Since taking over the marketing department at Real Living, I've had some eye-opening experiences.  The first of which that I want to discuss is the formation of new listing syndication sites with local slants owned by local newspapers, radio stations and the like.   On the surface and in your first meeting, here is what these wolves look like this...  cute and harmless

But here is the real scoop...

These new sites have a great advantage because of their ownership.  In Columbus, The Dispatch Media Group owns ColumbusRealEstate.com, in addition to the local newspaper, the local CBS affiliate, radio stations and localized free weekly newspapers.  What great advertising opportunities to drive traffic to the site.  When they came to our offices 2 years ago they stated, that they were going to be the #1 destination for Columbus homebuyers.  Wait a minute; RealLivingHER is the #1 destination.  Why would we fuel this engine who clearly stated their desire to beat our site in traffic???  They are simply trying to re-capture the advertising revenue they are losing from the traditional mediums our industry is fleeing from - e.g. newspapers.  Ad revenue is paramount... Consumer experience is secondary. 

The other one is WonderfulColumbus.com.  This is a newer site owned by Clear Channel who is known for radio stations, billboards and possibly more.  Again, a huge advantage of the site to be literally in bed with advertising venues to drive traffic.  The goal of this site is similar to that of the aforementioned one.    

Real Living HER does not and will not share with either of these sites.  I told both of these sites that our data was too valuable BUT... if they were interested in paying us for them, we'd entertain that proposal.  

I encourage you and your brokerage to do the same.  By giving these local sites your listings, you are submitting to the fact that you see no value in your listings.  You are giving listings to these companies for "free," enabling them to beat your site in the traffic game, all while creating another local media relationship who will suck your advertising dollars dry and detract from your ability to focus on your own web presence. 

By not playing this game and sharing your #1 asset (LISTINGS) you eliminate their ability to provide a full-service consumer experience.  They use fear to get us to share by leveraging their sister media outlets.  Don't be afraid of the ads they'll run.  The consumer will always seek out the real estate sites they trust to provide all listing information - e.g. YOUR site.    

Think about it... If you are buying a home would you go to the sites who have 100% of the listings or 80% or fewer?  Due to the fact that we don't share, ColumbusRealEstate.com will automatically miss 20% of the listings (1 in every 5 will be absent from search results) - even more depending on the suburb.  Is this a good consumer experience?  Nope. 

Instead of sharing with these wolves, make your site the best in town!  Use the dollars you and your agents will spend (today or eventually) with these imposter sites to create your own consumer destination.  Otherwise you'll pay the price in the future!!   Sharing creates another "newspaper" that we'll be complaining about down the road because they charge us too much and our customer's demand we post their listing here.  Then, we'll end up like this buffalo... Surrounded, too dependent on the wolves and eventually... Dinner.