4 Musts, 5 Needs and 11 Watch Items for Web-based Realtors
Real estate professionals who do not provide a consumer content solution will become irrelevant.? ? Allen Dalton, President of Top4 in Real Estate Network
It has been said that some people have forgotten more (information) than others have ever known to begin with.? Such may be the case in today?s real estate industry, especially when it comes to reminding brokers and agents that the roots of social media are firmly buried in the soil of their very own industry.
Early Realtor Experience Led to Social Media Birthing
According to the U.S. National Association of Realtors?, in the late 1800s real estate brokers met at local association offices to match properties they were trying to sell with customers their colleagues were representing.? The brokers agreed to compensate each other by bringing sellers and buyers together to close sales.? These arrangements led to the birth of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which still remains the backbone of the real estate industry.? Of course, the MLS is now a web-based system and is shared by every subscribed US Realtor? from New York to California.
As innovative as the MLS must have seemed to people back in 1890; in 2010 it has proven to be a double-edge sword for an industry that is supposed to be customer centered, but has not been living up to that charge in recent years.? Why is that?
By design, a person selling his/her own property cannot put a listing for his home directly into the MLS. In fact, most MLS systems still restrict membership and access to real estate brokers and their agents.? These restrictions have created a closed society for Realtors? and have shut out John Q. Public, who is searching the web for more and more detailed information to factor into his home buying decisions. They cannot access the specific information contained in the MLS.
Homebuyers Demand Realtor ?Access? on the Net
In fact, the National Association of Realtors? reports that 84% of home sales start with the Internet.? So, by not having access to the MLS (in addition to a lack of other information Realtors? are not making available to them) one could make the case that consumers are not being communicated with by brokers and agents the way they want to be communicated with.? In the age of social media, where customer expectations have gained the upper hand, real estate agencies must either re-adjust their customer focus or prepare to fail.
Allen Dalton, President of Top4 in Real Estate Network coined the term ?content-sequences,? which represents the threat that ?real estate professionals who do not provide a consumer content solution will become irrelevant.??? He goes on to proclaim the death of calendars and magnets as token ways to buy the affection of consumers.? ?Agents,? he says, ?are not endearing themselves to consumers, which ultimately results in consumers trusting friends or non-industry professionals to advise them on important real estate matters rather than turning to brokers and agents.?
This is unfortunate because Realtors? have always played a critical role in providing expert knowledge to buyers and sellers on changing government regulations, REOs, short sales, negotiations, financing and submarkets.? In some ways, they have taken themselves out of the game by losing touch with the changing expectations of today?s customers.
Realtors Must Become More Customer Focused Using Social Media
Dalton further explains that the real estate industry cannot afford to resist social networking the way they once resisted the Internet, IDX, agency representation and ?every single thing in the interest of consumers.??? He asserts that ?everything about social media has to solve a problem for consumers. Everything we write, the information, the content; we have to think, ?how is this solving a problem for consumers??
While the real estate industry battles with the ghosts of the past, individual real estate agencies can provide actionable and relevant content for customers on their own. There are many social media outlets on the web for this purpose.? Whether you choose Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, Flicker, Digg, LinkedIn, Bebo, Orkut or a similar networking platform, the rules still remain the same.? The consumer is looking for great content.? Great content attracts customers ? people looking for information and solutions for their needs.
Social Media Success Begins When Your Website Meets Customer Needs
What better place is there to offer useful and valid content than a well designed website?? Allen Dalton puts it this way, ?information share equals market share and VOI (value of information) equals ROI (return on investment). ? I have never heard this expressed as powerfully by anyone else.
So, what should an effective Real Estate Agency website include??? The short answer is a well- thought out strategy that takes the consumer through the entire buying cycle from search engine discovery to E-commerce checkout or customer inquiry.
Your website is only effective if:
1.? It is easily found.
2.? Simply navigated
3.? Content rich.??
4.? It leads to some positive action from the customer.
Web analytics will confirm your website?s effectiveness or signal its failure. The day your website launches, Google Analytics or a similar tool should be in place to begin constant measurement.
Always keep an eye on the following metrics:?
1. Hits
2. Visits
3. Unique visitors
4. Page views
5. Top entry and exit (bounces) pages
6. Referrers
7. Search keywords
8. Visitor information
9. Click paths
10. Conversions?
11. Tracking registered users.?
These are the key indicators that need your ongoing attention.? If they are pointing downward, you need to make some changes in content and/or layout wherever they may be indicated.
You Either Have It Or You Don?t?
Site look and design are important factors in making a good first impression, so your website should have a professional look and be pleasing to the eye of its beholder.? Warm colors and cool graphics that complement one another may entice your visitors to visit and stay awhile.
A successful website has intuitive navigation, which makes it easy to find the information one is looking for in only a click or two.? Site maps and the proper naming of links and buttons are especially helpful.
And, I can?t say enough about content.? In real estate, consumers are interested in statistics about the community and its schools.? They also want to know about area businesses and where shopping is located.? Employment and recreational opportunities are also of importance to many homebuyers; as is the types and locations of community places of worship.
In real estate ?widgets? are also effective tools.? These are small programs you can import into your site to make it more helpful and memorable.?? Including a mortgage payment calculator and/or one for loan qualification might be wise.? Providing a widget that shows off your most desirable listings can be priceless.
Be sure to also include ways for potential customers to contact you through your website. Response forms and E-mail links are just as important as phone and fax numbers on your website and need to be included.
The Payoff (ROI) is There If You Invest in Value of Information (VOI).
When things are working well you?ll receive customer testimonials like the one agent Bill Gassert of Re/Max Executive Realty received from Bruce & Yvonne Rogers of Franklin Massachusetts:
?I wanted to let you know that I think your Metrowest Real Estate website was an excellent tool in finding our 1st home. It was great to be able to see the homes with addresses as soon as they came on the market. You made finding our dream home in Franklin easy! Thanks!?
Once you have an effective website validated by web analytics you will be proud to go out and meet your customers in social media and invite them back to your own home sweet home?.PAGE.
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Marc LeVine is the Director of Social Media for RiaEnjolie, Inc. (http://www.riaenjolie.com)? a NJ-based web development company specializing in professional looking and affordable websites for small businesses.
Read Marc?s Full Bio at: http://www.icanewfriend.com/ourteam.php
Tags: Items, Musts, Needs, Realtors, Watch, WebbasedSource: http://nationalrealtynews.com/4-musts-5-needs-and-11-watch-items-for-web-based-realtors/
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