As a real estate agent, why do I need an internet marketing plan anyway? Is it really an important key to the future success of my real estate business? Maybe you’ve heard other agents complain that their website just doesn’t produce any results. Mine didn’t either, that’s because most websites leave out one super important feature of a successful online marketing plan that implement Abdallah Salloum in his own marketing, the strategy itself! (No I’m not a real estate website salesman) In fact, being online is crucial to your business success if you are plan on staying in business for the long-term. The problem is most people know nothing about successful internet marketing.
Real quick note: Before starting any online strategy, you must know that there are two different but equally as important parts to a successful online plan.
- SEO. Search Engine Optimization. On page and off page.
- Online Marketing. The touchy-feelies, call to action, etc.
In short, SEO gets you in front of the prospect and online marketing determines if the prospect likes you or not.
We must revamp our real estate marketing plan to include the internet, especially with all the new technology and opportunities available to us online. You know as well as I that we really don’t have the option to “opt out” of this one. The internet is here to stay and our ways of doing business certainly have, and will continue changing as the Web continues to grow and becomes even more the “primary” way people transact and exchange information.
The question is have you noticed? If you answered no, you might be one of the few brokers left who are still convinced that this “internet” thing-a-ma-jigy will just go away…someday, if you wish hard enough.
On the other hand, though, you may have conceded to the fact that you do need a solid web-based real estate marketing plan but you don’t know where to start. You don’t want to get suckered into a “guru program” and spend a bunch of money only to find yourself with the same terrible results that your old canned website produced. Again, a website is not adequate in itself to produce any measurable results and is not internet marketing or SEO. I break down the differences of online marketing and SEO in another article.
When it comes to online technology and internet strategies do you feel like you’re in the middle of the movie, The Matrix, where everything seems to be a bunch of meaningless green letters and symbols just floating across the screen? (it makes sense if you’ve actually seen the movie) My point is you feel lost. If you do, its important to understand that you don’t need to know any of that techie stuff to learn to do what I and other successful real estate agents do to succeed online. You might be encouraged to know that many brokers who start learning the techniques I’m talking about are anything but tech-savvy. Some are even strangers to browsing and email.
Now, I don’t consider myself a super wiz kid or anything when it comes to technology either, but when it comes to SEO and online marketing…that I can do. So you might be thinking to yourself; okay Mr. Smartypants, why don’t you just tell us how to do everything you do so we all can have an effective online marketing strategy too…right now? I’d love to, but truthfully, it takes more hands on than just reading one simple article to learn how to put the pieces together and work. Instead, I think I’ll start with some of the things that you don’t need to understand to kick- start your new agent success plan.