agents of change: real estate marketing and branding

Today’s Realtor® is being required to embrace change and must readily identify the needs of their client-base. Web 2.0 is all about interaction. Clients are no longer helpless at the hands of the broker, but are rather empowered by the web, actively engaging and sharing information. Instead of being the talkers, we’ve actually become the listeners. Venues like trulia voices, active rain, yahoo! answers and a multitude of networking sites allow consumers to become better informed of not only the market, but also of the level of service they should expect from their agent.

In January, RisMedia reported that a recent survey found that 88% of consumers use the Internet as their primary source of real estate information, compared to a meager 12% from newspapers. We all know that the Internet is the future of real estate, and the key to succeeding in even a down market is how you make use of the potential made available to you. More agents are actively engaging prospective clients by establishing themselves as professionals through personal websites, blogs, social networking, and other e-strategies.

When a consumer searches for Realtors, they want instant access to information about you and your services. If you don’t have a web presence, your competition will succeed in converting the lead… not you. Signing up on LinkedIn or creating a website will not guarantee immediate results, but it does give you more of a chance to be found online than you previously had before.

Consumers know they need you, but it’s up to you to tell them why you’re the more qualified professional. When someone Google’s you, are you there to be found?

When speaking to many business professionals today, I am finding out that more and more are becoming members of LinkedIn.com. According to their website, LinkedIn is an online network of more than 20 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries.

By joining, you are establishing your online professional presence. On your profile page you can summarize your qualifications, list your accomplishments and display your contact information. By leveraging the power of over 20 million users, you can find and be found by former clients, colleagues both old and new, and other acquaintances you sometimes would otherwise lose contact with.

For just about a year I have been on a zealous mission to get everyone I know to join LinkedIn, not only so that we can connect but that they can grow their social network and effectively help build their business. While joining LinkedIn is something I insist my clients join, many colleagues and business associates ignore the potential available to them by this online network.

Many associates have told me that they’ve joined LinkedIn and in turn now have but one connection – me! Instead of being proactive and hunting down old connections or trying to cultivate new ones, they come and ask me how come that million-dollar client hasn’t miraculously emailed them to connect.

Social networking is both a give and take affair. You must put in a great deal of effort if your goal is to reap great benefits. Simply posting a profile and waiting for the drove of connections to come to you is not only unrealistic, it is downright dumb!

Realtors® must be naturals at networking and it astounds me how so many are far from it. Not only is this business unrewarding if you don’t dedicate yourself, it serves no purpose for an agent to expect honors and accommodations without putting forth the sweat and energy to seal the deal.

Take advantage of the capability offered to you by social networking – not only will you find yourself gaining connections that can serve your bottom line, but you will be able to become part of a transformation that will affect all our futures.

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Long before the dawn of myspace, facebook, active rain and linkedin the real estate community had limited channels in which they could network. Conferences and networking events where one-on-one encounters took place reigned supreme, while publishers survived on printing all those broker ads in magazines and directories.

With the dawn of web 2.0 a revolutionary thing has occurred. Agents no longer are required to waste unnecessary dollars and hours trying to network with brokers nationwide. Now, I am not by any means downplaying the value of a personal introduction, however, face it… there’s just not enough time in the day.

Well, what now? What do I do? Where do I sign-up you ask? Linkedin.com is a powerful resource agents can use to network with not only other brokers but past and future clients as well. Linkedin.com resembles a more professional version of facebook, and you will find anyone from CEOs to web designers on the site. Now, do not expect to sign up in any social networking platform and think you’re going to become the world’s most connected person overnight. It takes time and dedication to actively seek out connections old and new.

Facebook started out as an exclusive college-only platform and quickly became the greatest thing since the printing press. The thought that you could actively engage your friends, family and clients and keep up with their day to day lives is amazing. An amazing tool that is now available to business professionals is Facebook ads and pages. You can now set up an independent page within Facebook and attract troves of people to your brand. Once established, anyone on Facebook can see your page and become a fan, watch video and read content or leave their own two-cents. If you wanted to go one step further, you can leverage this new page by placing ads directed to your target audience. You are able to set your criteria to find Facebook users and separate by age, gender, location (city, state, national), and even keywords… now that’s target marketing.

Don’t let time pass you by and let your competitor gain the upper hand, take a few minutes and scour the social networking scene… I guarantee you won’t be able to get enough. If you’d like to discuss this issue further or to set up a no obligation consultation and discover how you can become an agent of change, contact me today.