More on Zillow discussions and social sites.
Monday, June 23, 2008 at 07:30AM 
As David said, numbers matter, yet numbers are deceiving. Numbers guided to a useful outcome (like a profitable business model) and loyalty are a good thing -- numbers that create chaos with no particular loyalty can be fleeting and heart-breaking.
It appears to me as social sites grow there needs to be a personal connection with each site. As discussed before, in real estate, David and Drew do a good job of representing Zillow, Rudy does a good job representing Trulia, Louis does a good job representing Homegain, Gia and Grant do a good job representing Realseekr and so forth. But they are mainly connected to people who will not lead to their ultimate success (at least not directly). The general public is where their success lies, because if they don't have plenty of loyal traffic, they can't survive. Plus, there is the problem of who is going to pay? We all know that advertisers pay, but is that enough? The jury is out on monetizing through advertising -- so far, out of the ones mentioned, Homegain is the only one making a profit and it is not through advertising (Louis can correct me if I'm wrong).
I believe the site that makes the best personal connections with users will be the most successful. But personal connection means human connection, not neat functions, not even information, ultimately, because the information can be accessed by many through many channels. The key to social is "social". The social sites focused on real estate are still "social", a place where connections are made in the process of gathering information. If it was just about the information, the costs would be limited to space where information is gathered and accessed, but each of these new sites is competing for the personal connection - "Hi, I'm Rudy the Social Media Guru!" It's sort of a battle over which has the best connection with hearts and minds.
In order to get a loyal following of fans, word of net, viral mojo, you have to connect with users. Each of these sites has a discussion or meeting place and this is important in my estimation -- this is where the battle will be fought -- where people can connect and come back over and over, even after they have bought or sold a home. So, it seems these sites would put more emphasis on personalizing their involvement with the social aspect on the sites, not so much on the easy part, connecting with us (RE pros) through limited industry blogs and conferences.
There needs to be a concerted effort through moderation to have the right people connecting in a personal way to users, a bridge between the RE pros and consumers. The idea that you just let users have a space to talk with each other and intervene only when someone says a dirty word or gets nasty in an ad hom attack places the moderators in the position of police, which is not a very good personal connection.
I know it's difficult to moderate, I've done it before, but the guidance and personal connection is vital to building a good discussion group. And I doubt any of these places has anyone raising their hands volunteering for the position - yet, to me it will be what distinguishes one from the others in the eyes of the public, especially with the new emphasis on "social".
What I have in mind is a charsimatic, fair and balanced social figurehead who would be the public face and voice of the site -- a master at social connections and public relations. The names, Zillow, Trulia, Real Seekr, Frontdoor, etc, will eventually run together unless you have this figurehead that adds the personal touch and creates a true connection.
That's my take. And what does this have to do with making money -- everything, in the future when you can charge for certain services.
Mike from Savannah
(photo from www.physci.mc.maricopa.edu)
Reader Comments (7)
Interesting take Mike
All the mentioned RE companies are doing a a good job trying to engage consumers as much as they can. It is necessary for their business models as they need eyeballs to continue to please their advertisers.
While HomeGain too would like to have more consumers visiting more often, we focus on consumers who are interested in working with a realtor. This obviously is a smaller more focused group of consumers.
We have things like our instant homevaluation tool, our homesale maximizer tool, but our main feature is our realtors, their blogs, their profiles and the connectitivity to them that we provide.
I would disagree that it is easier to get agents than consumers.
HomeGain has thousands of agent customers. I don't think the above mentioned companies have nearly that many.It is a difficult dynamic pleasing consumers and agents. Throw in tying to please advertisers and it becomes a difficult juggling feat.
Mike -
You can use this feed subscribe to my most recent contributions in the Zillow community: http://www.zillow.com/profile/DavidG/activity-rss
That way, you can keep tabs on me and when you think I should be doing more, just shoot me an e-mail.
It's not about you David, I'm sure you're doing a good job (the link didn't lead me anywhere) - it's Zillow's site and moderation of the discussion function. It could be turned into something very useful for Zillow.
Yes, Louis, I realize your model is different, not what I would describe as "social", but more practical tools for agents.
Hi Mike!
and then there were 3......
Thanks for the gracious words re: doing a good job representing Trulia. I appreciate it. Sorry I didn't reply sooner but I was swamped today.
Engaging consumers and agents is what I love to do - both online and off. I value each connection I make. People and relationships matter to me. They matter to us as a company.
That said, we do actively engage our community members on Voices. Could we do more? Sure. Could I do more? Sure. It's tough to find the right balance but we're working on it. We trust the community and listen to them and their concerns. Some things we can address quickly, yet others take some time. All in all, I think we have a good relationship with our community and are always striving to make it a better place for everyone - consumers and agents alike.
Outside the Voices community, we do quite a bit as well with consumers and agents. We just haven't published a lot about it. Again, something we're working to improve on. I've had a blast thus far in my position at Trulia. Met many wonderful people across the nation and look forward to meeting more. One day I hope to meet you too Mike. I'm sure we'd have a lot to talk about ;)
Anyways, real estate is a relationship business. Whether online or off, we have to foster each relationship we have with a great deal of care. I do. And it works for me.
Stay well,
Rudy
Social Media Guru at Trulia
I've been a loyal user of Zillow for a few years now. I'm considered one of those loyal users and readers. But there's a new website that has been a great help by PropertyMaps that isn't as well known. To me it's all about creating a product that can be relied on for up to date and quality information. They also provide foreclosure information and I'm into that.
Hey, Rudy, glad you stopped by. Yes, I'm talking about social sites in general and ways i see for these sites to distinquish themselves -- it's all about the personal connections and concentrating on putting faces and personalities with the sites.
Hey, I'll check it out. You are correct, quality, reliable information is important, plus getting people to return because they develop a connection.