Real estate search and marketing site Trulia today launched an agent recommendation system that incorporates endorsements from Facebook friends.
Last week, Trulia rolled out a feature that allows real estate professionals with a Trulia profile to ask their contacts to recommend them through Facebook or email.
"Every recommendation an agent receives on Trulia increases the opportunity for an agent to meet a new buyer or seller through their clients combined social networks," the site said in a blog post introducing the feature.
Today, Trulia launched Social Search, which integrates Facebook recommendations into Trulia’s Find a Pro directory. As consumers search the directory by name, keyword or geographic area, they will be able to see agents and other real estate professionals that their Facebook friends have endorsed.
"Real estate professionals have long since cited word-of-mouth and referrals as one of their primary sources of business. Trulia Social Search provides a more efficient way for agents to receive digital referrals from their clients, maximizing their reach with each recommendation they receive," said Georg Gerstenfeld, Trulia’s senior vice president of business services, in a statement.
An agent’s recommendation is published to the Find a Pro directory, the agent’s Trulia profile, the endorser’s Facebook profile, and the Facebook news feeds of the endorser’s friends.
"Moreover, everything on Facebook links back to (the agent’s) profile on Trulia so my friends can read my review, reviews by others, and see all of (the agent’s) listings," said Matt Holder, the product manager who created Social Search.
"If I wanted more details, I could send a direct private message to a friend and ask them detailed questions about their experience with that agent," he added.
