How can you become locally influential?

How can you become locally influential?

Becoming locally influential in the property sector is one way for agencies to stand out from the property behemoths. There are a number of communication tools that can help you become a real reference as a local property professional. We present them to you.

Having a local presence can be a real asset for your estate agency. By positioning yourself as a local agent, you can become a major player in your neighbourhood or town.

There are a number of communication tools available to help you become influential locally.

1. Your estate agency

Your branch should be your primary local communication tool. Faced with new players in the market whose business model is no longer based on physical premises, your brand can be a real differentiating tool.

Your premises are the face of your agency. Since most of your customers are local residents, it's important to taking care of your agency's presentationThis includes the shop window, which needs to be reorganised frequently. Your premises must offer all the comforts you would expect from a professional and competent agent.

2. Print media

Despite the advent of the Internet, written materials are still extremely effective for your communication campaigns. Especially when you want to establish yourself as a local property expert.

Flyers, leaflets, business cards... So many paper documents that need to be delivered by hand or in letterboxes during canvassing campaigns. Not forgetting the traditional "for sale" and "sold" signs to remind people that you're there. This kind of action has a very strong impact on the residents of your neighbourhood.

The most interesting print tools to consider at local level include the local magazine. It consists of a few pages: a presentation of your agency, some of your properties for sale and a section devoted to life in your neighbourhood, in which you can, for example, highlight a shopkeeper or talk about future events in your town. This magazine can be distributed every month or every three months to shopkeepers or through letterboxes.

3. Google My Business listing

In a previous article, we explained how and why to create a Google My Business listing. For increase your visibility on the net and local referencingThe Google My Business (GMB) listing is a highly effective tool. GMB lets you create a listing for your business. This is displayed in Google search results and on Google Maps. This listing contains a large amount of practical information for Internet users: telephone number, opening hours, description, photos, website, social networks, etc.

This sheet can also be used to display customer reviews. According to an IFOP survey, 88% of consumers consult online reviews before making a purchase. This just goes to show how important online reviews are to customer behaviour today. Displaying positive reviews and responding to negative reviews on your Google My Business listing will help to boost your local reputation and attract prospects looking for a professional to sell their property.

4. Social networks

How can you miss social networks in this day and age? In terms of local reputation, they are powerful communication relays. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn... All these platforms have their own specificities and you need to share the right content on each of them to have a real impact on your target audience. Facebook and Instagram, for example, are more for the general public than LinkedIn, which is more geared towards professional communication.

How can you use your social networks to raise your profile locally?

Use Facebook or Instagram, for example, to relay one-off communications. For example, present one or more properties for sale in your agency every day in a story on Facebook or Instagram. What's more, by geotagging your stories, you'll appear in the Instagram stories for your town, city or region. to further boost your local visibility.

You can also use social networks to show your support, sponsorship or participation in a local event, such as a sports competition or festival.

Relaying this kind of action on your networks allows you to reach as many people as possible in your town or neighbourhood.

As well as raising your profile locally, all these actions will enable you to to make the most of your expertise.

5. The localised blog

More and more estate agents are launching into the creating a blog. The aim of this platform is twofold: reaffirm your expertise as a real estate professional and improve your referencing on search engines.

Producing content tailored to your local target audience, dealing in particular with issues specific to your district or municipality, is an excellent lever for building local awareness, expertise and trust.

Of course, it's not always easy to find the time to activate these different communication tools. However, it's now essential to take an interest in them, because if you master them skilfully, you'll quickly become an influential local player, which will naturally boost your brand image and your business.

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