DIGITAL MARKETING
Facebook users are friends with at least one of their parents. Facebook is no longer the realm of the teenager, but an advanced network across all demographics. Of course, understanding how Facebook could potentially
benefit your business is fine, but realistically, can one expect to generate real revenue, directly or indirectly, from this avenue? A recent Deloitte survey measured Facebook’s economic impact
in Europe. It found that Facebook’s broad effect, which takes into account third party activity as a result of the Facebook ecosystem, was worth £12.64 billion. A huge part of this valuation is classed as business participation, enabling businesses to raise awareness of their products and therefore generate new sales and referrals through Facebook business pages. The reason Facebook’s stock market valuation is so high is precisely because of its effect on business and its ability to increase brand awareness, and in turn generate sales and referrals. Your business potential to
generate sales is part of the reason Facebook is valued so highly, so you should grab this opportunity with both hands and ensure you reap the rewards on offer. Many household brands are now using Facebook to attract followers and fans. You’ll notice that on the majority of adverts on television, companies will ask the viewers to find their Facebook page, and post links to their social networking sites rather than their website address. Companies are actively promoting their social networking pages over and above their company website, which is a huge shift in their behaviour. Some estate agencies such as
“We understand that looking for a new home is an essential, but
often tiring and frustrating process and are continually working on projects like the Facebook search and our mobile App in order to make it as simple, accessible and as hassle-free as possible.” Chesterton Humberts is the only national estate agent to offer a
property search function on Facebook, allowing users to remain on the Facebook website whilst browsing properties. Other agents’ Facebook pages require users to navigate away from the website to perform property searches or view search results, but this is unpopular with many users who prefer to stay on Facebook. Once someone becomes a Facebook ‘fan’ of Chesterton
Humberts, they can use the company’s Facebook page to search for property according to area, rooms and price and then view and share the results of their search with friends and family. They can also book viewings and valuations and browse the ‘wall’ for news stories and market comment from industry experts.” ROBERT BARTLETT CEO, CHESTERTON HUMBERTS
Facebook – no! “It is called ‘Social Media’ for a reason. People are trying to give it a business aptitude and that’s where the dangers can lie. “The recent launch of a new
Chesterton Humberts, have embraced this new outlook. They integrated PropertyPage (
www.thepropertypage.com), a property search app that allows visitors to their page to search, share and like their properties across the UK and actively promoted its new tool. With so many agents already on board, as well as the compelling evidence for its use, the key question is can you afford to be left behind? For more hints and tips on social media use, please visit:
www.thepropertypage.com Oliver Chapple is CEO Webdadi Ltd.
www.webdadi.com
FACEBOOK AND TEXTING: THE AGENTS’ VIEWS
Facebook – yes! “I think it would be foolish to ignore a communication platform such as Facebook, that boasts over 800 million users, half of which will log-in to their account every day. At Chesterton Humberts, we have embraced this opportunity to interact with clients and buyers and have recently re-launched our Facebook page with an innovative new property search function, allowing sellers to showcase their properties to the online community and house hunters to find their next property with the involvement of their friends and family.
16 MARCH 2012 PROPERTYdrum
‘I think it’s foolish to ignore a communication platform that boasts 800 million users.’ ROBERT BARTLETT CHESTERTON HUMBERTS
application in particular where landlords can target potential tenants and check their lifestyle, background and relationships online, I have found, in particular, to be shocking. Although it will allow agents and landlords to advertise properties for sale or rent to a large audience, it opens up an opportunity for landlords to search potential tenant’s personal information and judge what they are like by looking at their photos and interaction with friends. This concerns me.
Many people using Facebook play out their whole lives online,
and have personal information on there that they cannot get rid of. A young man might be in a steady relationship now, but have photos uploaded by himself or others from a few years back of a lad’s holiday, and he might be discarded as a tenant because of it.” “Social media sites offer potential access to a huge personal
database of people, the ability to intrude into people’s personal space, through them allowing access, due to their interest in a property seems incredibly intrusive. With regard to those who are running these new applications how do they know that the information being uploaded is factually correct? The marketing of property might be a ruse to gain access to
people on social media sites. There are many innovative and established methods for prospective tenants to find properties, and I strongly recommend that landlords receive professional management services to ensure that their tenants are referenced by the book. In the majority of cases, a house is a person’s biggest asset and it should be looked after in this way. Traditional methods shouldn’t be forgotten.” SARAH RUSHBROOK RUSHBROOK & RATHBONE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66