Use “hidden gems” to increase your Facebook followers

We were sitting around the other day with a bunch of friends who lived in our area for quite a while.

I mentioned a funky and delicious restaurant we checked out recently.

They had never heard of it.

And they were quite impressed with our local knowledge.

This got me thinking about how real estate brokers and agents can use this strategy to generate a larger following on social sites such as Google +, Facebook and Twitter.

The key is to keep finding those “hidden gems.”

Another key is to have the right tool to display the location of those precious treasures. That’s where the IDX and lifestyle search engine SpatialMatch can be a huge help.

Here are some ideas on how to get people to pay attention to your posts:

First, scour your neighborhood for those out-of-the-way places. Go off the beaten path. Take a different route home and you might uncover a lovely bookstore, antique store or café you never knew existed.

Another source is your chamber of commerce. Even if the business is not a member, chances are people in the office know about it (because every business is their prospect for membership).

Find an old restaurant in town or a group where seniors gather. Ask them. They might surprise you.

Another idea is to cross the town or county border  (which you will find designated on SpatialMatch as well).

You would be surprised how many people consider going to another town or county the same as traveling to France.

So, find a cool place just over the border and blog about it.

We were tipped off recently to a restaurant just over in the next town that knocks our socks off. Sweet potato crusted grouper with horseradish. Yummy. Can’t find that in my neighborhood.

Next, point out the location of the treasure on SpatialMatch which is an enormous, colorful, map-based database of homes for sale and area business, schools, amenities etc.

You can pinpoint the location on the map and then email the link or post the link on Facebook, Twitter, etc. (This will bring them back to your site!)

Throw in a home that you have listed nearby as well. You can do that on SpatialMatch. You can show both properties for sale alongside neighborhood gems.

People looking to buy are going to find that very cool. People looking to sell are going to picture their home on your site, looking good.

Think about it. This is not only a great strategy, it’s a fun strategy. Your job literally involves finding interesting places to eat, hang out, shop, jog, etc. etc.

Why, you would become a regular Frommer’s travel guide.

But what’s great about your job, is that rather than helping sell travel books for $19.99, you’re selling $100,000-plus homes and using this strategy to generate listings for more $100,000-plus homes.

Now that’s gotta be a “gem” of an idea.

To learn more, visit  SpatialMatch here.