There is a new career opportunity directly associated with social media known as an ‘influencer’. Slightly showing my age, I was stunned to find out that people can make great money out of running well supported social media accounts on platforms like Instagram. For those who don’t know what an influencer does, it’s simple. They get paid to promote brands and products to their audience in an authentic way. Brands look for influencers who are credible in a niche area. And it’s their ability to affect other people’s thinking in an online community (namely their audience) which gets them the gig.
Now that I am on to their tricks (albeit a bit behind the eight ball) it got me thinking …how has social media changed the real estate world?
The Graft Agent – Real Estate Agents Before Social Media
In a way, I was lucky to be involved in the industry prior to the internet taking over the world. In the ‘olden days’ creating a profile was a lot harder. The top agents pre-social (PS) took years to fine tune their craft while on the way becoming highly skilled in negotiation and problem-solving. These agents were skilled in getting the best result out of the market, generating premium results for their vendors.
Longevity, hard graft, great results and a hefty dose of word of mouth was the way good agents rose to the top.
The Instant agent – Real Estate Agent Social Media Profile
Nowadays, thanks to the reach of social media, agents have the ability to skip over the hard graft and create a profile relatively quickly. Instead of building knowledge and honing skills, agents can create videos and quirky tiles to give the illusion that they have made it. And in many cases, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
#Humble brag
A big part of the kiwi culture is being humble. Never self-promoting in the fear of being labeled crass or a show-off. Until recently we embodied the opposite of American self-promotion, but all this has started to change. Social media allows the user to pat themselves on the back under the guise of “look what I’ve achieved today”. In real estate, the humble brag comes in the form of sold stickers. And that’s ok because to be seen as successful, you have to spread the message of success.
No turning back – The Use of Social Media Selling a House
These days it’s imperative for all agents to have good social media activity. Not only for their own brand but as a way of promoting their listings to a wider, more passive audience. But because of this, I know of really good agents who have been left behind. Those that are left in the industry, have more real selling skills than the flash-but-no-cash agents. But to the public perception is everything, so they no longer get the work they used to do.
In conclusion, Amanda has made it clear that I’m not cool enough to be a social media influencer. But on the off chance you don’t agree, please free to follow me on Instagram benstevensrealestatenz. I would love to prove her wrong.
Wellington Real Estate Market
It’s a ‘take your mark, get set, go’ start to the year with listings coming thick and fast. We are unsure what the market response to this might be but it looks like we are on the fast track back to normal stock levels which may signal a return to a more balanced market.
Pressure for an expanding public sector should hold Wellington up, while larger regions soften.
WELLINGTON MARKET QUICK FACTS
Average sale price by Ward:
February Quick Facts
In February, the special exhibition at Te Papa, “Let’s go build” comes to an end. LEGO is one of those childhood stables, so this month we thought it would be fun to look into a few crazy LEGO facts:
Did you know?
- There is such thing as a “certified LEGO professional?” Ryan McNaught, the name behind the Te Papa exhibition, is one of 14 such professionals.
- Ryan and his team spent 5,000 hours building the 50 masterpieces in the display, including the Taj Mahal, Michelangelo’s Statue of David, Great Wall of China, Empire State Building (complete with King Kong), Leaning Tower of Pisa, and Arc de Triomphe. That’s some serious LEGO building.
- LEGO comes from the Danish word leg godt
- The plural of LEGO is LEGO
- LEGO is the world’s largest tyre manufacturer
THANKS FOR READING
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