Can Facebook.com Make You More Attractive?

You’re a social person, you have a network of friends and family.  But, in terms of Web 2.0, how are your social networking skills? 

 

In other words, are you on the cusp of a trend that can bring new friends and new business to you from throughout the world?  Or is it on your ever expanding to do list, the one titled, “Yeah, I Gotta Do That.”?  

 

I ask this because two weeks ago I made an agent in Missouri’s day because I sent her a nice referral, a past client of mine who wants to sell a rental that she owns in Springfield.

 

I went to my Facebook.com page and brought up the group called The Keller Williams Referral Network.  Doesn’t that sound like a group that you should join?  It is.  I searched Springfield, Missouri for agents and found a number of them.  Then I made my choice and contacted her.  She was great; professional, knowledgeable and experienced, exactly the type of agent that I hoped to find.

 

What was it about this agent’s Facebook.com page that drew my attention?  It was done well.  It was complete.  She had obviously put in enough time to make it informative, personal and professional.  That’s what made her stand out.  It attracted me to her.  From her profile I got the opinion that knows what she’s doing and that she cares enough to do it well.

 

Has my Facebook.com page brought me any business?  Not yet.  But I paid it forward two weeks ago so I know that it eventually will happen. 

 

But what I have received from Facebook.com is just as amazing.  Since joining a few months ago I have been contacted by people across the nation.  Keller Williams agents, agents from other brokers (recruiting opportunities), mortgage lenders, past and current clients, people that I graduated high school with and haven’t seen in over twenty years, and other Wischhusens from across The Globe.  I have over three hundred people in my network and it grows every day. 

 

The valuable point that I’m making is that people are coming to me.  They’re attracted to me because I put myself out there in the right place to be found.  Plus, it’s free!  Get started today.

 

Thanks for reading.  Please let me know if you have any questions or would like help getting started in social networking.  Visit my blog for ongoing tech advice at www.RealtorTechTalk.com. 

Take care,

GlenTheRealtor.com

Do Your Looks Stop Traffic?

Out on the information super-highway it’s easy to get run over.   If you don’t capture the attention of today’s home buyer in the first three or four seconds they’re gone.  They’ve moved on to the next real estate agent’s website or perhaps to one of the big home search engines like Realtor.com, Trulia, and Craigs list.

So what?  It’s a missed opportunity that you won’t get back.  The vast majority of buyers begin their search online even before they’ve come into contact with an agent.  They spend a few weeks gathering information and then they’re ready to begin.

The ideal situation would be that buyers in their search for information on the home buying process and homes for sale would find your website and stay a while.  Eventually they will have a question and based on the information and appearance of your website they’ll decide that you are worth considering as an agent and they’ll contact you with a simple question.

If you make it to the request for information stage with a prospect you have a really good chance of earning their business.  Most likely they’ve sent the same question to a number of agents.  How you respond is what makes you different.  The simple question is more of a test for you to pass or fail then a desire to get the information itself.  A quick and courtious response is more important then the actual answer.   Demonstrate your willingness to be of service.

The prospect described in the example above is typical for today’s home buyer.  You will always have exceptions but this is the majority.  Now consider that most sellers start as buyers and you see the importance of stopping traffic and quickly responding to inquiries that come as a result.

Thanks for reading!

GlenTheRealtor.com

Listings Drive Massive Traffic

Use Ryders

Listings are a great opportunity to drive lots of traffic to your web site.  A URL with the address of the property has a no pressure feel to it. 

The dedicated listing website gives people a place to go to get information about the property itself.  That’s what they’re really interested in, at first anyway.  Once they are there they can find you.  Show your expertise for the neighborhood or area.  Even if the listing isn’t right for them, they’ll believe that you’re the one to talk to about the area.  It also gives the curious neighbors a place to go to get information.  Instead of going to places like Realtor.com, they’ll be going to your website.  It’s a really good way to make a first impression on them.

Use the domain in your advertising.  I’ve seen some great traffic statistics on my listing sites just after a Just Listed or Just Sold card goes out.  Run a small space newspaper ad for an open house.  Using a unique domain name gives you a chance to adjust where you are spending your advertising dollars.

One more reason:  people love to talk about real estate when their home is on the market.  When you give them their own domain name they have a place to send their family, friends, and coworkers.  It’s an impressive way to begin the asking for referrals process.  Make sure to tell them to send every one they know and then ask them for feedback later.  Even they might be surprised who among their acquaintances is planning or thinking about a move.

What’s the cost?  If you go to a domain registerer like GoDaddy.com it’s only $10 for the year and you get a free web page.  Pretty inexpensive and very effective if you work it correctly.  Setting up a web page doesn’t have to be complicated.  It can be as simple as imbedding the MLS information.  Of course, you can also add a virtual tour, videos, or a slide show of the neighborhood.  The ideas are limitless and I’ll talk about them in future posts.

Thanks for reading!  Visit often, send fellow agents, subscribe, and please feel free to add comments.  I welcome the feedback. 

Take care,

GlenTheRealtor.com

What’s in a Domain Name?

Choosing a domain name for your web site is a lot more important than most agents realize.  The temptation is to use your own name or the team name.  This is not necessarily a bad idea, it’s just not going to give you the most bang for your buck as far as your SEO.  It’s fine when you’re working with people that know you.  But even then, think about the NAR statistics that prove that most people no matter how great your service will forget your name within a few months.  And they definitely won’t remember your domain name.

 In order to maximize your exposure and draw more traffic, make your name real estate related and easy to remember.  Not an easy task, but well worth it for the results.  A more narrow focus can help weed out a lot of the competition for domains.  For instance, if you specialize in a certain community that has one predominant type of property.   (ex.  www.FederalHillCondos.com).  

If you think about it, most buyers know what type of property they want and what area they’d like to live in.  And that’s what they enter when they go to Google.com or another search engine.  If it’s one of your domains you could wind up near the top of the results.  Think of it as a $10 a year marketing tool.  Thoughts?

GlenTheRealtor.com

What’s all this about SEO?

SEO or search engine optimization is basically the strategy of increasing your findability on the internet.   Meaning, when a potential buyer or seller goes to one of the big search engines like google, yahoo, etc., and types in “what is my home worth?”, or another real estate related phrase, do you even show up in the results.  Much less show up in the first few pages.  If you’re not on at least page three you can most likely forget about drawing any traffic.  And page three isn’t really all that great either.  The ultimate goal of course is page one at the top.

 Top billing on the search engines is not an easy goal to achieve because of the competition, but you can get very close.  There’s a number of ways to increase your SEO and I’ll discuss those further in the following postings.  This is merely an introduction to it.

Before I conclude this intro to SEO, I want to touch on quickly why it’s so important to you and your real estate business.  The answer is obvious to the majority of Realtors.  The NAR statistics show that somewhere in the range of 86% of home buyers begin their search on the internet.  Put that together with the fact that most sellers start out as buyers and it becomes clear that it’s not sufficient to merely have a website any more.  You need to also optimize your site to create greater exposure.  If you’re not, you’re missing the boat.  The good news is that it can all be accomplished for free with just a little focused effort on your part.

GlenTheRealtor.com