Internet Marketing Profile Importance

Effective Internet Marketing begins with having an authentic profile that shows your best self and relates to the audience you want to reach.

Let’s consider the importance of creating and maintaining your digital profile. A strong, well written, profile that authentically describes you as a professional and communicates clearly to your best audience why they should do business with you.  This is often called your bio.  69% of people will use Google to do a search for a sales professional they’ve heard about before making the initial contact.  So here is a prospect who picks up their phone, not to call you, but to search for your name on the internet! How dare they?!  You don’t want to miss out on this one! So we are going to take on the important work of making sure that person searching for you not only finds you but has good reason to complete the contact... Right? There are a few things to consider.  Namely communicating with the many websites that have information about you, but it might not be accurate and it likely is out-of-date if it has been a while since you were on these sites.

By the way, when is the last time you Googled yourself? We are going to go into more of the processes in later blogs – but the most important one to start with is writing a strong digital profile.

WHO DO YOU LOVE?

The first and most important step in this process is the clearly define who you want to attract. Know your audience! And coupled with that is to recognize that “Everyone is not your customer” (quoted by Seth Godin – one of the greatest marketers on the planet). Now here is a self-realization that many real estate agents have not yet come to grips with – but it is an important step toward wisdom and sanity in business.  So even though you would like to reach every human who might be in need of a real estate agent there are nearly 2,000,000 other licensed agents in the U.S. who want the same thing.

How would you define your best client? Your best prospect? Your best referral partners? These steps are not easy, I admit, but it is critical to business marketing. It is critical because marketing is not about you – IT’S ABOUT THEM! So, start with defining THEM. What is their demographic make-up? How old? What kind of income? Married? Children? Professions? Where do they live? Are they currently a home-owner? . . . and you know the rest of the many questions that need to be answered to clearly define this audience.

 

WRITING SKILLS

Now you need to take the time to wrestle with this task with pen, pencil, or keyboard in hand.  We have all had the pressure of having someone telling us “Please give me your bio so I can get the information on the company website about you”. Some of you have gotten that pressure from me when we talk about these things in seminars, workshops, consultations, and classes. Even if you succumb to the pressure, know that you can and SHOULD take time to really do this well. And you need to recognize that this process is not a “Set it and forget it” exercise. This is an important part of your marketing that constantly needs tweaking and updating.  And it needs to be carefully and strategically completed – over and over and over.

How to write your profile:

·         When you take the time to write – focus on the audience profile and write so your IDEAL AUDIENCE will enjoy getting to know you through your words.

·         Write so that you don’t sound like every other Real Estate profile – Salesy, “it’s all about me”.

·         Tell YOUR UNIQUE STORY. As I consult with Real Estate Agents I find that every one of you have a part of your story that brought you to this profession that is very unique. Reach down – then tell that story.

·         Tell this story not only to highlight the unique you but tell it so that it appeals to that audience you defined. Make sure it is written to keep them interested.

·         And remember this story is being written to appeal to more than one audience. It is going to be read by the “Search Engine Spiders” – those little electronic impulses that travel faster than light and read through trillions of words and phrases on the internet in seconds to deliver the most relevant internet information to the searcher. So, you need to think about writing to include the keyword phrases that you want to be found for. And the most important keyword is your name.  Also, as you write for search engines know that what is indexed is the beginning two to three sentences of your information. So, the most relevant parts of this profile need to show up early – like your name, that you are a Real Estate Professional, and how you can help those folks who are part of your ideal audience.

THE FIRST DRAFT

Now that it is written – walk away from it for a day or two. Then re-read it with your ideal audience in mind. Will it keep them interested?  Keep in mind, since YOU are writing this, it should be written in first person.  You are speaking directly to your audience, as you should be. This keeps it personal.

Once it is completed you will need to have this edited into three versions:

·         The long version – this is full length and has little limitations for length. It will go on your website, into the Story section of the About information on your Facebook business page, and on your LinkedIn profile. The LinkedIn profile is limited – 2,000 characters. You may have to edit it more to fit here.

·         The medium version –Take the long version and reduce it to a paragraph or two. This is used in places like the agent profile on your broker’s website; on the real estate aggregator sites that you need to make sure you have taken control of – like:

·         Realtor.com

·         Zillow and Trulia (even though this is the same company it is two different sites and needs to be approached that way).

·         There are many more!

·         The short version – This is a sentence. Not more than 160 characters. This is for many of the social sites. Like the About section on the About page of your Facebook page, your profile for Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

 

 

FINAL EDITS (AND THOUGHTS)

Have someone else edit it – other eyes are helpful. Share it with trusted confidants and have them consider the point of view of your ideal audience.  Now consider whether you are compliant with any disclosure regulations for your license.  Now it is time to go live with this. But this never a finished product.  You will need to consistently give it a re-write/update/tweak from time to time.

 

This task may seem a bit daunting. And many find it difficult to write about ourselves. But you will find that the time you invest into creating a powerful, well written profile that speaks directly to the audience you want to reach, will reap great rewards with your marketing.