There is a growing segment of agents spending more time in Facebook groups and watching YouTube videos than ever before. It seems like every time I talk to a new agent, we end up sharing about our favorite thought leaders on social media.
The Internet is a great place for real estate coaches and trainers to share their expertise, and agents love to follow them.
An online education
I think many agents who watch YouTube real estate videos, listen to podcasts and books and read blogs from online real estate thought leaders feel like they are a small segment of the real estate community. I’m starting to think that’s not true at all. These groups are taking off in a big way.
I joined the Facebook group Lab Coat Agents about five months ago. In that time, I’ve watched the group grow by thousands of people. In fact, they’re having a conference in Atlanta as I’m writing this.
It’s a fairly new group that has grown rapidly. There is so much great information being exchanged in this group that I can barely keep up with it. I check in there often because I don’t want to miss the next great conversation.
I remember watching Chris Smith and Jimmy Mackin on their YouTube channel a couple of years ago when there were only a few hundred people following them.
Now they have a huge following and help thousands of agents with their show, “The Water Cooler,” every month. Their company, Curaytor, has grown by leaps and bounds due to their YouTube success.
When I’m stuck in traffic and want some good real estate knowledge, I’ll often listen to Frank Klesitz from Viral Marketing or The Tom Ferry Show (both on YouTube). I’m noticing more coaches and thought leaders creating educational videos than ever before.
I’ve learned more about current real estate business ideas in the past year from the Internet than in the last five years of training meetings and real estate events combined. I believe this is because more authoritative voices are sharing their wisdom online, and I’m learning to constantly seek them out.
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The reality of the situation
This isn’t just happening in real estate. It’s happening in colleges, churches and schools. Because information is so easily accessed online, the old classroom style of learning is becoming outdated — quickly.
I believe that brokerages stand a better chance of surviving this change by creating a collaborative environment for discussion, rather than teaching a classroom-style training course.
Brokerages should utilize online resources
When agents learn something from an online resource that they can then discuss within their office, you will find a real sense of camaraderie develop. Nothing beats personal face-to-face discussions. This is something a brokerage can offer that can’t be matched online.
If you can’t compete with the information your agents are finding online, you can create an environment for them to share what they’re learning and collaborate within your office to keep a bond strong within your group.
Another resource for brokerages would be to have their own closed Facebook group. Agents can share stories, ask questions and collaborate at their convenience.
Chances are, if you don’t create the group yourself as the managing broker, an agent from your office will create it, and you won’t know about it until something controversial happens within the group. Start it now and develop a strategy to make it work for your agents.
If you truly have great trainers and content makers in your office, start sharing it online. Start making videos on the main topics that your agents want to talk about.
Get creative with it. Invest in some high-end video equipment and start sharing what you do in your classroom with people online. It will most likely capture the attention of many other agents in your area as well.
If you run a brokerage and feel threatened by the Internet, I challenge you to get more realistic about this. Join the Facebook groups and YouTube channels I’ve mentioned above. Learn about the online real estate social world.
Who knows? You might find renewed creativity and begin to implement a new idea that could change and even sustain your company for years to come.
If you’re an agent who learns from online resources, please share your favorite thought leaders in the comments section. The people who are taking the time to educate us online deserve a shout out.
Andrew Fortune is the owner and managing broker of Great Colorado Homes, Inc. Check out his company’s Facebook page.