10 Tips To A Better Real Estate Blog

Blogging and Social Networking is fast becoming a medium for distributing your voice to a large audience.  Real Estate Agents can be successful but you need to make sure you do it right.  Here are some quick tips on things to consider when your create posts.

Tip #10:  Get The Right Audience

If you have 10,000 Facebook followers and none of them are interested in Real Estate in your market, then you just have 10,000 connections on Facebook.  Try to gather a following of people interested in your product.  If you do no relocation work and have 40% of your audience overseas then do you really have 10,000 worth while followers?

Tip #9:  ROI

Yes we always should be thinking of the return on our investments.  Is what I am writing going to get interest?  Am I putting call to actions in some of my posts?

Tip #8:  Eggs in your basket

I think long-term success of any Social Media campaign is being involved in a few area’s.  For example your Blog may feed your Facebook page.  Your Facebook page may auto post to your Twitter account.  Now I am not a big fan of all of this auto posting but it certainly makes things easier.  But always remember to put some personal posts in there too.  I like to auto-post my blogs but I take the time to post to Twitter and also make comments on my Facebook page as well.  Not all posts are bloggable.

Tip #7:  Good Writing

If you post just to post, your posts become boring and old.  You need to be fresh.  Concepts on community, tips, lifestyle, housing trends, schools are all good Real Estate topics.

Tip #6:  Follow The Niche

Another favorite topic of mine is long-tailed keywords.  When you write a blog or post to a social media site, the more focused your content is the more likely they are to become viral.  Why?  People follow other people with the same or similar interests. Post what people like to read and they are more likely to re-post it elsewhere.  I speak frequently about an Agent blogging about the community.  Taking that a step further and applying a long tail keyword you might take a post like Real Estate in Edgewater, NJ to The Admiral, Edgewater, Bergen County, NJ. While you will get less hits on this, the ones who search phrase are highly targeted and most likely very interested.

Tip #5:  Think Keywords

If the goal of your blog for example  is to increase your visibility, which I hope it is, then include keywords in your title, headlines and lists to draw attention to your post and to also gain some SEO value.  Each post should have a title that will attract attention but still be relevant and keep it under 15 words max.

Tip #4:  Be Original

While you can take inspiration from a variety of sources, ultimately your success is being original.  Get inspired and then write your own works.  You can inspire yourself for months alone just on the community concept.  Lifestyle, schools, trends, solds, tips, events, news, all have a huge potential to blog about.

Tip #3:  Post Often

You need to post and post often, daily if you can but certainly a few times per week.

Tip #2:  Be unique, Stick Out

If you want to get someone to read your posts then you need to give them a reason.  Titles and scannable content is a must.

Tip #1:  And My Number One Tip is…. Content, Content, Content

If you have read any of my previous posts you will know this is what I preach and preach often. Content is the driving force of your blog.  Write good, unique and inspiring content.  Write about things your target audience wants to read, otherwise you are not going to be very successful in getting potential buyers or sellers to read your posts.

Using these tips I hope will assist you in writing good quality posts.  Remember blogging takes time and the more you blog the better your sphere of influence becomes.

So who is  RE/Advantage

Based in Fairfield, New Jersey, RE/Advantage is a leading provider provider of real estate technology tools. RE/Advantage serves Brokerages, Agents, Boards, and MLS’s with web design, back-end management, member services and consulting. RE/Advantage provides easy to manage and fully customizable web sites and IDX solutions that helps real estate professionals with their online presence. RE/Advantage also provides Boards and MLS’s with public website services and member management tools. For more information please, please visit RE/Advantage.com or call us at (877) 791-4825.

Facebook Versus Google

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I recently read an interesting article by Alex Salkever and Sean Parker. I have added my commentary below their article.

When I read his article he discussed how Facebook could actually hurt Google. He and a tech entrepreneur by the name of Sean Parker believe, in short that businesses that connect people are worth more than businesses that collect data.  Facebook will effectively connect people whereas Google will not.

One of his supporting reasons about Facebook is that a search is increasingly a social act. When he and his wife and were searching for a new pediatrician, they did a Google search and a Facebook inquiry. Google brought up a bunch of links on sites of varying quality that purported to rank physicians. His Facebook query got him some excellent recommendations from people he knew. He was more comfortable with Facebook’s suggestions, because they came from people he knew. A Google search gave no guarantee of whether the information is current, nor of the motivations behind the strangers who provide it.

