Real estate agents used to work on the paradigm of “pounding the pavement.” There was much driving, walking, and handing out of brochures and business cards in order to drum up business and make a sale. However, the internet changed how real estate professionals get exposure and ultimately get listings.

Here are a few reasons internet exposure is essential:

Buyers are shopping online – Home buyers are shopping for homes online now more than ever. 87% of home buyers start with internet listings, up from about 70% in 2005. Will they find your listings?

Web Site – A professional web site with your realty background and listed properties is mandatory. This works not only as your online business card, but also as a digital brochure for each of your listed properties. This is the place where a property seller may choose you as their listing agent, and a home buyer will call you for a home viewing.

Agent SEO – Home buyers (and sellers) will most likely find you from a query performed through a major search engine. Will your name be among the search results? The more you practice and perform optimization of your website and your services online, the better chance you will be at or near the top of search results.

Internet advertising – SEO is part of a successful internet exposure strategy, but paid advertising will help get even more exposure. Real estate agents can use pay per click advertising, banner ads, and other paid advertising on other websites to drum up leads,

Gather leads – Selling agents don’t sit by the phone waiting for a home seller to call them. An agent must find leads and convince a seller that he or she is the agent for them. Through the internet you will be able to drum up leads from sellers who are shopping around for a selling agent.

Newspapers and radio spots used to be the source of most marketing efforts; however, today’s customers are found nowhere near newspaper ads; instead, they are on the Internet, connecting socially, conducting business and making financial decisions.

The best place to head if you are in search of leads is to the social media sites. Even if you’ve never heard the term “social media” you likely know exactly what it is: Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, and that’s just for starters.

But how do you take social media and turn it into a great source for real estate leads?

Here are some tips for guiding you through the social media sites:

• Develop a network on a social media site and encourage current, past and new clients to add you to their network. Once you have an audience that is following you, or an audience that has named you their “friend,” you can offer a plethora of information and also add links to your marketing materials. A social media site provides you with the opportunity to create a profile that others can follow, so it is important to take full advantage of this online exposure!

• Create groups on social media sites that will allow you to provide others with helpful information. These groups are also a prime place for potential clients to ask questions and ask for advice. Becoming an expert in a group that you have created is a fantastic way of broadening your image and showing others that you have expertise in your field.

• Don’t forget about business networking groups, as well, as you can exchange ideas and information with other real estate professionals. An open forum on the real estate industry can help everyone gain valuable information to further their real estate business and careers.

• Pay close attention to the “next best thing” when it comes to social media sites, as this area of the Internet is constantly changing and evolving. Make sure you are prepared to stay relevant and to be where the excitement and action are.

I’m primarily hoping for feedback on the design, and I’d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly from your perspective. Specifics would be very helpful, do you like the colors, layout, etc. Thanks!

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* Quick Search – Search by Area, rental rates, pets, property name, ( other criteria too )

*  Scrolling Ads for specials, calls to action for registering

*  Blog Manager

* Featured Apartments – Currently homes, however will change them to Apt buildings with lease rates.

* Call to Action Graphics

* Featured Areas

* Testimonials – this section will rotate automatically

* Widget Area – not sure what to do with this section just yet

The best part isn’t shown just yet, still need to do some programing. The Apt search will be Awesome!

But building a website isn’t enough. In order to form a successful online marketing strategy you need to have fresh and updated content posted to your real estate website frequently. Blogging is a great way to post new content that keeps your website current and filled with additional information that both old and new visitors can read.

But blogging can be a chore. Writing articles day after day and week after week can leave you drained of topics and scratching your head as to what to do next. Keeping your blog updated with fresh content requires that you research important and timely keywords, read current news stories, discover new ways to offer advice, and all without replicating what you have already written. The bottom line is that blogging can take considerable time and effort out of your day. and your time is important when you are building a real estate business and trying to make and close sales.

We can help!

Here at RealtyRankings we have a staff of qualified SEO analysts and specialists who are ready to provide you with the content you need. We can perform the keyword research necessary to provide you with a list of potential and pertinent keywords and phrases that are aimed at your target client demographic. Our staff is capable of writing stellar content that is filled with informative content related to your specific real estate industry or niche. Our blog articles are proven to attract major search engine attention and help your website get noticed by Google, Yahoo!, and Bing.

