Real Estate Agent Hunting 2.0

August 21, 2008
By: Drew Meyers
Author's Website: http://www.zillow.com

Recommendations from friends has historically been the way agents are chosen by buyers and sellers, but with the amount of information now available online, buyers & sellers are doing their research and reaching their own conclusions about which agent is best for them. The Washingont Post called this movement “Real Estate Agent Hunting 2.0″ in a story this past weekend (which the Consumerist also picked up on). If you’re an agent, it means that your online presence, identity, and activity are now important to attracting new clients in a changing landscape.

There are many agents that are ahead of the curve who already attract almost all of their clients from their blogs and other social media online. If you’re looking for some examples worth studying, Jay Thompson, Teresa Boardman, Diane Cohn, Kevin Warmath, and Laurie Manning are all agents who do a fantastic job with their online marketing and social media efforts. Three of those agents actually actually participated on the “closing business with a blog” panel discussion at Real Estate Connect.

If I had to give (only) two pieces of advice to capitalize on the growing trend of consumers doing their own agent research, I’d say:

Be findable (previous post on this topic)
Be active on the 3-5 top social networks where your target audience is likely to be looking for homes and real estate agents

As Generation X & Y start buying homes, the vast majority of them will be doing their own research before selecting an agent. I think it’s safe to say — Real Estate Agent Hunting 2.0 is most certainly not a fad that you can ignore.

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Categories: Blogging, Lead Acquisition

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Jeremy Rivera

I beleive that this is the other half of a prosperous website. We've seen more and more emphasis on quality content, but simply putting up reams of content may not get you the results that you are hoping for from your site.
By creating a online personality, participating in blog discussions, microblogging, and social networking, each of those spheres will have your footprints, and link either directly back to your site, or to your profile, which leads back to your site.

Dan Connolly

In the matter of getting recommendations and referrals from friends, it's great when it happens, no denial there. But, believe it or not, I would rather work with people I meet as a result of my marketing, web presence, and sign calls etc. than count on friends referrals.

I don't like being introduced as a Realtor at social events. I would rather be introduced as a friend. If someone naturally asks me what I do I will tell them. I would just rather keep it separate.