The National Association of REALTORS has a reputation of being slow to react, an aimless conglomerate, and much much worse. But this article is not aimed to slam NAR for the many things they do wrong (like taking Realtor’s data and then selling it back to us), as yesterday they got something very right.
NAR created a Social Media Director position and hired Todd Carpenter to fill the role
Todd Carpenter is great for the role. He’s done many great things with technology and real estate. However, his open application as blog post sums it up best. Hillary Marsh, Managing Director or Realtor.org, crafted the position and lead the search that landed Todd. There are many skeptics out there who think Todd will just become another marketing voice for NAR. I think Rob Hahn says it best with…
“Be the Virus
The remedy, then, is to internalize that one of the biggest values you are bringing to NAR is to be the “virus from without”. Your task is to make NAR more like you: open, authentic, honest, and constantly in touch.
Just as you have been transparent to the RE community over the years, so you must “infect” the rest of NAR to become transparent. Just as you have always been one of the most authentic human beings on RE.net over the years, so you must infect the rest of NAR, the state associations, the member organizations, and indeed the NAR members themselves to be more authentic, be more human, and be more connected.
Through those efforts, I know you can bring in the fresh voices, the new perspectives from the RE.net and realestistas everywhere to the mainstream of the industry. “
Making NAR ‘open, authentic, honest, and constantly in touch’ is a huge task for Todd, but possible because of the new media tools available today. Conversations are the new currency for our culture, especially our web based cultures. People are tired of presentations and yearn for more personal conversations as they seek transparency and authenticity in their relationships. This includes relationships with friends, family and even businesses and marketers. Maybe it started with Enron, maybe it’s the Irag War, maybe it’s the collapse of our economy -maybe it’s all of the above. Whatever the reason(s), people want the real truth, real connections, and real communication.
The new media tools on the web such as flickr, facebook, twitter, linkedin, blog platforms, etc… allow every company/organization to create a real dialog with their community of supporters, clients, customers, contacts, sphere of influence, members or whoever they want to communicate with. If slow reacting NAR can be forward thinking and create a Social Media Manager position, shouldn’t your company or organization? At Maxsell Real Estate, we created the position of Community Advocate which plays a similar role to what a Social Media Manager does for a company.
I leave you with these questions…
Will others follow this line of thinking and hire Social Media Managers?
Will companies use this position properly and offer true authenticity?
Will Social Media Managers just be an extension of the advertising department?
