This marks part one of a three part series I’ll be bringing you in my Friday column, Eye on the Web. During this series you’ll meet a realtor, a publisher and an antiques dealer who are using the web in new and creative ways. Rather than settling for a static website with little online interaction, each of these business owners are reaching out and engaging their customers, creating a “buzz” about their company and products, and finding new ways to grow their businesses.
What do I mean by Web 2.0?
First off, during the past couple of years, you may have heard the term Web 2.0 (pronounced web two-dot-oh). What exactly do people mean when they use that term?
Short Answer: No one knows.
Long Answer: All kidding aside, Web 2.0 is a buzzword that covers a whole suite of changes we’ve seen on the web during the past four years. These changes have been brought about by things like advances in web browsers, web publishing technologies and the way that people interact with the web. Rather than being any particular technology, Web 2.0 refers to the concept of highly interactive websites along with highly dynamic interactions via the Internet.
Now that we’re clear on the concept, let’s look at my first example, a realtor who is providing an insider’s perspective on real estate:
All Around KTown: A Knoxville Realtor’s Perspective
It has been my experience that the typical realtor’s website is fairly boring. You can expect to find a little information about the realtor along with a listing of their properties.
Don’t get me wrong, for an established realtor, I think this type of site serves its purpose. Potential buyers can browse the site and get a sense of who the realtor is and what they have to offer. However, when you take a look at Suzy Trotta’s All Around KTown blog, you find something all together different.
Suzy provides regularly appearing columns and an insider’s take on the Knoxville real estate market:
- Foreclosure Watch: Each week Suzy posts information on foreclosures around the Knoxville area. She provides charts and graphs along with statistics.
- A Weekly Poll: You can participate with Suzy’s other readers by voting on real estate related questions like “What is the biggest challenge facing the Knoxville real estate market?”
- Neighborhood of the Week: Read Suzy’s profiles of Knoxville area neighborhoods.
According to what I’ve heard from Suzy, earlier this year she started small with a simple blog focused on her market and her insights as a realtor. However, what made Suzy’s approach Web 2.0 is her blog’s focus. By choosing to break the traditional mold for realtors on the web, she was already thinking outside the box.
Not the same old realtor website
Rather than emulating every other realtor’s website, Suzy uses the web to reach out to her local community. She provides valuable information and perspective that is of interest whether she’s your realtor or not.
Furthermore, her blog is a great way for perspective home buyers to get to know Suzy. She’s being pro-active about her business relationships, and this will be a big benefit to her as she crafts her niche in the relationship driven field of real estate. (Heck, my wife and I aren’t in the market for a new home; however, the next time we’re buying, I know that Suzy will definitely be a viable option.)
Expanding her online sphere and broadening her real world horizons
Suzy’s blog forms a great basis for her Web 2.0 business strategy; however, her online presence doesn’t end there. In addition to her blog, Suzy also Twitters and writes the Knoxville Neighborhood Guide for Knoxify. All of this exposure has brought her new clients and even a recent interview on the local news.
Web 2.0 enables Transparency
The concept I’m trying to get across here is how Suzy has used some fairly simple tools (i.e. blogs and Twitter) to present herself in a genuine and authentic fashion. In other words, she’s providing that all important transparency-factor that is a hallmark of modern business best practices.
I would want to hear from Suzy on this; however, it’s my guess that her online efforts have helped her advance and establish her reputation much faster than a realtor working by traditional means. That’s why she’s a great example of branding Web 2.0 style.
Next Time: A Blogging Book Publisher
Next Friday I’ll be writing about how Michael Hyatt, President & CEO of Thomas Nelson, is using the web to promote his company. This will include the strange but true opportunity I’ve been given to review Lynne Spear’s (i.e. Brittney’s mom) new book in exchange for a review (“positive, negative or somewhere in between”) on this blog and Amazon.com.
Wow, Michael, thanks so much for making my blog part of this series. I’m honored!
And you’re right – In seven months, AAKT, Knoxify, and Twitter have helped me get to a place in my business that I was unable to achieve for over four years “offline.” It’s been an incredible experience.