March 19, 2009
Realtor Magazine online just posted an article that I think offers great advice. A brokerage blog is one of many solutions offered by the Enterprise Platform. We have written many posts spanning the spectrum of blogging as a social network builder and on how to localize your content. This article helps reiterate the positive influence blogging can have on your business.
The “4 Steps to a Successful Brokerage Blog” according to Realtor Magazine:
STEP 1: Pool your people. Contributing consistent, quality content is the ultimate key to any blog’s success. By creating one central blog for your brokerage, you can leverage the collective time, energy, and diverse talents of all your associates. Individually, a salesperson may simply not have the time to post regular entries. Pooling the talent of your sales staff allows them to combine their knowledge to create rich content about the markets they serve. You can help to direct and focus your team by giving specific ideas or topics for the blog. With your vision, your team can create digital archives of highly relevant and informative articles that consumers can easily access.
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March 11, 2009
If over 80% of all web interactions begin with a search and 85% of all clicks happen in organic terms in search results then why aren’t you doing more to help out your website’s best friend- your Blog?
Your company’s blog truly is the best friend for your website. While your website hosts all of the pertinent information about your company and the products or services you offer, it is limited to a static amount of space. You can only have so many tabs, links and pages before your website becomes too complex to navigate and your potential customers become frustrated with trying to find the information they want. A blog offers unlimited space to advertise your products/services, knowledge and brand. Plus, as a bonus, blogs are continuously updated and this inflow of information and content offers a great boost for your websites SEO.
Your Blog = Organic Search Traffic
With this in mind you should focus on how your blog could capture those organic searchers. This means focusing your blog around the information your customers want. (more…)
February 13, 2009
We often talk about how Brokerages and their Agents need to get involved in social networking because of its benefits to their online presence and what it can do for SEO. However, something what we don’t talk about often is that these same social media outlets also have direct advertising opportunities. Let’s consider the power of Facebook.
I recently read that Facebook currently has “222 million active users worldwide.” That means 1 in 5 people online use Facebook. Say you have 150 friends on Facebook, talking and spreading your good word, letting people know that you are the real estate expert in your area. This is great: it will build your credibility as the local expert and expand your digital footprint for when referrals decide to “Google You,” as well as your existing customer database. So while your message is successfully reaching those 150 friends you could also be advertising to the other 221.9 million yet to be added friends (those potential customers). What I’m saying is, let’s advertise to increase your visibility.
Facebook offers two plans for advertising. (more…)
January 29, 2009
I was reading online that in an internet study conducted last year by Piper and Jeffries, 50% of all searches conducted on Google and the like, have “Local Intent.” This means the consumer is being more specific with their search and attributing it to a certain city, state, zip code, etc. For Example:
Universal Search Term: “relocation companies”
Local Search Term: “Chicago relocation companies”
In the report they focused on the fact that while someone might put in “relocation” and only the big companies across the nation will come up, a localized search like “Chicago relocation” evens the playing field. With more detialed search criterias, a local company is more likely to appear in the search results than before.
Real estate searches in general seem to be fairly localized but I think this is a good time to take a look at your content and see if you are maximizing this trend. Localizing your website and blog will help your SEO and help you rank higher on the search results.
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December 15, 2008
A couple of weeks ago we talked about using video to “Tackle Tough Real Estate Questions.” While video is a great tool, it is something that needs to be done right in order to be perceived well. A well thought out, well produced video can go a long way. Your video may be simple but it needs to look professional. As a result, I thought it would be great to give some hints and tips to making a great video. Business Week recently posted an article about “Making YouTube Work for Your Business.” This article gave a few suggestions that I thought were practical and easy enough to implement.
Here are Carmine Gallo’s suggestions for effective videos:
- Keep it short…Keep your YouTube clips under three minutes.
- Make it loud and clear…Use a microphone other than the one built in on the camera you use.
- Avoid bulleted PowerPoints…Presentations don’t transfer well on tape, if you have a presentation be sure to edit the video with full shots of the slide.
- Use good lighting…You don’t need flood lighting, but be conscious not to deliver your message in a dimly lit room.
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