MOO!
I am a Seth Godin junkie. I have devoured everything he has written since, well, he started writing. And I BELIEVE in the concept of the PURPLE COW.
Yesterday I attended my second Raincamp which boasted leaders in Real Estate Technology the likes of: Zillow, Docusign, MarketLeader, ActiveRain and (a personal favorite) Estately.com (Sheesh! How fortunate I am to live in the corner of the world where most of the best and brightest Real Estate technology POWERHOUSES also lay their heads at night?!)
Highlights of the day spent at RainCamp?
Most valuable for me was another refresher course on SEO. More importantly was finding out how the large online Real Estate clearing house companies treat my posts. Long tail descriptions are the Name-of-the-GAME.
I was impressed by Spenser Rascoff from Zillow. He spoke about Zillow's commitment to support Real Estate Agents. He also shared Zillow's humble understanding that the information they provide the public is an ESTIMATE based on AVERAGES compiled by a COMPUTER MODULE. And their deeper understanding and support of the agent community as the RESOURCE for market value. I needed to hear that.
Helpful was the long list of sites that will serve to expand my Real Estate tool-belt. Most of which are free services. I really like FREE.
Missing at this RainCamp, though, were a step-by-step for how to write a long-tail ad (I get it...but did every one who paid to attend?).
Also missing was a deeper emphasis on the importance of personal branding...the aforementioned "Purple Cow". Yeah, it's great to send traffic to your site...but what are they going to find when they arrive? And, are you consistently being the Purple Cow...everywhere you are? Or, are you sometimes blue, sometimes, pink, sometimes just a regular cow??? Being found online is one thing, but have you only provided information...or have you established enough about WHO YOU ARE that a perfect stranger will trust/feel they "know you" well enough to decide to CONNECT with you? That would have been nice to talk a lot more about. (Hey! Ben, Jonathan....guys! Call me. I'll do that part.)
Which leads into the obvious...we are still a person-to-person business and only make income when we DO BUSINESS with REAL PEOPLE. SEO is great IF it produces RESULTS. SEO is NOT GREAT if it keeps you shackled to your computer day after day trying to get rated on search engines. Hmmm...it would have been nice to have some FREE TOOLS introduced that specifically unlock the thing most agents find themselves lacking...T-I-M-E. (I know they are out there.)
Ultimately, RainCamp is a worthwhile experience, and worth the day you will need to give it. But, in this agent's humble opinion, (this is for my friends running ActiveRain) it would have been better if Bellingham's camp had followed the agenda of the Seattle Camp. MORE content, more hands-on, less "motivational moments" and more sharing of results from Real Estate practitioners experiencing successful business outcomes from their online efforts.
Seattle rocked my socks off...Bellingham was ok.
Live good. Be happy. Attend RainCamp.
-Mimi
Mimi Osterdahl / The Muljat Group Realtors / Bellingham, Washington / www.LiveGoodBeHappy.com
Founding President, Northwest Washington Women's Council of Realtors
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