SOCIAL MEDIA


T


he UK property sector is about to undergo a fundamental and alarming change. Some of the best-known names are likely to be eclipsed by faster- moving, more forward-


thinking competitors. Many smaller, local estate agents will disappear altogether. The High Street will be a very different place in two years’ time. The reason is the rapid uptake of social


media: the biggest shift in communication since the invention of the printing press. If you don’t embrace it – and quickly – your rivals will overtake you. It’s that simple. Whether you personally enjoy using


Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and the hundreds of other new media platforms, makes no difference. The fact is, the public loves it. Facebook has over half a billion active users and it’s growing fast. In the UK alone, 30 million people use it daily. If your business is not actively engaging with these homebuyers, you are effectively locking your door to more than half the UK population – and that’s commercial suicide. It’s like trying to do business without a telephone. Yet social media is also a huge


opportunity for fleet-footed agents. If you start using it before your rivals, you will immediately gain the most significant competitive advantage possible, since the first signboard went up. It’s as if your competitors are still displaying small black and white pictures in their windows, while you’re displaying large colour images. And the ongoing benefits – and return on investment – can be staggering. The good news is, using social media is


simple and straightforward. Anyone can take advantage.


The power of search engines Think about how people select homes to view. In the old days, they would wait until the local paper came out, then trawl through pages of advertising. The internet has already brought about fundamental change. Whether buyers want a home in Aylesbury or Zennor, they have instant access to all the available properties. Estate agents were slow to embrace the web, but today’s slick sites have transformed the search process. No agent can afford to ignore the internet, because that’s where most buyers start their search. To Google, where 95 per cent of people


start their search, social media is just another channel. So let’s use a real-world example; type ‘estate agent leamington’ into


Top tips


Whole books have been written about how to blog successfully. Here are two key tips. Invite comments


– and respond to them. Social media is all about building your reputation through engaging in conversations. If you’re not part


of the conversation, no-one can hear you, so you must


show that you’re friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The Google


AdWords application is designed to help you find keywords for online adverts – but you can also use it to find popular words for your blog posts. For example,


Leamington and Warwick are part of


How social is your website?


Social media is so powerful, it’s in your interests to make joining your communities as simple as possible. At the very least, you need to have


‘follow me’ buttons on the top right corner of every page. The user makes a single click, and is then alerted via Twitter, Face- book or any other


Google, the page will look different every time, but generally, here’s what you’ll see: The first entry, (maybe several more) is highlighted to show that is an advert. The advertiser will have paid a lot of money for that position, though it’s debatable how many home seekers will click on it. One advantage of using social media rather than ads is that social media is free. The next entries have arrived at the top


of the page for two key reasons. Firstly, they’re very popular and relevant sites that generate huge traffic. Secondly, they will have been Search Engine Optimised (SEO’d in the jargon), meaning that they are filled with ‘keywords’ that Google’s algorithms rank highly when someone types in ‘estate agent’. SEO is extremely important; the higher you rank on the page, the more likely someone is to click it. If you’re not in the top 10 results, you probably won’t get found at all.


Blogging The best thing is, you don’t have to be a Goliath to make it succeed. Smaller, more nimble Davids can easily steal market share from larger agencies. The first step is to


media every time you post something new. Even more powerful is a ‘floating’ button panel that follows the reader as they scroll down the page.


understand what social media is – and what it isn’t. Though it’s an exceptionally powerful marketing tool, you should never use it to advertise in the old-fashioned, hard-sell, way. Social media is all about sharing useful information and building relationships. Put it this way. If you were at a party and


someone tried to sell you a flat, you’d quickly back off. But if the same person offered you useful tips about how to buy an apartment and the best value areas in town, you might be interested. You might also contact that expert when you did want to buy a home; after all, he is no longer a stranger. Social media is that party. Perhaps the most basic way to use social


media is to add a blog to your website. A blog is a collection of articles – ‘posts’ – where you share your expertise with the world. As an estate agent, you’ll have plenty of knowledge that potential customers will be eager to access. Which parts of town are up-and-coming? Where do students prefer to live? Publish your posts, and readers will find them through search engines. It’s a powerful way to drive traffic to your site – and visitors to your business.


Google AdWords – use it cannily


the same area. ‘Estate agents leamington spa’ gets 2,900 Google searches a month – but ‘estate agents


warwick’ gets 4,400. It makes sense to ensure you put the second phrase in, it will attract more readers.


PROPERTYdrum MAY 2011 23


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