I have built up some good friendships and acquaintances from
this social media lark.I always like to make the next step and pick up the
phone, to talk to a real person, have a chat, maybe share a joke. After a
while, we start to build a relationship and from that I have recommended people
and helped them got business. In return, i too have received business from such
interactions.
However, firms like Zoopla have started leaderboards, especially
their Zoopla Power 100 (link here if you want to have a look www.zoopla.co.uk/property-power-100 . .. but will it
sell you more houses and get you more landlords?
It might make you look good, and yes, in the top 20 there are some great people who do very well at selling and renting property. But should you strive to join them in that top 20? No, you should do social media to get you more landlord business (that's why you are in business)... if you are doing it right, then the accolades and leaderboards will follow .. not the other way round.
Leaderboards = Vanity whilst Landlords = Reality
Around 400 individual people read this blog every day after a couple of weeks. I strongly recommend you write blog .. daily. Social media comes in many forms .. using facebook, twitter, Google+, Linkedin, and blogs. This is a blog. You, Mr or Mrs Letting Agent should be writing a blog, but not a blog about helping letting agents like this one, but a blog about helping landlords... you have the most interesting subject in the world .. property ... but keep it local .. just talk about your local property market.
Why have Shoreditch prices gone up 9% this year whilst Islington's have gone up 13.5%, why have yields gone up in Uxbridge from 4.5% to 5.2% but in Northwood, they have dropped slightly from 5.1% to 4.6%. Dont you dare do 'top ten tips for landlords' or new legislation ..boring .. that's why they pay you.. its like a garage sending you out the new MOT rules to everyone they have done a car service on
I have helped a number of letting agents with their blogs, either writing it for them or giving them advice how to do. I learnt my skills from someone else, who said to me their turnover increased by around £80k to £85k per year for that last two years, purely down to his blog... but he’d been doing it for early 3 years. (if you want some 3rd party reviews on what I do, there is post earlier in the month from some letting agents who I have taught to do blogs and the results that have come from it -- I posted it on the 14th of January and its title is Testimonials for Christopher's Work .. link on the right hand column or just scroll down this page until you get to it)
It might make you look good, and yes, in the top 20 there are some great people who do very well at selling and renting property. But should you strive to join them in that top 20? No, you should do social media to get you more landlord business (that's why you are in business)... if you are doing it right, then the accolades and leaderboards will follow .. not the other way round.
Leaderboards = Vanity whilst Landlords = Reality
Around 400 individual people read this blog every day after a couple of weeks. I strongly recommend you write blog .. daily. Social media comes in many forms .. using facebook, twitter, Google+, Linkedin, and blogs. This is a blog. You, Mr or Mrs Letting Agent should be writing a blog, but not a blog about helping letting agents like this one, but a blog about helping landlords... you have the most interesting subject in the world .. property ... but keep it local .. just talk about your local property market.
Why have Shoreditch prices gone up 9% this year whilst Islington's have gone up 13.5%, why have yields gone up in Uxbridge from 4.5% to 5.2% but in Northwood, they have dropped slightly from 5.1% to 4.6%. Dont you dare do 'top ten tips for landlords' or new legislation ..boring .. that's why they pay you.. its like a garage sending you out the new MOT rules to everyone they have done a car service on
I have helped a number of letting agents with their blogs, either writing it for them or giving them advice how to do. I learnt my skills from someone else, who said to me their turnover increased by around £80k to £85k per year for that last two years, purely down to his blog... but he’d been doing it for early 3 years. (if you want some 3rd party reviews on what I do, there is post earlier in the month from some letting agents who I have taught to do blogs and the results that have come from it -- I posted it on the 14th of January and its title is Testimonials for Christopher's Work .. link on the right hand column or just scroll down this page until you get to it)
I often speak to letting
agents who are frustrated bloggers and other new social media socialmedi'ites. They are
frustrated that their blog or twiter isn’t spreading fast enough, getting enough
landlords to use their agency, that their new twiterbooklinkydinblogy tools aren't working the way they want them to (ie shed loads of new business within
a couple of weeks). Their initial reaction is always the same: Either give up or Promote and
advertise. If it's the first, fair enough the story ends .. if its the second, they say, 'Enough with this givers receive lark nonsense, I want to be in
charge. Let’s throw some money at this, These
new methods didn't work, I need the old methods.'
Winning an website / twitter popularity contest, re-tweeting your mates tweets (and them doing the same in return, so both of you go higher up the ranks on Zoopla
top 100, bombarding people with every listing every hour.. these things are tempting, but they
are the panicked half measures of an agent who is going to lose.
From the start, you have to choose a path and stick with it.
Either you are on the path of the every other agent and you're prepared to make
average stuff for average people... or you are busy taking on the new media for
everything it can offer.
Now let’s not forget, there are plenty of agents in the
Zoops top 20 that do very well, but there are others who like to see themselves
up in the rankings, but not sell/let another house because of it.
When the new stuff doesn't work like your blog, do even more new stuff more
and do it better. Take advice from someone like me or any other decent blogger ( a favourite blog site of mine that is similar to this blog - giving advice to letting agents is Andreas blog (I would go so far to say its better than mine) www.rentview.com/blog
Look at me, I started this blog to keep me amused whilst I sorted all the legal stuff / banking stuff ready to start my own business. Now, I am getting loads of phone calls from letting agents who want me to help them. All I will teach them is to write info that will be interesting to the people of their town, talk about one of the most interesting things that you can to a Brit .. the
local property market.
I have seen it so many times, and yes it takes a little while for it to kick in, but do it right (and that’s the magic .. do it right – so no 'top ten tips for landlords' or how 's.21 notices can be served' – no ..... you need to talk about why the council estate property market has out performed the posh housing estate and you will have them (landlords) eating out of your hand... I have seen it work so many times .. and remember .. have patience .. just like the guy whose turnover went up nearly £90k per year, mostly down to his blog.
Look at me, I started this blog to keep me amused whilst I sorted all the legal stuff / banking stuff ready to start my own business. Now, I am getting loads of phone calls from letting agents who want me to help them. All I will teach them is to write info that will be interesting to the people of their town, talk about one of the most interesting things that you can to a Brit .. the
I have seen it so many times, and yes it takes a little while for it to kick in, but do it right (and that’s the magic .. do it right – so no 'top ten tips for landlords' or how 's.21 notices can be served' – no ..... you need to talk about why the council estate property market has out performed the posh housing estate and you will have them (landlords) eating out of your hand... I have seen it work so many times .. and remember .. have patience .. just like the guy whose turnover went up nearly £90k per year, mostly down to his blog.