Sponsor Gretchen Faber is a Strong Supporter of #REBCDen

Thanks for stopping back by! Have you submitted your email address so you can be notified of upcoming REBC events? You can do so on the right sidebar, just scroll down a bit.

Gretchen Faber is a very active member of the real estate community.  She is a manager at her company, a NAR Director and a member of countless committees.  REBC is very grateful to have a strong supporter like her on board, as this is the second year she has sponsored the event.

I would like to introduce you to the readers of the REBarCamp Blog.  Would you please tell us a little about yourself?

I’m a 40-something workaholic with not enough hobbies.  I just love the real estate business!

How long have you been in the real estate industry?  What did you do before?

I started selling real estate in 1996 after a divorce. I needed to reinvent myself and find a new career.  I had been working with my husband and that obviously wasn’t working out too well.  We owned an advertising agency specializing in print and radio for small financial institutions.

Tell us about your company.  How long have you been working there?  What services does you company offer in the real estate industry?

I work at The Kentwood Company at Cherry Creek.  We’re a locally owned brokerage and I’ve been with the company since 1998.  In 2007 I became the Broker Manager of the office and I still handle my real estate clients as well.  I guess that’s my hobby.

Our company has made a concerted effort in the past 3 years to really leverage our online presence. We’re also blogging and on Facebook, tweeting, etc.  Our industry has changed so much, and more changes are on the way!

Are you involved in social media?

Yes! I’ve been blogging about Denver and real estate at www.LifeStyleDenver.com for three years.  I also use Facebook, and to some extent Twitter to focus interest back to my personal web site.  My blog also links to my web site, www.GretchensDenver.com.  On that site people can search neighborhoods, look for properties, map areas they like and find relocation information.

How do you use social media to leverage your business?

The more circular links you have, profiles on a variety of sites, the more you can drive traffic to your site.  I’ve also had good luck by being very focused.  There are times when I’d love to write a blog post about tips for brokers in the business, or ruminations on something random and then I remind myself that LifeStyleDenver is about real estate and the readership is buyers and sellers.

The best way I’ve leveraged social media is to communicate with good, interesting content that keeps potential clients engaged and gives them a reason to contact me.

How can your product/service benefit those in the real estate industry?

I’m always happy to help with advice, tips or tricks.  Sharing with each other is one of the great aspects of our business.  We’re a cooperative bunch!

Are you coming to REBC Denver and would you like to present a topic? Which topic?

Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow!  I presented last year about writing for blogs. This year, I think I’ll just listen and take it all in.

How can we contact you?

grf@gretchensdenver.com

Denver Blogger Gretchen Faber

Gretchen Faber is a well recognized broker in Denver real estate. She is active at the Denver Board of Realtors and manages the Kentwood Cherry Creek office. It is a pleasure to have Gretchen as part of REBarCamp blog “I’ll Be There” Interviews.

How long have you been selling real estate?

I earned my license in 1996, and got the broker’s license right away.  Back then, Colorado had two levels of licensing – agent and broker.  I decided to go for it and sit for the broker exam and I passed.  A few years later everyone had to go back and get their broker license and I was really glad I didn’t have to!

What made you decide to get into the business? What were you doing before real estate?

I was separating from my husband at the time, and had a toddler.  We had worked together in his family’s business so I naturally needed to move on.  I had always loved real estate and different architectural styles.  My parents owned investment properties in California, and they also instilled an appreciation for many types of architecture.  Real estate sales seemed a logical step.  With a master’s degree in marketing plus advertising experience, real estate seemed like the perfect career.  I also wanted some flexibility so that I could spend time with my son; take him on field trips, etc.  HA!  Little did I know how much you work in this business.  But those first few years I was able to carve out a lot of extra time with Joe – he went to many an open house with me.  He still does on occasion.

We had known each other from the Denver Board and the CIPS Committee.  Since then we both have taken up blogging? How long have you been blogging?

I became interested in blogging only recently.  You are much further ahead, and I had read about you and your blogging and found it intriguing.  At first, I just read other people’s blogs.  I was nervous to break some sort of rule of etiquette or say the wrong thing, so I never commented in the beginning.  At the end of 2007 I decided to go for it.  I thought that if I got one solid deal in 2008 from the blog, then it would have been worth it.  I investigated different platforms and coaches and decided to use the Real Estate Tomato to design my blog and teach me the ropes.   That won’t be for everyone, and many people can just do it on their own with a free wordpress blog, but I wanted to really know the ropes right out of the gate.

Social media has become so popular in the real estate industry. Can you tell us what it has done for your business?

At first I was engaging with other real estate bloggers, and these people have become my friends and coaches. We are constantly learning from each other, and no one is ever too busy to be generous with their time and answer a question.  Everyone is also very receptive to making referrals to other markets where they’ve gotten to know Realtors online.

As the blog writing began to flow, and I learned about all of the other social networking sites, I found that I’d get occasional comments from the public interested in Denver real estate.  Two weeks ago, I closed a $1.1 million transaction, cash buyer who found me from my internet presence.  He called and said, “you appear to be the expert where I’m looking.”  He flew into Denver, looked at homes for two days, and he made an offer.  I realize that this is probably not going to happen too often, but it illustrates the power of the internet and becoming the perceived expert.

If you could pick only one aspect of social media, what would that be.  By that I mean you must choose from Active Rain, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and any of the hundreds available, which one would you use and why?

I don’t think you can pick just one and I don’t’ know that I could!  It’s all so vitally integrated, and you meet up with some of the same people and also different people across the spectrum.  I think at a minimum, if you’re going to commit to social networking and blogging you need to be on all of the above.  Active Rain is powerful and gives you great links back to your site.  It’s also full of interesting conversations between brokers. Plus, consumers are going on AR more and more. You learn to ignore the trivial stuff.  LinkedIn is business related and you don’t need to spend too much time there, but should be on it nonetheless.  Facebook is a fabulous way to connect and reconnect with people you know present and past.  It’s more like your sphere.  On Facebook, you remind them that you sell real estate, but also have little reunions with people you don’t get to see too often.  Twitter is like a party. At first you can’t understand how to integrate all of these half conversations, but you get used to it.  Todd Carpenter says it’s like walking up to the water cooler at work and hearing half of the conversation about last night’s Academy Awards, and then wandering away.  You can also use Twitter to post the URL of your most recent blog post.

Are you coming to REBarCamp Denver?  Would you like to present a topic? If so what would that be?

I am coming to REBarCamp and I look forward to it!  Thanks for organizing it. I know you’ve spent a lot of time getting it just right.  I was sorry to miss the REBarCamp in Las Vegas, but couldn’t get away from work that week. It’s exciting that you’ve planned it here in Denver.

I could present any topic that you feel I’d be competent at.  You and your team are all way ahead of me!  One thing I feel passionate about is writing.  I’ve learned to really enjoy the art of writing a blog, and I don’t come from a writing background.  It might be fun to talk about how to write, what to write and work with people on relevant content, headlines, etc.  If you think that would be good or don’t have someone else better for that one.

Finally – shameless plug – my blog is www.LifeStyleDenver.com and my real estate web site is www.GretchensDenver.com !