On this episode of The Walk Thru, Byron Lazine and The Broke Agent sit down for a drama-filled episode with two of the OGs: Taya DiCarlo, fresh from her trip to Greece, and Danny Deals.
Instagram Drama
First up is the ongoing drama on Instagram with scammy impersonators and deleted accounts. We posted a BAM Breaking blog on this earlier this week.
Taya has learned a useful tip from one of her Instagram connections (shout out to Chelsea!). The copycats would block her, so she couldn’t even click on the links when people in her network alerted her to imposter accounts.
What she ended up doing, per Chelsea’s suggestion, is filing a copyright infringement form on Instagram’s Help Center. Within 72 hours, she got all four imposter accounts taken down.
Before getting his blue check, Dan was also being harassed by copycat scammers. Since the blue check, though, he hasn’t had much trouble with them.
“I do believe this story’s gonna pop back up in the future, because Instagram, Zucks, Facebook, you guys are doing a pathetic job at community control, of being able to control robots, of being able to control these scammers… The conspiracy is that there are many people on the inside at Facebook or Instagram that you can pay to get a blue check. So, this is like a side business for a lot of Meta employees…. In full transparency, it’s an investment that we may have to look into.”
Instagram Updates
Instagram engagement is all over the place, mainly because of four new major app updates:
- 90 second reels
- Pin up to three posts to the top of your feed
- Import audios from your camera roll
- Add interactive features to your reels
While these are all good developments for Instagram, they’re nothing new to TikTok users.
“This is Instagram trying to compete with TikTok, and they’re doing a piss-poor job of it if it’s just kicking its best creators off the app.”
Taya added her thoughts on the importance of being slightly controversial and having a strong opinion. To go viral, you want to focus on the kinds of content that is actually shareable.
Mortgage Demand Falls to Lowest Levels in 22 Years
As reported in the BAM Breaking blog earlier this week, mortgage applications are down 7% in the last week and down 21% from this time a year ago.
Byron and Taya discussed what this means for real estate agents and buyers. Taya argued that while fewer offers are coming in, sales are still steady, and her phone is running off the hook.
“We were going at an unprecedented rate that was not sustainable, so I think this is a welcome slowdown.”
Byron agreed the slowing down of demand doesn’t mean a crash. But there is a slowdown, because many prospective buyers are noticing the increased cost and holding back as a result.
If they shoot too high, sellers may be looking at only one offer.
Douglas Elliman top brokers leave to launch Official with Side
Next up is an article on The Real Deal on the Alexander team, which has left Douglas Elliman to launch their own agency with Side. Last year, this team closed more than $1.8 billion in sales – 3.5% of Elliman’s business in 2021.
Dan weighed in on the question of whether this move represents a shift in the industry. And the conversation moved to a comparison between brokerages like Douglas Elliman and the Agency.
“Everything in this business is give and take, so I think the Agency is doing a great job and I think that the Alexander team leaving is just another sign that it’s really the individual brand as opposed to the company.”
Byron added that while Elliman is a much bigger company than Agency, Agency is getting his attention on a much larger scale.
All four weighed in on the new name for the Alexander team (Official).
The Free vs Paid Coaching Debate
We have an epic conversation coming up on Tuesday the 14th. Byron Lavine and Ricky Caruth will finally debate the free vs paid coaching question. Subscribe to the BAM YouTube channel and tune in next Tuesday.
Adding to Byron’s position on the subject, Taya pointed out that she owes her success to paid coaching.
If you have questions or any opinion on this topic, be sure to watch the live YouTube debate next Tuesday, June 14th, at 5:00 pm Eastern Time.
Watch the full episode for more.
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