There was a great article on the Fast Money website today by David Teten and Scott Allen entitled "One persons network is another person's spam". This problem is one that is much discussed among technology savvy Real Estate agents. Misunderstanding about what spam is abounds and of course as the housing market continues to change and growth slows many spam companies move in on desperate or uninformed agents to sell their services. I have said in previous posts that it seems that Prescott area agents have just discovered the email flyer for their listing and are spamming at incredible rates. Our local association of Realtors is complicit in this practice by providing access to email addresses without guidelines matching today's technology.

But what was more interesting about this article were the points made in how we will use our social networking platforms such as faceboook, linkdin, twitter, etc. to promote ourselves and our businesses. I am involved with all of these social networking sites but am proceeding cautiously in how I develop these relationships in regards to business. If you are not authentic in your approach by establishing connections with people you will be seen as nothing but a huckster (did I just say that?) and quickly lose credibility. A problem that already plagues this industry.

Although a little lengthy this article is worth a read to anyone interested in using social networking for business relationship building/strengthening, especially the suggestions on how to approach your social network regarding newsletters and other bulk email.

Social Networks aren't the quick fix relationship builders that some seem to think. All relationships worth anything take time to build especially when trying to establish trust and loyalty. It has always been that way and why operating your own business successfully requires time and effort. If you don't love your business and enjoy the non-monetary rewards of building relationships with others and providing them with education and information you will quickly become frustrated and when this happens you lose your perspective as to what is appropriate. If you don't know what your clients/associates definition of Spam is maybe it's time to ask.

Vicki Brannock is a Realtor is Prescott Arizona.
Vicki@Prescott-re.com