Nearly 70% of Real Estate Agents Plan to Make Blogging a Part of Their Marketing Initiatives in 2007
A recent survey by Global Reasearch Center stated that 68% of the real estate agents they polled planned to include the blogosphere in their 2007 marketing efforts. This is according to an e-mail originally from Blogging Systems CEO Richard Nacht that was forwarded to me by my colleague Kim Larsen.
I’m not surprised by this statistic in the least. Real Estate is an ideal field for blogosphere engagement because a successful career in real estate revolves around a person’s ability to gain the trust, respect and admiration of a community.
We live in an era where technology is rapidly changing the way we engage with our local communities. People spend more time inside engaging with televisions and the Web, so they don’t have the same kinds of relationships with their neighbors that they did 50 years ago. Those same technological obsessions make us more likely to know the intimate details of the lives of people halfway around the world based on something we have in common.
That said, there are a number of blogs (like West Seattle Blog) that cater to specific communities. These blogs do prove to be popular and readable.
All of this puts realtors in a uniquely advantageous position. Because of your job, you have an intimate knowledge of the community you serve. You can fill a unique need in that community by putting your knowledge into a digital, syndicated, database-driven format. And when people see you — the real estate agent cum community blogger — as their digital tie to their real-life community, they’re going to be more willing to come to you when they want to buy or sell their home.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
My company has real estate clients for our web design services. This is very relevant for us. Thanks for yet another good update on the blogo-world.
Zooped.com has a section dedicated to all business blogs I’m not sure if it has any rss feeds yet
Of course looking at your standard real estate agent web site…..of those 70%, 95% of them will create a blog, post one entry and then say, “Hey, I’m blogging!” then never blog again.
Hi Josh,
That will most certainly happen because the results aren’t always immediate with blogging (it can take several months, if not more, to actually build an audience). I think that it requires some patience & perseverance, something that many people are most certainly lacking.
I do think it is a great wait for real estate agents to personalize their services.
I do a lot of research in the real estate industry and have published 13 books and reports about real estate trends. Although I agree that blogging is definitely a growing trend amongst agents, 68% is a too high number for 2007 and is not realistic. I agree with Josh that many agents will also create a blog but (unfortunately) not use it effectively.
I hear a lot of real estate agents and mortgage loan officers talk about blogging but never seeming to get out of the starting gate.
It doesn’t have to be hard — blogging is all about putting what you know in your head down on paper.
That 70% should have started last year. It does take a few months to get results, most will give up before they get any.
Like everyone else, realtors are pressed for time and may not be able to follow through with their blogging intentions. I’m writing on behalf of one of our resellers, Real Estate Blogsites. They provide a soup-to-nuts solution for their clients that can even include writing the posts.
Carol Seidl
MyST Technology Partners, Inc.
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