Andrew - Great advice Obi-Wan.  I need to try to do more serious-hyper-local posts.  I do brag and elaborate about the University, Hospitals, Festivals and stuff about Gainesville - but need to get more in depth.

great points.  Don't much care for cheesy photos. (grin)

You've made me think do I have enough on my website about neighborhoods.  I'll have to spend more time on the site getting information about areas I serve available.  I have added links to local neighborhoods.  In the end most of my business is coming from the "outer" net.  Belly to belly is my best way so far.

Why not recommend that the new comer rent for 6 months to a year?  Can you really get a feel for a neighborhood/community via the web, a stranger, pictures?  We all have different wants and needs and if you buy into something too soon then what, you're stuck?  Put it back on the market and pay 5-7% realtor fee which means you'll likely lose money on the deal?

GREAT post Andy. When we show others our world, we draw them in. There is beauty and excitement in every area and the localism really is a killer application for our business.

Leigh V, we suggest that people rent before they buy all the time. I just wrote a post about it. Some people SHOULD rent. But 'seeing' our areas online is cheaper than a cross country flight. Not to encourage impulse buying, just to share our world. :)

Andrew, Great post.

I need to do this. People need to to connect with agents who know the community.

Good post and on point as well. I think this goes along with the way Real Estate is going, the folks want to connect and this is part of it.

Andrew - Instead of focusing on a real estate blog, I put my money on a community blog.  It's been up and running for four years now and I have over 400 subscribers to my e-mail updates.  Recently I added a Facebook Fan page and soon I will add a Twitter feed for my community.  Be a reliable source of info and you will earn the respect of your community and help newcomers understand what your community is about.  It attracts both sellers and buyers.  Win/win.  I agree with you completely.

I have a link to the visitor's website on mine, but that is probably not enough.

Amen.  Content is King!

kp

You are right.  The better we inform buyers and sellers, the better client - and more loyal - we will have.

Marc Iafrate, MBA

Hi Andrew - Spot-on post!  There is so much new people want to learn about the area they'll be moving to, and anything we can do to feed that info will help us, and help the customers become comfortable about the area.  You know what the best thing is about writing local content?  Getting to know the area better myself!!

Andrew, you are right about prospective clients. They want information and if we don't give it they'll find someone who does.

Hi Andrew -- I agree.  I updated my photo cause my glasses changed and a client pointed it out, so wham, new photo and the old one was only 2 years old.

Hey, my photo was taken in 2003 -- not that old! Oh, you weren't talking about me? Sorry.

Hey, that's a neat post! I've been thinking of a cute post about the flavors of living in the Town of Chesapeake Beach MD and I'm gonna go ahead and do it!

Point taken, Andrew.

Some real estate websites don't allow for such interactive information, but those that do, their owners should incorporate such information into their websites and update that info on a regular basis.