Positive Real Estate Professionals

As an Internet business, Positive Real Estate Professionals understands the need for an Internet presence. For the most part, that is a given when you run a Real Estate network such as ours. The great thing is that our members understand the importance of this. However, this post is not about the people that are members here nor is it about our network. It is about the people that do not understand that to build your business on the Internet, you first have to build an Internet presence. Before I take that any further, let me state this; Internet presence is not achieved by playing games on the computer all day and waiting for a potential client to locate you.

Now, I know that some people are not going to like that statement. Frankly, that is to be expected and I am prepared for it. You see, as a marketing maniac for PREP, the one thing that I am tasked with daily is building the network. I have to do this by constantly reaching out to our perspective audience for 8 to 12 hours per day. I do not complain about this because I love being the social butterfly. But, I do not stop with just reaching out to these perspective members. I follow them on their trek through the Internet to see where they are involved. This is the task that I employ daily to build the Internet presence that PREP has now gained and employs to help promote their members.

Before I go any deeper, let’s take a minute to explore the motivation behind this post. Yesterday, in my endeavor to expand my knowledge and quench my thirst for learning, I came across a blog that had posted an article that was intriguing to say the least. What was intriguing about the article (I refuse to give this article any more credit than this) was the fact that the author was stating that having a website was a waste of time. His biggest complaint was that it is an uphill battle to get noticed and that he just did not think that it was worth the time or effort. Well, I have to say this is not a Real Estate Professional that has tasted the success of creating an Internet presence.

Upon reading this, I immediately turned to a sphere on influence that I hold dear to me; the PREP membership. I asked for their input to this issue. Frankly, they responded like I thought that they would. I found Fred Chamberlin’s comment to be right on when it relates to how you spend your time on the Internet. He stated “Hey, I like to play games on line. I am a master mafioso on Facebook, but for real business connections, playing games isn’t where it is at. That is why I developed three branded blogs with the help of Danny and Rich. I have also used the SEO of PREP to help drive people to my sites. If you want an Internet business, you should make your presence known on the Internet through actual business application.” The thing I like best about what Fred is saying is that you have to have a balance when you are on the Internet.

When you build your presence on the Internet, Chris Fisher has the right thought when it comes to what you do and say as well as the look and feel of your site. “One thing I tell people in my workshops is that people like to see some of your personality, you don’t want to look like everyone else, but nothing you say is private or safe.  Never say anything you wouldn’t say in front of people you don’t know well.” Once again, I have to completely agree with Chris on this fact. If you have not read my article entitled Branding your blog or the more recent on written by Rich Dansereau titled Branding Your Business, then let me recommend that you take the time to read both. Rich also added “At its core, Internet presence as it relates to content is a compounding process. What I mean by this is that the more you put relevant content on your website, the more quickly you will see your efforts pay off in search engine results. For example, if your business is centered around insurance and you are developing a readership that looks to you for information on how to calculate your insurance needs, or recent state or federal changes to insurance regulation, then writing about your dog Sparky would not seem to be relevant; unless Sparky happens to be a member of those dogs termed “vicious breeds” which often have special insurance requirements. Does this mean that everything you write should center around insurance, of course not. As a member of any community you may want to share articles on different events, places of interest, or other things that make your community special. Again Sparky is certainly special to you but will probably hold little interest for reader who want to know about the local hiking trails; of course Sparky may have been instrumental in locating that lost hiker so an article detailing the recent rescue efforts for that lost outdoor enthusiast that includes Sparky’s heroics might very well be of interest. The more frequently you post material that is relevant to your business and your community, the more beneficial of an effect you will see.”

