In Search of Perfect "Advertising"- A Compelling Medium that Makes the Phone Ring With People Who Know Why They are Calling...

've looked for that perfect medium for 20 years. I've blogged for the past 18 months with substantial business (if not literary) success, and before that I ran large pay per click campaigns to generate web traffic and business. For the past three years, I've been the top revenue producing agent in our 800+ Agent firm in 2 of the three years, a Top Ten team in the out year, largely because of Internet traffic and families relocating to Charlotte NC.

But nothing, Nothing works like my Introduction to Charlotte video, that now ranks 3rd on Google for the mega keyword (4M hits) Charlotte NC...

 A little background. I wrote this video in the fall of 2007 to answer what I saw was THE major question people had about Charlotte- "What kind of city is Charlotte?" I tried to answer this question every day, I found people didn't understand our city at all- there were those with no knowledge, we do fly quite a bit under the radar, and then there were the stereotypes to deal with, such as "Is Charlotte more like Andy of Mayberry... or Cannonball Run?" one caller asked only half-joking.

There was a second purpose too-  the Internet has been excellent in producing quality clients with e-mail and sometimes phone contacts, but has never produced a lot of phone calls.  As most of us know, the phone in lead is almost always a more urgent buyer, more of a "now" buyer, the one we are all looking for. So I asked, why don't more of these buyers who mark "Immediate" in their desire to move, why don't  they call?

My thinkg was the biggest reason is fear of the unknown, fear of what they might get on the other end of the phone line. We've all experienced bad salesman of some kind, and many consumers are just afraid to call...fewer than one call in 10 has that nifty feature that "Block" s their phone number.

Charlotte has a good story, so my hope was that if I could share a lot about Charlotte, and a little about myself, I could break down those fears about Charlotte and introduce myself along the way. This video has succeed beyond my wildest imaginings...

So, the answer to that compelling question asked in the subtitle- the answer is a quality video, that sells your "product" AND You- and one that will be found, which is where You Tube and Google come in.

Introduction to Charlotte began its climb on You Tube. The popularity of the city, and the keywords in the Title and Description, helped its SEO value. Comments have something to do with it, and we were the beneficiary of a large if not 100% approval. However beyond that, there were no "optimizing efforts." I became aware of the rankings just after the first of the year as our phone began to ring at unprecedented levels ... after the 3rd day, I went online and just searched some keywords, and was excited by what I found. On You Tube my video has been #1 for Charlotte NC searches since October of 2008, and hit #1 for Charlotte NC Real Estate and Charlotte real estate in February. You Tube has become a search engine all its own.

But by a formula and reasons known only to Google, besides its prominent spot for Charlotte NC,  it is #12 for Charlotte NC Real Estate, and #15 for Charlotte real estate, the 2nd and 3rd most searched keywords, and is moving up in these two important keywords.

A prospect called Friday, one without a home to sell (they will rent their California home) and one that has researched schools here, and opened a branch office here, and began their search for an Agent online where she saw the video, and she commented on something I said that she could relate to.The phone call came in with a "BLOCK" but she happily gave me her number after our conversation. They are coming to look for homes April 10, and are now buyers, the latest in a string that I am happy to report are impervious to the recession.

After a lifetime searching, I think I've found that "perfect" source of knowledgeable phone callers...

Please have a look at the video- I appreciate your sincere 5 star rating and real estate related comments.