The Power of Google

I'm in the process of writing a series of information pieces regarding Savannah Ga and surroundng areas on my home buyer website -- www.MikeFromSavannah.com. This morning I was writing the second part of the series covering Wilmington Island, and I usually uncheck publish and save what I've written half way through so I don't lose anything as I'm writing. Well, I forgot to uncheck and saved it half way through. Within the post I am placing hyperlinks to informational sites, so I googled "Wilmington Island subdivisions" to see if I could find a good neutral site to link to.

What I found was the piece I'm working on showing up, #5 or so, on the first page of the Google search. I wasn' even through with it!

I went back and unchecked publish, quicky finished it, then published it again. Now, that is quick results! 

Basics In a New World Of Marketing

This morning I started thinking about all the ongoing talk about old and new marketing. I tend to agree with Teri Lussier's thoughts I read first thing this morning at Bloodhound. I do believe it's a combination of old and new and much dedends on an individual's strengths. What some agents do to get business would never work for me and vice versa.

Individual style plays a big role in marketing, as well it should; it makes things interesting -- probably why I react so negatively to marketing seminars that propose one way fit all. Even if a new way of marketing is dominant, there are individual means of applying the new marketing techniques that suit individual strengths.

Plus, I agree that knowing your target audience is vital to make marketing efficient. I've narrowed down my audience on my business blog/website to the areas of concern I think I can handle most effectively -- downtown, midtown and the islands.

Outside Savannah there is much new construction going on and it's a big market -- however that's the direction a lot of agents are going, which leaves my areas less attended to. So I want to be seen on all searches in the areas I've chosen; I want to be an expert in these areas, I want to be able to provide good service in these areas.

It seems to me that as many things change, some basic principles never change. I see too many agents adopt new marketing techniques wihout the requisite foundation of market application -- in other words THE BASICS. The basics doesn't mean to remain trapped in old ways of thinking and doing things, it means using the time-tested principles of marketing and applying them to new techniques -- focus being one of them. 

I didn't make the top 100!

http://www.go-beyond-mls.com/real-estate-blogs-top-100/

I see Jay placed 85 -- good job!

Politics and Real Estate

The fascination I have for politics is perverse, akin to the irresistible urge some have to watch Jerry Springer or to view the gory details of a hatchet murder. I’m serious about politics but cynicism has kinked my perception of candidates clawing and spinning their way to the top. We all are at fault for making the presidential race a spectator sport, and we are all at fault for allowing our government to become a feeding trough for special interests.

Republicans or Democrats, it seems to make little difference nowadays which pork-maker you choose, except in how it affects our special interests. Gone, it also seems, are the days people chose a president to lead our nation and protect our constitution, to secure our borders, to ensure adequate policing for the safety of citizens and to ensure rational judgment in courts of law. Now we choose according to special interests and how any certain gang in office will legislate to empower our special interest. We’ve become a balkanized nation and government has become the big daddy provider lording over the factions, pulling strings to create a power base. The candidate who can manipulate the most factions wins.

I have to believe that the loud voices of extremism that have taken over politics (because fanatics are more active than moderate, more sensible folk) have drowned out voices that are tired of speaking. That’s my take.

However, I think the game still has to be played, because the results of apathy are too serious to ignore. I’m a free-marketer, someone who believes in a limited government bound by the Constitution. I think a government unharnessed has the natural tendency to grab more and more power until it controls everything – that’s the nature of the beast and history has shown this over and over.

What does this have to do with real estate? Well, forget about current campaign issues for a minute and consider the bigger picture of a growing nation that’s evolving in the private sector from centralization to de-centralization – there is a movement from large metropolitan areas, a spreading out that technology has made possible. There is every reason to believe this will continue and that population growth will demand solutions related to real estate. At the same time, government appears to be strengthening centralization. There will be clashes ahead.

Regulations from city, county, state and federal government regarding zoning and restrictions, wetlands issues, eminent domain issues, etc are going to rise to supreme importance as our population spreads out across the country, and politics will be right in the middle of it. On a micro-scale there will be battles like this -- http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/politics/view.bg?articleid=1073164

On a macro-scale the battle will be between political beliefs and philosophy –are we a nation that still values freedom, unobtrusive government and local control or a nation of dependents relying on government whim and favors -- and the real estate industry will be affected by which beliefs dominate.

I can’t tell anyone what beliefs they should hold when electing representatives and presidents, but I can foresee the importance of regulations on our industry which will touch every other area of our lives depending on the direction we take with our political choices. I stand for freedom of choice with regulations being only those that are absolutely necessary for fairness, not regulations to consolidate government power and create dependency.

Is this special interest? I don’t think so, because I would vote for the above principles even if it hurt a part of our industry protected by government favor – even if it hurt me. But, I believe we will all be helped by freedom and hurt by government over-reaching in the large scheme of things, even if the short-term result is not immediately favorable

The representatives we choose will be more important than the president we choose – hopefully, one day, the presidency will be restored to great leaders, but for now it’s a game of balancing powers.

Networking Journey 101

Bouncing off my last post, Chantal got me thinking about networking. I think I can safely discard the word “market” for ‘network”. Not that there is anything more noble about the word network, it just fits the description better.

Finding places like Bloodhound and Bigger Pockets meeting people like Greg and Joshua and The Phoenix Guy named Jay, the whole Renegade group, the Relib gang, Carey from P2 and, yes, even the loonies at Zillow, has been a great enhancement.

There’s more – it grows and spreads with little connections here and there. I’m currently deciding where to place advertising dollars online, but that will be a small part of the plan. I’m also playing with my website to improve its functionality and performance, but even that’s becoming smaller than the networking (except as a receiving center for requests and a place from which to broadcast).

What I hope for is more of the authentic connections I’ve made that transcend the machine and become human, A thousand MySpace “friend”ships made by clicking an “approve” button don’t equal one human connection that makes the network palpable, alive, mindful. This is the promise being fulfilled of the internet and anyone who fears these relationships will cripple the ability to have flesh relationships doesn’t understand the power of the mind and spirit to transcend machines.

As I continue my network journey (see marketing plan) I’ll search for the real connections that allow the network to come alive, and as time passes I’m sure for some us our flesh will cross paths among the brick and mortar reality, which is all for the better; but even if that doesn’t happen, the real connections will continue to be a vital source of my personal and business growth going forward.