The big portals make a lot of agents anxious. Z/T/R.com & the big brokers all have WAY more money then we'll ever hope to have. They can out advertise us pretty easily. They make an announcement and the whole industry quivers.
They're 800 pound gorillas and we're chipmunks.
Seriously, how can we as single agents or small teams take on that kind of ferocious opponent?
The answers are right in front of you! And they're actually easy if you're willing to put in the effort!
First, KNOW your market. I mean REALLY, REALLY know your market. Computer algorithms and automated this and that are all fine for a purpose, but computers are guessing and what you live and breathe every day! You can't allow server ZEST_HAL2000 to beat you at what YOU do! You know that every 2000 sq ft home with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths is NOT the same. That crossing the street, changing the view, lots of not so tangible things can seriously alter a home's value.
Second, Identify the opportunity. The big sites are GENERIC. Sure they're going to win the Google wars for the big search terms, and what they can't win organically they'll pay for placement. So I'm NOT going to win "Cincinnati Homes For Sale" and that doesn't bother me a bit. This chipmunk figured out niches and long tail results are giving the consumer what they want and DO NOT FIND on the big sites. So what am I doing next?
Third, Exploit the opportunity! This is where you've got to get to work and stay disciplined. You've got to research and create the content that turns the identification of an opportunity into something real that gives the consumers what they want. It might be blog posts, it might be IDX search pages, it might be Pinterest or Facebook or Instagram or pick your poison, but get to work at it! And what you don't want to be doing is chasing comments or the wave of the wand from ActiveRain's Feature Fairies! Consumers don't comment, they contact. And the posts that get Featured are NOT the posts that are highly likely to make your phone ring. Phone ringers are the "boring" posts about subdivisions, homes with barns, new construction opportunities, market reports and the like.
Fourth, Don't Stop! Keep on it. Keep on it. Keep on it. It's easy to get distracted, waver off the path, want more visible engagement & comments, but again, this is a LONG TERM game. Keep working at it with high quality content the consumers can use, and the more specific about houses the better. A post about a condo community got us a listing recently. Posts about patio home communities have provided me quite a few patio home buyers. I'll keep adding fuel to that fire as new opportunities present.
And that's how a chipmunk takes out the 800 pound gorillas.
Until next Tuesday, just Ask An Ambassador if you need help!
Bill of Liz and Bill aka BLiz
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