Rewind 20 years and the top agents would have the local bus seats covered, you would also see them in the local newspapers and on the t’shirts of the local footy team. A contributor in the community. they would drive potential buyers around the suburbs and walk them through their listings. It’s certainly not like that any more, many agents tell me.
Today, sellers will research the market and local agents online before contacting them for an appraisal. Whilst researching, they will possibly even consider going at it alone with out the guidance and skill of an expert in property. Buyers also are better informed, they have access to information and come armed with statistics and property data.
At which stage of a buyer or sellers research will they find YOU?
Without a solid online presence in real estate, their is a realistic chance that you may not be found at all. So where do you start? Here is my checklist of basic minimum requirements for a successful online presence in real estate.
1. Google
Google is more than likely going to be where your buyers and sellers will also start. Make sure you apply at least the basic SEO strategies to every page on your real estate website. Create a Google account and try out Google+. Google places is also a fantastic free tool to advertise your business and be found for local search queries.
2. Real Estate Blog
Just having a website these days is not enough for maintaining a strong online presence, incorporating a blog will make your site interactive for visitors but will also demonstrate to search engines that your are producing new content frequently and thus make their visits more frequently and boost you up in the search results. Check this article for some ideas about what to blog about in real estate.
3. Social Media
Social Media is where the communities are, they are platforms visited by billions of people around the globe. By far the most engaging social platform for agents is Facebook. Setting up a community page is easy and attracting an audience can be achieved through other similar networks on Facebook, through your website/blog and through leaflet drops that I know you all love doing. A community page can include a timeline of historic property prices in your local community and is the perfect platform to demonstrate that you are an expert in your field. One word of caution though, people on Social Media Platforms don’t like to be sold to. It’s about sharing your information and establishing rapport.
4. Video
Which agent 20 years ago would have considered producing a professional quality property profile video and then broadcasting it to thousands. Property videos are now within reach of nearly every advertising budget and are definitely more engaging then a slideshow of photos and accompanying text. Youtube is the second biggest search engine in the world so it just makes sense that your profile and product can be found there.
5. Web Portals
There is absolutely no doubt that this is where the buyers hang, real estate portals are home to nearly every property for sale today. Property Portals receive millions of visitors a year. These visitors whether buying, selling, renting or looking for someone to manage their investment are engaged in real estate and your presence here is essential. Here are some tips to increase sales lead generation through real estate portals
Are you the number 1 agent in your community? maybe your just starting out. Regardless of where you are in your career it is now essential that you create a successful online presence.
Great post Jeroen, things have certainly changed – whilst it’s certainly very important to remember the impotance of belly to belly contact with our future clients, there’s no denying the huge impact having an Internet presence has or can have on your business. Lee
Agreed Lee, Thanks for your comment. Selling real estate will always require that personal touch. Having a strong online presence, agents can certainly expect to be invited to more of those belly to belly meetings and provide the client with confirmation that they are the expert in the local community.
loved the article! I had never heard of web portals? I love learning something new and I will be checking into this and the 5 catagories. Appreciate the info!
Debbie
Glad you liked the article Debbie. Come back any time
I’m doing all of the above an its working that’s for sure. I’m starting to hire a team for help. I’m more of a buyers agent and do videos of hot properties on the market that are not my listings, but I’m allowed to advertise. This helps in google searchs as well for SEO. I specialize in Fort Lauderdale Waterfront Homes which is what I focus my YouTube channel on. Not sure if I’m allowed to put this here or not, but here is my YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/ftlauderdalerealty?feature=mhee It really does work! Thanks for the article.
Well done Dale, Video is awesome for SEO. Do you do anything with a Facebook Page? In a recent article I suggested creating a facebook page timeline of historic property prices in your community. Is any one doing this in Fort Lauderdale? What do you think?
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