Reducing Riskin20 Three Hour

Matthew Rathbun, Licensed BrokerABR, ABRM, ASR, AHWD, CSP, CNE, e-PRO, QSC, GREEN, GRI, SRES

Eco-Broker Director of Professional Development

Leading in a

2.0 World

This work is in the Public Domain. To view a copy of the public domain certification, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/ or send a letter to Creative

Commons,

What is Social Media?

Social media is

people talking

with other people on

the internet!

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YouTube Moment

Shift Happens 2008xt

THE WHY OF TECHNOLOGY

Source: 2008 NAR Profile of Buyer and Sellers

38%

33%

14%

6%

5%

2%1%

1%

Internet (38%)Realtor (33%)Yard Sign (14%)Home Builder (6%)Friend/Relative (5%)Knew Seller (2%)Flyer/House Book (1%)Print Media (.87%)

WHAT DID THEY FIND IMPORTANT?

0

25

50

75

100

Agent Info (3%)Company Info (5%)

Area Information (21%)IDX/MLS (96%)

SWANEPOEL REPORTS“Failing to make a decision to change is simply not an option – the market will make one for

you.”(2008 Swanepoel Report)

“Generation X and Y are growing up with a poor perception of the real

estate industry.”“They believe they can and should fix

it.”(2008 Swanepoel Report)

THE WHAT AND WHY OF REAL ESTATE 2.0

Facebook Demographics• 170% Growth in 35-45 year olds in past

year• Average age of a user is 32• Majority are College Graduates• Largest increase of users are those over

55 in the past year• 175 million active users• Average users have 120 friends• 18 million update daily• Over 3 Billion minutes spent on

It’s Like an Episode of Seinfield….

They are talking about...

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anything.

everything.

yes, even real estate.

Marketing is a Conversation

84% of Consumers used an REALTOR®84% of Consumers used InternetFrequently Used Resources in

Purchase Internet 66%REALTOR® 64%

Found following resources usefulAgent 70%Internet 78%

(Sources for all: Swanepoel Trends Report and NAR Profile of Buyers and Sellers for 2007)

THE WHAT AND WHY OF REAL ESTATE 2.0

THE WHAT AND WHY OF REAL ESTATE 2.0

• On-Line Consumer Demographics– 64% are Married – 18% are Single Females– Median age is 37– Median Income is $76,900

• First Step Taken in Real Estate Transaction– 87% Started Researching On-Line– 20% Contacted a Real Estate Agent

THE WHAT AND WHY OF REAL ESTATE 2.0

• Most Useful Information– 84% Photos (At least 6)– 82% Detailed Listing Information– 60% Virtual Tours / Real Estate Shows– 39% Maps– 37% Neighborhood Information– 26% Agent Information

• Average time for REALTOR to respond to consumer inquiry = 52 Hours

• Average number of pictures per listing = 2

THE WHAT AND WHY OF REAL ESTATE 2.0

• “87% of Brokers feel that servicing smarter and more informed consumers as their largest concern.”

• Swanepoel

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YouTube Moment

Social Media in

Plain English

Social Media in Plain English

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HERE’S HOW THEY TALK…• Instant messenger• Event sharing• Social bookmarking• Podcasts• Photo sharing• Message boards• RSS• Social networks

• Blogs• E-mail• Video sharing• Microblogging• Widgets• Wikis• Crowdsourced news• …and much more!

THE LANGUAGE OF 2.0 • Blogs• Social Media• Wiki• Widget• Aggregation• Avatars• Posts• Comments• Subscribing• Tags

•“Friends”•IM or Instant Messenger•Links•Lurkers•Mashups•Permalinks•Trackbacks•Podcasts•RSS

VIRGINIA - DEFINING TECHNOLOGY

Virginia Code 18VAC135-20-190

“Advertising” means all forms of representation, promotion and solicitation disseminated in any manner and by any means of communication to consumers for any purpose related to licensed real estate activity.

Disclosures Required: 1. Firm’s name, city and state of main office 2. Licensee’s Name

3. License Status

4. Jurisdiction(s) Licensed

VIRGINIA - DEFINING TECHNOLOGY

Virginia Code 18VAC135-20-190

All Advertising must be under the direct supervision of the principal broker or supervising broker, in the name of the firm and, when applicable, comply with the disclosure required by 54.1-238.1 of the Code of Virginia. The firm’s licensed name must be clearly and legibly displayed on all advertising.

