LET’S FACE IT

Many Realtors now drum up business on the social network Facebook. “Real estate practitioners are probably the most natural networkers,” says Pablo Viola, who created the 12,700-member “Real Estate on Facebook” group. “They understood right away what it means to belong to a community and the benefits of networking through this channel. … [They] translate their offline networking online very easily.” Facebook is a good way to connect with old friends and, along the way, many agents discovered that other people appreciated their knowledge about today’s real estate market. For instance, Tracy Wortmann, an associate with Coldwell Banker Heritage in Belvidere, N.J., helped an old high-school buddy living cross-country find a practitioner in his area (standing ready to collect a referral fee). When another classmate posted that she planned to sell her house, Wortmann grabbed the listing. Wortmann says she’s careful not to be too pushy. She doesn’t post photos of listings nor solicit her network of 176 Facebook friends. “Online, I don’t think people think I’m being too aggressive,” Wortmann says. “In this world we are so very busy, and networking online, people can get in touch with me any time of day, so I’m not bothering anyone.”

Source: Newsweek, Daniel McGinn (01/07/09)
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