#The Lones Group

[thelonesgroup]

Creating Connections with Community Pages

As brokers and agents, we are all tied to our communities and there are so many great ways to get involved too. Some of you reading this today volunteer at shelters, support boys-and-girls clubs, are part of a Rotary Group or community lodge, or maybe you care for aging pets or are a member of a local activity group. These are all great things you can do in person that build your presence within the community and expand your sphere of contacts – and help you feel good too! But how do you illustrate connections to your community to people outside of it, like to someone who is relocating from another part of your state?

One of the things that websites (and social media) do for us is expand our presence and message further than they could ever reach without them – and today I want to focus on how you can demonstrate community connections in a way that isn’t just about you, but that gives your website visitor something of value too.

The Evolution of the Community Page

Since my company has been building real estate websites for nearly two decades, I have seen a lot of changes. Back in the early aughts (2003/2004) a community page was, at its best, a brief gazetteer. A paragraph or two, half-a-dozen photos maybe. Ambitious agents would include some market stats, but there wasn’t any automation to keep them current, so they quickly became dated and for many agents it was just too much to maintain data like that.

As time went on, pages got more interesting. Companies like TrendGraphix would create tools to let agents add self-updating market charts to their websites. Social media like Instagram would emerge and give agents a way to stream current photos from their account. A website with an MLS connection could even show current local listings. It was better, but there was a lot of room for improvement.

Today, thanks to the work of IDX companies, huge data brokering services like Atom Data and Home Junction, local review sites like Yelp, Google Maps, Great Schools, artificial intelligence, and more, community pages are easier than ever to create, maintain, and can provide impressive value to website visitors.

Local Maps

This is crucial. Many people don’t have a great sense of where a place is, so whether you are detailing a county or a local neighborhood, include a map. I love interactive maps that let me zoom-in-and-out. Extra points if that map can show me where local schools, parks, and shopping areas are. This is extremely useful for buyers who want to know where they will be able to make a quick grocery stop, to identify the school their children may attend, determine commuting times and so much more. When we build websites, we always include these features!

Market Information

No modern community page is complete without up-to-date market information. Buyers and sellers both appreciate this info. It helps you, the real estate agent, start the process of setting expectations even before you have met. It helps potential referring agents from out of the area identify potential neighborhoods (and you) as viable for their moving clients. Information about recent sales, average price, and home ownership rates are a great starting point. If you want to really provide something of value, offer the option of downloading a full market report. Our websites can generate these on demand, which is a great way to capture potential leads from your website, for a quick handout to mail, or to take to a listing presentation.

Community Description

Of course, every community page should have a description. These days, a short one is just fine since we are going to include a lot more visual info, but if you are talking about a small community then a little more detail can go a long way too. If you use AI to generate your community description, don’t forget to fact check it! We like to include some statistics in our community descriptions, but you have to be careful that they don’t go stale. To keep ours fresh, we use the same data sources that automatically update our market information.

Schools

For well over a decade, we have been able to include school information with websites and without undue effort. Great Schools has made this easy, whether you go-it-alone or have a professional build your website. It’s just as relevant as it has ever been and every great community page should have it.

Demographics

Buyers want to know if a community is the right fit for them. Sellers are curious how their community has changed. For you, the agent, having a reliable source of demographics makes for endless, easy content for sharing online, and adds something to your website that most other agents just don’t have at all.

Local Businesses

Beyond supporting local businesses, which can often use all the help they can get, showcasing local stores and services really integrates you into the community. Locals love seeing their favorite spots featured. Potential clients from further away can get a taste of what is available in your area and maybe even try something out on a visit. We connect our client’s real estate websites to Yelp’s services to showcase popular dining, bars and coffee shops, shopping centers, gyms and self-care, and pet care services.

