As a luxury real estate marketing professional, we recommend that you keep an eye on Nextdoor, an emerging niche player in the social media space aimed at small neighborhood-size communities. The focus is on sharing recommendations for local services and selling things (a la Craig’s list). They are one of the latest companies to join the billion-dollar valuation startup club.
According to the New York Times, “Nextdoor’s philosophy is that a recommendation from someone in your community carries more weight than, say, a Yelp review from someone you may not know on the Internet, or an algorithmically determined Google advertisement”.
The big players will not be able to compete as effectively as Nextdoor at recommendations for local services like dog walkers, local tutors, a handyman, or housecleaning services, provided they are able to scale up successfully. If Nextdoors succeeds we predict that community recommendations for real estate agents could be a very significant source of leads.
Keep in mind that, to join the community, you have to validate that you actually live in the neighborhood. If they get the real estate component right, Nextdoor could eventually provide an excellent marketing strategy for luxury real estate agents.
The key questions is whether or not Nextdoor can build the same kind of trust factor that is emerging in the Active Rain community. So far, they are taking their time to do just that. This has the potential to give Google and Facebook a run for their money when it comes to local advertising. The convergence of local (commerce) and social is the holy grail of social media.
What to you think?
Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-
ABOUT: Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry. They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.