Have you ever wondered who the true audience for a real estate blog is? Do you know what percentage of your audience is other professionals vs. potential clients? Have you been contacted by potential clients because they read your blog? What is the proper focus for a real estate blog...personal, professional or some combination of the two?
I suspect that there are many different answers to these questions. Over the past several months, I have had the opportunity to talk with and interview many individuals who have read my blog posts. These conversations have yielded many helpful insights.
This short series will talk about some of the things that I've learned in conversations with people who have visited or subscribed to my blog as well as share my own personal perspective.
By virtue of different elements of the profession and sub-specialities, professional blogs within the real estate community can easily ramble off in a number of different directions. This makes blogging in the real estate community somewhat different from blogs in other industries which tend to have a tighter focus. As an example, a sales person writing a blog within the automotive industry would probably have a more singular focus. I suspect most of the readers of an automotive blog would be coming to find out something about automobiles. They might tolerate an occasional diversion but probably not too many. Every industry will be constrained by different elements as this form of marketing becomes more prominent.
And some might argue that this SHOULD be the case for real estate blogs too. After all, real estate is a profession which feeds on the consumer's lust for information about our product. Isn't it our responsibility to give the consumer primarily what he come to the "shop" to buy? I guess, I must confess that if I was limited to writing ONLY about homes and the housing market, recent downturns in the market would bore me to pieces. I would have very limited motivation to continue to bemoan the state of the current market and continually focus on negativity.
I think a Real Estate blogs can perform many important functions. A good real estate blog can:
Inform about a local community
Provide information about a Special segment or focus in the real estate industry
Connect readers to local businesses and service providers
Educate real estate agents and the public in a variety of disciplines and issues
Provide solutions to real estate related concerns
Discuss topics which are changing and impacting how real estate is conducted on the local or national level
Bring attention to items in the news of importance to the real estate community or consumers
Showcase unique areas of interest which provide insight into the personality of the agent and how they might conduct business
Bring additional creative exposure to homes listed for sale...When done effectively through story telling, this can be a Very Powerful Type of Marketing...(More on that in a future post)
So, the question remains. Should a real estate blog primarily focus on the profession of real estate? Another question also haunts me...Is there any such thing as a typical real estate consumer or for that matter blog reader? Or is this "typical consumer" we blithely refer to a construct of statisticians and marketing gurus. In this mini-series, we will explore whether there is a legitimate case to be made for "catching the fish" on a real estate blog with a variety of different kinds of bait?
Image courtesy of acidcookie on flickr
Click here to Read Part 2 of Do You Know Who is Cheering on the Sidelines for Your Blog Post?
*UPDATE: 7/23/07
In response to Rich Schiffer's comment below, I'm adding some additional suggestions to the list. Thanks Rich!
To market your services.
To network with colleagues. To allow clients and prospective clients to get to know you, so that when they call on you, they will have already established a comfort level with you in their mindsCopyright 2007 Audu Real Estate All Rights Reserved
Lola Audu, is the Designated Broker & Owner of Audu Real Estate. Our company specializes in helping people buy and sell homes in the greater Grand Rapids, West Michigan area. We've had the privilege of helping hundreds of clients succeed in their goals of purchasing and selling property including demonstrated success in the negotiation of Short Sale Transactions. You can contact us via e-mail @ info@auduhomes.com or by phone at 616-791-0511.
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Lola,
I personally have to write about a variety of stuff. All real estate would be depressing. My blogs caught the attention of the consumers, I have had both calls and emails. I was not blogging for a month and had an inquiry as to whether I had quit.