Breaking Down the Barriers to real estate sales: be yourself online

Real estate websites should be so much more than MLS information and a contact form. An effective real estate website should not only sell the services of the office or agent, it should sell their personality and their expertise in their market area.

To illustrate this, let’s imagine a person is looking to buy a property in your market area but does not have a particular affinity to any office. This person visits two different websites in their search process. Each of these websites is built on the same web platform, using the same basic functionality and layout. If the structure and functionality are all identical, the element that will distinguish one site from another is the portrayal of the agent’s personality, experience and knowledge of the real estate market. By giving people more information, you give them more opportunities to connect with you on a personal level.

+ Continue Reading

Comments

The Value of Real Estate Video-Bios and Testimonials

_DSC00924Image by gamerscoreblog via Flickr

In a new era of ‘social’ media and more direct communication with buyers, it’s important to remember to be sociable without the appearances of a hard sell. Realtors are very much used to the meet-and-greet with prospective clients so a natural extension of this is to display these skills on the web.

When we here at Union Street Media talk to our Real Estate clients, we frequently hear that before the dominance of real estate websites they received many more direct calls from perspective clients. These days, they say, there are so many more barriers before that initial phone call happens. Many potential clients want to avoid the pressure of a face to face meeting and are more inclined to make contact via email and contact forms. In this sterile online environment, the opportunity for the broker to display his or her knowledge and personality is limited, thus reducing their direct impact on the buyer. In effect, there is so much more run-around before the broker and buyer actually meet and make a personal connection. This is where the video-bio comes in. If used correctly, the video bio can break down these communication barriers to get across the knowledge and personality that you just can’t achieve through email.

We are proud to present our own video bio for Brian Boardman here, which we produced in-house. Clearly comfortable in front of a camera, you get to see a more personable view of him and not just a slick advertisement.

What are the advantages to video bios?

+ Continue Reading

Comments