Online Advertising (Section C of the Code) 1. All Online Adverting applies to this Code 2. E-mail message are included in regs 3. Instant Message are included 4. Chat and Internet based Dialogue 5. The “web” 6. Voice Over Net 7. Banner Ads

VIRGINIA - DEFINING TECHNOLOGYVirginia Code 18VAC135-20-190

All On-line Listings must be kept current and consistent as follows:

Ads must be consistent with Property Descriptions and ACTUAL Status

Reasonable effort must be made in a written, timely manner for third parties to update listing information.

All listing information shall indicate in a readily visible manner the date that the listing information shown was last updated.

VIRGINIA - DEFINING TECHNOLOGY

Virginia Code 18VAC135-20-190

✴Section D – Prohibited Activities

✴ Implying that the property listed is for sale by the owner or unlicensed person

✴ Failing to include a notice in all advertising that the owner is a real estate licensee has interest in a particular property ( as in financial or owner interest )

✴ Fail to include firm’s licensed name on any sign displayed outside any place of business

✴ Failure to get written consent of the seller prior to advertising any specific identifiable property

✴ Property not listed by the party making the advertisement

THE SOCIAL MEDIA OPERATING SYSTEM

CODE OF ETHICS ➡ Standard of Practice 1-2: Applies Code articles to the

internet➡ Standard of Practice 1-9: Confidentiality➡ Article 10: Fair Housing➡ Article 12: Honesty in Marketing (Similar to VAC)➡ Article 13: Prohibition from giving Legal Advice➡ Article 15: Reckless Statements about other

REALTORS®

GENERAL LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS: BLOGS

‣ Defamation‣ Unlicensed Practice of Law‣ Breach of Confidentiality of Clients‣ Copyright Violations‣ Unfactual Statements‣ Trademark Considerations‣ Necessity for Required Disclosures

WWW.GOOGLE.COM/ALERTS

FACEBOOK GROUPS

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YouTube Moment

RSS in Plain English

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MUST READ SITES

• www.FAARForum.com

• www.VARBuzz.com

• http://narblog1.realtor.org

• Your Local Newspaper

• You Local Association's Blog

• www.AgentGenius.com

Further steps you can take to reduce your liability:Post only material you own, you have permission to use, or that is with the scope of fair use (generally includes review, news reporting, teaching, or scholarly research);Remove infringing content immediately;Have a well-crafted Terms of UseInstruct agents and those posting to use caution when posting;Realize that blogs can be viewed as an advertisement and follow all applicable rules; andDon’t select and edit messages – it could subject you to greater liability because you are taking a more active role in the publishing the contents.

Add Agents to Personal RSS FeederHave written policy

Outline what they are permitted to write aboutOutline what types of sources they can use for clientsOutline number of Blogs they can have that are RE relatedRequire training to postHave requirement for Licensee to advise you

POPULAR HIGH RISK PRACTICES

False Statements about Competitors and /or their practices

Article Anti-Trust ViolationsPicture Manipulation or “Enhancements”

Article 2Non-Violation Practices

Posting ListingsBeing “mean”

CREATE POLICIES‣ Appoint a Tech Savvy Broker, as the New

Media Manager.

‣ Have written policies to govern who can write blogs etc… Then what they are permitted to write:‣ Only factual information‣ Must have disclosures‣ Must report any complaints made on their

posts‣ The may not edit comments except for….

45

Be Safe Out There!

Part II

Electronic Signatures

UETA = Uniform Electronic Signature Act (1999)

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HiJacked Listings!

Agent Identity Watch

Centralized Showing and Lockbox Agent Impersonations OnlineAccess of Client DatabasesShared Lockbox AccessShared MLS EntryComputer Threats

(By and Against Agents)

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Now... To Build a Community

Part III

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If you can‘t be found online... You don’t exist

55Google.com/addurl

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I say Innovation - Does my broker?

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Blogging: Recruitment and Retentions

Multi-Author ApproachWriting for Agents and ConsumersForum based tool for agentsRSS is your FriendWordpress.org versus Wordpress.comPaceBudgets

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5 Must-Use Tools for Brokers

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www.FAARForum.com

ABR, ABRM, ASR, CSP, E-PRO, ECO-BROKER, GRI, GREEN, QSC, RECS, SRS, SRES Matthew Rathbun, Director of Professional Development

www.MatthewRathbun.com

www.TheAgentTrainer.com