Syndication Develops into Major Marketing Tool
Recent Sales of Syndication Companies Makes Headlines
In recent years, there has been a dramatic shift from marketing listings in print to on-line media. Today, more than half of real estate listings nationally can be found on national consumer websites and search engines. Nearly 75% of TREND’s active listings are syndicated by brokers to consumer sites like HomeFinder.com, Trulia Real Estate Search, Yahoo! Real Estate and Zillow.com.
Additionally, TREND has established relationships with several prominent national, regional and local consumer-based sites. All active listings are automatically distributed to these sites, including REALTOR.com and Philly.com, unless the broker or seller tell us otherwise.
Challenges Emerge with Popularity
At a glance, listing syndication is very simple. Brokers opt to distribute their listings to different consumer sites. However, when you take a closer look, syndication does pose challenges.
That’s why it’s
extremely important to read a site’s Terms of Use to fully understand where your information is being sent and to ask questions before you syndicate your listings.
Watch for Buzzwords When Reading Terms of Use
Beware of the following phrases from consumer sites’ Terms of Use. If these phrases are included, you could be giving away the rights to the listing information you work so hard to acquire:
- “A non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use copy, distribute, public display and perform, and create derivative works of the data …” – You will give away your rights to your listing information, including copyright protection. About 75% of the syndication sites that display TREND information claimed copyright once listings were syndicated, according to the sites’ Terms of Use. This also allows consumer sites to redistribute your listings to other sites without your permission and without compensating you.
- “You promise to indemnify and defend (company name) against all claims related to your data …” – You cannot hold any consumer website liable for any claims against you arising from their use of your listing information. The broker is obligated to defend (legally and financially) any actions or claims brought against the consumer website arising from the use of your listing information.
- “… Make updates or remove listing from public display as soon as reasonably practicable.” – While this sounds reasonable, it does not create a legally binding requirement on the syndicating site. Rather, listing updates may not occur in a timely manner, if at all.
- “Your continuing to provide data will constitute acceptance of and agreement to any changes to the Terms of Use.” – This permits consumer sites to change their Terms of Use without notification.
Investigate Before You Syndicate
We’re not saying “If any of these phrases are in the Terms of Use, don’t syndicate!” We’re saying that if they are in there, thoughtfully consider if this is something you’re willing to live with in exchange for increased exposure. When syndicating, it’s also important to weigh the business advantages against the legal risks.
Updated 10/22/2010: Is Syndication the Best Option for Me?
To help you navigate through the Terms of Use agreements, this chart summarizes about a dozen of the 30+ channels available for syndication, and lists which rights are within each of them.
Third Party Syndication Sites Research Project Terms of Use Summary
This information is further supported in a
report from the WAV group, which contains a similar comparison.(The WAV group specializes in strategic planning, research, business development, sales, product development and marketing in the real estate industry.)
But deciding if and where to syndicate is not just about the Terms of Use. It’s also about the value you get from that syndication. Is a site bringing you leads? Is it meeting your sellers needs? You have to weigh the potential risks and balance them against the benefits. We have spoken to members who have experienced both. See their
Syndication Stories Filled with Success and Struggles.
We recommend that you develop a syndication strategy that has measurable goals. Then choose the sites that meet your goals.