South Florida by the numbers: Focus on Miami social media

“South Florida by the numbers” is a web feature that catalogs the most notable, quirky and surprising real estate statistics.

What can we say about social media that hasn’t already been discussed ad nauseam? Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. have so dramatically impacted society, business, politics and entertainment, as well as the manner in which we communicate, it’s hard to believe the phenomenon has been “mainstream” for only a decade.

Social media seems tailor-made for Miami, where communication is often quick and fluid and  let’s face it — highly visual and image-conscious. As an industry, real estate has adapted to social media very well, and many professionals use this technology effectively to market their properties, reach potential new customers, and showcase their expertise. “Like” it or not, social media is certainly here to stay. So please enjoy, “thumbs-up”, share, “favorite”, re-Tweet, and comment on this Miami Social Media edition of…wait for it….#SouthFloridaByTheNumbers.

$50 million: Projected 2015 sales for Miami Beach real estate agent Ines Hegedus-Garcia, an early social media pioneer noted for her nationally-recognized “Miamism” blog. The site organically combines information about local real estate with posts about the Miami lifestyle. It’s a genuine departure from most “agent-centric” Realtor web sites. [Webmarketingtoday.com]

58: Percentage of Master Brokers Forum members who use Facebook for business in 2015 — an increase of 33 percent over the previous six years. In addition, 49 percent of Master Brokers find social media “somewhat useful” as a sales and marketing tool, and another 11% find it “very useful,” according to a survey. [The Real Deal]

44,275: Number of Twitter followers for Cervera Real Estate, the Miami brokerage with the best social media presence, according to a May 2015 report. (The other seven local firms listed in the report had 16,339 followers combined.) Nationally, Century 21 had the best social media presence, with 87,673 Twitter followers [Miamiagentmagazine.com]

$1.4 billion: Total 2014 revenue for Twitter, which recently opened its first Miami office on Brickell Avenue. With its six employees, Miami’s Twitter office will support large and mid-market sales, media partnerships, marketing communications, and brand strategy. [Miami Herald]

105,000-plus: Number of followers on bestselling author and TV host Brad Meltzer’s Facebook page. The South Florida resident also has the maximum 5,000 friends on his individual Facebook account, more than 44,000 followers on Twitter, and more than 2,900 followers on Instagram — all accounts he handles himself. He offers four excellent social media tips in this article. [South Florida Business Journal]

This column is produced by the Master Brokers Forum (@masterbrokersforum), a network of South Florida’s elite real estate professionals where membership is by invitation only and based on outstanding production, as well as ethical and professional behavior.