Web 2.0 Tools

Don’t have a real estate website or a blog?

No problem this page is all about you. We’re going to help you get up to speed today. Have a website and/or blog but no web traffic?

Don’t feel bad, most Realtors really don’t have a clue!

Most of you don’t know how to get going so follow along with us please, lets start with what web 2.0 really is.

The web as we knew it was static. Consumers were presented with information and could respond through email or forms. The new paradigm is interactive, transparent and is all about the consumer.

The term Web 2.0, which was coined in 2004 by O’Reilly Media, refers to a second wave of web-based services such as wikis, social networking sites, blogs and other communication tools which focus upon shared information and collaboration among users.

The video put out by The NAR spells out in a rather cryptic way what Web 2.0 is all about.

So now you have an overview of Web 2.0

Unfortunately most Realtors make the same mistake!

They believe that to be sucessful on the web a property search site is all you need. So they set it up a generic template bought from a vendor with a basic IDX and then promptly forget about it, buying into the salesman’s pitch that it was sure to make money. After a few months of little to no leads, they begin to look for a better site to spend their money on.

The problem is they repeat the same steps as with the site they just had: buy it and forget about it. A few newcomers skipped this cycle altogether and went directly to the social networking sites only to make the exact same mistakes.

It takes commitment, time, money and sometimes just a little bit of luck to turn your site/blog into a lead generating machine, unless you take the time to learn more about some search engine otimization techniques.

Tip: You won’t need luck if you follow along with us!

Step One: Choose your real estate related domain

Choose your domain name.

Step Two: Commit to using your domain

Commit to using your chosen domain name for your business email address – yahoo or hotmail addresses simply are not appropriate for a real estate professional. DO NOT, repeat DO NOT use your company email system – if your Broker ever goes "belly up" or you change Brokers your email address will be dead too. Same goes if you have your website set up by your Broker.

Step Three: Setup your WordPress blog.

There are many reasons why you should use a blog platform vs. a website; but the most important is the search engines love blogs.

We have step by step instructions on setting up your blog site.

Some additional advantages we want to emphasize:

• Blogs don’t need to look icky – this site is a WordPress blog
• Wordpress blog software is free to install on your hosting account
• Blogs are very easy to manage and update yourself
• You can update your blog yourself – no need to pay anyone
• Blogs have thousands of fun widgets and plugins you can add
• Blogs interact and play well with social network sites like Facebook

DO NOT USE the free version of WordPress ie www.yoursitename.wordpress .com. The non hosted version will not allow you to place IDX property searches on your site or use many of the plugins you will need to add special features.

Step Four:  Post your bio page

You will also want to post your bio and upload your picture to the “About page” – more detailed advice here on writing bio’s. This is an excellent place to tell future clients about yourself. Don’t forget when crafting your bio the consumer wants to know what’s in it for them, so please make not about you and while you are at it leave out the dog too.

Step Five: Install an IDX property search on your blogsite

Your blog does not come with an IDX solution so you will need to choose a vendor. See our IDX page for a list of recommended real estate search solutions including one that is FREE. Once you have signed up the IDX provider will give you the code to upload the IDX “MLS” Widget to your blog. We also have advice on how to take your IDX search to the next level.

Step Six: Interact with potential clients using Social Media

Interact with consumers on social networking sites. Setup your profile on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. These sites are relatively self explanatory but we do go into detail for you. Be sure to post your new blog address on both Facebook & Twitter. For more advanced tactics see our how-to guide section. We have created numerous informative how-to guides with step by step instructions including screen shots for our Premium members. Welcome to the world wide web (that’s how WWW came about). Look us up on Facebook & Twitter!

Drew

Peter

Peter’s note – I don’t do Twitter but Drew swears by it

Implimentation suggestions:

If you really do not have the time and would rather pay to have someone else do all the work for you we can take care of that for you too.

Premium members recieve step by step lessons with screenshots showing each and every step to take in setting up your blog - signup or upgrade today and let’s get started!

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