Other Details

Slideshows or connecting an Instagram stream of local photos have huge visual value. Including a connection to your MLS where visitors can browse inventory is a must – yes, it’s not what brought them to your website, but they will stay longer and search engines love it too. It’s also important to have lots of opportunities for people to connect with you. Season your community page with these opportunities so that as your visitors look around it is easy for them to reach you with a question. If you are blogging about your area, include a section on your community page of recent blog posts. I would put blogs towards the bottom to give visitors something easy to move on to after they have engaged with your community info.

Closing Thoughts

If you have been reading through this and thinking, "I have no idea how I would even start to add some of these ideas," then stop thinking and take action by giving us a call, emailing us at [email protected] or by visiting us online and scheduling a free consult. For examples of actual community pages, try here, here, or here. Your community pages are a powerful, critical part of connecting with new clients online and illustrating your local connections and knowledge.

By Denise Lones CSP, M.I.R.M., CDEI - The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones, brings nearly three decades of experience in the real estate industry. With agent/broker coaching, expertise in branding, lead generation, strategic marketing, business analysis, new home project planning, product development, Denise is nationally recognized as the source for all things real estate. With a passion for improvement, Denise has helped thousands of real estate agents, brokers, and managers build their business to unprecedented levels of success, while helping them maintain balance and quality of life.

#real estate websites #community #community pages #website features #building connections #online presence #online resources #webpages #zebra report #real estate coach #Denise Lones #The Lones Group #marketing #housing market #communication #client care #prospecting #real estate

[ryllen]

love is a compilation of coincidences

... and chances u create urself

#he wants them to bump #twst #twisted wonderland #sebek zigvolt #twst yuu #twst mc #fanart #i wonder if there will be class rotation on the second year; sometimes i imagine him being our classmate #sometimes i think about how sebek would have a lot more time to hang out with the others once malleus and lilia graduate; even silver later #like he would deny wanting to; but he gets rather lonely that unconsciously he always wanders to u or to ramshackle dorm #or to where the 1st year group hangs out

[youwillfindilluminating]

the scene towards the end where shiv is essentially trapped in a room with all the men in her life turning on her?  panic attack inducing.

whoever directed this episode did an amazing job of imbuing that scene with misogynistic violence even though there was no actual physical violence.

#succession #succession spoilers #shiv roy #shiv is the lone woman in the group trying to SAVE THE COUNTRY and all the men she ever loved are just openly mocking her

[neonbuck]

you have to love people for real. and that means loving them as people who have flaws, and will annoy you or get on your nerves some times. treating them like a toy or product you can throw away when you get bored or upset is not acceptable. it's what we've been conditioned to do, but it makes the world worse.

#.txt #i didnt always know this and i dont pretend i did. #i'm just glad i've learned it now at least #i went straight from a cult-like group into tumblrs 'its ok to kick any one out of your life for any reason' environment in my early 20s #it made my life turbulent lonely and miserable #thinking on the older adults who should have known better leading sheltered young queer people astray back then makes me feel so bitter.

[guardian-angle22]

I was scrubbing through 4.18 today to get some screencaps for my grace & marjan outfit series... and I just gotta give a shout out to THIS GUY:

He was told to dance in the background and he said "I'm gonna dance my little heart out" and he did. good for him.

#911 lone star #i would like to party with him #him and his friends look like a group of nerds and I love that for them

[unhinged-prosody]

None of the Disco Elysium female characters are friends, or even supportive of each other much really, and that saddens me quite a bit, really.

#these women are so lonely #a lot of the male characters either come in pair #or are part of a larger group #but I cant think or remember two female characters that show support of each other #they just keep stabbing each other in the back or antagonize each other #i dont want to go all bechdel test here but #but this is still something i am quite critical of about DE #disco elysium

[isogenderskitty]

i think it's interesting how steph is like... the nerds see her as part of the popular group, and sure we see her talking to the cheerleaders a little, but other than that she doesn't really seem to be one of them in the truest sense? i could fully believe that she feels like the tiniest bit of an outcast there, like she's just cool enough for max to give her a pass but she doesn't really click with them that well. she feels to me like the bridge between the popular ones and the nerds, which is appropriate i suppose for her place in the story.

