In 2008, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Embarked on a Mission to Engage Its Members Using Blogs, Twitter and Facebook
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Title: Social Media Strategy and Guidelines Summary: In 2008, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) embarked on a mission to engage its members using blogs, Twitter and Facebook. NAR’s approach to social media aimed to increase dialogue with members, reach more members with relevant information and build deeper relationships with members. Association: National Association of REALTORS® Contributor: Hilary Marsh Managing Director, REALTOR.org NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 430 N. Michigan Ave. | Chicago, IL 60611 312‐329‐8341 | [email protected] | http://www.realtor.org On behalf of: ASAE Membership Section Council Social Media Guidelines for REALTOR® Association Staff Members byToddCarpenter,Manager,SocialMedia andHilaryMarsh,ManagingDirector,REALTOR.org December2009 REALTOR® Association Social Media Guidelines v 1 Contents Background: NAR’s Social Media Strategy ..................................................................................... 3 Introduction: What to say and not to say, and how ......................................................................... 5 1. Global Guidelines .................................................................................................................... 5 1.1. Personal doesn’t mean private ........................................................................................ 5 1.2. Participating in social media on the association’s behalf ................................................ 5 1.3. Respecting copyright ....................................................................................................... 6 2. Blog Guidelines ........................................................................................................................ 7 2.1. Creating a new blog ......................................................................................................... 7 2.2 NAR’s blog comments policy ................................................................................................. 8 2.3. How to blog well .................................................................................................................... 8 3 Facebook ............................................................................................................................... 10 3.1 Facts about Facebook ......................................................................................................... 10 3.2 Why do our members use Facebook? ................................................................................. 11 3.3 How members use Facebook’s timeline .............................................................................. 12 3.4 Content that Associations Might Publish on Facebook ....................................................... 12 3.5 User Comments Liability ...................................................................................................... 13 3.6 Profiles, Pages, and Groups ................................................................................................ 13 3.7 Facebook Best Practices ..................................................................................................... 15 3.8 Helping Members Use Facebook Effectively ....................................................................... 15 3.9 Ideas for Structuring Facebook and Social Media Education Sessions for Members ......... 18 3.10 The Basics: Signup and Setup .......................................................................................... 19 3.11 Examples of Best-in-Breed State and Local Association Facebook Pages ...................... 20 4 LinkedIn ................................................................................................................................. 20 4.1 Groups 101 .......................................................................................................................... 20 4.2 Groups and Subgroups ........................................................................................................ 21 4.3 Managing membership (open vs. member-only) ................................................................. 21 4.4 Moderating discussions ....................................................................................................... 21 4.5 Assigning a manager ........................................................................................................... 21 4.6 Design the group logo to fit LinkedIn’s small standard logo size ......................................... 21 5 Twitter .................................................................................................................................... 22 5.1 Follow and be followed. Twitter is opt-in. ............................................................................. 22 5.2 @s, Ds, #s, Favorites, and RTs ........................................................................................... 22 5.3 Twitter is a river of information ............................................................................................. 23 5.4 Starting a new Twitter account ............................................................................................ 23 5.5 Using a personal account for business ................................................................................ 24 5.6 Building a business account ................................................................................................ 24 5.7 How to access Twitter .......................................................................................................... 25 6 RPAC and Social Media: Special Q & A ............................................................................... 26 7 NAR’s HR Social Media Policy .............................................................................................. 28 8 REALTOR.org Terms of Use ................................................................................................. 29 9 Disclosure Best Practices Checklists .................................................................................... 31 Checklist 1: Disclosure of Identity .............................................................................................. 31 Checklist 2: Personal/Unofficial Blogging and Outreach ........................................................... 32 Checklist 3: Blogger Relations ................................................................................................... 32 Checklist 4: Compensation and Incentives ................................................................................ 33 Checklist 5: Agency and Contractor Disclosure ......................................................................... 33 NationalAssociationofREALTORS® Page 2 of 34 REALTOR® Association Social Media Guidelines v 1 Background: NAR’s Social Media Strategy NARin2008proactivelydecidedtoengagewithitsmembersontheleadingedgeof socialmedia,exploringnewwaystointeractwiththesemembersthroughblogs, Twitter,andFacebookandgatheringinsightandbestpracticesonhowsomeofthe nation’smostdigitallyprogressiveREALTORSwereusingsocialmediatoexpandtheir businesses.NAR’saggressive,consideredapproachtosocialmediahasthefollowing strategicobjectives: x Turn monologue into dialogue with our members. SocialmediaaffordsNARtheopportunitytoevolvehowitcommunicateswithits members,movingfrommostlymonologuetoamoreinteractiveandengaging dialogue.SocialmediaisatoolNARhaschosentoleveragetoactivelylistentoand learnmoreaboutitsmembers,inanefforttocreatepolicies,products,andservices thatbettermeetmembers’needs. x Reach more members with our information – when and where it’s relevant to them. TheRealEstate.Net,asthecollectiveofrealestateprofessionalsinvolvedinsocial mediaarecalled,isteemingdailywithconversationsabouttherealestatebusiness, marketdata,andtheworkingsofNAR.Thenationalassociationhasmuchvalueto addtotheseconversations,andbybeinganactivelistenerandparticipantonthe RealEstate.Net,NARcanshareitsresearch,marketdata,orbusinesstipswhenand whereit’smostrelevanttoourmembers.Wecanbethatproviderofthe“justin time”information,droppingintodiscussionsonmajorindustryblogs,Twitter,or FacebookwheninformationavailablefromNARcanhelpprovideinsight,clarity,ora neededresource. x Join and influence existing conversations about NAR and about issues REALTORS® care about. WhenNARbegantoregularlytuneintosocialmediaspaces,itbecameclearthat relevantconversationswerehappeningallaroundtheblogospherethatcould greatlybenefitfromNAR’sinformationandperspective.SoNARbegantosharethis informationviaitsownblogs,commentsonothers’blogs,Facebook,Twitter,and thelike.Byembracingsocialmediaearlyinitsdevelopment,NARwasabletolearn fromtheearlyadoptersinitsmembershipandexperimentwiththem,sothattoday, NARcanhelpleaditsmembersandotherassociationsinbestpracticesinsocial media. x Build deeper relationships with members and others. Accordingtothe2009NARMemberProfile,35percentofmembersuseoneor moresocialnetworkingsitesonaregularbasis,andanadditional14percentplanto dosointhefuture. NationalAssociationofREALTORS® Page 3 of 34 REALTOR® Association Social Media Guidelines v 1 REALTORS®posttoblogs;commentonothers’blogs;connectwithcolleagues, customersandclientsthroughsocialnetworkingsitessuchasFacebookand LinkedIn;andtagnewsarticlesandWebpagesonsocialbookmarkingsitesincluding Digganddel.icio.us.AndtheywanttobeabletointeractwithNARinthedigital arena,aswell.“Digitalnatives”(atermthePewResearchCenterusestodescribe peoplewhohavegrownupinawiredworld)getinvolvedinorganizationsby participatinginsocialmediacommunities.Morethananything,thesehighly