Blogging and the future of Real Estate marketing

When I first started this real estate blog in December 2007, it was estimated that less than 3% of the public blogged. The percentage of real estate bloggers at that time was slightly less. A recent poll in the 2008 Realtor Technology Report, as reported by the National Association of Realtors says that 7% of the country's licensed sales associates post to their own self-hosted blogs daily, another 9% blog weekly. From less than 3% 18 months ago to 16% today. That's more than 5 times the number of bloggers in just a year and a half. Any agent thinking this is more than just a passing fancy better think about getting another job. Just think back about websites and web pages and web presence in general as a means to market real estate a dozen or so years ago...How many agents had a website a dozen years ago compared to today? Today, print media is on the decline, and web marketing is where it is at! I've been in this business a looooong time...I remember when 30% of my buyers came from a newspaper classified ad. Today, less than 5% of our team's business comes from traditional sources. The majority of our business still comes from referrals from our satisfied past customers, but in 2008 more than 40% of our listings and sales were a direct results of our internet marketing campaigns! Watch any TV show, news program or commercial and they are all referring the consumer to their websites...You can follow just about anyone on Twitter, make friends on Facebook, or recommend a professional on LinkedIn. Myspace isn't just for teenagers anymore, Youtube is an excellent way to get virtual tours & podcasts out to the public, buyers can bookmark favorite listings on Dwellicious...the list goes on and on! As for me, I like connecting on the internet...As busy as people are these days, it allows a person to connect when they want to rather than when you make the call...I find that when a person begins communication via the internet then that is usually their preferred means of communication. We send out "postcards" via email...it saves on paper (think green), the cost of stamps, AND it's just as effective! Blogging is great because it isn't "in your face" marketing; the consumer actually seeks you out. By offering useful information they subscribe to you and once they get to know you, they want to do business with you! Today's consumer is becoming more and more technology oriented...the days of a seller wanting to see a pretty picture of their home in a glossy magazine is nearly over. Everyone asks us, "How many websites will our home be featured on?" Thank you for reading our blog. Take a minute and go back through the archives; we think you'll be impressed with the amount of information we have posted. From Naples Real Estate trends and statistics to Chinese drywall and public Art, 1031 Exchanges or how to get a beach parking sticker or Homestead a new purchase...We welcome your feedback; we hope you'll tell your friends...and of course, if you're looking to buy or sell a home in Southwest Florida, we hope you'll give The Harris-Peppe Team a chance to earn your trust. Please consider subscribing to this blog and following us on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/harrispeppe