#idk i just keep turning this feeling around in my brain #that she doesn't Quite feel like she's actually proper friends with that lot #in my mind steph is pretty lonely before she starts talking to pete and by proxy the other nerds #like... i feel like the cheerleaders are friendly with her but they don't really Get each other #or enjoy each other's company That much #maybe even on their side there's some slight intimidation factor of her being the mayor's daughter and it's still a bit isolating #poor girl :( #but it's ok now she has real friends :] #... well. at least one. i honestly can't tell if pete and steph would even hang out with grace after everything #even ignoring The Ending And What That Implies #even if that didn't happen #i still don't think??? they would be besties with her #which is interesting for like. yknow. the main protag group who's been through everything together #npmd #nerdy prudes must die #hatchetfield #stephanie lauter

[eruscreaminginthedistance]

My toxic gatekeeper coming out but this is one of the funniest things a guy has ever said to me about LotR

#i like the lone wolf archetype #proceeds to name the guy who is chronically never alone at basically any point and has terminal lead the group syndrome #nsjdhshhsh #lotr

[no-psi-nan]

When there's a really nice group picture that doesn't include Akechi...

#where's my boy?? 😭😭😭😭😭 PWEASE.... #when literally everyone else in the main group is there except him 😭😭😭 #and when he's excluded from the Psychickers 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 #poor little dude has been so lonely his whole life and you're going to lock him back in his room after he finally got a few friends?? 😭

[sawvhs]

seriously doubt adam or lawrence had any close/trusted friends which just makes their relationship in the bathroom that much more weirdly emotionally charged. codependency bait to the max

#like it seems like scott was kind of the last person adam really talked to when he bounced on his parents and he sticks around him #but subtext (and by that i mean text) makes it so obvious hes just kinda his punching bag. but hey he sticks around #hes got that highschool dropout who bounces between acquaintance friend groups and never got super close to anyone #kind of vibe. #everyone knows him but nobody hangs w him or whatever #but like lawrence is so in the same boat. that is a guy that goes to colleague dinner parties to keep up appearances and thats bout it #like i bet even diana’s friends parents barely know much about him and think hes just stuffy or whatever #his lawyer calls himself his friend but i really think thats just in a ‘i know you and im looking out for your best interet’ way. #i dont think they hang #and like. he doesnt even talk to his wife anymore #i think they r both lonely and miserable in different ways and kind of have what the other thinks they need #despite being so drastically different #it drives me insane #bathroom boyfriends #chainshipping #click

[thelonesgroup]

Consistency Now Means Opportunity Later

Welcome to this week’s Zebra Report. This week I want to talk to you about how your business should respond when the market is going through a period of limited turn-over and whether agents’ natural reaction to cutting back on marketing is the right one.

This week a client asked me whether they should continue geographical farming. All of a sudden, their farm over the last six months had gone silent. No responses to any of their mailings. Right now, we are in a market where inventory is low, we have higher interest rates, and the middle of that market has become stuck.

That doesn’t mean that people in that farm area aren’t going to ever move. It just means that this may not be that moment in time. The advice I gave that agent was to stick with it. You have to stay consistent in that farming area.

Every market changes and the moment that we see interest rates change, it is going to open up possibilities for many of those sellers that are now sitting in their homes and unwilling to give up their lower rate mortgages. They are going to have the opportunity to consider more options and you need to be present both before and after that opportunity presents itself.

Need help developing consistency and staying the course with your monthly mailers? Need a professional and experienced team that takes care of it for you? Try our LeadMagnet program!

Check out our LeadMagnet program or email [email protected] for more info.

The second opportunity had by staying consistent is an opportunity of education for buyers. A lot of buyers and sellers right now are really unsure about where the market is right now – or where it will be in six months.

