriously contemplating the need for a new skin care regimen at the same time.
But here’s the thing, I am challenging myself and you to put some guidelines in place to monitor the daily intake of information that could be unhealthy. Social media is not going away, and in a real estate coaching session with me, it’s one of the core marketing and lead generation tools we talk about extensively….it’s a necessary evil! But remember comparison, even when comparing business practices, can become a slippery slope to losing motivation and a positive mindset. Things I would argue are of greater importance than a social media campaign.
For me, I’m not leaving any social media platform anytime soon. But I have decided that the nightly checks of my daughter’s cell phones are a good opportunity to check myself too. In our house, we’ll be putting the phones down for real family meals that circle around conversation, not the latest meme or text message from the school. I’ll be grateful for what I have in my life instead of envious of someone else’s Instagram post. I won’t be getting my news or political updates from a Facebook post that got way out of control with the first comment. And I will not lose my motivation, mindset or change my business goals based on 1 or 1000 glances at my phone every day.
A freaking awesome post that children and adults can learn from!!