Is Social Media Doing More Harm Than Good for Real Estate Agents?

Enhanced reach, unbelievable exposure, and quicker reputation building—social media has certainly done well for real estate agents. Social media has become an indispensable part of every business’s growth strategy. Businesses that get their social media strategy right save big bucks on the marketing budget.

When everything looks so blingy with the social media integration for real estate agents, why is it posing difficulties for many realtors? Social media can harm your real estate business in some ways if you have not taken corrective action in time.

Morris, a thriving real estate agent from Florida, faced a real problem with meeting the heightened expectations of the buyers after they saw the enhanced media related to the property on social media. This is just one such instance.

Let’s look at the other side of the coin in detail.

Highly Filtered Social Media Posts

Online appearances may not always translate to the same quality offline. Not deceptive, but the way a property has been shown online can be a little different from how it is. Mick, a NJ-based broker, admitted how a buyer who fell in love with a property after seeing its video on Instagram was disappointed when he didn’t find the property as aesthetic. This is a huge goodwill concern. Mick says, “A disappointed buyer would blame the broker for misleading social media presentation. It is as bad as losing the goodwill.”

Filtered looks over social media unreasonably increase the expectations of the buyers, making it difficult for agents to justify the gap and close the deals.

Short-Lived Social Media Trends

The life of a social media trend is not more than a few days. Real estate and home decor trends can be harmful to real estate businesses. Social media has become a hub for influencers to educate and influence the tastes and preferences of buyers. A real estate agent from Royal Oak, Michigan, often meets buyers who no longer want a certain interior design just because it isn’t in trend as per social media.

Social media influencers are quick to introduce new trends to drive traffic and stay relevant. However, the real estate domain is more about the long-term perspective. Looking at the longevity issue of these trends, many agents often deal with buyers asking for frequent changes in the home decor before sealing the deal. Interior designers, aka influencers, often encourage their audiences to keep up with trends, building unnecessary delay in the closing.

Hyper-aware Clients

Your potential buyers are highly aware of the market trends, prices, and other market dynamics. Such knowledge leads to better negotiations and bargaining positions. They know how to cut corners and get to the fair point. Just because they know what’s in trend, they are likely to pitch a lower price for old properties, leaving less scope for real estate agents to get the highest offer.

Increased Competition Among Agents

Planning has four major categories: strategic, tactical, operational, and contingency planning. With about any real estate agent having similar tools to showcase their property listings, it is tough to make your listings stand out in the crowd. Most platforms are competitive, and thus agents tend to spend money on running paid ads to keep the competition going.

Carl, a real estate agent from Missouri, admits that 15% of his marketing expenses go to social media ads, just to stay ahead in the market. A low-cost method of marketing raises the cost for the smaller agents and further shoves them down in their effort to be on par with the major players with sizeable advertising budgets.

Negative Reviews and Public Criticism

One of the most damaging things about social media is how so easily negative reviews can be posted and passed around. In real estate, where reputation is everything, one disgruntled buyer may post a bad review or leave a negative comment that could tear down a customer’s faith in an agent. Moreover, those comments continue to exist in that digital space, and all potential customers going forward might read them.

For instance, Jeanna from New Jersey had a situation where one buyer happened to leave a bad review because the condition of a property did not meet his expectations, yet Jeanna had no control over what the seller decided to do to maintain the property. Such reviews can hamper an agent’s reputation. This eventually leads to the loss of potential leads since social media users take little time to judge based on the kind of feedback about an individual.

Time-Consuming Social Media Management

Social media management can quickly become a time-consuming affair for real estate agents. While it may seem simple, trying to keep up with frequent posts, responding to inquiries, and crafting engaging content is very time-consuming. And for the agent who manages numerous clients, listings, and property showings, the demands for continual attention on social platforms are overwhelming.

Many agents hire social media managers but still must be incredibly involved. As a Chicago-based real estate agent says, “No one knows my listings like I do, so I still have to manage my social media accounts, even if I outsource it.”

Addressing Social Media Issues through a Listing Management Platform

A listing management platform and a dedicated website allow real estate agents to have more control over the presentation of properties than the highly filtered, trend-driven world of social media. Your website allows presenting the properties in a much more realistic way, something social platforms can’t. High-quality, unedited images and detailed descriptions give buyers a more precise idea of what to expect, thereby managing expectations to avoid disappointment.

Agents can also avoid the hustle of keeping abreast of short-lived trends through their real estate website. They can shift the focus of their potential clients to the long-term value of the properties, being unconcerned with the most recent interior design trend. This makes for a more stable, more reliable approach to securing serious buyers.

Another important benefit is privacy. For those sellers who do not feel comfortable with their homes being showcased widely on social media, they can have an added layer of comfort in knowing that their listings are being shared more responsibly through a listing management platform. A professional IDX website for realtors helps real estate agents keep control, build trust, and protect their reputations.

BidHom is a promising real estate website builder offering agents efficient listing and auction management solutions. Understanding the unique needs of agents and brokers, we provide custom plans to offer the most relevant solutions. Experience the BidHom difference by booking a demo today.