Teresa Boardman Asks: Who Are You?

I have written this post a few times and in a few different ways.  I meet other agents on the internet because of their blogs.  Sometimes I contact them by email or phone.  Yes there are people who still use the telephone and have a two way conversation, but that is the subject for another post.
 
Try contacting some of the real estate bloggers.  I go to a blog and search and search before I figure out who the author is.  After I find the author getting the contact information is often next to impossible. It may involve clicking on a form that sits in a queue somewhere, or a general office number where I don't actually get to talk to the person I am trying to contact.  It is as if the person is saying that they are just too darn important to talk with but for some reason I am not impressed enough to pursue it.  They don't seem friendly to me or like people who would welcome interaction or conversation.
 
Last week a reporter from California contacted me and I was interviewed for a publication for Real estate agents.  One of the comments the reporter made is that she had tried to contact others.  She said that I was the easiest to contact and that it was clear to her that I sell real estate in St. Paul, Minnesota.  She even went to my author profile and learned a little more about me before she called, enough to know that I use Twitter and Flickr so she asked questions about those too.  She also knew which brokerage I am with.  She told me that she couldn't always tell that either by looking at some of the blogs.
 
The clients I have who found me on the internet do the same thing.  They usually know a lot about me before we ever meet.  My avatars are not standard photographs taken by professional photographers but people instantly recognize me when I show up for a meeting.  It could be because the photos were not taken 10 or 20 years ago and I did not pose for them, they are snapshots taken by friends, or family.  The face isn't plastered all over, readers have to click to another page to see it.  My way of saying that I am here if you need me but not in your face it you don't.  My contact information is displayed at the top of my blog on the left side.  Can't miss it.
 
Speaking of Twitter, I have had entire conversations with people I don't know.  They use screen names and avatars.  Their real names can not be easily found.  In one such situation I was not comfortable with what the other twitter member was saying and so I finally asked him who he was.  A received a direct message back from him.  He said Teresa you know me, and outlined who he was and that we had actually met in person. I felt bad about it, because I do know him, but I did not recognize him on Twitter.  I go by "T" or "TBoard" in a few places but my full name is spelled out in my profile.
 
It shouldn't be hard to figure out who people are, where they work or to contact them if they are using the internet to meet people and win business.  Look at your blog or website and try to contact yourself.  How many clicks does it take?  Is there a direct number, or does the caller have to call one number and be transferred into a voice mail box? If so it is possible that I will be getting the business or the publicity that you have earned through your hard work as a blogger or web 2.0 social net worker, because I am so easy to find.

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Teresa Boardman is an exceptionally professional Realtor in the St. Paul, Minnesota area.

Her website: www.TBoardman.com
Her blog: www.StPaulRealEstateBLOG.com
Voice: 651-216-4603

Thank you Teresa. 
As always, it’s a pleasure having you 'on the Vine'.

Tags: Blogging+Advice, Teresa+Boardman, Contact+Info

Comments

[Jim Rake in Fredericksburg]

Teresa - thanks for PR 101. And, as one who has called you, and was mildly surprised when you answered, I can attest to the ease with which you can be found. I mean, how many Realtors answer their phone? Appreciate your blog, to include the pics!

[John C]

Nice tip about surfing your own blog as a reader / buyer / seller would. All too often I find things that I need to correct when I do that. I should schedule it, like maybe once every 2 weeks to go through it to test my links, contact form, etc. Thanks, Teresa.

[Blogging for real estate success]

I think a lot of this depends on whether they are blogging because they want to blog, or blogging because some one said they should :)

Personally, I make it my mission in life to be certain everything I say online is clearly said by me, who I am and how to contact me.

What is the point otherwise?

[Todd Carpenter]

I'm one who thinks the "contact me form" looks a little to much like a "become one of my leads" form. At the absolute minimum, listing an email address ought to be a no-brainer. Buck up and deal with the spam.

[Landflip]

Great point. I feel as though it is important to know exactly who you are talking with and how to get in touch with them. There is so much information on the internet and it is important to be able to check you sources! Thanks for the information!

[Eric- New Orleans Condos and Lofts]

You can call me whenever. I try to return my calls promptly but do not answer when I am with clients. I have a private line at the office. In any given day I can plenty of calls so there has to be a method of answering. Nice blog and some good points.

[Daniel Bates]

I still get people who call thinking I work for an area visitors center even though it clearly says "Daniel Bates, Realtor" on my header. I think it's an indication that most of my articles are more about the area and the people than the real estate market, but I'm happy to help these people with their questions even though I'll never see a dime from them. Anyone have suggestions on how they more clearly portray what they do to slow down these type of calls?

[John Schroeder]

Teresa-

Great article that is all too true. While not being brain surgery...you do need to show some restraint in how much of yourself is shown on your blog. The information that you offer needs to be the star. You just need to make it easy for people to contact you for questions, calls, emails, im's, etc.

I to wonder why REALTORS® start a blog and then make it so hard for people to contact them. How many agent websites do you see where all the front page information is about how many clubs and activities they are involved in but trying to get an email address for them takes way too long to find.

I was recently contacted to offer some information to the Today Show about why Madison, WI is one of America's Friendliest Cities. Because of time constraints with the live segment my comments didn't make the show...but they are on the Today Show webpage for the article. If I wouldn't have been easily searchable online- complete with contact information- and wouldn't have been timely with my response to the inquiry would I have made the article...Probably not!

[Rich Rogala]

Teresa - this is a great point. The whole reason (in my opinion) to blog is to establish yourself as an expert. Who's going to trust an expert whose name they don't know, or who they are unable to contact?

[Judy Peterson]

Excellent points Teresa and well worth repeating.

Had an interesting experience working with a relocation buyer (who was also a Realtor) who actually called me second when the first Realtor told her, "I'm busy right now. Call me back tomorrow". My Buyer made extra effort to get her number since it wasn't on her site.She emailed me, which comes into my TREo, and I called her right away. Like they say,90% of success is in "showing up" :-) Judy

[Sharon Simms, St Petersburg, Florida]

Teresa - so true. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to send a direct e-mail to an agent, and can't find the address anywhere on the Internet - only links to unknown addresses. It's especially difficult when you KNOW someone, and can't get to them directly.

[Matthew Dollinger]

Teresa,

I completely agree with your post. It seems that the agents are either at an 11 with their picture promotion or hiding behind avatars. We actually had an interesting development in your market where one of our competitors videotaped (professionally) short profiles for each one of their agents. Cool? Absolutely. But after listening to the 5th one ramble on about the quality they bring and how much fun it is to work with them, I lost interest.

Anyway, after reading your post I actually realized that with all of the comments, posts, etc. that I do online, I don't have my picture anywhere (or email) on my blog www.theyoufactor.com. I have been migrating to Wordpress.org and thought I'd just wait, but thanks for the motivation!

Matthew Dollinger
@properties
matthew.dollinger@gmail.com

[Jonathan Bunn- Ashburn VA Real Estate]

great post. sometimes i find myself a little desperate for a lead and put out to many hands asking for leads. thanks for the reminder.

[Rick Belben]

Using the assumption that most Realtors are blogging for business it defeats the purpose when they make it so hard to be contacted.

It is an invaluable point you made - but one that gets overlooked way too often.

[Joseph Bridges]

Contact information should always be easy to find and should be obvious. My brother and I were recently contacted by a writer at the LATimes because they could find out contact information and they liked the content that was posted.

We couldn't agree more that you have to make your contact information obvious to anyone so people can actually pick up the phone and call if they so choose.