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Good Article on Becoming the Neighborhood Expert

(After an extended hiatus, I'm back to blogging. My mom is to be released from the hospital tomorrow and we close on our house tomorrow as well. Hallelujah!)

I receive RIS Media's daily email blast which, more than once, has provided good fodder for blog posts. I recommend it for that reason alone. In today's email, there is a feature article on how to become a neighborhood expert. It lists the following...

Know the community leaders - network!
Know the local real estate market
Know the schools
Know the local amenities
Know the local businesses
Know about clubs, associations and churches
Know about public works issues
Find out about any neighborhood traditions
HOA meetings
Know the local job market

In other words, know everything about your local area!

While I'm guessing that's pretty much "real estate 101," it is sound advice. The point I want to make is that a blog can be a great way to evidence your expertise and archive your knowledge.

Our company, Blogging Systems, offers a product called Community Publisher that takes this philosophy one step further in that it enables you to bring representatives from each of the 10 areas mentioned on-board and include them in your own local blog community. It becomes, in essence, a watering hole for local news and information with you at the center. Further, it gives you all the benefits of blogging without the responsibility for doing all the posting. You leverage information supplied by others to generate a high-traffic site in what becomes a hyper-local, user-generated content rich site sponsored by you.

Here are a couple of good examples:

Montgomery County Blog

Downtown Phoenix Journal

The article goes on to say, "Neighborhood marketing is easily manageable and an effective strategy that is becoming more and more critical for real estate professionals in today's market." I believe that whole-heartedly. Blogs, whether it's one you maintain yourself or a blog community that you sponsor and recruit other community representatives to contribute content on, can help you penetrate your local niche market and establish you as the neighborhood expert.

I'd like to hear your feedback on neighborhood marketing and how effective you feel blogs can be as a tool suited to that purpose. Please feel free to cite your own experiences good or bad.

Posted by Paul Chaney on 05/30/2007 09:59 PM

Comments (46)

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46 Comments on Good Article on Becoming the Neighborhood Expert

MAY

2007

Paul, this is great advice. I have just started doing articles for localism, featuring various businesses and communities. You have given me a lot of ideas. Thanks.

I didn't even think of Localism. I appreciate your mentioning it, as it is indeed a good resource to use for that purpose.

Since the beginning of the year I have been focused on becomming the neighborhood expert. It's good to read that I have been following the steps. I even set my outside blog up as more of a community resource to help with that. (thanks to your book)

Those blogs are great although they do seem a little detached to me, meaning not one person is pulling the blog together - it has the feel of a newspaper site. You know what I think of the concept and I think it's a great one, difficult is to find good collaborators.

I just sent out an e-mail blast inviting guest speakers to my blog ....maybe that's a beginning.

I have been contributing to Localism, but I am now realizing I am not doing nearly enough.

I don't know the answer, but I suspect that clients do want to get deep, local information. I think content is very important for consumers - I think localism is a great concept and we may learn a lot.

I love these ideas - I love the personal touch of actually BEING the area expert. Thank you Paul.

I think what happens with so many agents is that they get caught up in the activities of real estate (showing homes, inspections, following up with lenders, etc) and wondering where their next transaction is coming from. Consequently, they overlook building a foundation in the community, which in the long run will really stabilize their business. Their are a few items in that list that I need to refocus on as well.

Paul, fantastic list!

I'm very sorry to hear about your mom. I've been there in spades with older relatives (2 years ago it was 6 months of bad stuff with my dad, and my grandfather lived to age 104 when he died last August - so we had LOTS of hospital time with him over various falls and problems).

Glad to see you back to blogging and appreciate your input very, very much.

Having grown up in Montgomery County, I especially appreciate this blog. Very nice!

Thank you for sharing all these wonderful ideas!

Great post, Paul. Some really good advice in there. Lots to learn about the local area in order to be viewed as an expert. The Community Publisher looks pretty cool - I may lok into that some more.

