M. Nack’s Blog

One of the first things we learn as a REALTOR is how to use the MLS, no? And I’m sure you will agree it is a huge resource for us. The challenge is that, even though it gives us all sorts of great information about sellers and their properties, it doesn’t give us a lot of direct information about buyers. And in today’s market, we need to know about buyers more than ever!

So what is a “super ninja” tool we can use to reserach what buyers are doing and what buyers want? Previously, when the market was hot, attracting buyers was as easy as putting a sign in the yard or an ad in the paper. But what can we do to attract them to us in this environment?

Just as we have the MLS to give us information about sellers and their properties, there is another tool that we can use to tell us about buyers. You won’t believe it, but it is a billion dollar research tool - and it’s available to us absolutely free! Not only that - but it has been sitting right under our noses for the past 8 years. But until the market shifted, we didn’t need the help we do now.

You will be surprised when I tell you what it is because it’s a tool that you probably use almost every day - just like the MLS. You just didn’t know everything it is capable of doing.

It’s called Google.

And not just Google - but specifically Google Adwords. Some crazy number like 95% of all buyers start their search for real estate on the Internet, right? Well, Google Adwords lets us figure out exactly what words they are using to start that search!

But wait - it gets even better! Unlike our MLS, you can learn to use Google Adwords in minutes. All you do is enter the key phrases you are interested in researching and Google will tell you how many people are searching using that word or phrase every single month. And Google is very smart - because it will also give you suggestions of other words and phrases that may be better to use.

So, let’s look at an example: Let’s say you sell resort homes in Door County Wisconsin. You enter “reseort homes” and “Door County” in the keyword tool. It will then tell us how many people are searching every month for resort homes in Door County.

I just went to Google Adwords and entered those exact key phrases: “resort homes” and “door county”. This is what came up:
Door County resorts: 2400        Door County WI:  22,200
Door County resort:  2900         Door County Wisconsin: 22,200
Door County rentals: 3600        Door County lodging: 4,400

When I scroll further down, it will suggest other phrases:

Door County: 201,00 - Now we’re talking some volume!
Sister Bay: 33,100 - SURPRISE!
Vacation Homes: 301,000

What’s even cooler is that alongside each key word or phrase, Adwords will have a graph showing the trend of how many people are searching that phrase. As you would no doubt suspect in this market, all the words are trending downward just now. (Though Door County Weddings is not! Wonder what I can do with THAT information?)

Now that you are armed with this information, what do you do with it?

Well, you have several options:
    1) You can advertise on Google itself using “Pay Per Click” advertising.
    2) You can optimize your website using exactly these keywords. (In our example, you would type Door County Resort” vs. “Door County Resorts” because more people are search the singular vs. the plural version.)

OR - you can use free social media strategies and sprinkle these keywords liberally throughout your content so that hot prospects will find you, call you and take action! How awesome would THAT be to have a hot prospect looking exactly for your service calling YOU?

For more “hot tips” on how to find your prospects and restore your 6 figure income, go to http://NewMarketLeaders.com and download our FREE teleseminar now.

Put Social Media to work for you NOW. Ramona S., a Chicago REALTOR, noticed a significant buzz around the homebuyer tax credit. She decided to post a short comment on her Facebook wall about the tax credit inviting any questions be sent her way. She was shocked when, in less than 15 minutes she received 10 requests for more information and 3 leads. One was from someone she didn’t even know who was out-of-area and which resulted in a referral

“I can’t remember the last time I got 3 leads in one day - let alone 15 minutes!” Ramona said.

The number one rule in marketing today is to provide information that the consumer is seeking:
There is so much information and things are moving so quickly that homeowners are confused and need help navigating the rules. Who are they most likely to turn to for help? Someone who positions themself as knowledgable and with whom they have developed a relationship - regardless of how remote.

Social media is about social proof:
What you know is important - but how many people you know is even more important. The old adage “It’s not what you know - it’s WHO you know” no longer applies. Using tools like twitter and Facebook, you can exponentially grow the number of people that know about you and about what you do.

Internet 2.0 - i.e. social media - will NOT tolerate “selling”:
Social media is like a cocktail party. Your friends don’t want to be hustled, sold, pressured or pitched. They DO want to talk about what interests them and what’s important to them. Everyone wants to be well informed and on top of what’s going on.

The point of Ramona’s Facebook post was not to give tax advice. It was simply to let her Facebook friends know that she is paying attention to what is happening in the real estate market. She wanted to start a real estate conversation with people she was not otherwise engaged with professionally. It served to demonstrate her knowledge of the market place and her commitment to keeping her clients informed. It also served to remind her Facebook friends about what she does for a living.

Looking for similar results? Do what Ramona did - attend a New Market Leaders teleseminar. Go to http://NewMarketLeaders.com and download a *FREE* class now.