For West Islip client Netter Real Estate, serendipity is having The New York Times get in touch to discuss and then to write about their Blog in a Business Section feature.

In the article ‘Brokers Enrich Web Approach’ The Times looks into how Realty Firms are leveraging the web to reach home buyers, saying blog posts are an increasingly common tool of the trade. One Long Island Realtor suggests “The buying public is more technology-savvy than years ago. They prefer to shop online before they buy.” Netter’s Michele Lasker goes on to add she is, “often updating [the Netter Real Estate blog] with new listings, postings from agents, and news and information about the area. The blog has a loan calculator, Web feeds and a link to Netter Real Estate TV.” She says, “It’s good information and it gets our name out there.”

This kind of recognition is just another great example of how sharp realty firms like Netter establish their brand online with blogs. There’s a ‘leap of faith’ for a business to commit to blogging; however, by proactively sharing good information for anyone’s use the benefits can be enormous. We thought we’d check in with Michele to hear more:

Frerecks: “Hi Michele. For everyone’s benefit, can you talk some about your recent blog activity?”

Lasker: “Lately our real estate blog site seems to get more and more attention. We try and keep our posting consistent with 2-3 times a week. We get feedback in the form of comments from viewers ranging from simply enjoying our useful information posted to questions about information on the site. We also get a few calls a week about information found on our blog site. We average about 5 calls a week just from the blog site itself. However, it is impossible to have an accurate number of calls directly from the site. When we ask callers how they heard about us many just say “I don’t know. I typed [whatever it is they are calling on] into Google and you’re site just came right up.” This is great to hear that we are attracting so much attention from google, and other search engines!”

Frerecks: “Were you seeing this kind of activity prior to dedicating a 2-3 X per week effort to the Netter blog?”

Lasker: “No, but our more recent dedication to blogging has definitely increased lead activity.”

Frerecks: “And how did The Times find you?”

Lasker: “The author, Marcelle S. Fischler, asked Kathy Engel, president of the Long Island Board of Realtors (LIBOR), for a popular blog website in the area. LIBOR manages the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island. Kathy got in touch with me and explained that in her search she came across our blog site. She asked if I would be willing to be interviewed by the New York Times about our blog site and I said yes!”

Frerecks: “What were they looking for?”

Lasker: “The article was about real estate agents and brokers using the internet and new technologies to advertise. They discussed sites such as facebook, you tube, craigslist, and listing book. They were also specifically looking for a real estate blog. They came across our blog site in their search for a popular long island real estate blog. The article came out it print on Sunday, April 19th in the real estate section.”

Frerecks: “Congratulations Michele! A job really well done and, on behalf of our audience, thanks very much for sharing.”