Jeff

Hi Paul! I am your new fan...:)
I clicked on the links to the Community Publisher, but it did not post prices. Do you know what the cost is? I have always been interested in doing this, and with ALOT of work, I am sure I could probably pull it off in the next 10 years orso...with that said, the community publisher might be my answer. Any idea of cost?

Eveline

Archiving knowledge is a terrific way to develop report over time. People don't care about everything you know until THEY need it. You will be there when their time comes...

p.s. good blog!

Excellent post with simple strategies to market locally.

MAY

2007

I recently changed my approach to my localism posts. I AM the area expert! Okay...well, slowly getting my Hawaii articles out there has certainly brought some good feedback. It seems that writing "as seen through the eyes of this agent" surely makes a nice impression compared to continuous statistics. Thanks for more insight!

I really liked this and it was a very excellent post. Well thought out and very good advice. I am waiting with baited breath for my new personal blog to come out this week. I notice in that anticipation , I have been hesitating putting up new blogs on AR as I will want to post them on my own bog and then maybe reference them on AR. I have done some professional blogs as a contribution to this site and my colleagues. I think the real value in blogging is the "localism" aspect. However we must always be open and looking for the best talent in every location to refer our clients to should we need to. Building up trust and collegiality are essential in our industry. None of us exist in a vacuum and we learn tremendously from each other. AR is a great learning resource for anyone that seeks excellence.

Thanks for the tip and good luck.

Good post.

Carolin Benjamin
Bob and Carolin Benjamin
The Benjamin Team
Keller Williams Integrity First Realty
Gold Canyon Arizona

I've been thinking along just exactly these lines Paul. Thanks for for giving me the kick I needed.

I'm trying to find people in the particular communities who will be regular contributors.

Paul, I agree with most of the comments above. Being an expert is without question, where our future lies.

Yes, the importance of Localism is not to be underestimated. I know that I certainly need to spend more time focusing my efforts there. Good post!

Paul - Thanks for highlighting our community blog! And I like the Downtown Phoenix Journal -- nice!

Margaret -- I am glad you like our blog. We are working feverishly to make it more interactive. I believe that we are expecting a new platform soon to accomplish this. Stay tuned.

The rest of you -- The Community Publisher is a wonderful concept! I have read posts that discuss both pros and cons and I can see both sides. However, If you spend the time to do it right - maybe in the slower season of real estate, then the blog takes care of itself with contributions from other local authorities. Additionally, you make connections within the community with those local leaders, which in turn gives you more referrals for real estate!

@Eveline - I'd be happy to discuss pricing with you, but can't give you a hard and fast figure without knowing more about your situation and needs. We always do a discovery phase first. Contact me via email or phone and we can discuss.

BTW, when Jennifer mentions a new platform, she is referring to ours. We're in the process of rolling out a version that has many new features and is very much like a social network. In fact, we call it a blog social network. It's sweeeeet!

@Rick and Ines - Here's the beauty of something like a community blog concept, YOU can be the glue that holds it altogether. Even though it does take on the feel of a local newspaper-like site, you can ensure the real estate message is not lost by continuing to post regularly and provide valuable localized information. While the other contributor's content is valid, in a sense they become a bit like window-dressing...or better stated, the "icing on the cake."

Utilizing a concept like this, the real estate message becomes one voice (albeit a major one) amongst others. What you have to share comes across less like marketing-speak and more like vital community news and information. Considering the fact that the site contains your branding on every page of every blog it stands to reason that it can serve as a lead-generation mechanism.

That being said, you really need someone like a Jennifer to pull this off...and she is doing an outstanding job where Montgomery County Blog is concerned. This concept does take time and effort to ensure success, and having a staff member dedicated to work on it is certainly advantageous.

Thanks for the clarification of my "new platform" comment Paul. :)

As a side note, I wouldn't mind discussing how we get started and keep up with the MCB. It is true that it helps to have a staff member keep up with the blog.

