Beyond networking, meeting people face to face through organizations, leveraging of relationships you already have, staying in touch with past clients and old friends using technology effectively is the #2 strategy to building your business.
90% of first time home buyers used the Internet as part of their search for homes. 87% of recent home buyers said they used the Internet for information related to their home purchase.When asked where they first learned about the home they purchased, 34% of buyers said a real-estate agent; 32% cited the internet; 15% said from yard signs; 7% said from a friend, neighbor or relative; 7% said home builders; 3% said from a print or newspaper ad; 2% learned directly from the seller; and 1% from a home book or magazine.
Most home shoppers, once introduced to a name of an agent will go to the Internet to "check them out" to learn who they are, what they know, how professional they appear, how experienced they appear and what their values are. (What they are looking for is to know what does your BRAND stand for, what are your BRAND VALUES). 74% of all home buyers or sellers will hire the first realtor they talk to.
Other real estate agent shoppers will search the Internet looking for a "real estate agent in ________(the area in which they are looking to buy or sell a home)"
So what will come up on the Internet if they are looking for a real estate agent in the areas you specialize in related to you or what will come up if they put your name into a search?
You cannot ignore this question today. Not having a presence of some significance (as compared to other real estate agents in your area) is equivalent to not having a phone to do business. THE INTERNET IS AN ESSENTIAL TOOL for doing business today.
Here are things you need to consider to build the web (like a spiders web) to catch your prey. You spin this web and one way or another people will find you and with this content on the Internet you will become important to search engines and you have a better chance of appearing in a search.
- Web Site --- Most agencies have a web site today. Unfortunately this is not sufficient for building YOUR business. It provides a place for people to learn about your agency and to learn a little about the people working in the agency, but it is not a contact point for people looking for an agent in an area with a specific agency in mind. If your firm allows it, you need your own web site that promotes you, your values, your successes and offers your listings.
- Facebook --- dedicated to changing content...providing videos, announcements, short stories about every aspect of your business
- LinkedIn --- where you have a profile of your business experience and where people can understand who you are in your industry answering the question, "Why you should select me as your real estate agent over all your other choices." You will be able to communicate with people through this vehicle.
- Twitter --- where you can share brief information to help home buyers or home sellers establishing yourself as an expert in the field with your tips or information that matters to people buying or selling homes in your area
- Industry Specific Sites --- Being involved in groups that gather on the Internet, involved in Chat rooms where real estate is discussed
- Videos --- YouTube postings of tips for home buyers and home sellers in the areas you focus with Titles to the Videos that would match a search they might be searching for. Something like: "Selling Your Home For The Highest Price in 2012 in Riverside CA" where you talk about staging and presentation and how important this is to creating VALUE to the home buyer. You should consider 10 or 15 different videos 5 minutes long. Video, Audio and typewritten TESTIMONIALS that you can tweet, post on Facebook, offer on your web site or send out to your e-mail list.
Technology is playing a major roll in the real estate industry from virtual home tours to cell phone apps. It takes time and costs money, but unfortunately one has to keep up with the tools best suited to keep their business doing well. When a real estate agent could pick a client up in a car and drive them out to a property vs. riding with them on horseback or on a buckboard, those other agents who couldn't afford to improve their service found themselves with a shrinking business. The phone and the automobile were the first technologies to impact real estate agents. Now it is iPads, smartphones, web content that has become as essential as an automobile.
