I spoke with someone that had 3000 likes on a Facebook page and absolutely no interaction; not one lead.
Someone else came up #1 on Google for a keyword with no sign ups or click-throughs.
Why not?
Because they're not going for the right people and the right answers.
Page rank on Google and search engines for real estate agents is almost impossible. We have a client that ranks #4 for Louisville Real Estate and has for YEARS. He has beaten the odds and actually stood his ground in the SEO world for years and remains there. It only has come from diligent work both on site and off site and we are just a part of his marketing team. He blogs every day - Yep - EVERY DAY and has collected thousands of excellent backlinks and a massive online presence. But that didn't happen overnight. He gets leads straight from the search engines. But in competitive markets, that's really REALLY hard to do.
I'm sure you get it all the time - those marketers that call you and say, "We can get you ranked for such and such keyword!" Yeah, they probably can, but have you checked to see if anyone is searching for that keyword?
Sometimes my clients are shocked when they want to go for a keyword only to discover no one is searching for that. Sure, you can rank for it, but you're not going to get a lead for it. Then whose fault is it?
Those giants - Trulia, Zillow, Realtor, Homes, Etc.. dominate the first page - that's no secret. So how is an individual real estate agent suppose to compete?
There are a ton of other ways to find leads rather than putting all your eggs in the search result page basket.
Remember I mentioned the 3000 likes to a Facebook page? They meant nothing and will gain the owner nothing because they were bought. It's easy to jump on Fiverr and pay for a few hundred or thousand likes but those likes are from people that DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS. They didn't 'like' your page because they wanted what you were selling. So you're never going to get any interaction from them or leads.
Now I have another client that has spent the last 3-4 years building up his Facebook followers and now has over 7,000 REAL followers from people he has worked with, friends of friends, paid targeted likes and boosted posts plus over 50 reviews just on Facebook! He interacts with them and gets leads almost every day. He has branched out to Linkedin and consistently builds his network there as well. He is on all the social media networks but really works a couple of good ones consistently. This is a Tortoise race, not the sprint of the Hare.
It's like there is a freeway to your clients and the big guys are taking up all the lanes, but you can find the routes around the freeway and along the way find more targeted clients, real people and make relationships and connections with them instead of being a dominant, non-personal force on Google.
Blogging is also NOT DEAD. Those that blog on a regular basis gain 50% more leads on average.
But, it's what you're blogging on that matters. Lead generating blog posts are usually:
- Community Information
- Neighborhoods
- Events
- Local News
- Market Reports
- Testimonials or Reviews
- First News No One Else Has
- Changes to an Area
- Fun Lists (Why do we love lists?)
- Really good real estate information
I need to expand on that last one. Throwing out 3 tips to buying in 300 words or less is not really good information. If you're going to offer generic real estate tips, it should be at least 800+ words, have amazing photos to go along with it, great internal linking to other valuable posts and shared a ton!
More: Are you too Busy to Blog?
It's hard to write about something that no one else has before, almost impossible, but you are the only one that can write about it from your perspective, experience, and tone. It also must be something that really grabs your attention. Not just "3 tips to buying commercial real estate" but instead "5 Big Fears Commercial Real Estate Buyers Face". Make it seem urgent to read, scared to miss it. Or just something that people may have never thought of before, like "How home buying has changed since our parent's time".
[See More: Why a little SEO Just Doesn't Cut it]
But one of the biggest mistakes most bloggers make is at the end of a post. The reader doesn't know what to do next. Okay, I've read this, now onto something else.
There has to be a reason to stay, call, click, text, sign up, etc... Every post should be like a landing page. There should be more to read and explore, a reason to call, a button to click, a lead to capture. Not everyone comes to your homepage first. Readers may have come to a particular post or page from social media so you have to reiterate what you do and who you are with every post. It should have a clear author and signature and explain what you expect readers to do when they're there.
Readers should not have to travel far to find you - meaning they shouldn't have to hunt all over the page for a contact number or button. Always give your readers a way to keep them on the site or call you.
[Read More: How, Why and When to Syndicate Blog Posts]
Don't miss an opportunity to capture a lead. Don't expect your website to just sit out there and bring in the leads. You have to work it for it to work. Whatever platform you choose, be it social media, ActiveRain, your website or even other people's websites in the form of a guest blog post, make every post count. Ask yourself, will this post (blog or social post) bring me a lead? Can people read more easily? Can they find me? Does it make sense? Will it stand out?
We might not be able to compete with the big dogs, but there are LOTS of other ways to the customer.
Need help blogging? Social media management? Or does your website just give you headaches? We can help with all of that!
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