With the rise of the internet and the ebb and flow of “hot” social media platforms, Gary believes that too many people are grossly underestimating just how substantial the culture shift in marketing really is. He often says his career is about “day trading attention”, and he makes an incredible point. In this hyper-connected world, there is a supply and demand issue with our content and the attention of the audience we’re targeting.

The first step to successfully navigating this new frontier is to accept that this is real. It’s the new normal. And now it’s your job to discover where your target audience is and find ways to tell your story and share your value through that medium.

You have the ability to become your own media company. Just as Gary got his start reviewing wines online, you can create content, share it on social media, and start to “own the story” around a listing, or your target area of business. By creating content, every day, about a particular home, the area around that home, or an area where you plan to sell homes, you can start to tell the story of the area that drives a real connection with potential buyers.

Review local establishments and neighborhood events. Feature the schools, the teachers, the local shopkeepers. Folks who have lived in the neighborhood their whole lives. Be the go-to source for local happenings, and share the human interest stories of a neighborhood that make people feel connected and fall in love.

We spend 51% of our day devoted to it, and the possibilities for driving real connections through some of the social media platforms are very real and very applicable to real estate. Gary predicts we are 24 to 30 months away from Snapchat and live streaming platforms becoming the mainstream for the 30–45-year-old demographics. Now is the time to start learning and experimenting with these platforms to bring value to your target audience. Here are some of Gary’s top tips:

Snapchat

Because the content disappears, users are really paying attention to what’s happening on their screens.

• Create custom geofilters for local neighborhoods
• Produce low-budget content around the neighborhoods where you have listings and show some of your actual properties or cool features
• Conduct quick reviews of the nearby restaurants, schools and events

Facebook Live

Gary has long touted Facebook’s advertising as an incredible way to leverage rich targeting. But that’s not all Facebook can offer. Live streaming is hot right now, and Facebook Live is gaining in popularity.

• Create a virtual open house at scale on Facebook.
• Stream live from an open house while talking to potential clients.
• Allow potential buyers to view the house remotely and ask relevant questions that the realtor can respond to in real time.

This should be your marketing mantra. Focus on content that is in the best interest of your prospects and you’ll immediately put yourself ahead of most of the competition.

Your social media feeds shouldn’t be full of your latest listings. Instead, share blog posts with tips on the home buying process and local happenings. When you connect with people on a personal level, you’ll start meaningful conversations and build relationships that will last.

Gary often refers to himself as an observer over an expert. He is constantly studying digital trends and recommends becoming “disproportionately educated” when you hear of something new. Most importantly, pay attention to what is and isn’t working in your business and try to determine why. What needs aren’t being met with leads? Where are they falling off in your drip campaigns?

Don’t just be open to criticism, use it

Gary calls a critique an opportunity for change. No one likes a bad review, but the lessons they provide are invaluable and the way you handle it is critical. Listen to feedback and ask for it at every chance. This is how you grow and improve your business.

When negative comments and feedback appear on social media, know the right way to handle it, and use them to inspire you to create a better experience in the future.

It’s all about the hustle

Work ethic and patience still trump everything on the path to success. It’s much easier to dream up your ideal business than it is to actually execute on it. As Gary explains it, the lack of patience is the absolute variable of people who win and those that lose. You must constantly be chipping away making progress and learning. Patience and hard work. Patience and hard work. If you’re bold enough to want to build a business on your terms, build a business that absolutely crushes it, and you want to live your life your way, then you have to put in the work.

Know what you want to achieve

This sounds simple, but it has become a bit of a lost fundamental. When you’re starting your business from scratch, or trying to take your real estate team to the next level, you have to be thinking “What am I trying to achieve? What do I want my business to look like?” In order to predicate a plan. Too many real estate professionals are so consumed with the numbers game: closings, commissions, and flashing dollar signs. Of course success and profitability are crucial to your livelihood and team, but you have to know exactly what you want your business to look like in order to build in the way that it becomes that very thing.

This last point encapsulates the beauty of real estate. You can bend it and build it to provide the kind of life you want. If you don’t have a clear picture of what that is, you’ll simply be following someone else’s blueprint and chasing someone else’s goals. What are you trying to achieve? What’s your clear plan? Empower yourself with a strategy and the right tools.