He believe for the first time, social media has made it convenient to tap the collective wisdom of your crowd, and people who know your crowd, to get recommendations for just about anything. Sure, you could blast friends with an email for advice in the past, but no one would dream of constantly bombarding lesser-known acquaintances for such information. By tapping into this new and powerful form of search, Facebook can also tear off a significant chunk of the value of the act of searching. Past wisdom was that people on Facebook weren’t receptive to ads. When he was looking for a pediatrician, he might’ve bitten on an ad for local practitioners. In searching both Google and Facebook, the latter became more relevant, so he spent less time conducting research on Google. He felt more comfortable that my own network would help me find the right information.

None of this means Google will completely suffer as Alex says.  He often disagrees with the answers he gets back from my social search. And the act of indexing the Internet is hugely valuable for providing a baseline of information. Google beats Facebook in many respects: Google (and other search engines) are insanely valuable for mapping and plotting directions among almost any locations.

And Google clearly gets the social web; Google Wave puts the company squarely into a form of social networking and, by extension, social search. Google is also quietly building up social tools to overlay on top of its search engine. Google has access to millions of desktops using its software toolbar: a potential Trojan horse for a broader social network play. So don’t write Google off.

Nevertheless, Parker’s presentation is compelling and seems to mirror key changes in how people are using and perceiving the Internet. If I go a day without using Google, it doesn’t bother me much. But I can’t go a day without Facebook: the social connections keep me tuned in.

With my eyeballs and my attention come opportunities to make money. Connection, not collection, is the value generator. I will keep using Google a lot to search for information — it’s a powerful and useful tool — but increasingly, it takes a backseat to social media and the wisdom of crowds.

I agree with the value of Social Networking applications such as Facebook as does the authors from the column above and it the importance to marketing. If I am looking for a real estate professional I have always been inclined to get the recommendations from friends versus a list on Google.

Social Networks

I recently had a conversation with Megan,  a new consultant at my office about the importance of Social Networking.  I had asked her to write a post on her experience and what she has learned.  Here is what she had to say.

I’ve recently learned the importance of social networking through out the Real Estate industry. While working hand-in-hand with my boss I have come to see why blogging and using Facebook, Twitter and other networking sites has grown in popularity since a year or two ago. Many people, especially Real Estate agents/offices use these social networking avenues to appeal to a younger generation – one that is utterly technologically driven.

For example: by using Facebook a real estate professional can become “fans” of a Board and/or MLS, as well as, recent and previous clients that has a profile on Facebook. From there the friends or “fans” of those individuals/Boards and MLSs can see that this specific agent has connections and popularity – therefore the knowledge to help buy/sell a property.

Blogging is also very important avenue in SEO (search engine optimization), which is also the important aspect of social networking. There you can interact with other agents or people by blogging about your ideals, opinions and/or views on this ever changing economy!

Take a look at these statistics: (http://www.realtor.org/library/library/fg006)

• It is said that 84% of home buyers today have used the computer to help purchase their home!
• Actions taken as result of using Internet site:
  • Drove by/viewed a home – 73%
  • Walked through a home viewed online- 57%
• 89% of Real Estate offices said “Yes” our company does have a website – so why not capitalize on that! Plug in to the social networking sites and link them to your website. That way people can get from your social networking pages to your website and vice verse!
• The top places where REALTORS® place their listings are REALTOR.com, their broker’s website, their own site, and their local MLS site.

Again social networking is extremely important in becoming successful in the real estate industry.  So try it!  Here are some sites that you can try out.

http://www.facebook.com/ -  Social Networking Site

http://wordpress.com/ – Blogging Platform

http://twitter.com/ – Micro-blogging Platform

http://activerain.com/ – Social Networking Site for Agents

Facebook User Names

Facebook now has an easy way for you to get to your Facebook page. You can now personalize your Facebook URL (web address) by selecting a unique username. Your username will appear as; “http://www.facebook.com/username”.

Starting at 12:01 a.m. (EDT) on Saturday, June 13, 2009, you will be able to select a username at http://www.facebook.com/username.

You can select a username that Facebook suggests or create your own. Select “Check availability” to check for available usernames. If the desired username is available, click “Confirm” in order to confirm your choice.

Usernames are available only for Facebook profiles and Pages. You cannot claim a username for a group or event created with these Facebook applications.

So check it out….