We recently asked whether or not Facebook is a waste of time for Realtors, based on new research from the Pew Research and American Life Project regarding Facebook user behavior. It was determined that no, Facebook was not a waste of time, but that the highest impact would be with people a Realtor had met in person and then connected with on Facebook.

Although face-to-face is still the reigning champion of closing any deal, real estate professionals of all types have flocked to Facebook, some with a better understanding of the culture than others. What is important to note, however, is that the culture is changing as it has become mainstream.

As the site has become mainstream, the “Like” button has become a common use both on the site and from embedded buttons on individual websites and blogs.
In fact, the Like button is the most popular click on the site, with 26 percent of users saying they like someone else’s content at least once per day, which has become a more common activity than even commenting on another user’s status, which 22 percent of users do on an average day.

Although the primary function of Facebook is to add a status update, only 15 percent of Facebook users update their own status, while 20 percent comment
on another user’s photo on an average day, according to Pew Research. Eighty-five percent of users don’t update their own status daily, and 10 percent send another user a private message.

This tells us that passive use is more common than active use – in other words, users prefer to whiz by and click “Like” more than to even update their own status. They’d rather creep Facebook photos or other users’ updates and leave a quick comment than report on their own day or events. The only problem with these stats is that if this is common behavior, it could be what some users expect out of a Facebook friend rather than someone who updates dozens of times throughout the day.

Making Facebook work for you
In other words, the noise ratio of a Realtor trying to promote services and listings could be too high for the average user. We don’t encourage reducing the volume if content is being commented upon and Liked (the most common Facebook activity), because it does add value, but reconsidering your noise level on Facebook as either too loud or too quiet could help you gain more traction on the social network.

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