Is Your Facebook Page RECO

and REBBA 2002 Compliant?

Contents
Foreword ......................................................................................................................................... 2
What is Facebook? .......................................................................................................................... 3
Facebooks Mission Statement .................................................................................................... 3
Facebook for Real Estate Brokers ............................................................................................... 3
Best Practices .............................................................................................................................. 4
Getting Started With Facebook ...................................................................................................... 4
Facebook Profiles ........................................................................................................................ 5
Creating a Compliant Facebook Profile .......................................................................................... 5
Facebook Pages ........................................................................................................................... 9
Facebook Groups........................................................................................................................10
Tips About Facebook .....................................................................................................................10
Important clarifications when using descriptive phrasing ............................................................ 11
About Realty Point Inc ................................................................................................................... 11
Web Links ...................................................................................................................................... 11
DISCLAIMER ................................................................................................................................12

Foreword
Creating a REBBA 2002 compliant social media profile is a requirement of all registered real
estate brokers in Ontario when you use any social media account for any type of real estate
related activities and there isnt much of a grey area according to the compliance requirements
that have been set out.
There are Advertising Guidelines (available at the RECO website) that describe the particulars as
set out by RECO that will assist you in advertising compliance issues that include online
activities.
This guide has been written to provide advice current at the time of publication. Regulations
may be amended or re-written and Facebook settings may change so we encourage you to seek
up-to-date information using the links at the end of this publication.
Social media as a whole offers a channel unique to the times we live in for connecting with
people and events, for discovery and conversation.
Uniquely, Facebook is, with more than 1.2 billion members worldwide, the largest collection of
people ever brought together. Being a part of something so large and so ingrained into our daily
lives offers opportunities never before available and dangers never before encountered.

This guide has been made available to you free of charge by Realty Point Inc.
Please share it with others that may find the information useful.

Realty Point Inc

240 Duncan Mill Road, Suite 600
Toronto, ON, M3B 3S6
1-800-410-8516
www.realtypoint.ca
info@realtypoint.ca

What is Facebook?
Facebook is a social media platform that allows people, groups, brands, and businesses to
connect and discover.
I like to think of Facebook as an alternative to the social visit or phone call to a friend that you
always plan to make. At any time you can catch up on what is happening in your family and
friends lives that they want to share with you, and you can share your life with them just as
easily. Facebook is as casual or as intimate as you want it to be (within Facebook community
standards that is).
People are multi-dimensional and Facebook offers the platform for you to share the many
unique things that combine to make you who you are.

Facebooks Mission Statement

Founded in 2004, Facebooks mission is to give people the power to share and make the world
more open and connected. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to
discover whats going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them.
[Excerpted from https://www.facebook.com/facebook/info?tab=page_info November 2014]

Facebook for Real Estate Brokers

Without a doubt Facebook offers a great way to connect with past, current and future clients,
extending your professional network by being available as a person and be seen as more than
just a real estate professional.
You can easily set-up your Facebook personal page to connect with people and you can also
create a business page (and even a group page) to help separate your personal and business
Facebook activities.
Its important to know, however, that the three are inter-connected, and as such should be
treated as equal parts of your Facebook exposure and all types of Facebook pages (Profile, Pages,
Groups) that you may create or administer fall under the RECO and REBBA 2002 regulatory
system.

If you post any real estate information (at all, ever, as opposed to never posting
such information and using Facebook for purely personal activities), as a real
estate professional registered with RECO you are required to have certain
information available within your profile as regulated by RECO and REBBA 2002.

Best Practices
We encourage you to use Facebook in a responsible manner. Social media can be a great way to
connect but it is also forever so as you like, friend, follow, message, post and share do so with
care.

Only share content that you wouldnt be embarrassed to be seen as coming from you by
your family, friends and co-workers and basically every other person on the planet if in
doubt, dont post or share it (the internet is forever, even when Facebook says you can
edit/delete a post/comment). Reputation management is of the utmost importance!
Use your personal page to connect with friends, family and acquaintances and create a
specific business page and invite people to like that page to promote your real estate
business always in this order!
Facebook, just like most social media channels, should be treated as a get-together, a
place to start a conversation. Dont always be selling, youll make more friends and
everyone involved will have a better experience if you keep your business to a minimum
(a good rule of thumb is 80% fun, 20% business for your posts)
Understand Facebooks privacy policy and how you can control access to all parts of your
personal information from what you share publicly to what you share with select people
and even keep to yourself
Its important to be aware of the various ways your profile is displayed as you set up your
account or change your privacy settings. Its worthwhile to occasionally visit your profile
page and click the various links when you are not logged into Facebook so you can see
what is publicly available about yourself on your page

