Question: How do you defriend someone on Facebook without causing bad feelings? Is there a way you can do it without them knowing?

Answer: A contact on Facebook will not receive a notification telling him you removed him as a friend (defriended). There are a few ways he could figure it out, such as noticing a decrease in the number of friends and trying to figure out who he is no longer connected to or one day wondering why he hasn’t seen your name on his newsfeed and realizing you’re no longer connected. If the person has a large number of friends and you don’t usually interact on Facebook, I would say the chances of him noticing your “defriendship” is slim.

That being said, unless you have a truly compelling reason to delete him from your network, I recommend hiding his feed. In a recent post, I explained how to hide people and applications from your news feed. This means you don’t have to see his status updates unless you specifically look at his personal page.

Another option is to control what your friends see on your page by using Lists and the privacy settings. To learn more, visit facebook.com.

Do you have a social media question? Ask Meghan by filling out this form.

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Question: I have been following your posts on PAR JustListed. I have a presence on LinkedIn but that is it, and admittedly, it is only half-hearted. I had read a post before from someone that advised RE Professionals to use LinkedIn for business and Facebook for personal. My busy schedule with work and family does not allow me to sit in the evenings and deal with Facebook, Twitter, etc. Am I missing the boat? How do others handle all the web sites, social media, e-mails, etc. and still have a life?

Answer: LinkedIn is more for business but to get anything out of your profile and efforts, you need to find groups to join and interact with. PAR has a private group as does NAR plus there are other RE groups out there. Be a part of the conversation – ask questions and provide your professional opinion to others who ask them in group discussions.

Facebook is the social network. Use your personal profile to make old and new connections just like you would in the face-to-face world. A Facebook business/fan page is the place to do business.

Setting up your profile is what takes the most time. After you set up the profile, maintain it by accepting/rejecting friend requests, posting pictures, joining groups, etc. To become a source of real estate news to your followers on a business page you can take advantage of RSS feeds and other applications which post the news automatically for you.

Readers: How do you find the time to manage social media and emails? Please comment below.

Do you have a social media question? Ask Meghan by filling out this form.

One billion Internet consumers are using search engines worldwide, Fox noted. That makes having a presence on the web critical to future success, she noted.

Fox, who recently addressed REALTORS® at the Inman Real Estate Connect conference, said, “You need to think about the behaviors of your audience. For example, 59 percent of social media visits are to Facebook.”

The Internet has seen a 41-percent increase in search volume and a 60-percent increase in social media usage in consumers ages 35 to 44, according to Fox.

That’s why web site content becomes more important because consumers may not necessarily go directly to a home page, Fox said. “How well does each page of your web site work as a home page? Each page should be branded because people aren’t going to hunt around your site. You need to have a call to action on each page,” she added.

Fox advised doing a keyword search to see what comes up when consumers search: real estate, homes, homes for sale or specific local communities. “Dive in to see what people are searching for,” she said. “No one calls anymore. More people are searching for services online.”

Creating a brand awareness of the real estate company helps target consumers to the web site, Fox said. “Remember to have lots of information and good photos on your web site,” she added. Provide answers to consumer questions like “what neighborhood is the most walkable?” or “when is the best time of the year to sell my house?”

Fox reminded REALTORS® to review information on Google local and yellow pages to make sure their individual contact information is accurate.

REALTORS® should also be aware of the kind of traffic they’re getting on their site and how long consumers stay on the site. Fox also suggests having an Internet strategy so REALTORS® can track results.

PAR's business page on Facebook

Answer: A personal page is your main account page that contains your pictures, wall, personal information, etc. You must have a personal page to create a business page.

As a REALTOR®, a business page (also known as a fan page) is where you can promote your real estate business. You can post listings and your skills as a real estate professional (and remember to have all of the information required by the PA Real Estate Commission about yourself).

The main reason to create a business page on Facebook is because social media is what its name says – a place to be social. Facebook’s Terms of Service prohibits individuals from promoting businesses on personal profiles. You wouldn’t want to spend months connecting with people on Facebook to have it taken away because you posted your listings, would you?

To learn more about creating a business page on Facebook, visit Facebook’s how-to page.

Do you have a social media question? Ask Meghan by filling out this form.

Answer: Unfortunately, no. If you are tagged in a picture and it was posted by someone other than you, the only way to remove your association with that photo is to click the “Remove Tag” link next to your name. Every person decides how much privacy they want to have with their pictures, whether it be “friends only” or “everyone.” If they’ve chosen “friends only” that means all of their friends can see the picture (and any mutual friends you have).

If you’d like that picture to appear on your Facebook page where you control who sees it, you could ask the original poster’s permission to save the picture to your computer and upload it to your page.

