Does it seem like every week you are being told about some new online application that will help grow your real estate business? You probably hear about the usual suspects – Facebook, Twitter, etc. But where do you begin? Before you go signing up for any of these accounts you should have two things in place – a website and a blog.

The website is a no-brainer. Without one, you will really struggle to have an online presence. If customers and business contacts cannot find you online, they will not take you serious.

The blog may not be such an obvious choice, but it is equally important. What’s the difference between a blog and website you ask? Think of your online presence as a short movie starring you (Sorry, Bratt or Angelina will not be playing the part of you).

Everything you do online interacts and tells a story while you hopefully captivate an audience enough to keep them coming back for more. Ultimately, the online community becomes a fan and is always checking out your work and finding ways it can work with you.

Your website is like the back-story of a movie that gives a lot of detail about you including:

• Educate readers , Educate and Educate again.
• Who you are
• What you do
• What services you offer
• Where you can be contacted
• Why you do what you do

Your blog is the actual storyline that keeps the movie going and keeps people engaged and wanting to know more about you and your services. Like a storyline, your blog keeps changing and providing new information to your readers. If you don’t keep the story going, you start to lose your audience and they move on to a better film – or in your case…to another real estate professional.

We are a society obsessed with information. The internet has only further fueled that obsession. If you cannot offer fresh content to your readers and potential customers, you will likely lose them to someone who does.

The blog is something you can expect to update regularly, while your website generally has the same static information without a lot of change from month to month. The blog is really an opportunity to keep your name in front of potential business by becoming an expert about your industry. Eventually you should get business from loyal readers, who you’ve worked so hard to gain trust, by putting out your blog.