Are Real Estate Agents Just Plain Dumb?
On the weekend I tossed about 10 flyers from local real estate agents from my mailbox to my bin.All of them were trying to grab my attention in some way - asking me to consider them (even though I'm not selling my house).
I got thinking - what a real estate agent should be doing is immersing him/herself in the local community. After all, they need to be perceived as experts of the community, knowledgeable about:- local prices,
- local trends and
- the local market.
(I spent 30 minutes searching for a local agents blog in vain.)
Excellent Way To Demonstrate Expertise
A blog would be a perfect way to demonstrate their expertise, to communicate with their local audience and to have themselves perceived as an expert.
And when it comes to selling/buying a house, you want the expert who has the local knowledge, contacts and information.
So why don't real estate agents have blogs? After all, they're well aware that people search online for houses and information (and even buy online).
Are real estate agents just plain dumb?
Brendon
Labels: web marketing
[ comments ]
Anyway, I'm a real estate agent who has a blog and you might enjoy checking it out. It's about real estate and -- ahem -- sex, love, kids, life, and advice on buying/selling in the San Francisco Bay Area. Not your usual take on real estate and interest rates: www.getlots.blogspot.com
Love the blog and love your attention-grabbing headline!
" Get Lots While You're Young...Real Estate and Sex!"
Cheers
Brendon
The headline grabs, of course. There's content to help real estate agents .. and as far as the web, by and larger they need lots of help. Real estate blogs are nearly as scarce as hen's teeth and even trying to find listings is a pain ... in the US most cities are still"owned" by Boards of Realtors who try to make it as difficult as possible to find ... to make sure no one can find out any information about a property without using an agent. I can see the business principle, but in today's world it's horse and buggy thinking.
I'm glad to see Ms.McM's blog, I looked in several large cities I used to live in back in the US and on average there's about 1 or 2 folks out of thousands of licensed agents/brokers per city who can even spell blog.
Some years ago I had to sell a home during a contentious divorce. My soon-to-be X had already selected an agent and I wanted to use a different one ... recipe for a dispute, one would think. But when I explained why I wanted to use the one I did ... her actual personal service, publishing a newsletter for our particular neighborhood and the fact she was regularly seen, locally, there was no argument. The house closed in 55 days from listing agreement, by the way, so all were happy.
Personality is the key, and dumping listings into one of those large sites that demand personal information is _not_ the key, in my view.
I like the edgy blog of ms mcm, but it's too brutally honest/edgy for her to say who she is. That might hurt her brand a little.
But already from her blog you get a sense of her - and that's a huge advantage she would have over any competitors.
I think the lesson is: don't do a boring corprate speak type of blog.
Brendon