Melissa Krchnak
By Melissa Krchnak
I’m often asked by REALTORS® how they can increase their online presence. What’s the best blogging platform? Which social media site will yield more ROI? Should I beef up my e-mail signature? What should I put on my Facebook page? How many Craigslist ads should I post a day and when? The answer is simple: Stop getting in your own way and do whatever it is that you want to do — and make it something you will actually stick to once you’ve time-blocked for it.
But here’s my take on these common questions listed above for boosting online presence.
- For me, the best blogging platform is WordPress: it’s easy to use, navigate and edit (i.e. A+ in my book).
- Instant messaging on Facebook and the search function on Twitter are tied for my favorite ways to build relationships with social media. Pinterest or LinkedIn might be better for you, but these two methods work most ideally for me.
- My e-mail signature is simple and it’s always been that way: I have two lines of info and a third row of 10 small social media/online icons that link to my online presence, which is courtesy of WiseStamp.
- For me, I don’t have a Facebook business page. Continue reading »
Ryan Gervais
By Ryan Gervais
Do you suffer from ugly website syndrome? Does your website have a twin?
If you answered yes to either question, it is time to “get real,” as Dr. Phil would say, and develop a better brand image for your website. In my last article, I gave a bold statement: to try and help every reader get one more sale this year. Here is the first step in that process.
First, load up your current website. Now count the number of unique articles or stories you personally have written. If the answer is zero, that is probably the same amount of traffic you are getting from Google. If you are getting zero traffic from the largest search engine in the world, you are probably not converting too many online leads to clients.
Now, count how many calls to action you have on your website. A call to action is asking the visitor to do something specific on your site, such as sign up for a newsletter, give their personal information to receive listings, etc. If you do not give the visitor several different options to give up their personal information, you will not get many leads. Website users need to see variations, such as text links, banners, buttons, etc. If you are lacking calls to action, you will need to think about ways of adding them in so you can direct traffic to your conversion page.
Do you have a conversion page? This is the page that makes you money. If you do not have a conversion page, you should drop everything you are doing and create one. A conversion page is where buyers or sellers give you there personal information and allow you to call or email them.
If you have made yourself look like an expert by writing articles, you will be surprised at how many people will make an initial contact through your website. The main conversion page that most agents use is a “sign up for MLS listings to be emailed to you” page. Every person who signs up for this service should immediately be put into your contact system to start receiving emailed listings. These are the cream of the crop for leads, and it need to be harvested carefully (I will speak more about that in a future article).
Now that you know a few of the main things to look out for on your website, I will address how to create a unique website using a content management system in my next article, so stay tuned!
Ryan Gervais is a sales representative in Sarnia, Ontario with RE/MAX Sarnia. Connect with Ryan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SarniaRealEstate LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/ryan-gervais/a/222/3b or on the Web at www.sarnialistings.com.
Ryan Gervais
By Ryan Gervais
The first thing almost every new REALTOR® is told when they get in the business is to get a website. New agents usually ask their broker or fellow agents where to go to fulfill this seemingly important task, and they usually choose an out-of-the-box template solution. These cookie-cutter solutions do offer the convenience of getting up and running fast, but does it separate your from your competition?
Industry insiders often throw around words such as search engine optimization, Google Analytics, bounce rates, and social media integration as a way to measure how effective your website is. I challenge everyone who is reading this to think about all of those things, but add the most important one of all: Lead Conversion.
Your website should be a place to convert visitors to clients. If you do not know how many visitors it takes to convert a visitor into a prospect or how many prospects you need to convert to a transaction, then what is the point of focusing on all the buzz words above? If you are just using your website as an infomercial for yourself, and not to directly engage visitors and give them many options to become a client, you are wasting a valuable opportunity to pick up another client.
REALTORS® should be benchmarking our websites with other conversion-friendly industries to learn best-practices when building a website that is meant for conversion. Users respond differently to colors, buttons, text links, pictures, white space, and generally need to be told what to do in many different ways if you want them to do something like give up their personal information.
My goal is to get every reader of my posts one new transaction this year by sharing some best practices on lead conversion and answering website related questions over a series of articles.
Ryan Gervais is a sales representative in Sarnia, Ontario with RE/MAX Sarnia. Connect with Ryan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SarniaRealEstate LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/ryan-gervais/a/222/3b or on the Web at www.sarnialistings.com.
David Krichmar
By David Krichmar
Testimonials are a very important asset to you. Heck, what better way to show your “The Best REALTOR®” then with testimonials from past clients? Here are five great tips to get more out of your testimonials:
1. Content- “Dave is great,” is not a testimonial. You will want to be at least a paragraph, four-to-five sentences. Let the client paint the picture of the great job you did. This means do not just post the good parts or shorten it. Putting “Kim did a good job,” in quotation marks makes me feel like you cut out the part where Kim did something not so good.
2. Key Words- In anything we do online we want keywords. This is how you get found on the Internet. So highlight the keywords that your client uses in their testimonial, such as the town, county, subdivision, builder’s name, etc. of the home. If the client does not mention them, add them after the testimonial.
3. Links- Just like keywords, we also want links that point to our websites. If the client mentions a keyword, such as “Sugar Land, Texas,” have it link back to your website. Especially if this is an area that you specialize in. This is also a great idea for school districts, subdivisions, etc. that are mentioned on your website, blog posts, and/or Facebook pages. Continue reading »
Stefanie Hahn
By Stefanie Hahn
You have your Google profile, right? Well now it’s time to start using Google +1. Haven’t heard of it? Think of it as the Facebook “like” button for the Internet. Watch this tutorial video to see how Google +1 works and consider adding the function to your website and/or blog to vamp up your SEO.
Stefanie Hahn is the education director for Coldwell Banker Hearthside, REALTORS® in Malvern, Pa. Visit her Web site: www.StefanieHahn.com.
Brooke Wolford
By Brooke Wolford
I recently blogged about this and I think it was very necessary to share with YPN. Yes, it’s kind of lame to Google yourself. Yes some people look at it as being egotistical. But there are several reasons to do it.
If you are anything like me, you occasionally Google yourself. I really have no reason to do it but for some reason it makes me feel cool. I like reading all the info on the Internet and also I like to make sure it’s accurate.
When I first got my license, I was so excited to see my name listed as “Brooke Wolford”, REALTOR(R). So I decided to Google myself. Low and behold, there is another Brooke Wolford. She’s an actress… I guess if that’s what you call a porn star. I was horrified. I also found out that there is a “Wolford” lingerie line. Besides that, there were pages upon pages about the porn star and this lingerie line and not too much info about me.
Since then I have done a lot of research and managed to get my name planted on to every possible real estate Web site, every social networking site, and I try to update my blogs every day. I have also had the opportunity to make sure that the information listed on Web sites is accurate. One Web site had me listed as a commercial agent working out of the Duluth, Minn. area… it was a little off considering I mainly deal with residential and the city of Duluth is four hours away from me. Continue reading »
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