Submitted by: Lucille Richmond
*PAR Electronic Communications and Advertising
A Legal and Ethical Review

Facebook isn’t exempt from advertising rules
Social Media and Networking Sites *
(Facebook/MySpace/LinkedIn/etc.)

Is a REALTOR®’s Facebook profile an advertisement or a real estate communication? That answer would have to be determined after looking at the purpose and use of the site, and would ultimately be decided by the State Real Estate Commission or an ethics hearing panel in response to a specific complaint. Although there really is no “case law” to go on at this point, a good rule – using an abundance of caution – would be that if any part of the purpose is to promote the REALTOR®’s professional services or listings, then it is covered by these rules. All of the rules.
Any real estate communication on these sorts of sites should comply with the relevant rules for websites, including the appropriate inclusion of the broker’s name and phone number, and the licensee’s state(s) of licensure.
This will need to be accomplished differently for each application depending on the functionality of the site.
For example, Facebook has a spot under your profile picture to “write something about yourself.” This text field could be filled in with information stating that you are a real estate salesperson who works for XYZ Real Estate and can be reached at the following telephone numbers.
The law/regulations/Code don’t provide exclusions for using applications that don’t easily accommodate the rules, nor do they recognize an exception based on the claim that “nobody else is doing it.” If you can’t figure out a way to comply with the relevant rules, the safest approach is to not use that medium
To the extent that you are unsure of the best way to handle compliance in a particular application, be sure to check with your broker and brokerage counsel.