In 2024, against a backdrop of intense public scrutiny, the National Association of REALTORS® asked its members this: Help us tell our own story—in Facebook posts and comments sections, in opinion pieces and local news interviews—to convey an accurate portrait of the industry.
Two years and more than 1,000 members later, that effort is still going strong with a new name that highlights the role the program plays, the association says. Starting today, its “Surrogate Program” is now “NAR Influencers.”
The program empowers members and REALTOR® association executives to represent the industry and weigh in on key issues, whether that’s in their own social media channels, peer networks or in interviews with traditional media channels. NAR evolved the name based on member feedback.
“We heard [the] call for a program title that better reflects what our influencers do day in and day out,” NAR Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Bennett Richardson says. “The NAR Influencer Program more clearly describes the roles and responsibilities of being an influencer—being a trusted voice to elevate REALTORS®, share timely, consumer-friendly information and help shape conversations about real estate in communities nationwide.”
He adds, “the name is new, but the mission is the same: Make it easy for members to stay informed and engage with confidence.”
How NAR Supports Influencers
To ensure influencers have the latest research, insights and ready-made social content, NAR’s communications staff produces a weekly newsletter and facilitates quarterly influencer conference calls.
“It's been powerful for me to be a part of this program because it really encourages me and ensures that I'm on top of my game as it relates to what's happening at the national level,” says St. Louis broker-associate Nate Johnson, who has been participating in the program since its founding.
Johnson, currently an NAR regional vice president, was one of four NAR leaders who answered questions from the press ahead of the August 2024 practice changes. The day-long media tour marathon produced 311 broadcast airings and reached more than 10 million viewers nationwide.
Setting the Record Straight
While the grassroots movement began as a way of delivering timely, accurate information about the NAR settlement and practice changes, NAR Influencers continue to use their platforms to share industry research and insights and amplify accurate information.
It’s important to call out inaccuracies not just for the public’s benefit, Johnson explains, but to educate NAR members, who consume headlines just like everyone else.
Brandon Roberts, broker-owner of Signature Real Estate Group in Las Vegas, did just that after an article ran in his city paper.
Based on the accounts of unnamed sources, the Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote that agents were using loopholes to “boost their pay” and skirt the NAR settlement, connecting nameless anecdotes to a report about agent commissions going up in the year following the settlement announcement. Roberts, who was interviewed for the article as then-president of Nevada REALTORS®, penned a letter to the editor in collaboration with NAR, explaining why the story was misleading.
“The suggestion based on anonymous sources that agents are exploiting ‘loopholes’ is a brazen leap,” Roberts wrote. “If there are isolated cases of behavior that violate ethical standards or the spirit of the agreement, those should be investigated. But suggesting an industry-wide conspiracy based on vague anecdotes undermines public trust and disrespects the professionals who serve Nevada families every day to help them with the most important financial transaction of their lives.”
Moving forward, influencers “will play a key role in media relations on both offense and defense,” the association said in its annual report.
