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The future of real estate marketing is online

November 7, 2010 By Tom Leave a Comment

Is your lead-generation system flashing?Leads have always come from your ‘social network.’

Today they are coming from your online social network. And that’s a good thing, because now you can easily extend your reach, using social media tools to touch base with your contacts (and their contacts).

You know that. And you know you need to position yourself now to take advantage. Because social media is not a trend that’s going away.  Maybe you feel a nagging anxiety for not having done enough about this.

That’s understandable. Because it will take some work to dislodge the real estate professionals who get a head start and establish themselves at the top of the search rankings in their local markets.

But the truth is, you’re busy. You just don’t have the time to figure out how to generate more leads through:

•    Search engines
•    Hyper-local marketing
•    Social media
•    Smart phones

So you put it off.  Yet there’s a real urgency to it.

It’s like when you’re driving down the road and the CHECK ENGINE light comes on.

You realize that you have to do something fast, or it’s going to be a disaster. And by ‘something’ I mean, get to a mechanic immediately. Because you wrenching on your engine yourself is not going to end well.  It’s complicated, and better left to someone who really knows what they’re doing.

That’s what online real estate marketing is like.

You sell homes. It’s what you’re good at. But doing it to the best of your ability requires that you generate a steady flow of leads through an effective marketing program. And to be effective, any lead-generation effort must leverage the ongoing revolution in marketing. Did you know that:

  • 90 percent of homebuyers start their search on the Internet
  • 73 percent of Realtors®said they were not satisfied with the number of leads they receive off the Web
  • 20 percent of Google searches are with local intent
  • 130 million Americans (40% of the population) are active on Facebook.
  • 28 percent of the U.S. mobile market uses smart phones.

What does it all mean? It takes time and expertise to figure it out and chart a path forward. So the questions facing you are:

•    What is your time worth?
•    Where do you get your greatest return on investment?
•    Why aren’t you outsourcing your online marketing to a team of experts?

Your marketing is the vehicle that delivers qualified local leads. And the CHECK ENGINE light is flashing brighter than it ever has before. Are you going to wrench on it yourself? Or get to an online real estate marketing specialist immediately?

We’re here for you. Call us and we’ll get started.

Photo: Robert Couse-Baker, via Creative Commons 2.0.

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How to generate local real estate leads with Google, Yahoo!, Bing and Yelp

October 18, 2010 By Tom Leave a Comment

Google map pinThe real estate industry is in flux.

For years now it’s been easy for homebuyers to get information that was once available exclusively through Realtors. Meanwhile, the Internet continues to transform the dynamics of the home-buying process.

One thing hasn’t changed though: Real estate transactions are still based on trust.

In fact, now more than ever, Realtors who can demonstrate their trustworthiness are attracting qualified local leads – especially when the Realtor shows up online, where home buyers are looking.

Fact: A 2008 study from the National Association of Realtors reported that 87 percent of U.S. home buyers used the Internet as an information resource during their home-buying process.

It’s also a true that more of today’s home buyers are accessing the Internet from their smart phones. They are using location-based services like Google Places and Yelp (from the desktop as well as mobile devices) to find trusted real estate professionals who can guide them through the home-buying process.

What does that mean for you, the real estate professional?

In a word: location, location, location.

It matters online as much as in the real world. When people in your neighborhood go online to look for a Realtor, you want them to find you. Therefore, it is critical to establish your online visibility and maintain it over time.

How? Step one is to create search engine and directory submissions (at Google, Yahoo!, Bing, Yelp, etc.). Done properly, these will result in higher search engine rankings in your locale. Monitor your entries on these search engines, and improve your rankings over time to build greater:

•    Trust, through positive reviews and testimonials
•    Relevance, through targeted local exposure
•    Sales, through increased visibility to qualified prospects

Smart Realtors are moving now to solidly establish their online local presence.

Peer-reviewed local listings enhance credibility, even as people grow more jaded by traditional marketing methods. Your reputation is going online, and that’s a good thing.

Now you must proactively manage it going forward.

Need help being more visible to local prospects? Find out how to get on the map!

Chart from Marketing Charts

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Can QR codes help generate real estate leads?

October 14, 2010 By Tom Leave a Comment

Are you noticing more Quick Response (QR) codes lately? You probably first saw them on FedEx envelopes a few years ago – a square black-and-white graphic, sort of like a bar code, sort of like a digital Rorschach test.

QR codes are now showing up in lots of places, from business cards to billboards. Why?

The QR graphic is encoded with a URL, text, or other data. Scan the QR code with your smart phone’s camera, and you’re taken directly to a Web site – and whatever content is waiting for you there. It might be a funny video, a valuable coupon or, we would hope, something else delightful.

From the Wikipedia entry on QR codes:

Although initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR Codes are now used in a much broader context, including both commercial tracking applications and convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users (known as mobile tagging).

Imagine QR codes on everyday objects, so you could hit a “like” button for something you come across walking down the street.

Smarter real estate agents already are using QR codes to instantly connect with home-shoppers in innovative ways. Now any ‘for sale’ sign or piece of marketing collateral can become a paper-saving short-cut to any Web page, including an online MLS listing.

It’s easy to generate your own QR codes here. Try it!

Smarter Company helps real estate professionals generate leads through optimized local search and other marketing innovations. Scan the code with your phone to learn more!

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It’s time to optimize your marketing for local search

August 16, 2010 By Tom Leave a Comment

The revolution will not necessarily be televised.

But it will definitely be texted, tweeted, Googled and photographed in mega-pixel magnificence.

It’s nothing TechCrunch readers haven’t been exposed to over and over. Or that  the millions of people who bought iPhones in the last few years haven’t known all along. But the idea that high-powered handsets are going to change the world is finally real for me.

I started using a Droid X recently, and I get it now. I got it last Friday night, when the MapQuest print out led us astray. I turned to the Droid and asked it how to get us where we were trying to go. We thought we were miles away, but it was a quick u-turn to the Stone Brewery — and we made it just in time for our reservation.

Once there I checked in with FourSquare, and got some valuable tips from previous patrons. I took pictures. I enjoyed myself.  And I have some opinions about the food, service and overall atmosphere that I will be sharing on Yelp.

My experience, in aggregate with the thousands of others who visit Stone this year, is going to become part of a permanent public record that will either be good for Stone’s business, or bad.

A trend will eventually emerge — a majority of people will say they love the place, or that it sucks. And that will have some veracity and real influence in the decison-making process of other prospects and customers. It’s a dynamic that smarter real estate professionals  know they can’t afford to ignore.

Again, this is pretty much old news in some quarters, but the winning Realtors of the future will be those who are the first to master:

  • Mobile search that facilitates real-time decision making
  • Connecting and engaging on social media platforms
  • Really listening to customers, and managing to give them what they say they want

That future is here already. Adapting to it is not rocket science. In fact it’s pretty simple. If you in real estate, it is imperative that you optimize your marketing for the new realities of hand-held search. At the very least, you need to:

  • Set up your Google Places page (and do it correctly)
  • Have a Facebook presence that generates leads for your business
  • Respond to reviews on Google Places, Yelp, etc.
  • Control your local presence at Yahoo and Bing, as well as Google

Of course, you have homes to sell, and no time to spend on this stuff. But it’s critical, in this economy, to stay competitive. The future of your business depends upon it.

If you haven’t taken these steps yet, call us today at 858.922.3006, and we’ll get you started.

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