April 6th, 2009 by Michael Oliver

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Couple days ago a story titled: “To succeed agents need Facebook page, be LinkedIn and should Twitter” was published on http://www.azbiz.com this publication is the leading source and publication for serious business news for the Tucson AZ area. The article by Joe Pangburn, Inside Tucson Business talks about how real estate agents are using the social media avenues to boost business and also thoughts about different internet marketing strategies. Joe called me for an interview to get my thoughts on the subject and as quoted in the story I think for real estate agents building their own personal brand is the absolute most important thing one can do. The other internet marketing platforms while they can be effective (namely Facebook, My Space, LinkedIn, Twitter etc.) but for those that don’t have a “voice” online yet time is best spent on your own website and blog then branching into the other areas of online marketing. Here’s a link to the article:

http://www.azbiz.com/articles/2009/04/06/construction_real_estate/doc49d6633a0abc1416508981.txt

Here are some excerpts:

Michael Oliver, a Realtor with Tierra Antigua Realty, has put most of his time and effort into his website and his blog.

“You are always only a click away from a customer going to someone else’s site,” Oliver said. “I try to make it all encompassing and make it a lot different than the average website. I really want it to be a real resource for the reader and build it as a brand.”

Where most any real estate agent’s site will allow you to search for a home while telling you some information about the agent, Oliver designed his site to provide more than just what is on the market.

He has a forum where visitors can discuss the economy, politics, local sports, mortgage information, real estate-owned and foreclosed properties and problems with real estate transactions. He also has a section about neighborhoods in the region, a history of Tucson and information about HUD homes.

Oliver treats his blog like a business blog focusing on Tucson real estate and avoids personal posts.

“I try to view it from a reader’s standpoint and build it from there,” he said. “I try to keep it specific to Tucson but I do put some national real estate news on there. It is a way that I can possibly broaden my reader base and while someone who reads it may not be moving out here themselves, they may know someone who is someday.”