To check your picture/video privacy settings:

When you are logged into Facebook, hover over the “Settings” button in the top right of any page. Click “Privacy Settings” in the drop-down menu. Choose Profile Information and you will see numerous areas where you decide who should see your information. Next to “Photos and Videos of Me” use the drop-down to decide what settings are most appropriate for you. (Mine is set to “Only Friends.”) For Photo Albums, you have the option to decide the privacy level for each album you create.

Do you have a social media question? Ask Meghan by filling out this form.

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Foursquare is yet another social networking application for smart phone users. Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley said the site was designed to “make life a game.”

Designed for the truly competitive, it’s all about earning points. Having been raised on the theory that “she who has the most shoes wins,” I definitely get the competitive aspect. Foursquare encourages users to log where they are. Users earn points and badges based on their visits to locations and activities. People who frequent places the greatest number of times are crowned with the title “mayor” of their favorite local bar, coffee shop or shoe store. Restaurants and local establishments are getting into the game, offering free coffee and appetizers to frequent visitors who log their visits through Foursquare.

Now while this might be fun if I led a more exciting life, chauffeuring my daughter doesn’t take me to many fun locations. And I’m not sure I want to be dubbed “mayor” of my local grocery store, dry cleaner or heaven forbid, McDonald’s.

The upside of this social game is the incredible amount of data it tracks. Crowley and his company will be able to provide information to potential real estate developers, showing them where they see trends. Interested in placing a billboard in a neighborhood? Foursquare will be able to show you where your advertising will be the most effective for the age group you’re targeting. That’s the incredible ability of the newest technology.

Dobkin, who recently spoke at the Inman Real Estate Connect seminar in New York City, said, “The biggest reason blogs don’t succeed is they aren’t updated often enough. Don’t bother to have a blog if you’re only going to update it every six months.”

He said another key to success is original content and knowing the target audience. “Real estate blogs often aren’t written considering the naiveté of their readers,” he said.

Dobkin said blogs should be kept to one to four paragraphs and extraneous material should be cut. “Make your point quickly and give value to your reader,” he said. “If the paragraph is just some flowery prose, forget about it.”

Dobkin advised telling people throughout the community about the blog. If an interesting article is published, notify mainstream media. He suggested targeting the blog to the most popular people in the region who are on Twitter and Facebook.

“Some blogs have great content but they don’t lead to anything,” he added. “That’s because they haven’t properly measured their results. What are readers clicking on? Does the blog lead to the action you want? We track everything to learn what worked and what we should do differently.”

For those who don’t want to commit to creating long blog content, Tumblr.com founder David Karp recommended people consider his web site.

Karp said his company’s site offers an easy format for people to blog and repost materials. “There are many social media tools available with a huge range of custom ability but sometimes the problem is that it’s difficult to fill the big box on these sites. Tumblr makes it easy to create content, merging two types of social media – blogs and Facebook,” he said.

Last month, Tumblr had two million users with 35 million posts. “People are using Tumblr to share information, create identities and brands. It’s easy to get started,” Karp added.

REALTOR® Kim Wood

Social media helps REALTORS® establish relationships. Kim Wood, PAR member and social media trainer, has used her social media connections to create “tweet-ups” and “meet-ups” to get to know potential clients and other REALTORS® in person. “You can’t forget the basics, getting face-to-face with our clients or potential clients and developing that relationship further,” Wood said.

Duration: 2:40

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Answer: You’re in luck – Facebook makes it easy to hide both applications and friends from your News Feed and they will never know.

On the news feed page (the first page you see when you log into Facebook) you see all of your friends’ recent activity. If, for example, you see your friend John Smith just “hit the jackpot, but needs help laundering their money” in Mafia Wars, you can hide Mafia Wars and/or John Smith from your News Feed.

To do this, hover over the upper right corner of the person’s name and a “Hide” button will appear. You will then have three options:

1. Hide John
2. Hide Mafia Wars
3. Cancel

If you accidentally click “Hide John” instead of “Hide Mafia Wars”, you can re-add the person back into your News Feed. When you are on the News Feed tab (not Live Feed), click the “Edit Options” button at the bottom right. This brings up a list of both friends and applications you have hidden. Simply click the “Add to News Feed” button and they will appear on your News Feed once again.

Do you have a social media question? Ask Meghan by filling out this form.

• Licensee’s name
• Full name of the employing broker (no abbreviations or nickname)
• City and state (or province) in which the licensee is located
• Regulatory jurisdiction(s) in which the licensee holds a license.

These four pieces of information must appear on each and every page of a licensee’s web site. 

Just as you review your ad copy in print prior to publication, so too should you review and keep copies of the layout of each page of your web site before it goes live. Licensees generally will not be held responsible for violations of the advertising regulations attributable to the professionals hired to produce the printed (or electronic/digital) advertisements. To avoid such liability, you the licensee must be able to prove that what you approved met the regulatory requirements and what was published is different from what was approved.  

A reminder (once again): before embarking on any advertising campaign, make sure your broker (and perhaps legal counsel) has reviewed the advertisement and offered her blessing.