RISMEDIA, July 13, 2010—In today’s real estate market, buyer’s still carry the upper hand when it comes to negotiation. And as their Realtor, it’s your job to passionately and intelligently guide and educate your clients through the sales process from start to finish.
It’s time to add the ‘social media talk’ to your list.
Have the conversation with your clients
With online connectivity virtually blanketing the entire world and the expansion of the savvy buyer, it’s important you have a conversation with your clients about disclosure of information regarding their listing on social media sites and communities, like Facebook and Twitter.
First, take their social media temperature. Ask them a few questions to gauge their social media engagement and overall understanding of the medium. There are several camps of the types of people, as well as mind sets who engage in social media. Those who participate all the time, those who keep their feet wet and those who don’t while holding up a large closed sign with big locks on their door.
Don’t disclose the sales or escrow process online
Make sure your clients keep the marketing and pending sale information of their home close to their chest. Be sure they don’t discuss pending offers, the inspection process, or escrow particulars in the social media communities in which they belong.
Many of your clients may find this activity harmless and just friendly chat amongst their friends and family, but in some instances, it could derail a sale. For example, if your client’s Facebook pages are set to share with everyone, the information they post is ‘open’ for the world to read. Twitter is also open for everyone to read—even if your client has protected tweets, individuals within their community have access to their posts.
Savvy buyers can find your clients in social media communities
Potential buyers can find out the names of property owners through county assessor website information and run a search through various social media tools to locate a property’s owner. Any information your clients post in open social media communities can disclose the type of people the owners are, and potentially, the progress of the property’s advancement through the sales process, pending offers and the home inspection.
Remember to add the ‘social media talk’ to your new client presentations or have the discussion with your current clients. In the end, it may save the deal.
Lisa Loeffler is President of Genuine Media.
For more information, visit www.genuinemediaco.com.
