Your Advertising is so wrong Jan Pringle - KCRAR education director Michael Pierce - KCRAR Director of Emerging Technologies & Trends
Teams & Individuals consider these aspects Personal Websites Online Advertising Facebook/Twitter Signage Flyers Business Cards REALTOR Logo
Kansas Rules & Regs - Part 1 86-3-7 Advertising. All advertising, except on property which is not listed with a broker and which is personally owned by a licensee or in which a licensee may have an interest, shall include the name of the broker by using the broker's trade or business name and such other information as the broker considers necessary. The use of only a post office box number, telephone number or street address shall be deemed a violation of K.S.A. 58-3062(a)(1). A broker shall not advertise or promote the broker's business in a manner that would confuse, hinder or mislead the public as to the identity of the broker responsible for the debts and liabilities of the business or entity. Violation of this section shall be deemed a violation of K.S.A. 58-3062(a)(1).
Kansas Rules & Regs - Part 2 86-3-30 Advertising. For purposes of determining whether the supervising broker's business name or trade name is prominently and conspicuously displayed or announced in a readable and identifiable manner regardless of the type of media used, the following shall be considered by the commission: The terms being used, including the style, size, contrast, and color of the type or font used; and the location or audibility of the supervising broker's trade name or business name as the name appears or is represented in the advertisement.
Missouri Rules & Regs 20 CSR 2250-8.070 Advertising No real estate advertisement by a licensee shall show only a post office box number, telephone number or street address. Every advertisement of real estate by a licensee shall contain the broker s regular business name or the name under which the broker or the broker s firm is licensed and shall indicate that the party advertising is a real estate broker and not a private party. (3) Every advertisement of real estate by a licensee where the licensee has no interest in the real estate shall be made under the direct supervision and in the name of the broker or firm who holds the licensee s license. If the licensee s name or telephone number, or both, is used in any advertisement, the advertisement also shall include the name and telephone number of the broker or firm who holds the licensee s license.
*99.9% of all agent Facebook pages and posts are in violation of the state licensing laws. *Data based on a highly scientific survey conducted by Jan Pringle during a lunch hour.
Teams: You are not a brokerage company
Teams: You are not a brokerage company You work under a Broker s direct supervision. The Broker is the legal boss and is responsible for all you do. The Broker owns the listings and BA agreements. Your Broker also decides: Allowable agency relationships Contract completion and issues Commissions Disputes Advertising
Code of Ethics Standard of Practice 12-9 Websites of REALTORS and non-member licensees affiliated with a REALTOR firm shall disclose the firm s name and that REALTOR s or non-member licensee s state(s) of licensure in a reasonable and readily apparent manner. (Adopted 1/07)
Broker s Name Check the following example: Prominently and conspicuously displayed? or reasonable and readily apparent?
Facebook Grade: F
Broker s Name Check the next example: style, size, contrast, and color of the type or font used; and the location or audibility of the supervising broker's trade name or business name or reasonable and readily apparent?
Facebook Grade: F
Pop Quiz What can you find wrong with the next example?
Facebook Grade: A+
Facebook Business Page: How to add your Broker s Name (the easy way)
Facebook Business Page: How to add your Broker s Name (the semi-easy way)
Facebook Business Page: How to add your Broker s Name (the semi-easy way)
Facebook posting done right Suzy Sunshine New on market today; 4640 w. 138 Tr. Leawood, KS 66224 in Worthington subdivision. $550,000 gets you this 4 bedroom, 4 full baths + one 1/2 bath, very spacious gorgeous home with so many lovely appointments your head will spin. Newest feature is a 24 x 15 screened in porch. MLS# 18716. Suzy Sunshine, ABC Real Estate, 9135291408 or 816 4446677
Facebook Tips: Don t mix & match Unless you re really careful, create separate pages for personal use and for business. Tips for your personal page (Source: REALTOR Magazine):
A bad mix
Websites: The rules are the same Regardless of: How many websites you have How clever the URL may be (LuvRE4UinKC.com) Don t hide the Broker s name on a back page or in a small font at the bottom.
Personal Website: Grade A+
Google Plus
Youtube Video Advertising
REALTOR Code of Ethics Standard of Practice 12-5 Twitter This Standard of Practice acknowledges that disclosing the name of the firm may not be practical in electronic displays of limited information (e.g. "thumbnails", text messages, "tweets", etc.). Such displays are exempt from the disclosure requirement established in the Standard of Practice, but only when linked to a display that includes all required disclosures. (Adopted 11/86, Amended 1/11)
New Heartland MLS IDX display rule for under 200 characters The Listing Firm shall be identified in a reasonably prominent location and in a readily visible color and typeface not smaller than the median used in the display of listing data. Displays of minimal information (e.g. thumbnails, text messages, tweets, etc.) of two hundred (200) characters or less are exempt from this requirement but only when linked directly to a display that includes all required disclosures;
Twitter - Your home page Login - Settings - Profile - Edit
Signage The J Team The J Team ABC REAL ESTATE Okay not Okay Okay
Business Cards Company name is clear Office phone is included
Friends don t let friends advertise for them Come see my friend s listing at an Open House on Sunday! It s a great house at 1212 Primrose Lane, totally remodeled and only $185,450 with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and a swimming pool! The seller will negotiate! Located near Holy Saints Catholic Church and parochial school. Buy it! A. Your friend doesn t have a real estate license and can t represent property for sale. B. Your friend doesn t know when she s violating the Fair Housing Act. C. Your friends should stick with: Check out my friend s FB page. She s a great real estate agent!
So, who is going to know anyway?
If you don t follow the rules Another Agent who knows better might file a complaint against you. A seller who is unhappy and wants to cancel the listing agreement, gets upset to learn that s your broker s decision and not yours. The seller thought you were in charge! A buyer who can t get the Earnest Deposit back from a seller will be angry when they discover you work for ABC Realty, and it s your broker who is in charge not you! When the real estate commission comes after you for improper advertising your broker will be in trouble along with you.
Spread the word in your office to save your fellow REALTORS (and your Broker) from grief. Jan Pringle - KCRAR education director Michael Pierce - KCRAR Director of Emerging Technologies & Trends