Branding is defined fuzzily by marketing gurus everywhere, to me, in real estate, it means how do people feel about you as an agent. Are you competent, trustworthy, approachable, etc. I think blogging in all it’s forms will reveal these traits to the viewer/reader/prospect/consumer. Branding is everything; your writing style, your tone, the subjects you talk about, the look and feel of your presence, everything that generates an emotional or intellectual attraction, repulsion or yawn.

Top of Mind Awareness/Recall is created by Repetition, Relevance and Remarkability. Consistent quality blogging in all it forms will create Top of Mind Awareness/Recall.

The X factor to amplifying these two is understanding the Analytics and how to point and shoot your messages.

From what I see, many are skilled at creating branding and TOMA, which is semi-natural for a good communicator and interesting person. The technical stuff is difficult to learn, there aren’t many classes or venues and as pointed out, there are only a few in the country who understand how to do it.

In our market we have some fairly active bloggers/FB/Twitter agents, most aren’t wildly successful yet. We have the usual number of hyper-successful who roll old-school and have barely dipped a toe into the online waters. I know. That’s today, a year of two or more it may be different.

The secret to success, IMHO, is on-purpose, in-person personal contact and conversation. Whether it’s online marketing/branding/promotion, direct mail, Open House or what ever, it’s all the pathway to Face to Face interaction and engagement.

Thanks for the article. Thought provoking stuff.

Branding is defined fuzzily by marketing gurus everywhere, to me, in real estate, it means how do people feel about you as an agent. Are you competent, trustworthy, approachable, etc. I think blogging in all it’s forms will reveal these traits to the viewer/reader/prospect/consumer. Branding is everything; your writing style, your tone, the subjects you talk about, the look and feel of your presence, everything that generates an emotional or intellectual attraction, repulsion or yawn.

Top of Mind Awareness/Recall is created by Repetition, Relevance and Remarkability. Consistent quality blogging in all it forms will create Top of Mind Awareness/Recall.

The X factor to amplifying these two is understanding the Analytics and how to point and shoot your messages.

From what I see, many are skilled at creating branding and TOMA, which is semi-natural for a good communicator and interesting person. The technical stuff is difficult to learn, there aren’t many classes or venues and as pointed out, there are only a few in the country who understand how to do it.

In our market we have some fairly active bloggers/FB/Twitter agents, most aren’t wildly successful yet. We have the usual number of hyper-successful who roll old-school and have barely dipped a toe into the online waters. I know. That’s today, a year of two or more it may be different.

The secret to success, IMHO, is on-purpose, in-person personal contact and conversation. Whether it’s online marketing/branding/promotion, direct mail, Open House or what ever, it’s all the pathway to Face to Face interaction and engagement.

Thanks for the article. Thought provoking stuff.

What everyone has to do now is look ahead and I think that is exactly what David was expressing.

We assume that every single agent is blogging, and now its time to kick it into another gear and utilize all the other opportunities. Social Media is huge all on its own, but those that effectively use it to drive traffic to their blogs, even better.

The problem is that 75% of Realtors (I made up my own percentage, Im sure we could push that up even further!) are still struggling with reading their email on their phones, learning how to text message! Much less start a blog. Yes blogging is saturated, but how many are actually blogging for business? Automatic blogs scraping content from RISMedia dosnt count!

There is a new generation of Realtors on the horizon. Never has there been such a grand opportunity for people who embrace and use technology as part of their lives to grasp a hold of the market. It has nothing to do with age, I have 50-60 year old brokers who will turn circles around the kids on Twitter. It is simply those who are willing to learn how to use something new.

Bring on the future!

Enough of the days of real estate agents who dont answer their phones, dont respond to emails, dont know how to text message… We need a new level of customer service, we need those who embrace technology as a tool.

I look at the future of real estate as a breathe of fresh air.

What everyone has to do now is look ahead and I think that is exactly what David was expressing.

We assume that every single agent is blogging, and now its time to kick it into another gear and utilize all the other opportunities. Social Media is huge all on its own, but those that effectively use it to drive traffic to their blogs, even better.

The problem is that 75% of Realtors (I made up my own percentage, Im sure we could push that up even further!) are still struggling with reading their email on their phones, learning how to text message! Much less start a blog. Yes blogging is saturated, but how many are actually blogging for business? Automatic blogs scraping content from RISMedia dosnt count!

There is a new generation of Realtors on the horizon. Never has there been such a grand opportunity for people who embrace and use technology as part of their lives to grasp a hold of the market. It has nothing to do with age, I have 50-60 year old brokers who will turn circles around the kids on Twitter. It is simply those who are willing to learn how to use something new.

Bring on the future!

Enough of the days of real estate agents who dont answer their phones, dont respond to emails, dont know how to text message… We need a new level of customer service, we need those who embrace technology as a tool.

I look at the future of real estate as a breathe of fresh air.

I think you are off when it comes to SEO.

I am a small time local blogger who works a nice little niche.

Last 30 Days on IcicleCreekRealEstate.com

Search 43% of visitors
Links 28%
Direct 26%

Folks find my blog because it ranks well for search terms like “Leavenworth Real Estate” but also for information about long tail terms like “Ponderosa Estates” or “Kahler glen condos”.

