“Agh. My Real Estate Agent Added Me As…
6 responses
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I wouldn’t do that …
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This is an important point to note. Agents out there simply taking action (friending everyone) because of the buzz worthyness of saying I use FaceBook, may cause more harm than good if the “meta-concepts” behind using Facebook for business are not full understood.
What did I just write?
Basically don’t make someone your friend if they are not really yet your friend. The old saying of don’t mix friends and business still holds true, but untold fortunes can be tapped for the skilled “digital agent” who understands the nuances of mixing it up.
-Justin Z.
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I completely agree Justin.
Because some agents use Facebook with such obnoxious marketing messages, I’ve actually added a few to my learn less about these people list.
Obviously, I like to keep good relations with agents, so I haven’t gone so far as to “unfriend” anyone for over-the-top marketing on Facebook, but it is so easy to do that I can’t help but think it makes push marketing almost ineffective on the site.
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Good post and good point. Despite the honorable connotations of transparency and ease of use, there are generally excepted rules and morays that really need to be attended too when attempting to do anything Web 2.0.
Recently a local Realtor engaged himself in a local Yahoo community user group. He does not live inside the community but nevertheless attempted to farm it by infusing service messages into this public, yet private conversation.
Merging old 1.0 methods into a web 2.0 platform is like placing a electrical device in a bathtub full of water. The end result bode poorly for this agent who will probably never get a listing inside this small but, vocal community.
Stupid is as stupid does. Attempting anything, especially what appears to be simple, web 2.0 stuff without fully understanding how it all works is worse than not doing anything at all.
The best advice is don’t blog without training. Don’t make friends with EVERYBODY until a bond is created. Don’t attempt to create social networks with people who would arguably never find anything in common in the offline world.
And certainly, do not infuse old 1.0 sensibilities into a 2.0 world.
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Very true Marc!
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Big problem. But it’s still preferable to your last Realtor just randomly knocking on your front door like mine did last night. But I digress …
Facebook is simply not the network for random professional connections. It’s too personal for that. LinkedIn is the only network I know of where it’s socially acceptable but even there it’s B2B, not B2C connections that are common. If I need to find a pro online, I’ll just search for them – I don’t need them on my friends list.
Marc – you should speak to the Inman folks about this. Social networking is NOT a farming2.0 best practice. It’s been positioned that way at the last two conferences where you chaired the panel on this topic and in NYC I was squirming in my seat listening to the horrible advice that was being offered. It’s important to distinguish between permission marketing and social networking – IMO, Realtors should focus on the former online and the latter offline.
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