Top Edmonton AB Business forgoes Website for All Encompassing Blog
Edmonton AB Realtor Kathy Schmidt is a Real Estate Star! That is, she’s a member of the elite real estate industry educational resource known as Howard Brinton’s Star Power. We first met while collaborating on behalf of Brinton’s Real Estate Star Power Blog, where she is a valuable contributor.
Schmidt’s 1st post demonstrated her powerful leadership skill when she coined the acronym S.L.A.C.K., calling her Team and Realtors alike to the table. The message, “there’s no excuse NOT to be prepared for the unexpected at work!” Her latest move is online, where she has decided to forgo websites for an all encompassing advertorial business blog. We asked if we could interview and share her thoughts on the move. She agreed.
Kinetic: “So Kathy, I understand you’ve decided to overhaul your online presence in 2009. Mind if I ask why?”
Schmidt: “Not at all. I read recently that the words CREATOR and REACTOR each use exactly the same letters… it takes no more energy to be a creator than it does to be a reactor. Yes, the market has been more challenging in the past few months, however this provided an opportunity for us to choose between creating and reacting. We have chosen to create something to boost our business by serving our existing clients even better and giving new clients more reasons to make SCHMIDT REALTY GROUP their brokerage of choice. Our previous website did well for us for a number of years, in fact we regularly had clients, the public and even other REALTORS voluntarily tell us that it was one of the best in the city! While we loved hearing that, we also realized that this was no time to rest on our past success. We are aiming to use the current market as an opportunity to increase our market share in 2009 and see our new Edmonton AB Real Estate Blogsite as an integral part of that process.”
Kinetic: “What convinced you that your target audience is online?”
Schmidt: “A real estate blog feed I receive recently reported that the average age of sellers is 57 while the average buyer is 32… We are now in a buyer’s market, so there is a strong need to ensure that our marketing appeals to a younger demographic. NAR stats support the decision to focus on the web, with the majority of buyers beginning their search online.”
Kinetic: “As a small business marketer, what do you feel you need online?”
Schmidt: “I have been frustrated at my ability to “speak” to prospective clients about a variety of topics ranging from real estate in the news, market trends, and of course also how our team is addressing the changing market. While we have produced a monthly newsletter for years and will continue to do so in print form, the time delay in compiling the information, printing it and getting it out in the mail means that the information, while still relevant, is at least a week old. So, a web publishing platform is very important. Branding is also hugely important and the web definitely plays an important role. As for IDX, we place all our properties on our blog first as a New Listing post, and also on a “page” of Featured Properties. In both places there is a link to an external and unique URL for each of our listings. These websites provide opportunities for interested parties to contact us for more information or to book a showing, plus we are customizing the format to include invitations to subscribe to our blog. We’ve also integrated our IDX content, which provides information on all MLS listings in our area, offering custom home searches and online market evaluations. The blog has become central to our entire web presence.”
Kinetic: “You went away from traditional websites. Why?”
Schmidt: “Two months ago I knew almost nothing about blogging. I certainly had never heard of a blogsite! When the opportunity came up to write a regular post to the Star Power blog, my husband suggested I grab the chance to learn about blogging and to rekindle my interest in writing. As a result of stepping through that open door, I connected with Kinetic Knowledge the blog technology services provider to Star Power. Chris, you and I chatted about the basics I needed to know before submitting the posts for Star Power. You also asked if we had a blog on our website. We didn’t of course, but I knew it was a good idea, so the conversation continued about how we could have you help. One day I asked you if there was any reason I couldn’t use a blog for my whole site. It was apparent that we could more easily manage new team member information, photos, bios and the addition of new services. Easy to update the information and without having to go through a webmaster. I loved the idea of the blog being something that could be updated instantly, and being completely ignorant of the process I didn’t have a clue. I just knew I wanted to have a site that was absolutely current, and a forum where I could communicate with clients and the public about local real estate. I was thrilled to hear that what I was wondering possible was absolutely possible and that Kinetic had a comprehensive platform [branded design, self publishing, lead capture, SEO, IDX Integration] to provide exactly what I needed! Goodbye status quo website, hello dynamic blogsite!”
Kinetic: “Is the actual blogging going to become integral and if so, why?”
Schmidt: “Blogging has become integral to our business overnight! Now that we have the ability to stream information about new listings, market information and more to subscribers and web visitors, I continue to see more and more ways to develop this incredible marketing tool. Our site has been live for less than one week and we are getting lots of positive comments and see a definite increase in email leads. I don’t see any way that blog platforms won’t become the standard. I am definitely not a techie by any stretch of the imagination, and yet I was able to have real input into the design of the site and within three weeks loaded up static pages as well as created an archive of blog posts with internal and external links. The training and support I received from Kinetic was absolutely incredible! And if I can do this, anyone can!! Yes it does take a little time, but it is time very well spent when you consider the ease with which I can now get information out to people I want our business to reach. To me, a static website is like a photograph. It captures a single point in time, and is suitable for framing and looking at more than once. A blogsite is more like a video, or perhaps a reality TV show! Every time we list a home, it’s posted on the blog. When we find a newspaper article about local or national real estate issues, we post it and I can comment on it. And what’s even better is that the web visitors can comment back and we can create a dialogue. Now we are doing more than sending out information, we are communicating! And isn’t that what today’s intelligent consumer is looking for?”
Contributed by Chris Frereckschris@kineticknowledge.com
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