My friend Kevin Kelly from Chicago Title and I visited a Coldwell Banker office today and gave an overview of Social Media systems for realtors.

Like so many other problems to be solved on Windows and the iPhone, the axiom holds true for Facebook:  Whatever it is you’re trying to do, “there’s probably great app for that”.

There are two FaceBook applications for real estate listings.  One is called EListIt and another is called CribFinder.  Unlike the more general “Marketplace” app, these are tailored to do this job really well.  EListIt has over 2100 monthly users and CribFinder has more than 1300.

The skinny:

eListIt:

“Show off your latest property listings on your Facebook profile!  By adding the application to your profile, you can show off your listings in a mini slideshow on your wall page.  Additionally, you can add a dedicated tab page to your profile with more detailed listings and a personal real estate profile.”  An account on eListIt is required, but the FaceBook app will help you create one on the fly so you don’t have to jump around between sites.  On your profile will appear a “My Listings” tab with all of your listings.  Cool!

CribFinder:

“Buy. Sell. Rent. Own. Real Estate on Facebook. List properties, track pageviews and generate leads. Post your profile in our REALTOR® database. Check out the Hottest Cribs on Facebook.”  This appears similar to eListIt, with the exception that there is a centralized database that everyone can search with every property.  It also integrates with your profile to post your Cribs to your Wall and News Feed.  It seems to be a little rougher around the edges than eListIt, but I’m sure both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Most apps on Facebook integrate well with your personal profile, enabling Wall updates and the ability to add a Tab or Box to display whatever you put into the app.  Getting these apps to work with your Business Page is somewhat more esoteric.

Definitely a great way to familiarize yourself with the Facebook “app” concept and start seeing some real value right away.  Contact me if you're looking for assistance getting set up with one of these systems!