Success Strategies Opportunity is knocking. Learn where, why and how.

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Online marketing tips

  • Stay positive – it’s the best way to attract customers.
  • Provide information of value – think about what’s important to your audience.
  • Show your personality – it helps build relationships.
  • Keep things short – a few paragraphs are usually more effective than a long essay.
  • Invite feedback and comments – it creates a sense of engagement and interaction.

Now that you know this is a great time to purchase a Florida home, how can you reach prospective buyers? Here are three great online techniques – blogs, E-newsletters and social networks – for making those all-important connections in your target markets.

3 great ways to reach buyers online!

Blogging

Shannon Lefebre, a sales associate with John R. Wood Realty in Naples started blogging in October 2007. Since then, she’s increased her business in the southwest Florida community’s luxury market. “When you are providing a service, you need an effective way to market your specialty,” she says.

“Blogging allows people to connect with you on a business and a personal level. Now, when people call me on the phone, they talk to me like we’ve been friends for years.”

A fast-growing marketing technique throughout Florida, blogging involves posting an ongoing personal commentary on your Web site. The range of topics is almost unlimited – from the latest local sales and pricing statistics to personal opinions about weather, sports or community issues. The goal is to attract online visitors, keep them engaged and eventually turn them into clients.

While a blog can be highly factual, it doesn’t hurt to have your personality shine through – including family activities, hobbies or civic interests that can kick-start the relationship building process. It’s a mistake for a blog to be strictly promotional, since that usually turns people off.

Many bloggers post a new comment every morning, while others do it weekly, monthly or whenever there’s something new in the market. After all, it takes time to research a topic, write it up and upload it to your website.

“For me, blogging started out as a hobby and is now part of my daily routine,” says Andre Shambley, a sales associate with The Keyes Company’s Aventura office. “Since so many buyers and sellers go to the Internet before contacting a Realtor®, I wanted to do something to set myself apart from the crowd.”

One of Shambley’s recent postings talks about why it’s a wonderful time to purchase a new home now that the real estate bubble has burst. “For people who have been thinking about buying a new house, this is the perfect time to do so,” he wrote. “It is not hard to find real-estate bargains.”

For Shambley, blogging has proven to be a great tool for building his business. “I get many more inquiries from the Internet than ever before,” he says. “And many of the people who call me have been reading my blog as well. It really works well.”

E-Newsletter

An e-newsletter is similar to a blog in many ways. It can contain factual articles about the local real estate market, personal observations and items of interest to readers – from favorite recipes to discount “coupons” from local retailers. For instance, Lynn Savits, a sales associate with Coldwell Banker in Aventura, sends holiday ideas and tips, along with real estate information, in her quarterly newsletter. “It really helps me stay in touch with clients,” she adds.

While a blog is designed to attract online visitors – like a magnet – an e-newsletter is an active tool that helps you stay in regular touch with active prospects, past clients and referral sources in your personal and professional network.

An e-newsletter is particularly important in maintaining contact with “casual” shoppers who may spend several months on the Internet before actively looking for a new home.

Marketing professionals usually suggest that an e-newsletter be “mailed” monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly, depending on time and cost considerations. Sending a newsletter on a weekly basis is usually not advised – instead, you can send personal notes to potential clients.

“We want to be in front of prospects when they’re ready to buy,” says David Spring, a sales associate with Future Home Realty in Tampa. After capturing an online lead and obtaining permission for ongoing contacts, he and his wife Kay – The Spring Team – will send them follow-up notes as well as an e-newsletter. “We want to provide them with information and remind them of our services without overwhelming them.” You also want to allow people to “unsubscribe” from your e-newsletter if they’re no longer interested in receiving it.

Finally, include a link in your e-newsletter to bring readers right to your Web site. And be sure to include your phone number and e-mail address or link to make it easy for them to connect with you.

Social networking

If you want to attract younger buyers in their 20s and 30s – or maybe their parents – cultivate your online social networking skills. That means establishing a strong presence on Facebook or MySpace, high school or college alumni sites, or professionally oriented sites like LinkedIn.

These types of sites allow sales associates to post their personal profiles and connect with others who share similar backgrounds or interests. Rather than pass out individual business cards, you can drop a quick email and build a powerful, widespread network of contacts.

Chrissy Wallis, a sales associate with Watson Realty in Jacksonville, says social networking has helped her stay in touch with friends, neighbors, high school and college classmates who have helped her build her business.

While Wallis doesn’t market her services directly, she does list her occupation as a Realtor®. And when she talks with an old friend about what’s happened in the past few years, she tells them about her career in real estate. “Many of them now have kids and want to buy a home, so this is a great way to connect,” she says. “I’ve also found friends who now work in mortgages and title insurance, so I’ve been able to build those connections as well.”

When connecting with buyers, social networking can multiply the effectiveness of a blog or e-newsletter. For instance, you can invite your contacts – and anyone they know who’s looking for a home – to subscribe to your e-newsletter. Or you could give them a “teaser” about the latest market information in your blog, along with a link to your site.

An expert in reaching younger buyers, Wallis says social networking will become even more important in years to come. As she says, “I’ve already done a lot of business from running into people online, and I’m sure there will be more in the future.”

 

Richard Westlund is a Miami-based freelance writer.