Going through Facebook on a daily sometimes hourly basis I see a constant stream of post about new listings or listings that have just sold and one of the most exciting ones is when an agent post the real luxury listings in NYC. The guys from Bravo's Million Dollar Listing use social media for all their listings. Tweeting pics from a new high rise penthouse over looking central park on the upper west side, to them standing on the street holding their dogs. I suppose it doesn't really count for these guys even though they are high dollar agents in the city their social media exposure is based on their fame and not on actually selling a listing. So does social media actually work if you are not famous?

This photo was posted to Fredrick Ecklund's Facebook page where he stated he was "At a listing pitch, and I'm standing here in the windows. This is the view." this view will sell this apartment!

You can not escape social media these days. It has infiltrated every single business out there. From Facebook to Twitter to Youtube not to mention all the blogs. NYC real estate is a tricky area though especially townhouse real estate which is still controlled by an older generation. High price condos and new developments are all over Facebook and Twitter and this does seem to work but you don't see it in the townhouse market unless it has been bought and renovated with the latest and the greatest and of course everyone wants to see that. I saw a video from Liz Gilbert the author of Eat Pray Love that was posted on Facebook through Youtube where she was giving a personal guided tour of her home she was selling in NJ. The home was gorgeous but fairly simply and not far from homes you would see anywhere. However, I was captivated because she was telling the story of the home and it was raw footage. Cheap, non scripted hardly edited personal tour of her home. This very well could have been so popular because she is a famous author but I do believe that even if you didn't know who she was you would still watch. This personal touch may be what the NYC townhouse market needs to really break out into social media more.

Social media marketing is cheap and easy to do. Everyone from every industry is doing it. It is all about exposure, catchy photos and the human touch. If you can capture all of these things then using social media to sell your home is a no brainer no matter what type of home you have.