Alameda, CA

Yesterday, I met with a buyer for the first time after he CONTACTED ME VIA EMAIL to help him buy his first house.

Fortunately, he agreed to meet me at my office so that we can discuss his situation and what his requirements are.

I couldn't help but ask him, "Why did you choose me as your REALTOR" since he found me on the internet. I was dying to know.

And this is what he said why he chose me as his REALTOR:

... I searched online for an agent who knows the area

... I found your name on line, and decided to check you out, in addtion to other agents.

...I visited your website, and what you wrote made an impression because you provided very good information about buying

... It seemed that you are very professional at what you do

...but best of all, it seemed that you really LIKE WHAT YOU DO. And that's very important to work with someone who enjoys what she's doing.

LESSONS LEARNED:

1. Be visible on the internet. Have a professional website. Blog, blog, blog. Thanks, Active Rain for having me in this forum!

2. Offer good information that people want to know. Your site shouldn't only be about your listings or how great you are. Ask yourself: if you were a buyer/seller, what do you want to know?

3. How you present yourself makes a huge difference. It isn't only about your being a top sales person. Express yourself in why you are in this business. I had indicated that I found my "bliss" in real estate, and that even as a kid, I had always loved architecture. My joy in being a realtor is real.

As a blogger, there are no excuses not to learn basic SEO...but I've focused on just getting started on blogging and thinking of content, watching what others say and contribute, and doing some myself.

When I did Google "Alameda Realtor" I was pleasantly shocked at what I saw. Out of the 10 realtors/offices on the Google map where to find an Alameda Realtor, I'm there --- TWICE!

And the first entry that got more traffic? My ACTIVE RAIN BLOG! Yey! It really works!

So excited!

Still haven't learned to do a lot of the stuff that others are doing, like changing fonts and colors, and animating art, using buttons, etc. But at least I learned how to add a couple of widgets like the ones from Trulia showing sales/inventory trends, and like my former alter-ego on Meez. And I even learned how to convert my visual tours to video and upload them on youtube. Yes, I heard of google analytics. Haven't done that yet, either.

I bookmarked a lot of how-tos, with the intention of checking them out later....

And I am now learning how to use SnagIt. I know....I'm a slow learner and slow adapter...but at least I'm here. And this is my very first SNAGIT. This is inspiring me to keep on blogging! And now, to learn how to do it even better.

This is what I needed: an extra inspiration to help me boost my internet marketing presence.

Thanks, ActiveRain-ers for all the good stuff that you share with us to make us even better at what we do for our clients and for ourselves.

If you can't fight them, join them...or CORRECT them!

I occasionally visit Zillow to check the value of my property which can rise and dip $50K-75K within any given week. So yes, I admit...I look at Zillow.

In the beginning, there was a raging inferno of protests when Zillow first launched. But as Zillow has grown more mainstream, it may be foolish to refuse to acknowledge that they provide a service that our buyers and sellers will and do consult.

PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE

Today, even before my clients bring it up, I will do a pre-emptive statement about what Zillow says, and then provide more in-depth information that will either support or debunk the Zillow's estimate.

STARTING POINT -- a source, but not THE ONLY source

Remember that the Zestimate is, in their own words, a "starting point". They do provide a lot of good information including the last time it was sold (or the last change in ownership), trends in the local and national levels. They also provide an opportunity for the homeowner to claim his home and update the information, as well as put his own estimate of the property's value.

Listing agents can also claim the property and put up our own photos and descriptions.

ERRORS -- An opportunity to provide correct information

In my listing presentations, I always include a printout of the latest Zillow Zestimates. I also include Cyberhomes' estimate.

They are very rarely the same, and oftentmes, the differences are so vast that it helps to illustrate why it's so important to have a comprehensive Comparative Market Analysis

Here's another saying that we should remember: Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

HOW ZILLOW ZESTIMATES

And by the way, if you haven't seen this blog and video yet on Understanding the Zillow Zestimate then you should. Agree or disagree just keep in mind that thousands of your buyers and sellers are looking at Zillow. And so should you.

Zillow also gives a guide for real estate professionals and how to market yourself on Zillow

Can't hurt to check them out. It will hurt not to know.

The theme was Gain the EDUTIZING Edge: How to build your business by giving today's buyers and sellers what they really value----local market insight!

When the California Association of REALTORs sent out the invitation to attend this seminar in San Francisco, I was intrigued.

What the heck is EDUTIZING? Is that even a word? Here's a link to the powerpoint presentation that will edutize you. (Educate, emphatize)

According to this white paper, "Edutizing is a new method or promoting your services....instead of overtly promoting an agent's photos and property listings...it allows an agent to provide information and real esate education to build a relationship with a consumer BEFORE trying to sell them something.

KEY LEARNINGS

• Educate. Empathize. Don't advertise
• Share information that your target audience is interested in, wants to know
• Don't talk about yourself or your company or how fabulous you are --- talk to the consumer about what will help THEM! They will always think "What's in it for ME?" Geez...where have we heard that before?
• Localize the information, after all, real estate is local. Don't trump information on a national level. Scale it down --- even to the neighborhood level
• Online, online, online ----that's where buyers and sellers are, and that's were you should be
• Top social networks: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn. Are you there?
• Tools of the trade: Visual tours,video
• Go Green! Why? It's important to your clients. So be there, or be square!

EDUTIZING'S THREE-PRONGED APPROACH

• WEBSITE
  • Use VIDEO because 70% of home sellers are likely to use their home with an agent who created a home video (whereas only .08% of agents have actually posted a video!)
    • NOTE: If you're using VisualTour, click to find out how you can Convert VisualTour to Video for YouTube, then post on Facebook
  • Specialize because 80% of home buyers prefer to work with an agent who specializes in their particualr property type
  • Email updates - 74% of home buyers believe automatic updates are valuable
  • Direct email. Strongest message: Has real estate stabilized?

• SOCIAL NETWORKS Not there yet? RUN! But make sure you do it right, Don't inundate your Facebook friends with nothing but your listings. If you do, those friends will not be your friends too long.

• SMARTPHONES - Internet access. Camera/video capability. Instant response (text). Your choice of phone will reflect on you. Are you in, or out?

MIRROR YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE They're on the net, they're on Facebook and Twitter... they're texting...what are YOU doing?

RELATED POSTS

I so enjoyed the presentation that I started looking for more information about it, and found that on Active Rain we have someone from the WAV group who has been blogging about Edutizing for quite a while now. Meet Victor Lund who blogged about:

• Who should drive this real estate bus?
• Need help selecting a visual tour? A White Paper
• Using your VOW website to communicate with Buyers

And another white paper on "Make More Green by Going Green"

How did I miss these?