In short, let us help you build your online presence with blog content. Your time is important and focusing too much time on maintaining a blog can detract you from making money. We look forward to serving you and providing you with fresh, new, quality blog content.

When you set up your profile, here are a few tips to help make your presence in our community stand apart.

Basic Info and Bio

On the basic info page you can provide your name, title, company, website link, and location. You can also share a bit more personal information such as your hometown, children, and interests. You can also write a more detailed biography so readers can get more information about you and your background.

Specialties

You can write a bit about your real estate specialties and niche, and write a brief sales blurb to encourage readers to contact you.

Share Your Twitter Updates

Our sophisticated profile tools allow you to connect to your Twitter account. Invite our community members to read your latest Twitter updates and encourage them to become followers. Be sure you Tweet often and provide interesting, entertaining, and compelling information (in 140 characters or less) that attracts and retains loyal followers.

Latest Blog Posts

As a member you can write and post blogs and articles through our community blog. Each time you post a blog it shows up in your profile. The more you blog, the more ‘expertise’ points you gain in our members’ eyes and the more readers you could acquire.

Testimonials

Use this section of our profile tools to share testimonials from clients. Encourage your clients to say something about your services. Then share those comments with our members and community. Who knows – perhaps you can gain another client by sharing a previous client’s good word about your service.

Building a killer profile on our community site is not difficult. It just takes a little time and thought to set up. But a great profile will help you stand out and get noticed among our community members.

Be Knowledgeable – Your leads will want to know if you are knowledgeable in your area of expertise. Be sure you are able to display your knowledge without showing conceit or being condescending toward your potential client. Explain things in layman’s terms. Describe through metaphor. The better you can answer questions the more likely your leads will turn into clients.

Be Unique – There are plenty of real estate professionals in your area of expertise for clients to choose from. Show your leads why you are unique. In business this is known as a Unique Selling Proposition, and is the reason why leads should choose you over the competition. Have a unique real estate focus. Fill a specific niche. Cater to particular types of clients. You will have a better chance at converting quality leads into clients with your unique proposition.

Follow up – It is true that most leads do not become clients on the first contact. That is why follow-up is extremely important in solidifying the sale. After you have made first contact, either in person or through an online message, be sure to mark your lead for follow-up. Try to follow-up within the first day. Then once a week for at least a month. Don’t be pushy, but assert your expertise and unique selling point about how you can solve a lead’s problems and create solutions for their needs.

Call to Action – Closing the sale. In order to get a lead to become a client they must make the choice. Sometimes it is as easy as simply asking them to be your client. Other times it may require more tact and deftness. But in any case, you must provide your lead with a clear call to action and give the next step they must take in order to benefit from your service.

The best thing to do once you have secured your Internet leads is to develop a successful game plan. After all, you must be able to sort, organize and categorize your leads so that you are able to work them to the best of your ability.

Here is your hot list for following up on your Internet leads:

• Respond promptly. If you are unable to respond within a reasonable amount of time (say, in one hour’s time), then set up your email to deliver an auto responder email. Make it a point to set aside time each and every day to handle your Internet leads and follow up on them. If possible, check your Internet leads once in the morning and once again in the evening to ensure that no one has to wait an extended period of time to hear from you. If possible, respond to your Internet leads with a phone call, but if time prohibits, you can certainly follow up with an email.

• Have all of your information on hand and ready to go. If your Internet lead asks for information on area homes, home loans or simply the home buying or selling process, be prepared to provide them with this information ASAP. This is your chance to make a powerful first impression, so impress your Internet leads with your organization, timely response and knowledge.

• Avoid sending out blanket emails. Instead, take the time to pen a personal email that will clearly show your Internet lead that you took the time to read their email and answer their questions. When responding to an Internet lead, remember that you could be securing your next big client.

• Don’t assume that every home buyer or seller can easily navigate the Internet. If someone wants to look at properties in a certain area, don’t simply point them to your website search engine; instead, provide them with a list of properties that fit their needs. Your personalized service will not go unnoticed!

Starting a blog is quite easy to do, given the robust and easy to use sites like Blogger.com and WordPress.com. These sites allow you to set up a free real estate blog. If you want to take it one step further, consider starting your own blog with a domain name and a hosting service.

