It's getting harder and harder to rise above the competition but it can be done. It takes time and commitment. It's consistency. It's being in front of your audience all the time, never letting more than a few days go by without them knowing who you are, what you do and where you do it.
Now, this is only for those that are really trying to make it online. My good friend has been a real estate agent for 25 years and just recently put up a website, but only for contact because she does no online marketing. All her business comes through referrals; always has and she likes it that way. She easily makes $150K a year, maybe more, only on referrals - no advertising whatsoever.
BUT - many new agents and even long time agents, are trying to get out there and expand their online presence. This is probably why you're on ActiveRain. Whether you are new to this business, or any business for that matter, or you've done it for years, expanding your online presence is a great way to capture those clients and customers just outside your sphere of influence.
But How Do You Do It?
There are about 100 ways to expand your online presence and of course, doing them all consistently is ideal but it can be very hard. Well, let me just say this... it IS very hard. But let's break down the basics of starting to expand your online presence.
Website
Obviously, you need a website. This should be your own information, your content (not canned content from a website provider) and relevant to your area. Whatever you do, you will need a website to direct traffic to from other sources. It's your hub - your online headquarters - the place all Internet roads lead back to.
The Website should be attractive, simple, clean and state what you really sell. HINT: If you're an agent, you don't sell real estate, you sell yourself! The main idea should be "Why should someone use YOU instead of anyone else?" If you can answer that clearly, provide an easy solution so your client wins every time, you will have a killer website. Don't offer too many choices on the homepage - You may have thousands of pages, but you can't put them all on the homepage. Make it simple - clean. Offer no more than three choices of where to go when they get there and then expand as your client digs further. Always offer a call to action on every page, CLEARLY and obvious from every place on the page. Here is a great example of a clean, easy website - Probate in Southern California. There are numerous pages but the homepage is clear and precise.
Blog
Your website may have a blogging platform and that's great! All great information should come from your website if you can. New, fresh, relevant information that someone would really want to know. AND RESEARCH! Research those keywords! If no one is searching for something, there's no point to rank #1 for it. Find the best phrases, keywords, and search terms, then build a great piece around that. Blog posts should be no less than 300 words and if it's really informative, up to 2000 words is even better - BUT don't put in fluff just to get the word count. Sometimes you can say what you need to in 300 words and maybe less, but as long as you are consistent and informative. My client in Louisville Kentucky does a great job with his blog. He blogs every day about Louisville events and activities. Some are longer but most are short, however, all are precise and informative.
Share
No website can properly function in a bubble. You have a great website, an informative blog but who's going to see it or read it? So now you need to share it. There are multiple ways to share your information! You can share links to the information, excerpts of the content or even the whole post if you link back to the original source (I would only do this selectively). Here are some great places to share your content - Many are FREE!
- Linked In - Share a whole post or article or just a link
- Pinterest - Create a great graphic with Canva.com and a link to the source
- Triberr.com
- Bizsugar.com - great for small businesses
- Reddit.com - submit a link
- Newsvine - great for news articles and current events
- Scoop.it - share articles (including your own) with more commentary about it
- Co-Promote - You share others, they share your stuff
- Flipboard - create a whole news board for your information in different categories
- Blogengage.com - Share your content in a specific niche
- ActiveRain - great for current events and articles with an expiration date
- YouTube.com - Make great videos of neighborhoods and interesting topics
- Inman - Great, when THEY pick up your articles!
- RealtyTimes.com - free source to share your content
- Your Email List - Your book of business may LOVE to read your post.
- StumbleUpon.com - post links to unique articles
- Outside Blogs - Tumblr, Blogger, Wordpress,
- Patch.com - see if your town has a Patch site that you can post on.
....SHARE AGAIN
Did you know it's okay to share the same information AGAIN!? I know, crazy, right!? HA.. okay, maybe not crazy but many people share once and done. If you wrote an amazing piece about your area or something that really is newsworthy, share it again! Post it on Facebook and boost the post for $5 for a week to get it out there. Promote it again on any of the above sites. Ask others to post a link to your content in their content like this:
[Related: 5 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Buying a House]
Slipping in a link like this on a post talking about similar things is a great way to get more eyes on your content.
Submit
The creme de la creme of sharing is, of course, getting your content picked up by the big shots - those big websites that really have a lot of readers like CNN, MSN, Money Magazine, GoBankingRates, Inman, Etc... This is hard to do but they certainly won't have a clue about your content if you don't share it. Also, don't be afraid to submit your article to a publicist. Contact your local newspaper or online news site and submit the content. Some may require payment and if it's worth that backlink, go for it! AND always make sure they link to your site. One great backlink like this can be worth hundreds of mediocre backlinks.
Does it take time? Yes. Will it pay off? Yes. Keep at it, don't forget to share. I keep several content sharing sites open most of the time so when I write, I share across the board. I shorten the URL and share, share, share! Then I share again.
More information:
Where Should Your Leads Be Coming From?
Comments(59)