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The other day we had one of our instructors, Justin Waskow in to talk with us about some of the tech tools that are already available to our agents. So often we get caught up in the new that we don’t take a moment to look at what is already available. Especially in this tight economy it is important to use what you already have and spend as little as possible on new stuff.
The title of the class was Ten Top Tech Tools for 2009. The list ranged from Google Analytics to your alarm clock and included Facebook and LinkedIn.
After the class agents asked me about the roll these sites should or could play in their marketing plan. Here is my take on how your Blog, Website, Facebook and LinkedIn can all work together to carry your marketing message to the world of buyers, sellers and home owners.
Today’s consumer is part Sherlock Holms and part research librarian. When they find something they are interested in they research it. In the case of a real estate agent they dig in to learn all they can about an individual. Mos
t agents are not even aware they are being virtually interviewed.
Your WebSite: should be written for your customer. It is for and about them, not you. I always look at the website as a reference book. This is where your customers come to search for houses, learn about the buying and selling process, research schools and neighborhoods and get a list of local resources. Make your site information rich and easy to use. If you do, they will come back often.
Your Blog: If your website is a reference book then your blog is a magazine. It should contain short stories about current events within the real estate world. Interest rates, discussions about inventory or buying and selling tips are all useful to the reader. If you tend to be verbose, break the content down into several entries. Use plenty of graphics or pictures to break up the page. At first post 2 or three times a week, as time goes by and your inventory of information builds you can post every week or every other week.
LinkedIn: This is your on-line resume. Buyers and sellers will find your profile and meet you on a professional level. This is where you will put your professional designations, time in the business, other business you’ve been in and your education. Additionally LinkedIn provides a platform for others to give you recommendations.
Face Book: This is the personal side of you. While your LinkedIn profile will have a business photo, Face Book is the place for a more relaxed picture of you in your natural habitat. This is the appropriate place for your favorite shot of you and your pet. This is where your potential clients will see the books you like to read, the movies you’ve enjoyed and the people you hang out with.
It is important for you to periodically review what others are seeing. Do you really want your potential clients to see a picture of you chugging that pitcher of beer?
Be sure to cross link each of these platforms to make it easy for customers to follow the path. Always reference your website or blog on all of your marketing materials or articles that you write. And by all means place Google Analytics on your blog and website so that you can track your traffic.
Each of these sites has a place in your marketing plan and the great part is they are very inexpensive or free and once set up easy to maintain.