Facebook is the world’s largest social media network with over 1.6 Billion active users.  And while it can be a great way to connect with consumers and build your real estate business, it can also get you in trouble and lose you business if you don’t know what to and what not to say on the site.  With that being said, here are our Top 10 Things to NOT post on Facebook:

1. Don’t post about your daily real estate life – Agents have a tendency to post the minuteby-minute accounting of their day in real estate. For example, “Just got done showing houses, headed to a listing appointment, negotiating a contract and hope new buyers make offer. Keep those deals coming! #realtorlife” I am sure most of your non-realtor friends don’t post their work activities in such minute details as we do in our business! And if they did, you would probably unfriend them if they did it all the time.
2. Don’t call for business post – You know the ones I am talking about…”If you know anybody that wants to list or buy, have them call me at 555-1212- TIA” You just look desperate!
3. Don’t be a Vague Poster or the Negative Nilly! – We all have the friend that posts something like this…”OMG…I can’t believe that just happened!!!!!”- a typical Vague poster update which screams for attention. The Negative Nilly to me is just as bad because nobody wants to be around a negative person all the time. I am not saying you have to be little “Ms. Mary Sunshine”, but just be Authentically You!
4. Don’t Rant on other Realtors in the business – First of all you may be violating Article 15 of the Code of Ethics. Secondly, it does not look professional to your friends on FB.
5. Don’t post your listing without following the rules – from Realtor Mag quotes as one of the tope ethics violations-” Social media. Public? Personal? Professional? Anything you say on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media platform about real estate, even if you’re just giving your informal opinion, must be accurate to the best of your knowledge. That’s because social media posts, for all practical purposes, are treated as marketing under the NAR Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. That’s the case even though it’s typical in social media to blur the lines between what’s personal and professional. What’s more, anything you say must present a true picture of the market or a property. And your professional affiliation must always be clear. That means either including the name of your firm in your post or tweet or linking to it. On platforms such as Craigslist, where there is no link to another display, you have to include the firm name in the communication. Check your license law for any additional requirements. http://realtormag.realtor.org/law-and-ethics/ethics/article/2016/07/6-top-ethics-issues-today
6. Don’t post photos of your clients without their permission – Whether it’s them at the closing table or them in front of the sold sign in yard, always ask if they are ok first before posting and ask if they are ok with you tagging them in the post. I have seen too many times those photos have blown up in agents faces with their clients.
7. Don’t post details about the real estate transaction you are working on – Posting about how it went $10,000 over list price and then the deal falls through is not good. Plus is it in the client’s best interest for you to post that information about their property?!? If you are in my market, then I can pull up your production and by process of elimination have a pretty good idea what property you are talking about, which could help my prospective buyer client.
8. Warn your sellers and buyers about posting specific details of their real estate transaction on social media – I have seen too many times where sellers have posted things about the transaction that are damaging, bashing their agents, or details about their offers on the house.
9. Don’t create a Business Page unless you know how to run it – Take a course in it through RETI.us, make sure it matches your social media marketing plan before you start it, make sure you have good content, and be consistent with your posts.
10. Don’t forget to remember the 80/20 rule – A basic rule of thumb on social media is to post 80% of the time about you, your social objects, passion, etc. Then the 20% of time can be subliminal real estate messages. On the reti.us website, we have a course on marketing yourself the correct way on Facebook.