Tony B: The Staten Island real estate agent making waves on social media
STATEN ISLAND - On a platform of over two billion users, there is only one Tony B of Island Wide Realty, but in a city of 8.5 million people, this one real estate agent speaks a language New Yorkers understand.
At the age of 65, Tony B, whose real name is Anthony Bernardo, has become a social media sensation, following a very simple formula: tell the buyer what you're selling and what makes it great.
The result: a thriving business and Instagram gold. FOX 5 NY's Teresa Priolo sat down with him.
'I'm not giving a nobody $5,000 a month'
"That's a real good one. I want to tell you the story," Tony said. "There was a company calling me on the phone at my office doing work every day. Oh, we want to put you on social media. We want to get you started. We want to get your name out on the internet and stuff like that, and they wanted to charge me $5,000 a month.
"No, I said $5,000 a month? These guys got to be crazy. I'm not giving a nobody $5,000 a month. So, I went and started doing it myself. I did a reel and ‘bing, bing, bing, bing, bing.'"
Tony B. (Instagram: Island Wide Realty)
The ‘bings’ started adding up, and before long, the bings became a boom: One of his videos got 1.2 million hits.
"New Yorkers, we understand each other. It's typical neighborhood talk, other people from other places, they look at me, and they think it's acting. It's just the way I am. It's who I am," Tony continued.
Tony B. (Instagram: Island Wide Realty)
In addition to selling real estate, Tony is getting offers from all kinds of companies to promote their businesses. Even the folks at Gerber want to work with him.
"I don't know, but they want to send me a check for $5,000. They want me to sign a contract. You know, they like me," he laughed.
Tony B. (Instagram: Island Wide Realty)
It's undeniable, a lot of people like Tony B, which might be why the phone keeps ringing, and the deals keep coming.