Today, social networking is about “friend” based dialogue. Not many consumers have real friendships with their RE Pros. Social Networks need to be relevant beyond friendship and create a sense of place where industry specific topics are the dominant theme. In contrast, overcoming the purchase-cycle (frequency) challenges can be achieved by developing ways to engage consumers beyond transactions. Some examples are community leadership, philanthropy, education workshops, etc. This holds true regardless of venue real world or web. Loyalty is one of the greatest challenges our industry faces and the reason we started HomePerks.com . It can be achieved by both brands and individuals, but it requires a real commitment in terms of time, money and effort. But when you consider that other industries have successfully created tremendous loyalty (Hotels, Airlines, Credit Cards, Grocery Stores, etc), it’s worthy pursuit that delivers substantial ROI.

2)

http://www.forsalebyweb.com/nodiscount/discussion/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=812&SearchTerms=coke

Taking it one step further, each and every agent in a real estate office is a competitor of another. So this idea of brand value really confuses consumers.

Tom Wolf is right on about social networks. I’ve seen several open house blogs but have never seen social networks used to sell or discuss a specific house.

However in Real Estate you deal with the agent who is on floor at the time they call. Just because I used XYZ Realty in one city does not eman that XYZ will give me the same results in another city.

In Real Estate you deal with the sales agent and depending on the sales agent you deal with will determine the quality of service you get. An agent from Mom&Dad’s Home Brokerage could give you superior service while a more commercialized name agent could possibly give you very bad service.

The name of the agent is the Brand not necessarily the name of the Brokerage. If the argument is that my big name brokerage provides superior training then I would say give me that name and I would be more than happy to share horror stories about agents in those brokerages that I dealt with.

Again the Brand is the name of the Realtor@.

nuff said…..

I realized I was overcomplicating it and that really social networks are just replacements for those things which people would have extended conversations about if they were sitting face to face. Teens can and do talk in person or on the phone for hours about parties, gossip, and Paris Hilton, thus social networks and blogs do well with this type of content. Techies love to talk about killer apps, code, and gadgets, and therefore techie networks and blogs do great as well. It seems the less you hear people discussing an issue, industry, or brand in person, the less likely it is to succeed in the online social network setting. To Galen’s point, I simply never hear people talking about specific houses. I hear people talking about the housing market, but never anything like, “Wow, that house had great granite countertops and a step down tub.” I think that is a huge reason that social networks have struggled to find their way in this industry.

Real estate agents, mortgage brokers, title companies, escrow companies and many others make money every time a deal closes. They all have a vested interest in closing the deal to make their fees. The research they do for buyers and sellers is a means to their end which is a commission. There is no fault in that, but I also feel strongly that buyers and sellers should do independent research on the value of their property so they feel comfortable with the ultimate outcome of their specific transaction.

It’s a big deal for buyers and sellers to know values so they, in turn, get good value for their investment. We suggest you stay in touch with the market not only by viewing properties that interest you, but also by reviewing relevant data relating to market performance. This doesn’t mean just comparables, but also foreclosure statistics, flipping activity and the history of the property that interests you.

Good luck in your home transactions, but know that you can make some of your own luck by doing better research before you buy or sell.

@Chris – remember that FB just opened up the platform to all users. What will happen is these 20-35 yr olds, will encourage their parents to sign up and use it for communication with them. Then the demographic will slowly change.