Localism Writing & The Relevance to Real Estate

Being an advocate for Localism has been one of my favorite past times on ActiveRain. When I first joined ActiveRain there were about 19k members. Localism was geared toward all types of local area writing. There were listings, market reports, local area points of interest, community happenings and loan information. We posted photos and created the communities and kept plugging away to get the Localism site full of content, views, scenery and more.

Then the launch of Localism last year caused a ruckus because it was going to be geared more toward Local Area Businesses and happenings.

Change always seems to be a constant battle for some and this time it was me. I remember crying to Bob Stewart on the phone because all my posts were.....gone. That was remedied and they also tried to accommodate everyone at once....and it just didn't get up and running the way they had hoped. They had to put it on the back burner to get the rest of the thingamajiggies going and though I wish it were instant gratification I know that my having patience will pay off when it does. (Thanks William and Rich for the pep talks!)

I just keep plugging away and keep posting my Localism posts. Why?  IT CLICKED!  I have to, because I love to write about Hawaii, the communities and neighborhoods. I want to pay it forward to the local businesses and people who live in my community and I also write so the consumer can walk beside me in my community. Feel what I feel when I'm writing about the sunrise and give the consumer and my clients a birds eye view before they Relocate to Hawaii.

This community is open to all types of writing and not just Real Estate ‘talk'. I believe that everything is relevant and everything is intertwined with our industry. I deal with people on a day to day basis. I walk in the community with my clients and give them suggestions for the furniture stores, restaurants, hardware stores, shopping malls, the doggie parks, beaches and hiking trails.

We hold ourselves in high esteem; walk with confidence and with an air of positivity surrounding us. Our clients feel comfortable with us knowing that we are human and not just business robots.

I don't know about you but I converse with my clients about a variety of topics.

And that is exactly what I do here. 

We write about local businesses, people in our community, tourist attractions and points of interest with interesting and original content.  We post beautiful , clear and related pictures to each post and create a great post that is attractive to the eye. 

Writing about Local Market Expertise does not mean:

• That I write a bunch of statistics that can easily be copied and pasted from the MLS. I get creative with a brief summary of the community, my personal experience in the community and then brief current statistics including Active, In Contract & Sold Properties with the average prices that they sold for and the number of days (DOM) the property was active on the market before getting into contract. Top it off with a couple of pictures and I spent a couple of hours on this baby.
• It does not mean that I just copy & paste a bunch of current listings in line item form. Localism will one day have a section just for YOUR listings. And I will add mine too.
• It does not mean I write two liners and point to my website. I actually speak volumes about my community and keep the consumer interested and reading my post. They find me without leading them away to yet another site.

Giving back to the community can be very rewarding. Physically handing out meals to the homeless, volunteering to help a needy family fix or build their home or running for a cause give one a feeling of ‘doing our part'. Or I just pay it forward and write about  the Honolulu Zoo,  Waikiki Aquarium, doggie park, restaurant, city hall or just post pictures of the ocean, a sunrise on Makapuu Beach. Then I give each post a personal credit for their mouth watering food, great service or just the beauty of the ocean alone.

It's called appreciation. Appreciation for what I have....not what I have not.

It's not just words. I give MY personal touch and a piece of me in every word I write.

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The following links and excerpts will give you more information on Localism. It may not be up and running for the consumer quite yet....but it will be. In the meantime, the consumer finds us through reading our quality content when they plug in that keyword from your posts into the search for Google. Try it. You'll see.

• ActiveRain Unveils the New Localism in which Jonathan Washburn, CEO of ActiveRain stated, No one has captured the essence and flavor of local communities online on a large scale.  All the data points, pie charts, graphs and widgets in the world can't tell the complete story of a place. It takes content from the people who live and work there - which we have in abundance - to bring things to life. There are plenty of local review sites out there, but we're going beyond that to capture the full range of things that make communities unique."
• 10 steps to Localism success written by Jonathan Washburn in which he has 10 wonderful steps to writing for Localism and WHY.
• "What is Localism?"in which Rich Jacobson, Community Builder of ActiveRain states, is the valued point of connection, a place of meaningful interaction. It's where neighbors and local merchants share what's happening in their community. It's people collectively communicating the unique flavor and nuances of where they live, work, eat, and play. 

And the rest of the articles from ActiveRain relating to all articles for Localism can be found here>>>>>  The New Localism

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Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman is a Realtor-Associate with Century 21 Liberty Homes in Mililani, Hawaii. With a sharp understanding that a listening ear is the key to a client's needs  she serves the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and all Hawaii Military Relocating to Hawaii, Hawaii Retirees, Hawaii Job Transfers and Hawaii Residents. Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com