Getting Started With Facebook

Its likely that you already have a Facebook account, after all more than 80% of Ontarians do.
We use Facebook to keep on top of what is happening in our family and friends lives and to
share our own happenings, big or small.
We share and store our vacation photos, funny videos, recipes, links to websites and a lot more.
Facebook provides a great place to discover more of the world around us as we share on our own
timeline and our friends pages.
If you dont yet have a Facebook account then now is the time to join and get started. Youll need
a few things at the ready, a few pictures, some friends email accounts so you can find them (or
search by their names) and connect with them.
Im not going to go into detail about setting up your account, after all, discovery is half the fun
and things change so its quite possible what I would describe isnt in effect as you read this.

I will offer this advice however: take the Facebook tour to see how all the parts of
your page interact and contain your personal information. Read each section
about how to manage your privacy and determine who sees what on your page and
what you post and share.

Facebook Profiles
Your profile is the main page linking to all the sections about yourself and your activities which
includes your timeline, personal information, photos, friends list and a lot more.
Many Real Estate Professionals assume that as long as the About section of their Facebook
profile contains their business information that their profile is compliant with current
regulations. This is not true.

Creating a Compliant Facebook Profile

Your profile cover photo image (see image below) is our one area of interest across
Facebook including your Profile, your Pages and your Groups, that must be set-up
in a very specific way to be RECO and REBBA 2002 compliant as a Real Estate
Professional in Ontario.

[Note: this is a non-compliant profile]

To be compliant with RECO and REBBA 2002 your profile must include a custom cover image
that clearly details your information as a Real Estate Broker, your brokerage (including the word
brokerage) and certain contact information.
The custom cover requirement is due to the fact that the standard layout and default settings of
your Facebook profile page does not have the capability to display the required information as
mandated by RECO and REBBA 2002.
Using Facebook (and any social media) to promote your activities as a Real Estate
Broker falls within the Advertising Guidelines and as a RECO registrant you are
required to ensure your compliance.
The image below is an example of a compliant Facebook cover photo image as provided by
RECO.

[*image from http://www.reco.on.ca/UserFiles/Social%20Media%20Guide/Social%20Media%20Guide%20%20FINAL.pdf ]

The required aspects of your custom cover photo image include

Clearly identifying the RECO registered name of your brokerage and include the word
brokerage
Clearly identifying yourself and your designation (Sales Representative, Broker)
Provide current brokerage contact information including address (phone number is
optional)

Essentially, the contact information that is on your business card is what is needed to be
on your Facebook pages custom cover image photo

As there is not enough space within the text fields that display on top of your profile image that
Facebook provides, you must create a custom cover photo image to show this information.
You also need to be aware of how your profile image and text that will display on top of your
custom cover photo image may hide the information that needs to be displayed. Weve provided
the following examples and sizing to save you time in creating an effective custom cover photo
image
The recommended custom cover photo image size is a minimum 720 pixels wide and should be
300 pixels high (optimal size is 820x310 pixels). The image can be repositioned after you upload
it if it is not a perfect fit, but not cropped or resized.
Below is a screenshot of a custom cover photo image so you can see which areas of the photo will
be hidden when others visit your profile page.

[Image copyright 2014 Robert Lee]

Starting with the picture area in the bottom left corner you need to leave room for your profile
picture and your name, about an area of 500 pixels wide by 140 pixels high.
From the bottom right corner there are some buttons that will also hide your image so you need
to not put any of the required information in an area about 325 pixels wide by 50 pixels high
from the bottom right corner, see example below.

[Image copyright 2014 Robert Lee]

If you have photo editing software creating your own custom cover photo image should be quite
easy. If youre uncomfortable with editing a photo and dont have someone that can help you
with this task you can always search online for a Facebook cover photo creator to get the task
completed.
Be aware, however, to use your own image that you hold the copyright for or only copyright and
royalty free images from a reliable source or you may be liable for the use of the image in a
personal and/or commercial use capacity. Many people are sued over the use of images they
thought were free because they found the image online but the image is copyrighted and a
royalty payment is required for its use.
Below is an example of a compliant custom cover photo image.

[Image copyright 2014 Robert Lee]

Facebook Pages
Pages are a sub-set of your personal page. They have their own identity and their own
followers that dont necessarily have to be following or friends of your personal profile.
Pages are connected to, but separate from, your personal Facebook profile page. Many people
create a page dedicated to a specific topic. As a real estate professional you will want to create a
page about your business an invite people to Like and interact with your page.
Pages differ from a personal profile page by including a section for business information,
reviews and you can add available apps to additional tabs.
Additionally Pages can show up in a google search so by investing the time in creating a page
dedicated to your real estate business it will add to your online reach.
This page also needs to have a custom cover image photo to be RECO and REBBA 2002
compliant.
There are all types of pages you can create as the image below shows.

