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Zillow, Another Top Three Real Estate Social Network Sites

In the last two posts I covered the advantages of using Active Rain and Trulia. Today, Drew Meyers, Business Development Specialist, talks about why Zillow's platform qualifies as one of the top three.

"Aside from Zillow Discussions, there is Home Q&A, and posting your listings of course," said Drew. "Also, a big one we just launched is the Professional Directory, which allows real estate agents and other related professionals to upload their information for free." (As an example, here's the directory listing for Paul's wife, Amie, a home stager in Lafayette, Louisiana.)

In addition to Drew's remarks, some of the most useful features are the Web Tools, which include mortgage rate and mortgage calculator widgets you can embed in your blog or Web site. Not only that, Zillow Labs include mobile applications.

So, that's my take on the top three real estate-specific social networks. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? What other's might you suggest? Feel free to comment.

Posted by Paul Chaney on 10/28/2008 04:54 AM

Comments (22)

Social Media in the Online Marketing Channel

zillow, drew meyers

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22 Comments on Zillow, Another Top Three Real Estate Social Network Sites

OCT

2008

I have been listing my propertys on Zillow for quite some time. But I never have a client say I saw it on Zillow. Still its a great free tool.

I try to use all of the tools out there for Social Media benefits; however, I have a hard time knowing what to do first sometimes. Have devoted more time to Trulia than Zillow. Will you be in Orlando?

I have had buyer contact through both Trulia and Zillow recently - they came back in through my website and registered there as well.

I never found Zillow useful for leads and I hate when sellers get pricing from it. It's almost always wrong

I did not know about the Web Tools that is pretty cool. Thanks for the info.

As a licensed agent myself, I have used Zillow as a viable platform to promote my listings. I owe it to my Sellers to provide their home with the greatest amount of Internet exposure that I can, and you can't ignore the traffic that Zillow generates. While their Zestimates can be up or down, I find them to be a good starting point in my conversation with Sellers or Buyers who have pulled them off of Zillow. It then allows me to come in with my detailed analysis, and fine tune the valuation. I would also like to personally thank our friends on staff at Zillow who have actively participated/contributed to our community. We appreciate their commitment to the industry at-large, and how they consistently give back to our industry. So much thanks to David, Spencer, Sara, and Drew!

Good post. I am just now evaluating my internet presence in these sites.

OCT

2008

As much as Zillow has some great tools, I've been on the site several times and WOW! You really need to take a look at some of the discussions! I am dumbfounded by the amount of negativity and belittling that happens on these discussions. Disagreement on views is natural but the bashing was something I feel is unnecessary. I hope this changes!

NOV

2008

I have posted listings on Zillow before but not been part of the discussions...will have to check it out...

NOV

2008

I don't think we should list or allow other sites like that to use our listings. All you're doing is giving them yor SEO juice. Make them pay us for the use of our listings. Not the other way around.

Stevem: You should look at it from a collaborative standpoint. Putting your lising on Zillow or Trulia is a cooperative venture that benefits both you and Zillow/Trulia. Your Sellers get greater exposure to more potential Buyers, and they benefit from aggregating more listings.

Paul, I agree that the three you mentioned are definetly in the top 5. The other two would include RealTown and Inman Community.

NOV

2008

I will look into web tools!

I have try 2 of the 3 you talked about, AR & Zillow. I have not hear of Trulia before. Thank you for the info.

NOV

2008

Thanks for the reminder, Paul. A year or so ago I got into this over at Zillow but as time rolled on I got out of the habit. This is a good tool that I should devote more time to.

NOV

2008

I've spent a lot of time on AR, a little bit on Trulia and almost none on Zillow. Seems like I need to take another look.

Zillow can be a great tool, but in our area, the map is one block off of reality! So when a home owner looks they get info for one block off of where they live!

NOV

2008

Thanks for all the comments, both pro and con, on using Zillow. Doubtless, the efficacy of each tool has largely to do with the viewpoint of the user.

NOV

2008

Paul,

I find the Q&A on Trulia to be very interesting for the business. I am in contact with a few clients who came to me after I answered their questions. I post all my listings both at TRulia and Zillow and find sellers are happy to see we are using all the tools available to market their listings.

I did get an email inquiry on a listing I uploaded on Zillow - a 3.9 million dollar listing. Nothing further but it inspires me to stay on zillow.

DEC

Thanks for the post! I did not realize Zillow had a directory!

AUG

Hi guys. But be, as you have been, my happiness... I am from Central and also now teach English, give please true I wrote the following sentence: "The cash advance payday loan is distributed into the customer account by the next business day so the money is available for withdrawal right away." Waiting for a reply :(, Rhea.

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