WRITING FOR BUSINESS MEMORANDUM

TO:
ENG 312, DR. LANCE CUMMINGS
FROM:
VICTORIA PETRON
SUBJECT: NETWORK REAL ESTATE SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYSIS
DATE:

INTRODUCTION
A realty is in the business of serving the local community as well as those who may want
to relocate to that community. Realtors promote themselves as well as their company in
order to persuade the public to choose them for their real estate needs. In this digital age,
businesses communicate to their clients and potential clients through social media that
can be accessed globally. A realtys image can be influenced in a positive, neutral, or
negative way depending upon what they post.
Studying the rhetoric of a realtys social media posts can help to identify what strategies
are successful in improving their companys image, as well as what topics and language
may deter potential clients. For the purposes of this analysis, I have studied the Twitter
and Facebook social media pages of the realty, Network Real Estate. I chose a local realty
in order to study an example of how a realty digitally communicates with their local
demographics as well as people who may not be familiar with the area.

PERSUASIVE SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN

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In December of 2015, Network Real Estate ran a social media campaign asking followers
to post photos of their various holiday decorations. Subsequent posts announced the
weekly winners. Network Real Estates campaign and contest related posts were
primarily persuasive in nature. Their primary audience included people who had already
liked their page, and their secondary audience included people who may have been
directed to their page after seeing others post about the contest (Guffrey, Lowey 42). The
texts implicit exigency is to persuade their audience members to follow Network Real
Estates Facebook page with the goal of increasing their audience and potential clients
(Overview). The post in Figure 1 is effective because it emphasizes the Whats in it for
me? aspect of business writing by using first person pronouns and promoting goodwill
through offering chances to win (Guffey, Loewy 42-5). Network Real Estates post also
creates a call to action for their audience by using the phrase, stayed tuned.
USE OF PATHOS

Figure 2 Network Real Estate's Twitter

Valentine's Day Post

Figure 1 Network Real Estate's Facebook Post

featuring one of the winning photographs of
holiday decorations.

Network Real Estates recent

blogpost, shared on their Twitter
and Facebook (Figure 2) pages,
utilizes the rhetorical appeal of
pathos which appeals to feelings
of the audience. This post
spotlights the benefits of living
in Wilmington to their audience
(Guffey, Loewry 44). The post
heavily relies on the use of an
image to communicate the
context of being in love as
depicted by the heart icon and
couple kissing.

This scenario reaches several types of people in

various relationship stages as well as people in
different locations. In addition to local audience
members, the post may reach audience members
Figure 2 Network Real Estate's Facebook Valentine's
Day Post

who do not yet live in the area. This provides a positive, persuasive message as to why
they may want to visit or move to Wilmington.

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VISUAL MEDIA RHETORIC

Network Real Estates agent, Kevin McCoy,
regularly appears as a guest on WECT News
Business Break segments. The segments have
been shared on Network Real Estates Twitter
and Facebook (Figure 3) pages. Although the
topics vary, one November, 2015 segment
aimed to establish the credibility of Network
Real Estate. This is an example of a kind of
ethos used to persuade the audience to trust and
ultimately hire their real estate agents (Overview). In addition, the text implies that
Network Real Estates credibility is extensive enough that a reputable news station would
have one of their agents give public advice.
The video embedded in the post demonstrates certain rhetoric in terms of language,
nonverbal communication, and images. In terms of this post on social media, another
form of ethos can be identified in which McCoys speech reflects his perspective, and
therefore that of the companys (Sprout, 2012). Although the text Network Real Estate
uses may effectively communicate their credibility, what he says on their behalf may
negate their effort.
Figure 3 Network Real Estate's Facebook WECT Post

CONCLUSION
The rhetorical appeals of Network Real Estates various social media posts are apparent
and often effective. The realty accomplishes reaching demographics that span different
types of people living in various locations. Their avoidance of posts that depict
affiliations with specific political, religious, or other social arenas assists in retaining
followers. The positive language and audience oriented views Network Real Estate
digitally communicates is persuasive and supports their image as being personally
invested in the well-being of their community. Additionally, their correspondence with
WECT has increased their credibility and enhanced the publics awareness.

Works Cited
Guffey, Mary Ellen., and Dana Loewy. Essentials of Business Communication. Mason,
OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning, 2016. Print.

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Overview: Writing a Rhetorical Analysis. PDF.

Sprout, Ethan, Dana Lynn Driscoll, and Allen Brizee. "Welcome to the Purdue OWL."
Purdue OWL: The Rhetorical Situation. 2012. Web. 03 Feb. 2016.
<https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/625/03/>.

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