If you didn't attend our webinar yesterday, you missed a veritable Facebook extravaganza! Realtor® Shaun Nilsson of CityBlast shared his secrets to marketing on Facebook without annoying your friends and family--and stayed overtime to answer the dozens of questions that poured in.

It's safe to say that Facebook is a hot topic among agents and brokers, so if you couldn't attend yesterday's event, don't worry--we recorded it for you. Watch the video below to catch up on what you missed and then click through to the next page to claim an exclusive discount for RE Technology readers.

Why is Social Media Important?

"Over 90 percent of home searches begin online," Shaun says. "What that tells me is that over 90 percent of home searches are beginning without you--without the real estate agent."

Consumers no longer immediately turn to a real estate agent when they're ready to buy a home. "They're informing themselves," Shaun says. "This is a massive opportunity because these folks are floating around out there online ... and haven't committed to another agent." Social media represents a massive opportunity to attract and capture these leads.

Facebook is particularly important, as people spend triple the time on Facebook as they do on other sites. "If you want to catch fish, you need to fish where there are fish," says Shaun. "In the case of the Internet, Facebook is where there are fish."

How Do I Market on Social Media?

Knowing where to fish is not the same as knowing how to fish. Far too many agents think of Facebook or Twitter as their personal billboard, sharing only their listings or other self-promotional posts.

"Treat social media as though it was a social event," Shaun advises. "Act as you would at a party where you want everyone to like you." Would you walk up to a stranger, hand them a business card and brag about being the top agent in your area, right? Of course not!

The better tack to take would be to strike up a conversation like this: Did you read that recent article in HomeTown Newspaper about the fastest appreciating neighborhoods in our area? You'll never guess what number one was!

"This is the type of person who's standing at the party and they've got a little group of three or four people hanging on every word they're saying because they're subject matter experts and they're talking about things that people are interested in and they've captivated their interest," says Shaun. "At the end of that conversation, you can say, 'Yeah, I'm a real estate agent. That's why I just love this stuff. I pick up on this stuff all the time because I'm in that world.'"

So what does a successful social media post look like? "It can be anything, as long as you're choosing things that are meant to be of interest to other people and not specifically about you."

Generally, Shaun advises, most of your posts should be related to real estate, but feel free to leave some room for other topics that interest you and your audience.

What If I Don't Have the Time for Social Media?

So now that you know where and how to market, for many agents, the question is, When can I possibly find the time? Experts recommend spending an hour a day on social media, but for busy Realtors, that one hour can be difficult to make room for.

So what's an agent to do? Here's one suggestion--outsource! Shaun's company, CityBlast, acts as your personal social media manager and shares posts like the one above to your Facebook wall on your behalf. Subscribers to the service can choose how many times they want CityBlast to post for them per week, and what topics (see below).

CityBlast offers detailed statistics on how many people you've reached with your posts, as well as likes, comments, and shares.

To learn more--and see the innovative way CityBlast markets your listings on social media--watch the full webinar recording.

An Exclusive Discount to Get You Started

Interested in trying CityBlast for yourself? RE Technology readers can get 20% off for life (plus a free trial!) when you use promo code WIN.

Visit CityBlast.com to sign up today!

Don't miss the next event in our Summer Webinar Series! Join us on Wednesday, June 11 for Your Clients Are Cheating On You: Learn How to Keep Them From Going Astray.