Reluctant Real Estate Broker Scores with Social Networking

(Boonton, NJ, April 15, 2009) — As a broker in his mid-50s, Michael Guthrie scoffed at the growing popularity of social networking sites LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

"In all honesty, I just resisted and resisted," says Guthrie, chief executive officer of Roy Wheeler Realtors in Charlottesville, VA. "I've got a 28-, a 26- and a 23-year-old, and I felt like I was sort of going into their playground."

In an interview in industry newsletter Real Estate Broker's Insider, Wheeler notes that he finally decided to set up accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter earlier this year.

What changed Guthrie's mind? He came up with this analogy: LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are the online equivalents of the face-to-face networking events that people of his generation are accustomed to.

"If you knew there was an event in your market that hundreds of people were going to attend, you would not miss that event, whether it's a charity event or a Christmas party or whatever," Guthrie says. "You'd want to be there to rub shoulders with people and hear the conversations."

And Guthrie quickly saw the payoff. One of his Facebook friends posted this status update: "Just finished painting my master bedroom. Getting ready to put the house on the market."

Guthrie immediately contacted the seller to find out if he had an agent. The answer was no, and Guthrie gave the lead to a Roy Wheeler agent who landed the listing.

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