Vancouver real estate professionals say that, despite the hype, social media has largely proven a flop when it comes to selling real estate.
“Social media’s not dead but the use of it to sell a product or service is,” said realtor Ian Watt, considered a local pioneer in the use of Facebook, Twitter and blogging in the real estate sector,
“I went gung-ho, and then I pulled back. People just have this block up regarding selling online,” he said. Twitter was the turning point for Watt, who added the tool to his social media endeavours but then turned his back on it – and approximately 3,000 followers – a year ago.
“I felt like the novelty had worn off, and all those people were on Facebook anyways,” he said, saying Twitter has become “a big spam.”
Mac Marketing Solutions, which primarily handles sales of new condominiums, has invested heavily in social media but concedes it is hard to prove direct sales performance.
"We’re touching our customers five to 10 times before they make a decision to purchase,” said MAC principal Cameron McNeil “It does help create a groundswell, and it does help spread the word.”
Still, McNeill candidly admits that the actual payback on the efforts is difficult to track; he prefers to say the firm has simply "responded to the changing environment" and channelled its efforts into each new area.
Read the complete and startling report on social media and real estate sales in the March issue of Western Investor
