Real Estate Brokerage Websites - I Don’t Think We Are In Kansas Anymore
Beth Butler, former Broker for EWM Realtors in Miami, FL wants to get into the head of real estate brokers around the country. She wants to share her expertise in managing an incredibly successful real estate company blogsite with those that need to see the light. The playing field has changed, and many need a coach. Beth is that Coach.
Real Estate Brokerage Websites - I Don’t Think We Are In Kansas Anymore
By Beth Butler
Just like in the Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy tiptoes out of her house to find she is in an altogether different place than she left, so it is with the real estate brokerage business post market meltdown. As brokers gently lift their collective heads from dealing with the drudgery of the down market, the view out the window is not the same as it was. The business is forever changed.
Budget cutbacks wielded the proverbial axe on most print advertising, which left most brokers with a tad more money in the bank but a noticeable absence in their marketing plan. Most brokers are looking for their websites to be their yellow brick road to the Land of Oz and real estate recovery.
A closer inspection of brokerage websites will leave you stranded in Munchkinland. This post is the first in a series designed to get your Brokerage website to be the cornerstone of the company’s marketing plan and the business generator that it should be. It is time for Brokers to take back the technological aspects of the business back and win once and for all the Internet battle with regard to real estate.
If you wonder how your site stacks up – start by taking the simple test on websitegrader.com. If you score above 75% you can consider your site one of the better in the business. If you score above 90% - you need to post some comments and share some of the non-proprietary secrets of your success. Sadly, most sites I checks scored well below the 50th percentile – and you certainly have some work to do.
In the framework of rethinking your website, I think it is high time to put content on an equal playing field with design and search. It appears that many of the Web 2.0 updates to most brokerage websites include an oversized search box and a cleaner more organized homepage. This is all good and correct, howeverwhen you overlook content, the site fails.
A wise person once told me that people are interested in listing search only when they are looking to buy or sell a property, but they are interested in real estate all of the time. If you look at your website like a prospecting tool, you might begin to understand how important content is in your next website. It is time to stop talking about driving traffic and to begin to emphasize the importance of attracting customers, and learn to do it.
A blog on your website will provide all of the content you might need while creating that real estate news feature that will draw an audience of potential customers that might not be ready to buy or sell right at this moment. Additionally, the blog provides your company a platform to promote themselves, the community and the company.
A multi-user blogging platform allows the website to become a content generator on an exponential level, even with a relatively small percentage of your company participating.
I know this is posting on their site, but when I say that it is time to step up and make your website everything it should be, I’m serious. The Real Estate Tomatohas the solution that will get you to where you need to be from inception to implementation with training and consultation.
Next post: Bringing your Marketing Department into the 20th Century.
To connect with Beth Butler:
Beth is the Owner of Big Mouth Consulting
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