THREE quarters of buyers are not more attracted to a property if it has been marketed on Facebook or Twitter, a poll by real estate network PRDnationwide has revealed.
Research director Aaron Maskrey said that the results were unexpected.
“76 per cent of respondents answered 'No' when asked if social media
marketing made property more attractive - 10 per cent of respondents
would be more attracted to a property if it was marketed on social
media, while 14 per cent remained unsure,” he said.
“More agents are using social media to promote their listings, but it seems buyers prefer traditional methods of marketing.
“Social marketing will become more predominant as younger generations
into home ownership, but it's yet to be seen if using social media
campaigns will lead to more sales.”
Michelle Kerr, of Abel McGrath Claremont, said that it was crucial for
businesses of any kind - not just real estate agencies - to embrace
social media as another marketing tool.
“I think if you had asked buyers five years ago whether they used social
media when looking for property, virtually all of them would have
answered no,” she said.
“Love it or hate it, if you are in business, you cannot afford not to be active in this area.
“Not only is it inexpensive, you can tailor-make a campaign to target
certain groups and reach a far wider audience than that achieved by
conventional marketing.”