Have you looked yourself or your company up on Google lately? You might be surprised what people are saying about you. A lot of Realtors and real estate companies don?t even know that people can actually leave reviews about them on Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Here?s the thing: Many of the reviews aren?t flattering. Here?s why.
Have you ever tried to get a testimonial from a client? I?m sure you?ve tried many times, especially for clients who were very happy with the service you provided them. The problem is, your clients are now very busy with their lives and their new home. They don?t have time to write a testimonial (or so they tell you), and you don?t want to keep bugging them for one for fear that you might upset them. In the end, you don?t get the testimonial for your website or your review for Yelp, Google or Yahoo.
Google Reviews Can Make or Break Your Business
Now look at the flip side. Have you ever been upset with a restaurant or a place of business? I?m sure you have been. What do you do when they refuse to solve your problem? You write a negative review about them. As busy as your life might be, you can always find the time to do something that you?re passionate about. When you?re very upset, you?re passionate. That?s why it?s easy to find the time to write a bad review. This is exactly what unhappy clients do to Realtors and real estate companies. This is why there are usually more negative reviews for real estate companies than positive ones.??Most agents and brokers wouldn?t think that consumers would review them on these sites in the same manner they would review a restaurant. Guess again. Welcome to the Information Age, where people can access almost anything by going to search engines. This is a very real problem that Realtors and Brokers are experiencing everyday. A bad review could cost a person thousands in commissions and kill a firms reputation. So what can be done? Enter Search Impact, a new product that focuses on Reputation Management. It?s a new product, but it will be as common as auto insurance within a few years as more companies see the value in having a system like this in place. Here?s how it works:
Search Impact targets three key sectors online: social media, search engines, and online marketing and SEO.
1. Social Media ? Search Impact builds or redesigns your Facebook business page to give it a very attractive look. Then it scours the web for national and local articles and other posts that are relavent to your business. This is done to get more likes and engagement on your page.
Facebook Business Pages Need More than Just "Likes" Today
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The problem today with a Facebook business page is that a lot of people have them. Facebook realizes that just because someone indicates they ?like? a page, doesn?t mean they really care about it. If they notice that there is no engagement between?you and a business page for a long time, they won?t even send posts through?your main news feed. Why? Because Facebook assumes that you really don?t care about the content that comes from that business page. The key is to not only get ?likes? but to get continued engagement from users. Search Impact solves this problem, and makes your page more fun and exciting to read. You also get a monthly report detailing activity on your Facebook page.
2. Search Engine & Review Sites: Realtor reviews are gaining more steam on the popular search sites. This could be good or bad for the agent or firm, depending on the reviews. It?s not easy to get a client to sit down and not only write a review for you, but to then go to Google, Yahoo, Bing and Yelp to post it numerous times. You have many more happy clients than upset clients, but when happy clients don?t leave reviews, people only see the bad reviews. This has an impact on your image and online reputation.
The solution: Search Impact has a proven system for making it really easy for your happy clients to post flattering reviews about your service on these sites. This way, you can focus on selling more homes while Search Impact focuses on building and preserving your online reputation. If you do get a negative review, Search Impact goes into reactive mode by trying to contest the post or to craft a carefully prepared response that doesn?t have you come across as the big bad company or Realtor. The worst thing an agent or company can do is to not respond to a negative review. The second worst thing they can do is to give a response that make them look like a bully. Nestle made this mistake on Facebook, and it cost them dearly. Search Impact specializes in public relation issues, so this is extremely critical for an agent and/or company to have. Search Impact also provides a monthly report of all reviews and activity on review sites to Realtors and real estate companies.
3. Online Marketing: Every successful real estate company and agent has an online marketing strategy, but not everyone actually looks into the science of it. Keyword research is very important when trying to maximize SEO postitioning on sites like Google. Video marketing is also very important. Real estate companies often make their videos too long and lose the viewer early in the video. Search Impact not only?provides monthly keyword search reports for you, but they also help build a promo video to get your message out.
In addition to the three points of attack, Search Impact also offers free montly webinars on the latest social media and online marketing trends.
Reputation management is not something that should be taken lightly. The internet can be seen by all, and it?s very important to see what others are saying about you. A negative review can cost you thousands of dollars in potential real estate commissions. Can you imagine what four or five bad reviews can do? It can kill your business. You need a product like Search Impact.
Homes.com is currently offering this product for a discounted price. Until February 29th, it?s only $99 per month, and there is no long-term contract to sign. It?s month-to-month. With these terms, you?ve got nothing to lose. Search Impact can help you regain or preserve your reputation, which is everything in today?s competitive real estate market.
For more information or to sign up for Search Impact, call me at?(561) 981-5966 or e-mail me at joseph.sesso@homes.com.
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- 3 Easy Steps to Making the Most from NAR 2011
- The Top 10 Real Estate Smartphone Apps to Use Now!
- 3 Reasons to set up a Google+ Business Page
- The Top 5 Technology Stories of 2011 and What We Can Learn From Them
- Yahoo?s Troubles Could Affect Real Estate Search Ranking
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