September 13 2012
Online reviews are an increasingly important part of real estate agents' lead generation arsenal. In fact, a recent survey found that 72% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Search technology relies heavily on consumer recommendation data, too, further underlining their importance. Bing and Siri, the iPhone's voice search, both use data pulled from Yelp in their results. Google uses data from Google Places to determine which search results are most relevant.
Here is a brief overview of important sites to begin building your portfolio of recommendations on.
If you don't have an online "portfolio" of recommendations, don't fret! Building one can be easier than you think. In addition to asking current or former clients for recommendations, try asking potential leads for just a small recommendation at every opportunity.
For example, if you successfully answer a consumer's question about a property, ask them if the information you provided was helpful. If they say "yes," ask if you can send them your Yelp! or LinkedIn account. Nine out of ten times, they will agree.
Even if they don't write a recommendation, you'll still have, at minimum, their name and contact information--a genuine lead to follow up with in the future!