Stuart Eichert

With regards to social media, I don't know how easily you can attribute a client to social media. Not everything is a direct message or a connection. Take Twitter, for example, a lot of people read or see tweets from real estate agents, but don't necessarily follow them. Agents can use social media, like Twitter, to establish themselves as a local expert. Take @realtorted. With his series of tweets, he is establishing himself as the expert on Simi Valley in California. Someone searching tweets about Simi Valley, may see a series of his tweets over several months, and maybe through another channel read an article he wrote, and then maybe a friend in that market would refer him. Social media is definitely part of the marketing mix, but it may be hard to measure and I don't know how many clients would say "Oh yeah, I saw you on twitter". They may not remember it. Keep tweeting! Stuart www.slicedsimple.com

Some good points here, but I have to partially disagree with some of this piece. First, on the data standard piece. There is a difference between standardizing "what" is including in a listing and "how" that listing data is accessed. There has been substantial progress in the "how" with the RETS standard. The "what" side is a lot harder, because the schema to describe a listing varies greatly based on locality. It is reasonable to describe a set of common fields for a listing (price, address, bedrooms, square foot, etc.), but then each area has their own special fields (think barns and stables for rural properties versus doormen and elevator proximity for an urban condo). Each local MLS seems to have a better sense of what the local market cares about. Hard to imagine creating something effective on a national scale. With regards to value proposition and the home search. Good agents should know a lot more about a neighborhood or a listing than what is in the MLS. From interviewing their clients and really understanding their underlying needs, they should be able to suggest homes that are outside of tight search criteria. It is sort of like financial planning. Sure there are plenty of tools on the Internet to pick out different stocks, bonds, and funds, but ultimately a financial plan is about achieving personal goals for an individual or family. I think good agents can help a family with deciding where to live. Undoubtedly the industry is going to evolve, but I don't think it is clear exactly how that will happen. Stuart www.slicedsimple.com

The great thing with social media is that agents can now "prove" they are a local expert on a regular basis. Consumers constantly receive postal mail pieces from real estate agents claiming to really know a particular area, but many have grown skeptical. Seeing an agent regularly tweeting about particular neighborhoods, events, local trends, etc. more clearly establishes that they really are the expert. I'll say though, I like that agents are out in the field previewing homes and areas in advance for their clients, and not just writing blog posts all day. That field time really builds up credibility and demonstrates to clients the value of an agent during the home search process. It is important for agents to communicate those activities as well, so that clients and other agents can identify the true neighborhood specialists. Stuart www.slicedsimple.com