I just wanted to weigh in and let you know that the focus of my position is not focused solely on the brand awareness of Realty World, but is actually aimed at teaching our agents and brokers to do the very thing that you mention – use social media to become a “hyper-local” expert. I am creating training programs that will be available to our members to help them understand blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and many other social media outlets, so that they, regardless of location, can brand themselves. After all, each realtor is really selling themself, not their logo.

I appreciate your comments, I think it’s good to bring to the forefront of people’s minds that above branding a national brokerage, teaching a people to brand on their own speaks volumes.

There are major differences between the large corporations you referenced and the small businesses that are real estate brokerages. Because there are big differences, you can’t assume that what works for one will work for another. It’s great to see what the marketing departments at Dell, Kodak, etc… and try to apply that locally, but if you’re going to recognize that the business models aren’t directly applicable, then everything must be tracked so that you can see how well those techniques perform on the local level.

That said….I’m sure that plenty of people have closed deals as a result of networking in social sites online. I used to spend an arguably unhealthy amount of time in SEO & real estate forums bouncing ideas around, and as I said, I was referred once. So…from my experience, it can happen, but I would be very surprised to find anyone who is wealthy because of it.

I agree with you that experimentation is healthy. If you want to experiment, the best way is to try to follow the scientific method as closely as possible. Hypothesize, predict, experiment, evaluate, confirm, and improve.

I’m referencing the more academic style of marketing, customer service and branding agendas currently managed either inside or through the well-documented practices of firms outside of real estate such as Six Apart, Kodak, Dell, JetBlue, etc.

Here’s a hard fact – Dell has attributed $3 Mil is direct sales from Twitter. You might think $3 Mil is chump change. But that’s a lot of $499 computers for what is very little cost.

Ponder this: How much hard data did Columbus have when he sailed out to discover the new world? Sometimes, especially when it comes to groundbreaking events social as social media, you need to leave some caution to the wind.

Hard data is great. But so is experimenting. A balance of both is critical.

However, I would prefer bloggers/tweeps/etc… to be aware of my brand on a local level, rather than increasing my brand’s mindshare to real estate agents across the US. Twitter and Facebook have great tools to help there – but the best tools aren’t free.

It’s definitely fun to be involved in real estate social media, but I’m not sure how many deals you’ll close as a result of networking with other agents online. I’ve been actively involved in real estate specific social media circles since 2006 and have received exactly one referral from one of my online friends.

On the other hand, I have closed many deals as a result of purposeful blogging in order to increase my search engine ranking, and through targeted PPC campaigns. I have closed many referrals from agents who found me online, and 10X as many deals from clients who found me the same way.

I can appreciate that social media is “cool,” and shouldn’t be ignored by Realtors. I’m very skeptical of whether or not anyone is making house payments as a result of networking on twitter and facebook all day.

Again, just my experience. If there’s hard data to indicate otherwise, I’m all ears.

The cost to them, nothing.

So what worked here through social media was the introduction of a few cool people to a whole bunch of other cool people.

Score 1 for SM.

Now, what you guys do with that is up to you. What potential ROI can come from that is immaterial to me. But I have to believe that at some point, given all the business minded folks in real estate, you’ll figure that out.

When that happens, we can put closure this episode of “What do you mean by “works”.

This is (the) Erin that has been much referred to in the story and comments following. I’ve only been on board at Realty World for one month, so as of late I can’t attribute any closings to my hiring. What can say is that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of the most genuine, attentive and hard-working people in the business who have welcomed me with open arms regardless of brokerage, affiliation, etc.

I’ve started a Twitter handle just for my new role, @realtyworlderin, although @texasgirlerin will certainly be my alter-ego in perpetuity!

I appreciate all the feedback, kind words (Bob Watson – you are truly one of a kind!) and enthusiasm for what I’m certain is the start of a great adventure in social media and real estate.

Best,
Erin