According to PR, social media and SEO Agency, Punch Communications, social media is changing the property sector, allowing property agents to increase engagement and interaction with house owners.

Traditionally, property agents relied on engaging with home owners offline through phone calls and face to face meetings, now however agents and sites such as Rightmove and Primelocation are embracing social media in order to communicate directly with potential customers.  With the property market wavering, the average consumer is not pro-actively using traditional property sales material, which means agents need to go directly to the consumer.  This has meant the inevitable use of social networks as a conduit for the customer.

The popularity of social media has allowed estate agents to build an online community consisting of potential, as well as serious house hunters, providing them with information on various properties as well as details of availability and images.  Additional information can also be found, such as comments from other local residents, school tables and crime rates.  Further to this, house hunters have been able to post their requirements onto the agent’s Facebook walls and Twitter pages, allowing the agent to answer them directly. 

Holly Henstock, Account Manager at PR Agency Punch Communications, said: “Clearly all sectors are still in the transition of moving offline to online and connecting with social media.  The property sector is just one area where the benefits of social media can certainly be seen in the way buyers, sellers, agents and customers communicate with each other.

Holly continued:  “Through agent’s embracing sites such as Facebook, those who were not necessarily looking for a property have been able to receive information and find out details they potentially never knew were available. Advertising properties through social networks has meant the relationship between the homeowner/tenant and agent has become closer, with many asking an agent a property related question online, rather than a friend or relative.”

Punch Communications is a Public Relations Agency which provides traditional PR skills as well as social media and search engine optimisation services.  Specialities include online, automotive and Digital PR. For more information please visit www.punchcomms.com or call +44 1858 411600.