Rich makes a compelling point here. With that said, I think that Amy Grand hit the nail on the head when it comes to Internet presence and the need for why we push to create it. “Well, my thoughts are that the biggest reason for Internet presence is so that someone could find you, isn’t that what the tags or key words are for.  I have found myself on the Internet countless times using different search engines as well as my name, telephone number and company.  In today’s computer age why would anyone not want to be on the Internet with a web page.  If I am not mistaken more sales have occurred from the Internet than actual stores, home-bound people can’t get out to take a look.  As a real estate agent, I have had one person looking on the Internet because she had a broken leg, I took lots of photos for her and when she was able to get out, she purchased.” When you achieve this level of success, then you understand why we do what we do to create an Internet presence. Brigita McKelvie shares an experience that is all about her Internet Presence. She told me “I have been in the Real Estate business for over 3 years.  I wasn’t much of a “techie” when I started out.  I knew how to e-mail and surf the web, nothing more.  I had then taken the e-PRO course offered through the National Association of REALTORS, which taught me a lot about using the Internet for business.  I started my own website and implementing blogging, and joining different social networks into my business plan.  The more I blogged and joined more social networks, I “met” more and more real estate professionals, whom I was able to get to know better through blogging, increasing my referral network, not only locally, but nationally.  Through social networking and blogging, I have also connected with many others from my past and present, expanding my sphere of influence.  In any business, the more people that get to know you and who you are, the better for your business.  Now, I’m not saying the Internet has replaced some of the old methods of personally meeting consumers.  It has only expanded on it.  For example, I attended a local chamber meeting and a lady came up to me saying “I know you!”  She did not look familiar to me at all.  I had no idea who she was.  She then continued, “I have been reading your blogs and it’s great to finally put a real face to a photo.”  I am able to reach more people and to a larger area in a shorter amount of time.  It’s a great way to advertise without taking a lot of your time and money.  If it weren’t for the Internet, I wouldn’t be able to reach out to as many as I do using it.  In this day and age, it is a must for business.”

You know, that in itself would make a compelling argument of why you need to create an Internet presence in today’s market, but why stop there. Sherry Troutman is one of the newest members to PREP and one of the things that she stated made me think. First, lets look at her total statement: “We have recently got our new website up and through making changes to our websites search engines, our rankings are up, the orders are coming in and our presence is now known. You must have your name in front of others in order to bring in the business. Having a website that your business actually has control over has made a huge difference. We are able to blog on it on a regular basis, making our content fresh which has really made a difference in the amount of traffic to our site. Positive Real Estate Professionals has helped us to achieve our goals by making it easier to post our content on several sites with very little work required to do so.” The statement that got me to thinking so deep is “You must have your name in front of others in order to bring in the business.” This is so true in any business. But, this goes hand in hand with what Bonnie Lelak added as well. “Almost in any type of business now days whether it be the local Ace Hardware, a plumber or a home inspector, I go directly to the Internet to look for what I need. I don’t use a phone book any more and I don’t get the newspaper or anything else. The Internet is the way that I find information. If I do a google search and then get to the website and the information looks outdated or if you don’t have a website at all, then the chances are that I am going to go on to the next person. My reason in this especially is: if you don’t care enough to have your information out there for me to find, then you must not really want my business.” It makes you wonder if wives of home inspectors all think alike. I do not know about you, but I love the way they are thinking here.

So, to wrap this up, I am going to finish with a comment from the media relations director of the Arkansas REALTORS® Association, Ethan Nobles. “I, of course, am coming from the perspective of our members. I know full well that the bulk of them are aware of the importance of a presence on the Internet. The trick, of course, is how to go about establishing a presence on the Internet that is visited frequently. You can stand on the corner in a ghost town and yell your head off but what good is that? The desire, then, is to find out where the traffic is and how to get noticed by it.

We’ve seen those “ghost town yellers” frequently, haven’t we? Often, we’ll see people establish a site on the Internet only to find it doesn’t do you a bit ago because they haven’t chosen a correct location. Frankly, I believe establishing an Internet presence isn’t even half the battle — finding the correct venue is very important if you want to get noticed.”

All of these thoughts that have been interjected are right on. In the case of Ethan’s, his is more driven toward a venue if you will. If you are able to establish yourself in a venue such as Positive Real Estate Professional, then your voice will be heard by the masses.

