Negative Real Estate Consumer Report

I receive daily emails from ActiveRain, these cover all kinds of topics. Usually I don’t have a lot of time to read through them; so I skim over the newsletter titles and see if anything catches my eye. Well today one did: “Survey Says… REALTORS Suck”. Wow! I certainly clicked on that one.

The first thing that struck me was that this is a great example of an attention grabbing blog title. It will get your readers to click and read. It is controversial, and let’s face it, people love controversy. As a former real estate agent and the daughter and sibling of two REALTORS I couldn’t resist reading on.

I found the article interesting. I think it is a good reminder to ANY agent, new, old or otherwise, about what your consumer is looking for and what is important to them.  A professional in any field should always be keeping up on the needs of their clients.

Two of the most interesting points for me where:

1. That the most important thing to the consumer is lowest commission and knowledge is the least. My reaction to that was, “No wonder you think REALTORS suck.” In my experience the lower the commission, the less attention paid to the client.

Maybe that’s not true in all cases, but I have a feeling it doesn’t help! So how does the average REALTOR put this information to use? Should they all be slashing their commissions?  Well it turns out that 95% of consumers are still using Agents. Even though the consumer feels they can get just as much knowledge by doing their own legwork, they are still relaying on real estate professionals when all is said and done.

I don’t think this is a free pass and should be counted on, especially in this market. I think it’s important to be the best at what you do and the most knowledgeable about technology, your area, the state of the market, etc. Those are the agents that will get the business and keep it.

2. The example photos Jeff Corbett uses, got me giggling. He could not be more dead on with this point. If all you can fit in the bathroom shot is the toilet, leave it off the listing! Nobody needs to see the toilet. Okay, so the owner did a great job redoing the bathroom, but it is too small to photograph. How about taking close-up shots of some of the details? BUT, please spare us the toilet shot.

The other one that always gets me is the tiny bedroom, that just shows the bed or maybe a corner of the bed and a window. In those cases, how about a video of the property? We can help guide you through this process and you’ll be better off for it!

Just to hammer the point home, here are a few examples of photos you should skip!

Are they selling the bed or the house?

Ahh the lovely toilet… So homey!

Overall its a great article so give it a read! “Survey Says… Realtors Suck!” By Jeff Corbett, Active Rain Staff Writer. You’ll probably find one or two take aways.

Are you taking full advantage of your USM website’s software?

Some of you may know that my Mother, Peggy Smith, is one of our clients. She recently redesigned her site and purchased the software upgrade with email notification. Over dinner one evening she mentioned she was sending her buyers new listings through the MLS web site rather than her own. It occurred to me that she could use her site’s own email notification software and benefit from the built-in branding it provides.

I then realized she’s probably not alone; the user registration is, after all, geared towards the site visitor. However, it could just as easily be used to the agent’s advantage for new leads that come from other sources.

My Advice:

When you get a new lead, ask for the appropriate search criteria and an email address. That is all you need to create a new account!
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Thinking about Podcasting?

My last post focused on using Web 2.0 website Zillow to boost your web presence, another great way to do this is by using Podcasts. Not only will Podcasting help you reach the tech savvy generations that are driving the market, it will also improve your web standing. Podcasts have enough searchable data that they are picked up by search engines and therefore influence your sites ranking.

Looking to get started in podcasting? Check out: Real Estate Podcasting Part 1 and Ultimate Guide to Podcasting, Part 2 on rsspeices.com. These articles have everything you need to get started. Once your podcast are underway, contact me to help you add this technology to your website!

Gen X, Gen Y, and Real Estate Marketing

I attended a presentation by Realtor.com which spoke about the age groups that were currently buying real estate and those most likely to become the next loyal customers. Their information showed Generations X and Y to have the majority of buyers in the market today.With these age groups driving the market different opportunities for the real estate professional to market themselves are popping up daily. Many with a Web 2.0 focus, which especially appeals to Generation Y who spend much of their life online; for them the process of buying a home naturally, starts online.

Zillow.com is one site that takes advantage of this generation’s internet savvy by bringing real estate to them in a way they are accustom to. It offers services for buyers, sellers, owners and real estate professionals, all parties reaping their own benefits from the site.

For our clients at Union Street Media we highly recommend creating a profile on Zillow.com. It allows you to create a profile, post your listings, become a neighborhood expert and communicate directly with the consumer, all for FREE.

Setting up a Zillow.com account is easy. Follow this link to set up your profile: Create a Zillow Profile

From there you can add your bio, listings, answer questions on Home Q&A, and join discussion groups to become a neighborhood expert, even create EZ Ads.

Adding your bio to the “About Me” section of your profile is as easy as copying and pasting your existing bio into the space provided. We do, however, recommend that if you copy out of Word paste the text into Notepad first to remove all the formatting that can live on a Word file. Then when you past from Notepad into Zillow you won’t run into problems.

The “My Listings” section allows you to quickly upload photos and enter important listing information. After you enter the listing address you be prompted to choose a Microsoft Map view of the property. You can zoom in or out and set the map to this view. Every listing is accompanied by a Microsoft Map. It’s a pretty handy tool. Once you listed you property you can also consider highlighting it with an “EZ Ad” for an additional fee.

“Home Q&A” gives Zillow users the opportunity to quickly post questions directly to you about your listings. The question will appear on the listing itself, as will your answer for future customers to learn from.

The “Discussion” section allows you to reach out to sellers, buyers and other real estate professionals. You can also become an expert on a particular neighborhood by participating on the Neighborhood pages. Every time you comment in a Neighborhood Discussion page your profile is linked to that discussion; the more you participate the more free publicity you get.

Overall sites like Zillow are fairly straightforward and pretty user-friendly. By getting on these Web 2.0 focused sites and becoming involved in the online culture of their communities, you will more than likely generate leads you may have missed otherwise.