[screenshot of Facebook Pages page types and templates]

Here is an example of a custom cover image photo showing the RECO mandated information for
Realty Point Inc (sponsor of this document).

[Image copyright 2014 Robert Lee]

Facebook Groups
Groups are a sub-set of your personal page as well. They can be created about any topic that
abides by the Facebook Community Standards and have the additional benefit of being open to
the public (anyone can see the group, its members and their posts), or closed (anyone can find
the group and see who's in it, only members can see posts) or secret (only members can find the
group and see posts).
Groups would be used to discuss specific issues as a professional group, a community issue, or a
fan of someone/something.
This group page also needs to have a custom cover image photo to be RECO and REBBA 2002
compliant.

Tips About Facebook

Your profile picture is a public image and is shown to all visitors to Facebook, on your
page, in messaging apps, alongside your posts and even other websites that you log in
using your Facebook account
Facebook does not store your password. You should set up your account with a strong
password and enable two-factor authentication to your mobile phone should you ever
need to reset your password. You should also have an alternate email address in use in
case you lose access to your primary email address
Facebook provides a username@facebook.com email address that can forward
messages to your registered email address
You may be eligible for a vanity url when you set-up your account (or soon afterwards)
that allows your page link on Facebook to display as
https://www.facebook.com/vanityurl instead of the default
https://www.facebook.com/UID123456789

Carefully review your privacy settings so you understand who sees what and make the
adjustments that you are most comfortable with
Check the image when people tag you in a photo (you dont want to be associated with
images in poor taste do you?)
You can check your Facebook activity by going to Settings > Activity Log and see what
youve been doing as well as other activities involving yourself by other people

Important clarifications when using descriptive phrasing

Due to the limited space available in your Facebook cover photo image its important to note
that using descriptive phrasing, comparative claims and indications of honours and awards
must still abide by the Advertising Guidelines and have notations either with the details or a link
to where the details about the statements are available online.

About Realty Point Inc

Realty Point offers an innovative franchise brokerage platform that allows successful real estate
sales professionals to open their own real estate brokerage at a significant savings over the
traditional brokerage franchise model.
Incorporating your real estate business through your Realty Point brokerage franchise allows
you, the real estate professional, to become the Broker of Record of your own brokerage and
utilize the Realty Point administration staff as your back-office support staff, allowing you to
continue what you do best, sell homes, while we take care of the compliance and administrative
work your brokerage requires to operate daily.
Your Name Realty Point becomes the foundation that allows you to utilize the tax savings that
other self-employed professionals in Ontario enjoy while at the same time operate at a
substantial lower office and staff cost and still be RECO and REBBA 2002 compliant.
With over 10 years successfully running a real estate brokerage, our management team guides
you every step of the way, starting with incorporation and continuing through your daily
operations, to help you achieve the success you desire.

Web Links
Facebook Help
https://www.facebook.com/help/
Facebook Privacy Basics
https://www.facebook.com/about/basics/

Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (with links to privacy policy, data use policy
and more)
https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms
RECO (guidelines)
http://www.reco.on.ca/professional/registration.html
REBBA 2002 (RECO documents)
http://www.reco.on.ca/tc-328/sc-335.html
REBBA 2002 (e-laws)
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_02r30_e.htm
Realty Point Inc
http://www.realtypoint.ca

DISCLAIMER
The information contained herein is an adaption of the information available through RECO and
the REBBA 2002 from currently available documents (November 2014). It should in no way be
deemed complete or binding and you are advised to seek additional clarification from the above
mentioned regulatory bodies to confirm your individual compliance with these recommended
guidelines.
Real estate agents in Ontario are licensed and regulated by The Real Estate Council of Ontario
(RECO) which is responsible for administering and enforcing the Real Estate and Business
Brokers Act 2002 (REBBA 2002).
Enforcement covers all activities deemed to be a part of the activities of a real estate broker (see
RECO for clarification) including social media activity when used by real estate agents in
conjunction with real estate business. This may include advertising, lead generation and
property promotion among other activities.
You may freely share this publication, in its entirety, provided no additions, deletions or other
changes are made to the document.

2014 Realty Point Inc. and Robert Lee. Images used remain the property of their respective
owners. All rights reserved. Edition V2.1
Realty Point Inc
240 Duncan Mill Road, Suite 600
Toronto, ON, M3B 3S6
1-800-410-8516
www.realtypoint.ca
info@realtypoint.ca