Whether you’re a new agent looking to establish a foundation of potential customers and colleagues, or an experienced agent interested in expanding your contact pool, you’ve likely figured out that social media is an indispensable part of any networking strategy.
What you may not realize is that you’re trading one proverbial box for another. That is, if you’re only using LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, you’re missing out on a lot of other great resources for building professional contacts. Here are three lesser-known apps and tools that can help you grow your handshake business.
Grouper
Grouper is a new spin on a dating site, meant to take some of the pressure and awkwardness out of the equation. How? By inviting you to bring two friends along. Grouper matches you with another user, then sets a date for your groups to meet for drinks.
How can Grouper help you professionally? For one, you’re likely to meet someone who’s new to your city, giving you an opening casually offer your expertise about local real estate. Even if they’ve already found a place to live, there’s value in being an early acquaintance in unfamiliar surroundings, and a knowledgeable one at that.
If you’re not single, you can always leverage your single pals. Plus, if the meet-up doesn’t turn out the way you hoped, no big deal—after all, you’ll still be out drinking with friends.
Bizzabo
If you’ve ever attended a major real estate conference like Inman Connect, Agent Reboot, or REALTORS® Conference, you know how incredibly hectic industry expos can be. Bizzabo helps both event holders and attendees manage a jam-packed event schedule. More importantly, though, the app connects with your LinkedIn profile to identify other event attendees who would be beneficial contacts for you to make.
With Bizzabo, you can network with other conference attendees before the event even starts. You can also check in at the conference’s various locations, message other app users and keep a database of people you meet.
Meeteor
One of the hardest things about professional networking, particularly if you’re new to an area or industry, is knowing where to start. That’s where Meeteor comes in.
To start, Meeteor asks you to clarify your networking goals: What companies and industries are you interested in? What skills are you looking for in your professional contacts? Etc.
Once you’ve completed your profile, Meeteor uses your existing Facebook and LinkedIn connections to do the legwork for you. If, for instance, one of your friends has a connection with someone you’d be interested in meeting, Meeteor will set up an introduction. The app also recommends professionals who you have things in common with, and can even tell you which of your connections are most influential in their industries.
