It’s not a new concept by any means, but yet it’s still not being utilized by the majority of real estate agents. I’m referring to the most important aspect of your marketing plan for 2011…you’re online hub.
You know, the place where you share your expertise, showcase your listings, and deliver relevant content. The place that helps:
(1) your sphere stay up to date with your market,
(2) potential clients get the information they need to take the next step, and
(3) makes current clients extremely happy they chose to work with you because clearly, you know how to facilitate interest in their home and community!
And finally, the place that makes having an online marketing strategy make sense. Yes that place is your Website, but in 2011 that place should be your WordPress blog site.
It’s not why WordPress….it’s when.
Well, actually it IS still a question of “why WordPress” for many of you. Yes, there are more than a few blog platforms out there but none that are supported in quite the same way. There is good reason afterall that nearly 10% of ALL Websites have been created on the WordPress platform!
WordPress is extremely flexible. A WordPress site can match your goals and deliver the type of content that matters most to your targets.
WordPress puts you back in the driver’s seat. With proper training a WordPress site gives the user the power to easily update and manage their site.
And WordPress helps the right people find you…because frequent content, rockin’ SEO, and utilizing other social channels like Facebook, Twitter or YouTube is a recipe for online success!
Content Marketing IS your Field of Dreams!
You’ve got expertise…so instead of sharing “barrowed” content (article, video, photo, etc) that sends your targets to other Wesbites…send them to a highly relevant resource, you!
This way the next time you’re looking to share an article on Facebook giving locals 5 great reasons to live in the Oaks Neighborhood or advice on how to face the insurmountable task of spring cleaning…write it yourself, post it yourself…and they will come! And when they do, be sure to provide them with an opt-in way to get more of your expertise via an email newsletter.
Yes, creating your own content is time consuming, but it has the greatest payoff…Google will show you that…and you’re new clients will thank you for it!
ROCK a Distribution Strategy!
Now for the best part about having an online hub! When you write a post and share it on your WordPress blog site, it’s really just the beginning of an online marketing strategy that has some serious legs! Your post will be indexed by Google making it easy for your targets to find you via search. It also becomes very easy (for you & others) to share that post to Facebook, to Twitter, to Linkedin, etc. You can take that same post and make it a script for a video. You can again use that same post for more traditional marketing like print newsletters for your geographic farms, or even email newsletters for your sphere.
Now there is an art to how you distribute content because we don’t want to spam people with the same exact message across numerous platforms. But once you select the channels that make sense for your goals and your sphere, you can create a distribution flow that will work time and again.
MyTechOpinion
As the first month of 2011 comes to a close, I think it’s time to evolve some of the strategies we used last year. It’s great to see many of you actively participating in a number of social channels….but I challenge you to step it up. Using Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube alone are not enough. You need to have an online hub with regular content and features you can share like digital breadcrumbs leading the right people back to the source! Otherwise you’re online marketing efforts will be the death of you, well not literally, but you know what I mean!
Pushing crap content through the channels isn't the answer for most agents–and service providers. That's the problem. People want to do "more, more, more" propagation and syndication.
They don't ask the more important question: better, better, better. How do I get better content that's more worthy of syndication, propagation and distribution. How do I learn how to deliver and demonstrate value so that I'm irresistable?
For every techno-whozit widgetized automagic, there's a place for the earnest and endearing stalwart person that's here to help and serve.
YES!!!! Love that! How do I get better…as opposed to how do mass post this article every which way! Definitely something I plan to touch on more. Actually that was part of the motivation behind this article. Someone recently asked me how to auto-post their article to all the sites. A distribution strategy doesn't have to take you all day. And you surely don't need to hit EVERY channel…just the ones you actually participate in. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Chris!
What I'm still wondering is why whether being on WordPress is a good idea is even a question for agents. The platform freaking rocks.
True that! But you know…..there's always someone who needs to know. So let's leave no agent behind!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Nicole Nicolay, Michael McClure, Justin Herring, Keith Goeringer, John Leach and others. John Leach said: RT @ReggieRPR: RT @nik_nik: Death of a Salesman: Marketing without an Online Hub http://bit.ly/f9lmb3 [...]
Been a WordPress user for years. It's even better when YOU host it on YOUR server. With the right plugins and subject matter, SEO is almost automatic. I hear agents sing the praises of such things as ActiveRain, Zillow, Trulia, etc as a great site to host a blog, but why give them all of your search engine credits or suffer with their limited functionality. Worse yet, give your clients a chance to meet hundreds of competitors. It's best to keep them in the world you control.
Smart man! Good content is hot commodity…why give it away when you can manage and share it yourself…while driving targeted folks back to the source! ROCK IT!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Nicole Nicolay, Jill Schiele and Travis Robertson, tedster. tedster said: RT @nik_nik: Death of a Salesman: Marketing without an Online Hub http://ow.ly/3KiOa [...]
Nicole: I'd love to see a picture, drawing, or graphic of the current and best "HUB". Any ideas where to find that?
I created such a graphic incorporating both marketing strategies and communication channels with the hub for one of my blogging presentations….I'll share it here in upcoming post! Thanks for the suggestion Mike!
Couldn't agree with you more, this is exactly what we are teaching our brokers in our Designing Your Digital Plan workshop, own your content and WP is the platform in my opinion!
Passing this post on now!
Music to my hears Linda!
I agree wholeheartedly with using WordPress above other blogging sites. I won't lie, it's a steep learning curb even if you're used to blogging, but it is completely worth it.
A good approach is to combine a website, which can still do things that WP press cannot, and a WP blog hosted within your own site. Agents who support Trulia and Zillow and the like through use of their platforms are simply hurting themselves and feeding the beast which is really their online competition – they just don't realize it!
BTW, it is perfectly okay to leave one agent behind – or how about many!
Hi NikNik! I agree that many have been left behind by not doing this. RETSO presenters spent some time on this very topic. Having had NINJA training in the past, I believe it's possible to incorporate both 'techniques' in our businesses. It's tough because your blanket area is so much larger online but, as your first commenter pointed out. demonstrating that value online is a bit more challenging AND time consuming! But, what fun we have workin' it!
Off to find that hub you referred to next!
[...] manner. In fact, social media can enhance what you’re already doing with your marketing by driving consumers back to you (your info, your expertise, your knowledge, your [...]
[...] manner. In fact, social media can enhance what you’re already doing with your marketing by driving consumers back to you (your info, your expertise, your knowledge, your [...]
To be always updated with what the market gives us is the right direction. Follow all relevant sources on the subject will greatly help in this process. Great post.
[...] happening in networks like Twitter and Facebook. Not only that, but it brings new meaning to the hub and spoke approach to social media marketing. Let’s take a look at how social works.A little background to the [...]
great post! nowadays, it is already a must for real estate professionals to use or take advantage of the internet for their business. blogging, online listings, site optimization, use of social networking sites and social media are just few of the things that real estate marketers shoudl be familiar of so they can easily control and manage the online tasks they need to do. Furthermore, I agree that WordPress is a flexible and user-friendly blogging platform and real estate marketers who do not have technical knowledge on programming, website creation, design and management, can easily learn the basic things about using it.
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Sensible real estate professionals must listen to your opinion and advice that says “You need to have an online hub with regular content and features you can share like digital breadcrumbs”. Why? Because the smart and new breed of home buyers would rather search for tips and advice online over physically visiting real estate offices.! Having an online hub means creating your solid online presence; something that buyers like me prefer!