If you’ve ever wondered if the time, effort and mental head scratching that you put into new technology was really worth the effort, a brand new survey by a team of real estate experts pegs the answer at a resounding YES.

Inman News recently conducted extensive research into the relationship between frequency of social media use, employment of new technology and realtor incomes. The results were jaw dropping and eye-opening in equal measure, making the strongest business case yet to cast aside any residual fears about web 2.0, let go of tweeting tension and face up to Facebook reality.

Put simply, 83.6% of middle income agents earning between $50k and $100k a year spent less than $2500 per annum on social media and web technology. Over 50% of high earners with more than $100,000 a year incomes spent $2500 or more on social media and out of pocket technology. Which bracket would you rather be in?

As well as this strong correlation between money spent on social media and money made in return, the survey also noted that the time spent on social media sites each month was also related to the end of year ROI. Those who could find only one opportunity a month to update their blog or website were relegated to the low earning category (taking home between $30k and $50k a year). One in two of those earning $100,000 and up in real estate posted updates at least a couple of times a week.

Of course, making a sale is also a numbers game and often comes down to how many eyeballs view the listing and visit the property. Social media played a huge role here too. 2/3rds of those earning between $50k and $100k a year had less than 500 Facebook friends. The big hitters in the $100k and up bracket had more than 1000 Facebook friends.

Still not convinced? 67% of middle income earners have a YouTube account. 82% of high income agents have a YouTube account. 74% of middle income earners were more likely to have a Twitter account as well as 84% of high income agents.

The main takeaway from the survey is that the more successful agents spend more energy and money on social media to develop an online presence. As well as more updates leading to more money, more followers and online friends were found to lead to more sales. More agents with more social media channels were found in the high income bracket than elsewhere. Those agents not using social media, or not using it regularly, were relegated to the small income bracket, making under $50,000 a year.

The Inman News conclusions are backed up by a slew of other expert findings. In the 2012 REALTOR® Technology Survey, conducted by the National Association of Realtors, social media sites including Facebook and Twitter were frequently cited as one of the three top most valuable technology tools available to the respondent. The same report found that the internet was one of the top three methods of generating sales, suggesting those realtors who did exert an effort on social media are more likely to do well.

Forbes magazine also agree – it recently published an article headlined ‘Study: 78% Of Salespeople Using Social Media Outsell Their Peers’. It cites a report by a social specialist, Jim Keenan, which measured the impact of social media usage on quota attainment i.e. sales person performance. The study concluded that a massive 79.8% of sales people using social media outperformed those not using social media. For high performing sales personnel, social media users were 23% more likely to exceed sales targets than those who didn’t use social media.

You don’t have to be tech wizard to tap into this proven form of ROI. CityBlast can put you on the social media map. As often as you choose and tailored specifically to your target market, our proven system will relieve you of the burden of creating interesting social media posts. We’ll put in the time you need to spend on social media to become a high earning agent on your behalf. Whether you choose video content, images, articles or simply listings data, our social media experts will update your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts so you don’t have to.

Key findings

• There is a clear link between time and effort spent on social media and ROI
• Real estate agents earning $50,000 and upwards per year spend more time on social media than low earners
• Agents earning less than $50,000 spend less than $2,500 each year on social media
• 25% of agents earning more than $100,000 annually invest $5000 each year in social media for their business
• 39% of agents earning less than $50,000 update their website or blog once a month
• One in two agents earning more than $100,000 annually update their website or blog multiple times each week
• 82% of high income agents have a YouTube account
• 33% of high income agents have more than 1000 Facebook friends
• 84% of high income agents have a Twitter account

Wrapping It All Up

Social media investment – both monetary and time spent maintaining accounts – is increasingly a real estate success factor. The numbers speak for themselves and those agents willing to put in the extra time cultivating their social media accounts reap the rewards in dollars at the end of the year. This means that social media represents a huge opportunity, particularly for agents in the lower to middle income brackets seeking ways to move up a gear and increase annual incomes. The fact that one in two of the big earners (those taking home $100,000 or more per year) make multiple blog and social updates each week speaks volumes.

Following their example and eking out a few extra minutes in every day to spend nurturing a social media presence has the potential to turbo charge earnings. Just don’t have enough hours in the day? Or unsure how to monetise Twitter and Facebook and follow in these pro footsteps? It’s time to call in CityBlast! As many times a day and as often as you choose, we’ll update your social media business pages to tap into a whole new level of ROI.

Take the first step to social media success with CityBlast – click here to get started.

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February 14 2014