Comments on: Social Media – Disintermediating Aggregators?

By: Twitter for Lead Generation | Internet Marketing for Real Estate

Twitter for Lead Generation | Internet Marketing for Real Estate — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:01:21 +0000

[...] let’s us know about Twitter connecting a buyer with an agent before there was even the hint of a [...]

By: Jeremy Hart

Jeremy Hart — Sat, 24 May 2008 03:00:32 +0000

I love these conversations! Perhaps this adds nothing to the conversation, but I’m going to jump in anyhow; I realize I’m in the minority with this, but there were two examples in the comments above that I wanted to focus on.

Jonathan, I picked up a buyer by wearing my REALTOR pin. Gave him directions at a gas station, we struck up a conversation, and he mentioned that he and his wife were thinking about buying a home. They became great clients, and still refer business. I know it’s unlikely, but it happens

I’ve also received two pieces of business off of Twitter, and I don’t think either of them had anything to do with whether or not I had a great lunch, or what my cat is doing (which, if anyone’s wondering, she’s probably laying around). I didn’t see a real value in Twitter at all when it was first introduced to me. In fact, I thought it a waste of time, it was just a big group chat. The proof? My first Tweet was October 16 2007, and said “I guess I just don’t quite understand the power of Twitter yet. Why do people care what I’m doing?” What I failed to see was that I was putting my willingness to adopt new strategies on display, and I was demonstrating my approach to my business relationships, my personal relationships, everything. People respond to that kind of openness, I think, and once I saw that they did I started opening up more.

Since then, it’s turned into a listing and a buyer, and I anticipate more. I’ve seen a return already, and so I’ll continue to make it a part of my business plan. Yes, SM is part of my business plan, and it will continue to be. It’s hard to fit it all in sometimes, it’s already proven it’s worth and so I’ll find a way to continue it. The consumer will always be changing how their methods of doing business, and SM seems to be constantly providing new tools of changing with them. If it wasn’t working, I wouldn’t do it. I’m sure everyone else would say the same.

By: Ken Smith

Ken Smith — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:05:21 +0000

@Jonathan – That makes more sense thanks for clarifying.

By: Jonathan Dalton

Jonathan Dalton — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:20:42 +0000

When I said Trulia wasn’t aggregator, I meant a lead aggregator … they’re not trying to sell our own leads back to us for a referral fee.

Ought to have been more clear on that score.

By: David G from Zillow.com

David G from Zillow.com — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:02:26 +0000

Benn; those sites are aggregators; they’re people aggregators. This argument can be (and has been) used to also predict the demise of SEO; i.e. why search for a Realtor when you’re following one on twitter? In reality, however, RE online is and will continue to be a highly fragmented market and home buyers will use a cross-section of services to find a home and a professional.

By: Frank Jewett

Frank Jewett — Thu, 22 May 2008 19:13:59 +0000

Benn, my comments are not meant as a judgement on “your” writers, only on those writers to whom they are applicable. If Seth Godin had a dollar for every time his name was dropped, he could retire today. I focus on top producers because theoretically they have the ability most agents would like to achieve, even if they choose not to hire assistants and build a large team. Selling technology on the basis of looking cool is 2004-2005 thinking. These days technology has to actually bring in the business or you’ll end up not having time to blog or tweet because you’ll be working two jobs to try to cover your mortgage. I know people who are already in that situation, and not for lack of knowledge or failure to embrace new technology. If anything, they invested too much time on blogging when they should have been out walking the neighborhood. Now they don’t have enough time left to do either.

By: Frank Jewett

Frank Jewett — Thu, 22 May 2008 19:03:08 +0000

Vicki, I know the top producers in my market. They aren’t using twitter. I’m not saying that is proof that twitter is a bad concept, but being able to know where Jeff Turner ate lunch today is not proof that twitter is a good concept. That’s what I mean by celebrity. I constantly see name dropping associated with the hipness of new technology and technology seminars. This mutual appreciation doesn’t prove that anyone is actually gaining a meaningful advantage. It’s basically like national, statewide, and local AOR Director bragging rights being applied to the field of real estate technology.

Jonathan wrote: “Those are the reasons I don’t believe my meager press clippings on success here in the real estate blogging world. Success here doesn’t necessarily translate to being an 800-lb. gorilla in the real world of real estate.”

I found Jonathan’s candor a refreshing departure from the usual RE.net puffery.