Are You Recognizing the Trends in Your Market?

If you want to kick up your lead generation, one of the key elements is to be dialed into what's happening in your market.

Five years ago, many of us were focused on working niche markets like new homes, but when the market shifted, the new home market fizzled out. Now the market is shifting again with news on the street that there is going to be less REO inventory and more short sales. The move-up buyer market is strong because interest rates are spurring folks to action.

With this in mind, you have to be ready for these active trends and shifts in your market. Here are seven key things to pay attention to in order to find the emerging trends in your market and create marketing momentum behind them.

1. Study your market. The MLS has so many tools and resources to help you learn what is actively going on in your market. Run reports of what is selling in your market, what price point is moving and where the movement is happening. Sort the data so you can see if there are particular neighborhoods that are moving as well as what types of properties are selling more actively (i.e., condos, short sales in the move-up price range, investor market, etc.).

2. Have buttons on the home page of your website that attract this market. It's important that when visitors land on your site, they can see in a matter of seconds the things that they're interested in. For example, if you see HUD properties moving, have that button dominant on your front page so visitors can click right into the information (see www.KristanCole.com).

3. Incorporate compelling informational pages. Once visitors click on the main button of your home page, have a developed content page that serves as a point of education and a place where they can get more information. Include at least 200-400 words for the search engines so that it is targeted content.

4. Don't forget to offer something of value. You've driven someone from the main button on your home page. They've clicked through and seen the information (content). Now you need to partner that with a call to action that will compel lead capture. Offer things like, "Click here to see listings in this neighborhood," "Access the 14 costly mistakes when selling your home e-book," or "Access our market reports."

5. Buy domain names that match the trend that is occurring in your market. For example, if you're working the investor market right now, buy a domain name that speaks to that market, such as www.TownInvestorAlerts.com.

6. Create stand-alone landing pages that can be advertised separately from your site. This will attract the consumer that might not want to work with you just yet, but wants to get information on their terms. An example is www.FortMillREO.com.

7. Evangelize. Sprinkle in your offers on various offline and social media channels to drive visitors back to your site and help you capture the lead. These days it's all about leveraging your marketing message to all channels.

To view the original article, visit RISMedia.