Richard Silver is a top-ranked Salesperson, an early adopter of Technology,
Web 2.0 and presently sits as a Director-at-Large with the Toronto Real
Estate Board. He is a member of the MLS and Technology Council at the
Canadian Real Estate Association. A 30 year veteran, he feels “you are
never too old to re-invent yourself.
Richard Silver sits as a Director-at-Large with the Toronto Real Estate
Board and is a member of the MLS and Technology Council at CREA.
His Web site is RichardSilver.com and blog is Torontoism.com.
New marketing models for finding buyer-clients
The world has changed since I first entered the real estate business. Personal
networking is still crucial, but the tools have changed: It seems that who you
know, who you golf with, and what boards you sit on don’t matter nearly as much
as they used to.
This is partly because buyers now have different motivations. Their top priority is
finding someone who really knows the market they are most interested in. Being
the “go-to” person is key. Buyers are also changing in terms of how they like to
communicate and how they prefer to search for homes. The Internet has had a
huge impact on both these activities. Buyers are looking online first and want to
see who stands out in a market as giving them the best information and advice.
By The Numbers
I’m guessing I’m not the first agent who has told you that business is done
differently now. If you remain skeptical, however, consider this data from the
National Association of REALTORS®: According to the latest NAR Profile of
Home Buyers and Sellers 2009, 90 percent of buyers used the Internet as an
information source in their home search, up 30 percentage points during the
past six years. First-time buyers were even more likely to use the Internet.
It’s hard to look at this data and ignore the importance of establishing and
maintaining a meaningful online presence. But what exactly is a meaningful
online presence? I’m referring to much more than a Web site, which tends to be
filled with relatively static content. Participating in online social media networks
and posting new, important content on a regular basis, especially through a blog,
allows you to actually engage in online conversations. You are much more likely
to connect with buyers this way, rather than relying solely on your Web site.
Here’s another important fact from
NAR research: 66 percent of buyers
only contact one agent during their
search process. Granted, personal
referrals play a very important role in
this statistic. But if most buyers begin
their search online, doesn’t it also stand
to reason that many of them are making
that fi rst contact with an agent via
the Internet?
It doesn’t really matter whether buyers
meet you via your blog, or your Web site,
or your Facebook page, or your Twitter
posts. The real point is that if buyers use
the first qualified agent they meet, and
if they are using the Internet more than
any other information resource, don’t you
want to be the agent who buyers find first
and connect with when they begin their
search online?
What is the Web Good For?
Web sites are an essential component
of your marketing efforts. Rather than
highlighting your conquests, I advise
agents to make sure their site does
a good job of answering consumers’
four most important questions:
-
What is the current inventory of
homes in the neighborhood? (and
display them with excellent and
numerous photos)
-
What is the consumer’s home worth?
-
What’s happening in the real estate
market? (market statistics, tax
benefits, etc.)
-
What’s happening in the community?
(lifestyle elements, including
schools, restaurants, etc.)
Of course, doing a good job of answering
these four “simple” questions can
require a lot of Web content. If you have
a blog integrated into your Web site, then
you can use your posts to provide many
answers to these questions, along with
your regular material.
Wake Up To Dynamic Content
I had a Web site years before I had a
blog. Before I started blogging, I dabbled
with adding a little statistical information
about our market to my site in the form
of short and poignant factoids. Once I
did that, I noticed something that really
got my attention: The number of visitors
hitting my site went up 20 percent and
the bounce rate (how long someone
stays on your site) also improved
significantly.
This really convinced me of the
importance of adding fresh content on
a regular basis. Blogs are the easiest
way for an agent to do that. I happen
to use Wordpress for my blog, which is
very user friendly. But there are other
platforms that also allow you to post blog
content without learning anything about
programming and html code.
Personally, I keep my blog and my
Web site separate, but often copy and
paste some of my posts onto my site.
Again, this is relatively easy to do if
your Web site includes a good Content
Management System—or if you have a
personal assistant or site administrator
who does this for you.
Other Benefits of a Blog
Agents often ask me, when do you
have time to write a blog? I reply by
asking them: When do you have time
to answer the same questions, over and
over, with your buyers?
Admittedly, the first 100 entries for a
new blog are daunting. But once you’ve
built a solid collection of material on all
the most important topics and questions,
it becomes much easier. And for each
question that a buyer raises, you can
point them to specific posts that answer
that question in detail and with good
back-up.
This is how online conversations that
begin on social media networks can
evolve into business opportunities. For
example, imagine chatting on Facebook
with someone in your local market who
is interested in learning more about
whether they can take advantage of the
extended and expanded homebuyer tax
credit. If you’ve written a post about that,
give them the link.
Assuming they view your post, you now
have a potential buyer who not only
appreciates your help directing them
to valuable information, but they’ve
probably spent a little time viewing other
pages on your blog, or your Web site—
which can help convince them that you
really know your market.
Once they are ready to start their search
in earnest, NAR data suggests that it’s
very likely they’ll consider working with
you. You have become their “go-to”
person. You will often find that buyers
have read your blog and therefore know
your thoughts on certain issues. That’s
why they want to work with you.
The other benefit of blogs is that they
dramatically improve the odds that
buyers will find you when they begin
searching online. Again, this is because
search engines favor dynamic content
over Web pages that never change.
Make sure your posts include the
same keywords that homebuyers use
for searching, to help ensure that your
pages float higher in their search results.
Regarding keywords, it’s also important
to note that you shouldn’t use acronyms
that are familiar to someone in the real
estate industry, but are not familiar to
consumers. For example, if you work
in the Houston area, don’t use “HAR,”
but rather “Houston area REALTORS.”
Search engines will rank this keyword
phrase much higher, since it’s what
consumers are more likely to use.
How Do Social Networks Fit In?
Even though social networks play an
important role, I firmly believe that a blog
is the most essential component of your
professional online presence. It’s the hub
that sits in the middle, with other online
communities acting like satellites orbiting
around it.
Major social networks like Facebook,
LinkedIn and Twitter are excellent for
expanding your connections. Each
platform has a different flavor. Once
you dabble in them, you’ll find some
more appealing than others. Also, don’t
overlook smaller online networks that
may be directly connected to your local
community—or consider launching one
of your own.
If you do a really good job on your
blog, you can use other networks to
further leverage your online presence.
For example, maybe you’ve decided to
use Facebook primarily for posts and
comments that are of a more personal
nature. That’s fine, as long as you’re
smart and sensible.
But when you add a post to your
blog, you should also post about it on
Facebook, sharing a link back to your
blog. This is how you can use other
social networks to help extend the reach
of your blog. Put another way, I look to
the social networks to syndicate the blog
content I write.
Even if you decide to concentrate on
one social network more than others,
it’s important to establish a presence on
all the big ones. Different buyers have
different communication preferences—
including various social networks as well
as phone, text and e-mail—so you
want to make sure you are accessible
through all the major channels. Be
flexible, so you can connect with your
clients the way they want to connect.
And ask them about their preferences
from time to time.
Don't Delay Any Longer
It’s a new year. What better time to shed
some of your old outdated habits and
start new ones? If you haven’t already
shifted gears and stepped up your
efforts to modify your marketing focus
and priorities, there’s no time like the
present. Things have changed. If
you’re still doing the same things
you’ve always done, this is probably the
right time to consider rebooting your
marketing strategies and exploring
ways you can make a stronger
connection with today’s buyers. Now
is always a good time to learn something
new. Re-invent yourself!
