Why Aren't All Agents REALTOR 2.0s?
Kiron (2012) shares that there are three main reasons that business owners and managers do not consistently and purposefully incorporate social media into their business practices, which are fear, folly and being flippant, as developed in Bradley's and McDonald's Six F model towards attitudes of opposition and embracing of social media and Web 2.0 consumer engagement (p. 3).
These general business deterrents hold true as well in stopping real estate agents from effectively entering and engaging in Web 2.0 business practices.I have noted in various discussions with real estate agents across the U.S. that many agents fear rejection and alienation from friends, family and even strangers as they do not want their YouTube videos, for example, to be mocked and disparaged or their inexperience tweeting on Twitter to be lambasted.
Beyond fear, many agents may simply feel that social media engagement is not relevant to their real estate sales business and its success, particularly if they have built a twenty to thirty year sales record without (or with very little) Web 2.0 assistance (Kiron, 2012, p. 3). This is the folly of ignoring social media (Kiron, 2012, p. 3). They may additionally perceive spending time on social media as time-wasting folly for the serious real estate professional (Kiron, 2012, p. 3).
For other practitioners, Web 2.0 interaction may be recognized as a successful strategy but may be treated flippantly by these practitioners that use social media more for its social aspects than coupling those with its business conversion power (Kiron, 2012, p. 3). However, these attitudes that "social media is a time stealer", "I use it for social and not serious business lead generation" or conversely "there's no room for improvement" may be detrimental since (and especially if)sales agents are not ready to retire but rather plan to stay profitable with a changing culture.
Additionally, Kiron (2012) noted from his interview with McDonald and Bradley that very few businesses use Facebook or other Web 2.0 sites to increase consumer engagement with the business but rather to solely disseminate information (p. 4). Contrariwise, many Web 2.0 users connect better when they are not just feed information although sharing relevant, entertaining content is paramount yet it should not be the sole contact consumers receive from a business (Lee, 2014). Instead, consumersengage more effectively with others, including businesses, by having their posts "liked", commented on, special days recognized and other online acts perceived as caring to engender the spirit of Web 2.0 (Lee, 2014).
Table 1 summarizes these hindrances that can prevent real estate agents, and really all online marketers, from properly using the engagement capabilities of Web 2.0 that can generate business leads.
| Obstacles to REALTOR® 2.0 Engagement | Explanation |
| Fear | The fear of rejection or displaying one's inexperience using online social platforms can hinder a practitioner from delving in Web 2.0 methods. |
| Folly attitude | When an agent believes that online engagement/social media interaction is a misuse of a business person's time and subsequent ignores Web 2.0 methods. |
| Flippant attitude | When an agent does not fear or ignore Web 2.0 but does not make a concerted effort to incorporate the use of Web 2.0 techniques in her business planning. |
| Information sharing without caring |
When a practitioner uses Web 2.0 platforms but only disseminates information with low or no activities that build relationships (i.e. "likes", comments, etc.) and ultimately express care. |
Table 1. Obstacles to REALTOR® 2.0 engagement. This table presents the main hindrances to real estate agents effectively engaging and converting clients using Web 2.0.