Web marketing is just like anything in life, you have to know what you want first before you get it. First question you need to ask yourself is, "Who your target market?" This may sound easy, in fact, you may think you already know who your target market is, but do you really?
One of the advantages to internet marketing is the ability to capture YOUR target market as opposed to someone elses. In order to define your market you need to determine the characteristics of the people you re currently selling to, or that you want to be selling to in your local area. Get as specific as possible for the best results remembering that it pays to be specific when marketing online.
Examples:
* Demographic Data (Age, profession, education, marital status) * Personality (Positive, Happy-Go-Lucky, Serious, All Business) * Financial Class (Upper-class, Middle-class, Low-income)
The key here is to be VERY specific. Now, I know some of you are thinking, "I sell to anyone and everyone." Before you click away, hear me out. I am just asking you to define qualities of your target market that will make an ideal web lead for you. We re talking ideal here. You can broaden your approach before you actually go after your web leads. Ultimately you want to create five separate personas of potential clients and build your web marketing campaign just for them, but each one should be considered separately and specifically if you want to appeal to them all.
Humor me for just a moment and define your ideal client. If you re not sure, think of clients you ve worked with in the past. Is there a common thread or personality trait that many of them have? If you can find that link, you will be closer to defining the market your after and closer to turning those folks into credible web leads for your real estate practice. It s also important to know that not everyone is your client. Step 2 : Gather Content that Appeals to Your Target Market
Sounds easy doesn t it? Yet many people misunderstand this part. Think about it. Mr. and Mrs. Potential Client sit down to their computer to find a home in your city. Let s say they are from New Jersey or New York or wherever. What would that person want to know? You got it! The want to know the obvious... What s are the schools like? What entertainment venues are most popular? What areas are considered good or bad? What s the weather? What s the cost of living? Don t forget to take some photos of the area too and paste them on your website. A picture is worth a thousand words to your potential client leads.
While you re at it, address the concerns of local home shoppers too. Is there something you get asked time and again that you could put on your website? Build rapport with web surfers by going above-and-beyond in gathering information and local photos. Step 3 : Personalize Your Web Content
I ve personally seen a huge difference in the effectiveness of real estate websites and quantity of realtor leads by the volume of personalization of the website. Sites taht are impersonal do not rank as well as sites that are revealing and personal. Here s a few ways to personalize your web content to attract leads like mosquitoes in summertime.
1. Dress your site up with real photos of you; 2. Use contractions in your content; 3. Write using personal pronouns; 4. Use an easy-writing style rather than formal; 5. Show photos of yourself with your pets, hobbies (don t over do it!)
Of course you want to brag on yourself a little on your website too. Don t be too modest, but don t gloat either. Let your prospects know about your style, your awards and your successes so they ll feel like they know you online before they meet you in person. Step 4 : Gather Web Content that is Unique from Your ompetitors
Step 3 is where things start getting a little tricky. This is where you set your website (and your real estate practice) apart from all the rest out there. You do this not only to appeal to your visitors and to persuade the ranking rulers at Google to keep you higher on the food chain and in the eyes of potential--potential clients.
Try thinking of content and information that will be useful to your potential clients, but not overdone in the market. Most of the real estate websites out there leave a lot unsaid, so it shouldn t be hard to create a unique and thoroughly interesting real estate website.
Step 5 : Add Calls-to-Action on Your Website
Calls to action are the parts of your webpage that ask the visitor to do something, like "Contact us now" or "Call 866-697-7638 for a Free Real Estate Web Lead Consultation." Without calls-to-action, your client may not know what to do after reading all your web content. We wouldn t want that, no way.
I have found it best to use a subtle call-to-action on the web as opposed to a salesly slap in the face. A subtle call-to-action would be a request at the bottom of a page, as an after thought, after you ve given them free information.
"Here s generic info on Kalamazu...
And by the way, if you re looking for a home in this wonderful city... give me a call. "
That works way better than a sales brochure on steriods that some websites are guilty of being.
Of course there are many more things you can do to generate homebuyer leads from your real estate website, but it all starts with a solid foundation of a well written and researched content written to answer the questions of your target market in a personal way and better than any one else online. It may sound like a lot of work, but as a real estate agent--you can always hire someone to help you.
Jenna Ryan is President & CEO of The Marketing Shop.com specializes in providing valuable full-service website marketing services that take the stress off the Real Estate Agent . Visit our Real Estate Web Design website today.
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