I need about 3,000 words to thoroughly cover this topic, but the nice people at Inman Next aren’t down with that, so I’ll be efficient. Which is exactly what real estate professionals should be with Facebook. Be efficient and effective.

Many people I talk to in the real estate industry feel far too much time is wasted on social networks, especially Facebook. I agree. That’s why for the last few years I have focused my efforts on helping agents be strategic with Facebook. With a couple tweaks, Facebook can be a relationship machine.

Are relationships important in real estate? I’ve posed this question to hundreds of real estate professionals and the answer is always “yes.”

The tweaks are not on a Facebook business page. They have value for many businesses and industries, but, in my opinion, real estate is not one of those industries. Gaining “likes” and traction is labor-intensive; there is little to zero engagement; and people do not go to Facebook to search for homes.

For most agents, their Facebook profile is where relationships can be built and maintained. We have become a nation of “oversharers,” and while that can be annoying to many people, it is great news to real estate professionals.

Wouldn’t it be great if agents could customize the Facebook news feed so it showed updates from only their best clients? Then it would be simple to engage the most important people, especially if they like to overshare. Wouldn’t this help maintain and build on these relationships? Wouldn’t this make Facebook more effective?

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/next/custom-friend-lists-make-facebook-a-relationship-machine/?utm_source=20140115&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.5wvMXleq.dpuf