Online hate in the real estate industry
Text from 2020. Laws, rates and prices may have changed since then. Ask an agent
Online hate (in Polish, "hejt") is a phenomenon that has become a permanent part of our awareness and, in fact, one of the major social problems worldwide in recent years. What does it have to do with running an estate agency in Katowice? For anyone running a business, including one in the real estate trade, keeping accounts on social media is now almost obligatory – and that is precisely where we are most exposed to hate. Let us take a closer look at the matter.
What is hate?
Hate means publishing aggressive content online that insults someone, is not backed by any rational explanation and is intended to attack a specific person. It often contains elements of hate speech and harassment. It can also encourage other people to react in a similar way and, as a result, spread the whole phenomenon. The internet is an ideal place for this, because we feel anonymous there – we can post something and run away, without facing the person we have insulted or the consequences of what we say. Company profiles on social media are, of course, also a playground for haters.
Hate and the real estate industry
As we have argued before, an estate agency's presence online is now the norm. According to research from 2018, as many as 1/3 of people considering buying a flat looked for information on the subject on Facebook. The activities of estate agents on this platform, both paid ones and free ones on their own profiles, can therefore genuinely influence the decisions of people investing in property. When we make even the smallest mistake on a profile, or leave it unattended for some time without monitoring the comments and the audience's reactions to what we wrote, we give haters something to feed on. Yes, seemingly trivial things can make us the target of attacks by people venting their aggression online. A great deal depends on how we react in such a situation. The worst thing for a company's image is not even knowing about the hate, because we do not follow our accounts and what is being said about us online. It is worth using media monitoring tools, so that we know what is being said about us as it happens. This way you will not only be able to reach your audience better, but also pick up any signs of hate directed at you. Leaving haters unchecked on your profiles and in places where people can leave opinions about you may cause serious damage to the company's image, including that of an estate agency, and you will have no control over it. It can significantly affect your career on the property market and your sales of flats and houses.
Keeping track of any signs of hate does not, of course, always have to mean deleting unfavourable comments or getting into discussions with such a person – it is only about being able to respond properly and quickly enough to whatever may genuinely affect your business. Unfortunately, the real estate industry is no exception here.
