What does Facebook’s ‘unfriending’ mean for real estate?
On Wednesday, February 17th, Facebook made a rash decision that surprised millions of people. Businesses woke up to a dual crisis – they could no longer share news articles and the links that had already lived on Facebook had vanished.
It’s a historic fight against the Australian Government and the tech giant, which led to a sweeping block of all news content. This move has impacted a lot of industries, including real estate and how a house for sale in the Adelaide Hills can be marketed. Given News Ltd. owns realestate.com.au and Fairfax domain.com.au, these property links can’t be shared even on a business page (like ours).
This week, the Australian public was blasted with news again – after Facebook reinstated Aussie news following amendments to the Government’s media code. It was a week of whiplash for businesses across the country and remains a heated discussion that still leaves many unanswered questions.
Renters, sellers & buyers, here’s what we can take from this.
This whole debacle shined light on the importance of having and investing in a mix of communication channels and platform types. We’ve always shared Adelaide Hills property listings direct on our website because that is our ‘home’ for all the things we do (and realestate.com.au charges exorbitant fees to our clients).
During the takedown, Facebook bulked articles in the same category as news, and in an instant, all of the real estate Adelaide Hills content we spent years creating to serve prospective home buyers, sellers and renters, vanished.
It was a stark reminder of the value in creating direct ways to communicate with the community, such as through our weekly email and native content, like podcasts and video house tours. It’s a reminder that, we’re still navigating the effects of the pandemic and fast responses are essential.
This makes it essential to work with real estate agents in the Adelaide Hills who are progressive, nimble, and ready to adapt. In the end, we like to view all these ways to communicate and connect, like Facebook, as ‘rented’ land. We don’t own them, just like we wouldn’t as tenants.
Just make sure you’re working with a team who understands this – the important marketing mix of property.
If you’re thinking of renting a property, selling or looking for houses for sale in the Adelaide Hills, we’d love to chat. Drop into our Mount Barker office, call us on 8391 5004 or use this contact form.
