Roger Ewing's Blog

Guest blog by Stephen Roesler, Director of Social Media at Ewing & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty

What’s in your digital arsenal?

By: Stephen Roesler

Similar to the buildup of military weapons by the Soviets and U.S. in the mid 20th century, there is a hot pursuit to win the race to the top of Google. Regardless of industry, SEO (search engine optimization) is the name of the game. Embracing a marketing initiative that aims to promote exposure via organic search engine traffic may qualify as an organizations biggest hurdle. The heart of our online marketing efforts revolve around the concept of an online community. Let me explain.

If things are going ’social’ as I’ve advocated in the past, the goal then becomes utilizing our social power in a medium where the majority of people spend an unconscionable amount of time; the internet. Given that 85% of real estate searches begin online, we can assume our community relentlessly searches this diabolical machine named Google, which accounts for 65% of real estate searches alone. Therefore, we need to capture our audience on their terms. What are they looking for? How do they find it? What do they search? How do they think?

Answering these questions requires some research on Adwords and thoughtful website analytics tracking. But, that’s only one aspect of finding a community. Next, providing useful content becomes integral. EwingSIR has taken a unique approach which has doubled our organic traffic. We use a strategy that provides news to micro community’s in attempt to grow participating communities. By publishing online news that remains relevant to specific communities, we cultivate a community based on location. Not only are we highly targeted, we are personal and social. Therefore, we find specific buyers and sellers coming to our site, looking for services we offer. Not only does this community effort add to our arsenal of SEO tools, it builds an online community.

However, choosing to harness one SEO effort will only result in limited exposure. Winning the arms race requires a full scope of social media efforts rooted in a strong SEO crusade. Go forth, soldiers.

As Director of Social Media, Stephen Roesler manages the extensive blog platform at Ewing & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty. He is responsible for all aspects of the companies cascading blogosphere, including the creation of community blogs, as well as the design and implementation of social media tools and the development of strategic initiatives on the web.  He can be reached at stephen.roesler@sothebysrealty.com