By now, everyone knows that answering buyer and seller questions online has a lot of benefits for professionals. Not only is it a great way to build your reputation, many report it works for generating leads as well.
Unfortunately, not everyone participating in Trulia Voices understands that they should stick to conversation that helps the user. Some intentionally look for opportunities to disagree with others and create a hostile environment and potentially tarnished reputations for all involved.
So what do you do when you see a thread heading in a negative direction?
Ask these three questions before you hit send. Following these steps can help save your reputation.
1. Is my response relevant?
Ask yourself, “Is my response directly related to the original question? If not, will the person who asked the question still benefit from my answer?” If you’re not sure, ping a colleague or friend to get a second opinion.
2. Is my response respectful?
If you are responding to another pro’s response, be sure you’re being respectful. There is no need to tell another pro ‘they should know this’, ‘they must be desperate’, etc. If you have real, helpful feedback, consider sending them a message or e-mail privately.
If another pro disagrees with you in a negative way, respond politely. Respectfully disagree, tell the user that even pros have different opinions about this and it’s great the user is seeking the advice of multiple professionals.
3. Will my response help or hurt the community?
What you post online lives on long after you’re gone. Make sure your response reflects how you want to be remembered. To do this ask, “Is this conversation productive for the community?” If the answer’s no, it runs the risk of being removed or worse, hanging out there damaging your reputation for years to come.
Remember the goal is to keep the community conversations helpful
Unfortunately, not everyone follows this checklist when participating in online forums. There are responses that cross the line and should be removed. When you think this has happened, please flag the content as ‘Inappropriate’ and a moderator will be alerted.
This applies to Trulia Voices and any other forum you participate in online.
Trulia Voices is an important resource to all users. When questions are answered quickly and respectfully everyone wins. Let’s all strive to keep the community productive and helpful. Reputations will soar, clients will be secured, and everyone will like each other a little more.
As always, we value your expert insights and love learning from you. If you have any questions about Trulia Voices, email community@trulia.com.