Making an Online Impact

In order to make it in today’s real estate industry you must do what you can to make a great impact online. Let’s face it: everyone is on the Internet today, and if you want a competitive edge in the industry you must make an online presence; and one of the most effective ways of accomplishing this is through blogs.

The Process of Creating a Blog

Blogs are quite easy to create: simply create interesting, educational or entertaining information related to the real estate industry or you real estate business and add links that take readers back to your website. Your blogs should be current, relevant and uploaded on a frequent basis to your blog. If you have a current blog, it is quite easy to create a new post, and the entire process is accomplished in the time it takes to write new information.

One of the most important points about writing a blog is to make sure it is filled with interesting information that people want to read. This is not the time to sell yourself or your real estate business, and it should never be filled with any information that could be perceived as a sales pitch; otherwise you can be sure to lose your readers before they even finish reading the blog. You can certainly talk about topics that are relevant to your business; just don’t try to sell yourself.

Directing Traffic to your Blog

You will need to get traffic to your blog, and to do that you will need to promote your blog and let people know each time your blog is updated. You can also submit your blog articles on free article directories that will guide readers back to your blog through internal links. It may take some time to start generating traffic to your website through a blog, but it can be done!

Although there are no tried and true answers for this common real estate question, there are several pros and cons that may make your decision a bit easier to make.

If you have established yourself as a successful real estate agent, your team may consist of just you, or perhaps one or two other agents or professionals. Most of us start the real estate business as a do-it-all kind of person: making copies, taking photos, arranging marketing and calling leads – and that’s just for starters.

However, when does this become simply too cumbersome? If you establish a successful real estate career, handling these kinds of day-to-day tasks can bog you down and inhibit you from getting out in the field and closing deals.

A good place to start when examining whether it is still feasible to be a solo agent or to contract some tasks out is to decide which areas are simply consuming too much of your time. Perhaps you might want to break your tasks into three categories: marketing, administrative and physical.

Underneath these categories you will want to organize your daily tasks and decide which ones to keep and which ones to pass off. Some of your daily and weekly tasks may include:

• Lead generation

• Writing newsletters

• Advertising

• Writing blogs

• Process closings

• Follow-up contracts

• Create virtual tours

• Take pictures

• Keep drop boxes full

• Handle signage and lock boxes

• Show Houses

• Write Contracts

• Attend inspections

• Make follow-up calls

Once you have decided which tasks are important and which ones may be best left to another individual, you can better develop a vision and a game plan for taking your real estate business to the next level.

Called Google Buzz, this social media spin-off of sorts will soon begin appearing in about one percent of Gmail user accounts. The rest of the Gmail community, according to Google, can expect to receive Google Buzz shortly thereafter.

So, what is Google Buzz and what can it do for your real estate business?

Google Buzz, which features a social media outlet, is part of Gmail. There are currently approximately 150 million Gmail users that may jump into the Google Buzz ring. If you are a real estate professional, the numbers are quite impressive, considering the Internet leads you can snag as a result.

Many industry experts expect Google Buzz to eventually integrate with Facebook, thereby opening up the flood gates in terms of users. There are currently over 400 million Facebook users.

How does Google Buzz work with my Gmail account?

A small tab in an individual’s Gmail account will take users directly to Google Buzz. Once inside Google Buzz, users can post and read, updates, photos and videos. Your “friends” in Google Buzz are the 40 people you communicate with most frequently in Gmail and Gchat.

Does Google Buzz work with other channels?

Yes! You can communicate with Flickr, Picasa and You Tube in Google Buzz. You can even pull in tweets from Twitter, although you can’t send your Buzz updates onto Twitter and other social networks.

How do you send private updates to your Google Buzz followers?

Your real estate private updates are immediately sent off to your Buzz followers, or you may choose just a select group. Real estate professionals may find this feature quite attractive, as you can sort your clients into particular categories and then send Google Buzz updates to only those followers that apply to your message (buyers vs. sellers, for example).

What about sending public updates?

Public updates are immediately posted to your Google Profile and are indexed for Google Search. How’s that for getting your word out to the masses?

The word is that Google Buzz may become quite useful for Internet marketing purposes, provided it evolves into a social media site that communicates with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.