Part 1...Internet Marketing and Today's Real Estate Agent
In this day and age it seems almost shocking to hear of anyone, especially a real estate agent, who is not “online.” But that is the hard and simple fact of it…many are not. So, if you are reading this article and you have recently ventured into the land of cyber space, this is for you! If you are a cyber-geek or even just a cyber-newbie, then we hope this simply reiterates what you already know or what you are learning.
“Well, Prescott Group,” you may ask, “why should I go online with my marketing anyway?” Let’s see. Do you want to reach the average real estate consumer these days? Do you want to spend less on your marketing yet increase your potential market at the same time? Then the internet is the medium you need to be using!
All of you are already online to a certain extent, we assume, if your listings go to your local MLS. The problem is that internet consumers are not seeing your listings on YOUR site. They are seeing them on the site of Mary Smith or Joe Jones with the agency across town. How? Because a typical real estate consumer in 2009 does their “window shopping” something like this:
Sally Sue and her husband have been renting for years but have decided to purchase a home. Being an internet-savvy 30 year old, she uses the easiest method for searching for new homes. She doesn’t know any real estate professionals, so she goes to Google and she searches for “Edina Minnesota Real Estate.” She thumbs through a few results and finally decides to stay on the CBBurnet.com website.
At the top of the page is a search for homes option. This brings up the homes listed in the MLS, not just Coldwell Banker listings. The first one that catches her eye happens to be a RE/MAX listing, she clicks it and would like to learn more about it and clicks the more information button. So who does the button contact? Not the agent who listed it of course. Sally ends up contacting the CBBurnet team!
So in this way, even if you have no internet presence, your listings are showing up somewhere online. But who gets the credit for them?
Now, let’s say that Sally is not a renter and in addition to searching for a bargain in the current market, she is also going to need to sell her home, perhaps after the market picks up. Since she didn’t find YOU online when she searched, do you think she will pick you to list her house? Nope, chances are she will end up with the Coldwell Banker agent who contacts her through her search request.
Are you seeing the reason to use the internet for your business marketing now?
There are so many places out there you can use for marketing online. The only cost for some of them is the time you spend, or the time your assistant spends, posting them. Others have monthly fees which can vary from $10 a month to $100 per month or more. We will cover your options more later in this series.
Need some more convincing that the internet is the place to be for the modern home shopper and real estate agent? Check out this well done video on YouTube about the social media market.
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The Prescott Group is a real estate virtual assistance company that specializes in helping new and experienced real estate agents set up and maintain their online marketing.
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