Building trust is essential to any internet marketing strategy. Unless people trust you - they won't use your services. So, how can a real estate agent build trust and credibility on the internet before that first person-to-person interaction?
Here are 4 tools to use to build trust on the internet:
Use Presentation
Your website is your first impression. Keep it fresh and informative with plenty of anchor text links to additional information on the same topic so that your visitors stay engaged. Remember that your potential client is in the information gathering part of the sales process. If they just wanted a CMA or a ‘free report’ they could have requested one from the 10 other websites they skipped while making their way to YOUR website. What they need right now is a conviction in their decision to contact you. They want to know if they can trust you. They want to know what makes YOU different from the 5 other agent sites they have seen today. This is your one chance to turn that first impression into a phone call or request for additional information. Are you using that chance wisely?
Use Etiquette
When you answer a phone call from a potential client, do you answer “Wht up? Watchu wan frm me 2day?”… OR do you stand in front of their front door with a neon sign from Vegas that blinks “OPEN”? OF COURSE NOT… So, be careful that you are not doing that with your website and blogs. In this day and age of text messaging, tweeting and quick communications we tend to forget that we are not using proper English. We also tend to forget that EVEN if we absolutely LOVE that cute dancing cowboy, he really doesn’t belong in our website design. So, double check your website content and blog posts. When visitors see typos, bad grammar, poor layout and neglected copy, you are presenting a negative first impression. The dancing cowboy and any other ‘neon signs’ need to go too. If you present yourself poorly, you can’t expect to gain trust, respect or authority in your field.
Use Personality
In addition to being great SEO tools, Blogs are a vital trust building tool. They offer the opportunity to present your personality. People are much more likely to trust your website if it has a human presence. Blogs are a great way to build customer relationships too. Keep them coming back for more by providing valuable information with a bit of humor. The technique only works if posts are regular and consistent. If you just don't have the time, hire an internet marketing consultant to help.
Use News
A good way to do this is through the use of SEO’d press releases. People trust news sources more readily than they trust advertisements or website copy. Get into the habit of writing a press release at least once a month and use at least two news distribution services. This doesn’t and shouldn’t cost you more than your time. Not only will it help bring human visitors to your site, but it also helps build strong backlinks to your site. Two free distribution services for you to get started with are http://www.1888pressrelease.com/ and http://www.1888pressrelease.com/
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