Connecting with consumers online is becoming more important everyday as people look to the web for answers, reviews and to purchase products (real estate is included in this category). Developing your skill set to engage customers online can result in a relationship and the all important real estate transaction but it may be more challenging than simply posting listings on Facebook, Twitter or the social media flavor of the year. To market your product and skills online takes time, focus and a strong commitment to learn how to navigate this broad reaching resource. Here are some tips to get started.
1. Be conscious of trends. This doesn't mean that you have to fully embrace every new idea that comes along. There is so much out there and new ideas are born every day. Some are good, some are phenomenal (for a time) and some won't make any sense for your personal style of marketing. If you learn about something that fits well and its generating a "buzz," use it as it seem appropriate. Trends, by definition are a tendency to shift in one direction, so you remember this, particularly when a trend is at the evaporation stage.
2. Diversify. Google's early 2011 algorithm change delivered a powerful blow to article marketers. Businesses and individuals that have built their entire online marketing strategy using this one linking block are now greatly challenged. Diversity is critical. Your banker will tell you this as concerns your investments; consider time spent on marketing as an investment. Diversify your Internet marketing resources so Google can't wipe out your visibility based upon one algorithm change. 
3. Identify a niche. If you're trying to establish yourself as the new threat, start where you can get some traction. In real estate, niches are already cut from targeting property features like luxury homes, golf homes or even retirement communities. There are an abundance of alternate niches to go after like equestrian, affordable, HUD, foreclosed and more. It's easy to do if you use real estate technology that automates this process creating tons of long tail keyword advantages. You could target dozens of untapped real estate niches online at the same time and do it effectively.
4. Offer value added content. Followers, visitors and hopefully homebuyer's that visit your site or profiles expect some value. Take it beyond simple listing posts, engage your consumer by presenting your take on real estate trends or share an insight on the local market. It's tough to get any kind of following so don't disappoint by publishing white noise. It's a true challenge to make real estate listings exciting one by one but you can add some spark by including thoughtful static content. It's much easier to spend time developing spectacular content if your IDX solution does the greatest portion of the marketing for you.
5. Tenacity is critical. You've resolved to take on the Internet and have tons of fresh ideas but as you get busy from marketing on the web and drop off like an old fly. Building an online marketing presence is not something you should do on and off again. Especially when it comes to building offsite links for your site. You want to keep the inbound links to your site or profile(s) coming consistently and from diverse locations as this is a positive indicator to the search engines in many ways.
If you've made it this far, you are certainly interested in how to approach online marketing and make the best use of your time and resources. I have a goal as well by posting this piece which is of course to help you build your online visibility. While I share insights on how to use the Internet to market real estate, it's crucial that you use a product that makes this easy. Take at look at our website and make your own call on using a real estate website platform that does most of the work for you.
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