That would be great Jennifer. If you feel what you'd need to say would be too long to leave in a comment, you can share it as a guest post.

Thanks to all of you for the nice comments. I love the interaction!

Nice post, I actually have a websites that are by neighborhood and listed as the neighborhood "expert" I use them to drive traffic to my primary website.

Hi Paul, I'm a Blogging Systems customer on the Community Publishing platform as well. I'm now on the new platform, still in a transition stage, as the multiple organizational blogs aren't up and running yet, but it is still a great product. I'm fairly new to real estate (3 years), but am now the #2 listing agent in my market. The community blog results in people in the community contacting me to get items up on the blog. For those who post frequently, I give them authoring rights, so they can post directly. It saves me time and gets the posts up promptly.

Our community has come to depend upon this blog and we use the event calendar to coordinate activities, the blogroll to provide access to local organizations websites, and the blog itself to communicate important information. I also encourage registration for e-mail updates (see bottom right sidebar) to capture the names, addresses, phone numbers, & e-mail addresses (subscribers can decide whether they want to receive just community info or community info and real estate info, most say they want both). Also on the right sidebar is the link to my real estate website, which has seen a dramatic increase in traffic since the blog went online.

In addition, I can now publish my annual 8 page Black Rock Real Estate Newsletter online, so that readers can download it. I saved a fortune in printing costs this year as I only published the electronic version.

Please take a look at the Black Rock Community Blog when you get a chance and let me know if there is anything I could be doing better. I'm always looking to improve it. Thanks.

I write a lot of blogs directed specifically to Localism. It's also a great resource to upload pictures of your area, neighborhood, city, etc.

I see many people posting comments about populating information to Localism. This is fine, but the Community Publisher brings a whole new dimension to community information.

You actually involve many sectors of the community to participate so that your branding and influence reaches people that you may not have otherwise "bumped" into.

@Gail - I'll take a look for sure. My role with Blogging Systems is not one where I'm as in touch with client sites as I need to be, so forgive me for overlooking Black Rock in the list on my post. Thanks for your comment.

As an FYI, our platform does offer many amenities, and we are happy to incorporate custom elements as needed. The new platform offers several and we will be transitioning our clients to it as quickly as possible.

Paul, I wouldn't expect you to know about my blog. I know Blogging Systems has many community blog clients. Mine might interest you because it is on the new platform. It was one of the first to be moved over from the WordPress platform to the open source code Drupal.

JUN

2007

Gail, I'll check out the site. We are very excited about the new version, as it offers a bevy of features.

Great post. Sometimes it's the stuff we learn in the beginning that gets forgotten!

JUN

2007

Paul, I have been using Connecting Neighbors Website and really LOVE the response that I am getting. IF R.E. agents want to be successful, it is far better to be KING of the HILL and/or QUEEN of the LAND, than to be a nobody everywhere around! The value of the Neighborhood website is that you can grow your DATA base (Sphere of Influence) very quickly from say 250 names to 5000 names. I WANT the ability to grow my electronic business. My customers want to let their fingers do the walking and a brick/mortar site is no longer needed to build my business. . . but I do need an automated sytem that is working for me 24/7.

NICHE marketing is where it is at both on the internet's super highway and in the NEIGHBORHOODS where you have the best change of building long term LOYALTY. NAR says that 7% of every neighborhood across the county will go on sale, that is about 20-30 transactions to capture if and when your LOYAL SUBJECT come to Love, Trust and Respect you as the Neighborhood Expert.

The value of this website is that it is COMMUNITY CENTERED, and while I am busy building trust with my loyal subjects (prospects), my cyber store is open for business 24/7. (AKA: Real Estate Listings: actives, pendings, and solds) Please visit my website ust to get a look / see: www.LittleCottonwoodCanyonNews.com and feel free to sign up for the monthly newsletter so you can see how that works too.

Jane H.

JUN

2007

@Jane - I really like the Connecting Neighbors concept, as it is community-centered and contains a lot of useful information. However, much of the information is static. The one thing it lacks is a blog component, which would give it much more of a "real-time" feel.