I think if you go back and listen to some of my previous Zebra Reports, talking specifically about the shortage of inventory that we have caused by lack of building and if you look at housing needs statistics in your state vs housing available you will find that the result is housing prices will continue to go up and continue to be a great investment for buyers.

Your continued monthly outreach is an opportunity to capitalize on market changes, to position yourself as the expert, and to educate clients about what is happening in the market and how they can benefit from it.

The number one thing that agents tend to do when they see the market slowing and has less turn-over is to cut back on marketing, but this is the wrong choice. Agents need to stay the course and stay consistent so that they are planting seeds in advance of better weather.

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By Denise Lones CSP, M.I.R.M., CDEI - The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones, brings nearly three decades of experience in the real estate industry. With agent/broker coaching, expertise in branding, lead generation, strategic marketing, business analysis, new home project planning, product development, Denise is nationally recognized as the source for all things real estate. With a passion for improvement, Denise has helped thousands of real estate agents, brokers, and managers build their business to unprecedented levels of success, while helping them maintain balance and quality of life.

#monthly mailers #consistency #mail marketing #marketing campaign #housing shortage #low turnover market #housing market #prospecting #outreach #geofarming #geographical farming #real estate coach #real estate advice #real estate #Denise Lones #The Lones Group #Zebra Report

[midnightcreator12]

Hi I’m here to take your picture before the competition begins

Pic taken before voting.

And Mikey added the writing after the results came out.

@fowlaroundtown @tmntaucompetition

#sooo many turtles #im so bad at group shots but the image was so strong #lone hunter and turtle #rottmnt #tmnt au competition #fowlaroundtown

[m-qrk]

һ᥆⍴ᥱᥣᥱss r᥆mᥲᥒ𝗍іᥴ

#im feeling lonely #oh id wish i found a lover that cold hold me #now im crying im my room ｡･ﾟﾟ*(>д<)*ﾟﾟ･｡ #kpop #kpop girls #kpop gg #gg kpop #ggroup kpop #kpop ggroup #girl group #kpoo girl group #girl group kpop #loona #heejin #loona heejin #heejin loona #LOOΠΔ #moodboard #aesthetic moodboard #alternative moodboard #edgy moodboard #grunge moodboard #messy moodboard #loona moodboard #heejin moodboard #kpop moodboard #random moodboard #kpop aesthetic #amino moodboard

[a-sketchy]

basically the fundamental gist of it is that yosuke relates to kanji a lot, and that scares him so so so bad

#imagine a world where yosuke faced his shadow in kanji’s dungeon #his shadow woulf have some very different things to say #and also it’d probably change the group dynamic a lot. cause no one other than yu ever saw his shadow #a world where the it knows his insecurities other than the really immediately obvious one would be interesting #cause for all his words about finding a group he can be real with. i think he still keeps that lonely part of him quite guarded #rambles #yosukeposting #i really don’t know if i should tag the liveblog tag for posts where i’m not actually playing #i guess my thoughts are probably indicative of where i’m at in the game so whatever #p4g posting

[a-philanthropistswife]

One day I want to host events and parties for girls girls. Events where we can be as girly and soft as we want. Girls who genuinely love being girls and love other girls are hard to come by.

#I’ve been in those hot girl friend groups #some of the baddest #cutest #sexiest girls you know do it all for male attention #it can be very lonely for us girls girls out there #coquette #girlblogging #soft life #black femininity #personal #friend group goals #goals

[annasellheim]

Part 7

#comic #comics #proud #mid 30s #sketch #artist #eating disorder #binge eating #tw disordered eating #tw eating issues #eating disorder recovery #Ed #binge #therapy #therapist #beauty #beautiful #lonely #group therapy #nutrition #nutritionist #graphic medicine #graphic novel #book #comic books #books #booklr #book list #booklover #webcomic