On December 29, Chris Smith, author of Conversion Code, posted a spoof.
And a week later, people are still talking about it, thanks to a pair of responses from the CEO of Redfin.
In the original post, Smith shared the homepages of six major real estate companies, altering the copy to “keep it real.”
If real estate companies kept it real with their homepage headlines (6 examples)
1/ Redfin pic.twitter.com/5wsEJVZ5ED
— Chris Smith (@Chris_Smth) December 29, 2022
Over 285,000 people saw the post on Twitter alone, and those who shared a light-hearted laugh were quick to retweet, like, and comment on the post.
But not everyone found humor in the post. One person, in particular, was quick to ask for the post to be taken down.
Glenn Kelman Responds
Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin, left two comments on Smith’s Twitter post:
Why mock up insults over the holidays? If you had bad service from a Redfin agent, please tell us. Redfin customers are more likely to use us again. For 7 years, we’ve sold homes for more money. For 18, we’ve gained share. The people you’re disparaging are my colleagues & friends
— Glenn Kelman (@glennkelman) December 31, 2022
And if you have no data or even anecdotal experience to back this up, beyond Jurassic-era attitudes toward brokers competing on price, please take it down. You’re better than this Chris!
— Glenn Kelman (@glennkelman) December 31, 2022
It’s clear that Kelman was not in the mood for jokes.
Twitter Storm
After Kelman responded, a flood of comments and Tweets came in.
Some called on Kelman to take it easy:
Jokes, Glenn. Jokes. pic.twitter.com/jiBCSGW0QS
— Josh Dawson (@JoshuaLDawson) December 31, 2022
What do the holidays and leveraging $100s of Ms in capital for “share” have to do with satire? Have a hot cocoa and focus on -89.11%. https://t.co/i2HsirSW6T
— Byron Lazine (@ByronLazine) December 31, 2022
I take the efforts of Redfin, Zillow et al efforts to disintermediate realtors personally. I am surprised at the sensitivity to a joke as opposed to the reality of being an actual target of destruction.
— VickiMoore (@vickimoore) January 3, 2023
Some came to Redfin’s defense:
Kind of sad, but Chris seems to just want to produce a popular tweet no matter if it’s factual or not
— InvestandSurf (@InvestandS) December 31, 2022
this is leadership from the heart. i like you.
— Nick Tirrell (@nicktirrell) December 31, 2022
And others asked Kelman to back up his stats:
Sold more more homes for more money than whom? Average agent? Median agent? Curious where the stats are coming from and calculated.
— Dustin Fox (@dustinmfox) December 31, 2022
Don’t blame Chris pic.twitter.com/mV79Xtz1zU
— Jessica Motais (@jessicamotais) December 31, 2022
What do you think, should we turn this into a BAM debate?
Next Live YouTube BAM debate???
Glenn let’s chat. For the industry. No CEO connect stage with 15min fluff. Online and long form – where the industry and YOUR agents actually consume their info.
What do you say??@Chris_Smth @TheBrokeAgent @glennkelman https://t.co/i2HsirTtWr
— Byron Lazine (@ByronLazine) December 31, 2022
Glenn, long form conversation w you live on YT ?? Yesterday we had over 1300 live agents. More engagement than any panel. Would love you to have the platform to speak to agents directly where they actually consume industry content. You in???
— Byron Lazine (@ByronLazine) January 5, 2023
Agents React
After Smith’s Tweet and Kelman’s response were covered in an article by The Real Deal, Smith returned to the post, shaking his head and stating, “Well that escalated quickly.”
He also posted on Instagram, where plenty of agents shared their reactions to the whole ordeal.
View this post on Instagram
Here are a few reactions from the post:
This Simple Instagram Post Generated 97 Comments (and a Month of Content Ideas)