How to keep your online/digital brand fresh
With everything you've got on your plate, the last thing you want to worry about is your online presence right? After all, you've got a website and social media pages where you make sure to post your latest listings. But in today's competitive market, just how fresh and well-maintained is your online presence? Here are three ways to make sure your online brand remains fresh and up-to-date:
1. Website Maintenance
You might think the fact you have a website is all it takes to remain competitive. However, when was the last time you took a close look at your website other than your listings? Part of remaining competitive is ensuring your website continues to reflect who you are as an agent and what you have to offer new clients. You also want to make sure that people that wander onto your site looking for listings are impressed with what they find, and that means making sure your website doesn't look like it was built in 2005.
Visit your website now, or soon and go through the entire site section by section. Look for the following clues you need a refresh:
You are missing new accreditation or awards, etc. on your profile or job title
You click a link and you get an error message
You click anywhere on the site and it takes more than a few seconds to load
Your logo and branding is not the same as what you are using on all your other marketing materials
You can't view your website on a cell phone (not mobile friendly)
Your new services have made your navigation complicated
You haven't posted a blog in months, or worse you don't even have a blog
You don't know what SEO means
If you have even one of these issues it's time to talk to your web designer and get them fixed. Today it's a must to include a blog to add content for SEO purposes as well. If you don't have a blog add one to your site and make sure you are posting regularly, at least once a month, but preferably every week or two. Include "evergreen" content which is information that won't need to be updated such as buying and selling tips, as well as some newsy items such as monthly market updates.
2. Social Media Efforts
Your social media pages should also be given a good look over. At the least you should be on Facebook and LinkedIn. These two pages keep things manageable and Facebook is great for clients while LinkedIn tends to be a little more professional and good for interacting with other agents.
You should have a strategy in place that dictates what you post and how often. A good rule of thumb is to make sure you are posting at least once a day, and not just listings! You can consider having a certain type of post each day to keep you focused, such as market updates on Mondays and what's happening for the weekend on Fridays, etc.
There are hundreds of ideas you can share with people on Facebook that keep things organic, folksy and community based including:
Community news and events
Current market comps to let people know how much their homes are worth
Personal community involvement news such as participating in local runs, charity events or sports events
Staging tips
Buying and selling tips
Community news links
Videos (They say Facebook will be mostly video by 2020 and may even overtake YouTube as the go to for video)
News about your agency and team
Sharing some personal news helps keep you more relatable from family milestones and proud moments to pet videos. BUT avoid hot button issues that can get you in trouble or show you in a negative light. Regardless of your personal views, you want to avoid insulting or offending your followers.
You should also make sure you are sharing other people's posts, liking things, commenting, etc. to remain engaged with others. After all it is called "social" media.
3. Email/Keep In Touch Marketing
Keeping on top of your listings with eflyers can help get the word out about anything specific you want to share with fellow agents. But you should also be putting in an effort to reach out to your clients and building your client contact list. Email is an easy and affordable way to remain on their radar and the best way to share information about who you are and what is happening in the real estate industry.
To save time you can use links to your newsletters to share as posts on social media to reduce your overall efforts. You have to raise your optics and encourage people to think of you when it comes time to buy or sell a home.
Keeping an eye on these three marketing musts will help you maintain a fresh digital and online presence that allows you to attract new clients and showcase your skills as a real estate professional.