In popular culture there are many brands that are so instantly recognizable that the company’s name pops into our heads seemingly without thought. Take for instance some of the branded logos below:

Just glancing at these logos I bet you were able to identify most if not all within a few seconds. These logos represent everything from technology to sports to non-profits to a nation. Logos are a pictorial representation of your business or organization. Granted we are a young organization but Positive Real Estate Professionals employs a logo on each page of this website and in the other media provided to the public. The effective use of logos should quickly evoke thoughts of what it represents. This is a prime example of how logos are used as a branding tool.

You may be wondering why I am writing about branding? The answer to that is simple, most business people use some form of branding. Do you have multiple websites with a similar look and feel that all center around your business? This similar look and feel is the basis of branding. Now consider the images that are common among your websites. These images could be a straightforward picture of you, the geographical area where you do business, or a logo similar to the ones above; all of these images are tools for branding.

If you are looking to establish a brand recognition for your business, I would suggest that you take a look at what you are already doing from your business cards to your websites. Are you using a logo? If you are using particular colors or a logo are they present somewhere on the material consumers are getting. Having your logo on all of the materials you disseminate to consumers promotes brand reinforcement. Brand reinforcement is what helps to create the association between your logo and your business in the mind of consumers. Take for example the following logo:

First off, I am fairly certain that you knew almost immediately what organization this logo represented. From television ads to internet marketing, this logo is included in virtually all of the material that this organization disseminates. This repeated use of a logo promotes brand reinforcement and general ideas of the organization’s purpose. You may be thinking that it is difficult to promote a message through a brand but consider this. After identifying the organization associated with this logo, what thoughts popped into your head? Were they general thoughts like charitable organization or something similar. There can be as many thoughts that pop into one’s head as there are people. For the logo and its meaning to convey what is intended it must be easily recognizable and backed up with positive actions by the organization to reinforce the intended message. Are you branded? And what message does your brand convey?

The internet has revolutionized communication on many different levels. From educational, social, and professional networking the internet is literally bringing the world to within a few keystrokes or mouse clicks. While the print media, television advertising, billboards, and other traditional forms of marketing your services to your potential clients definitely still has a role to play in the modern internet world, that type of marketing is rapidly taking a backseat to internet marketing.

There are a number of reasons that internet marketing has usurped traditional marketing. The first and foremost is a dramatically expanded potential audience from which to draw clients. A simple website without any sort of online promotion will probably garner a similar number of clients as traditional marketing. If however you go beyond the simple design and launch of a website with basic information and develop a dynamic website with fresh content, you can quickly grow your client base exponentially.

Dynamic websites generally have new content added to them on a regular basis. For example, if you are a home inspector, you may want to write articles (a.k.a. blog post) about different aspects of what a home inspector does and why. Another important feature of any dynamic website that incorporates articles is the interaction with those who comment on your posts. Let me say that if you write excellent content you will get readers and a few sporadic comments. Once you have proven to your website visitors that you are knowledgeable about your profession and that you intend to update and maintain your website on a regular basis, you will get subscribers to website. Subscribers are regular visitors to your website who generally read your articles and have enormous potential to become clients.

It is also important for you to brand your business online, just as you would in traditional marketing. In traditional marketing you would use a logo that represents what your business does. This logo would generally appear on all marketing material. This should be no different for your internet marketing efforts. Logos online are often referred to as banners or icons. These can be the same logos you have used in traditional marketing to tie your efforts together. The use of icons on all your internet marketing efforts is an important step in branding your service.

Now this article has come full circle asking again, what does your web presence say about you? In a world where the internet can bring information instantaneously to your potential clients, the use of a dynamic website with consistent branding can say a lot about your knowledge and professionalism. Whether you use a web design service or you have the knowledge and tools to design and build a dynamic website to help promote your business, internet presence and marketing is not the wave of the future, it is the now. Take a look at your website and evaluate how it would appear to you if you stumbled across it. Is it dynamic? Is it branded? Does convey the message you want potential clients to get about your services?