If the big brokers are only getting 5% of their traffic from search I think it just proves what kind of idiots are running the show.

I think a branding opportunity exists with a real estate blog, but I think that lead generation that comes from SEO is the name of the game.

David’s video reminds of the following high school scenario.

Scene: High school basketball gym

Crowd A: We got spirit yes we do, we got spirit yes do, how bout you?
Crowd B:We got spirit yes we do, we got spirit yes do, how bout you?

Crowd A:We got spirit yes we do, we got spirit yes do, how bout you?
Crowd B:We got spirit yes we do, we got spirit yes do, how bout you?

Crowd A:We got spirit yes we do, we got spirit yes do, how bout you?

Crowd B is obviously getting drowned out by the louder fans.

We got more, Check the score! We got more, Check the score! Pointing to the scoreboard.

David – Blogging may be 2008, but check the score.

Other companies are shutting their doors and I’m happily employed. My phone is ringing and I’m selling houses.

I think you are off when it comes to SEO.

I am a small time local blogger who works a nice little niche.

Last 30 Days on IcicleCreekRealEstate.com

Search 43% of visitors
Links 28%
Direct 26%

Folks find my blog because it ranks well for search terms like “Leavenworth Real Estate” but also for information about long tail terms like “Ponderosa Estates” or “Kahler glen condos”.

If the big brokers are only getting 5% of their traffic from search I think it just proves what kind of idiots are running the show.

I think a branding opportunity exists with a real estate blog, but I think that lead generation that comes from SEO is the name of the game.

David’s video reminds of the following high school scenario.

Scene: High school basketball gym

Crowd A: We got spirit yes we do, we got spirit yes do, how bout you?
Crowd B:We got spirit yes we do, we got spirit yes do, how bout you?

Crowd A:We got spirit yes we do, we got spirit yes do, how bout you?
Crowd B:We got spirit yes we do, we got spirit yes do, how bout you?

Crowd A:We got spirit yes we do, we got spirit yes do, how bout you?

Crowd B is obviously getting drowned out by the louder fans.

We got more, Check the score! We got more, Check the score! Pointing to the scoreboard.

David – Blogging may be 2008, but check the score.

Other companies are shutting their doors and I’m happily employed. My phone is ringing and I’m selling houses.

Which includes the following (borrowing heavily here):

…It’s hard to create much momentum in any kind of social network without some of those qualities, but true engagement, engagement that leads to customers and partners, is created with content. Or, perhaps more accurately, engagement is created with engaging content.

I know you’re likely sick of me talking about the need to create lots of education rich content, but there’s just very few ways around it as a typical small business. Some exceptions, marry into lots of money and buy super bowl ads, get Miley Cyrus to wear your product on stage, or get Michael Arrington and Robert Scoble to argue publicly about the merits of your feature set – baring these, think content creation.

When it comes to effective social media use, I personally push towards using a great deal of energy and activity to create awareness for your content. So, of course if you’re to take this advice, you’ve got to have lots of content. Many people do little more than create small talk on social networks and then wonder why they can’t get an ROI for time spent. Most small businesses will be far better off if they look at their status updates on LinkedIn, Facebook and twitter, not as a way to tell the world about what they are doing (unless it’s creating content), but as a way to shed light on valuable content housed either within the particular social network or elsewhere online.

—

I think its rather good advice. One of the sessions that I wanted to run at REBCOC was a session on social media workflow and how you fit this into your day as part of your overall marketing efforts vs. doing it as a hobby and because it is fun.

Which includes the following (borrowing heavily here):

…It’s hard to create much momentum in any kind of social network without some of those qualities, but true engagement, engagement that leads to customers and partners, is created with content. Or, perhaps more accurately, engagement is created with engaging content.

I know you’re likely sick of me talking about the need to create lots of education rich content, but there’s just very few ways around it as a typical small business. Some exceptions, marry into lots of money and buy super bowl ads, get Miley Cyrus to wear your product on stage, or get Michael Arrington and Robert Scoble to argue publicly about the merits of your feature set – baring these, think content creation.

When it comes to effective social media use, I personally push towards using a great deal of energy and activity to create awareness for your content. So, of course if you’re to take this advice, you’ve got to have lots of content. Many people do little more than create small talk on social networks and then wonder why they can’t get an ROI for time spent. Most small businesses will be far better off if they look at their status updates on LinkedIn, Facebook and twitter, not as a way to tell the world about what they are doing (unless it’s creating content), but as a way to shed light on valuable content housed either within the particular social network or elsewhere online.

—

I think its rather good advice. One of the sessions that I wanted to run at REBCOC was a session on social media workflow and how you fit this into your day as part of your overall marketing efforts vs. doing it as a hobby and because it is fun.

One way to think of it, I suppose, is to look at how you’d measure it. Under your definition, where everything is lead generation, I suppose CB’s TV commercial that ran on a TV show with a 5 million audience should report that CB now has 5 million leads?

I don’t know anyone who would accept such a definition of a “lead”.

-rsh

One way to think of it, I suppose, is to look at how you’d measure it. Under your definition, where everything is lead generation, I suppose CB’s TV commercial that ran on a TV show with a 5 million audience should report that CB now has 5 million leads?

I don’t know anyone who would accept such a definition of a “lead”.

-rsh