JUN

2007

great... so the Realtors become the Neighborhood experts... and that's really how you drive traffic to your site. But how do Mortgage Brokers break in on this without inadvertently coming in direct competition for Google ratings with realtors?

JUN

2007

I can't answer your question directly, but I can tell you that one way to do it is by creating a "real estate marketplace" site where anyone in the local real estate industry can blog. You, as the mortgage broker sponsors the site and allow Realtors and others to create content there. By "others," I mean the title company rep, attorney, home stager, etc.

Take a look at Rain City Guide as a good example. Even though the site is not sponsored by a mortgage broker, it represents the type of approach I'm recommending.

JUL

2007

Acquiring that intimate knowledge that can help a consumer make the best decision is what is seperating the massive amounts of information. Their is a new designation for those professional agents that specialize in a neighborhood called CNS Certified Neighborhood Specialist.

SEP

2007

Paul,

Just a follow-up on your blog ... the Neighborhood Specialist Council released a Seven Strategies Series on Becoming the Neighborhood Specialist www.CNSDesignation.com additionally, I just finished writing a Whitepaper with Stefan Swanepoel and Stu Siegel on the Information Explosion, which dives into the vast amounts of neighborhood information that is available to today's consumer. It is in it's final release, email me directly and I will send you an advance copy ... awright@realtyu.com

Allen

DEC

2010

A question to ponder. If an agent is a Neighborhood Specialist, does that mean that they will "steer" a Buyer to the Neighborhood that they are the Specialist for? If not, then that means they would be helping the Buyer look for homes in Neighborhoods for which the agent is not the Neighborhood Specialist - doesn't it?

Tony and Suzanne, I am the neighborhood expert for a one square mile section of Bridgeport, but that doesn't mean that I can't help clients find the right home for them in other areas of Bridgeport or the surrounding towns. It just means I know more about this particular market than the others. I have a client right now who thought he wants a place in Black Rock or Fairfield, but it looks like there are more properties in Fairfield that meet his criteria. The client has to pick the geographic area they want to live in. It's only steering, if the agent picks the area.

Gail,

A follow-up question. If Buyers are truly best served by neighborhood experts for the neighborhood they want to purchase in, and they are considering multiple neighborhoods, wouldn't it be in the Buyer's best interest to work with multiple neighborhood experts - one for each of the neighborhoods under consideration?

Tony, Suzanne, Gail ... I wrote the CNS course and have written several articles about being a neighborhood expert. The key is knowing HOW to research the items for your client. The course was designed to give some letigimacy to those professionals that are TRULY a Neighborhood Expert compared to those that just earned their license and thought it would look good on their business card. And YES you should refer a buyer to another agent if the area they are looking for is outside of your expertise or ability to service properly. Example: I am here in Denver, many agents that live in Denver want to help their clients with a mountain property that is outside the normal developments here in Denver ... problem is there are too many variables that a Denver agent will miss that a mountain agent would pick-up and vice-versa ... most importantly, this is about the ability to service your client with the proper information allowing them to make the best decision for themselves. In my opinion, too many agent do their client a disservice by representing them in areas that they are unfamilar.

Tony and Suzanne - That assumes that all neighborhood experts are the same on all the other variables besides market knowledge. Sometimes clients prefer dealing with an agent who has less market knowledge, but someone they trust or is more professional or they have better rapport with. There is also the ease of working with one agent instead of multiple agents. It's the clients' choice, but I think agents should be honest about their area of competence.

Allen - Tony and Suzanne have a point about declaring yourself as a neighborhood expert because it is a sword that cuts both ways. I have lost business to agents who don't claim to be an expert in any geographic area, because the listing was in a location a mile outside of my neighborhood. I know one agent who claims he's the neighborhood expert in every area he does business in. He must have 50 different versions of his business card.

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Paul Chaney

Lafayette, LA

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Social Media Handyman

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