Geek Build 2012 Site #2 – Reinventing MrWilliamsburg.com
This post outlines my market, my vision, and my thoughts about reinventing MrWilliamsburg.com, to enable the community to better understand my needs. I look forward to your comments.
Premise:Very few consumers intentionally select their REALTOR. Either they solicit a referral from a friend or family member, or they hook up with someone as a result of inquiring about a property online or from a sign or ad.
Primary Goal: My goal is to change the premise above by becoming THE online resource for consumers considering a move to Williamsburg, Virginia…so that prospective clients will use MrWilliamsburg.com as their single stop for learning about the community, researching neighborhoods and individual properties, and finally, hiring me as their REALTOR. I would like for my website to clearly articulate my value proposition as the most knowledgeable and experienced local agent who can help buyers find their perfect home in Williamsburg.
Market: Williamsburg, VA had approximately 975 home sales last year ( 2011) I am in the top 5% in terms of sales. Our area is a prime retirement area that draws many home bueyrs from the northeast and across the US. There are a number of planned communities to choose from including 55+ active adult, Gated and non gated golf communities , large lot communities, condo & town home developments and more. A large number of home buyers are drawn here by Colonial Williamsburg , W&M College moderate climate and small town living. In addition to Retirees we find more and more families with kids moving here to escape the “big cities” Our Mayberry way of life appeals to many!
Branding: I have developed a reputation as being not just the ‘go to’ guy on all things Williamsburg, but the ‘go to’ guy who’s diligent and has extraordinary follow-up. I believe I am one of very few agents in the US who has developed a”brand” . Many of my clients and area Realtors know me as “Mr Williamsburg”.
Vision: Prospective clients will use the new MrWilliamsburg.com as their single stop for learning about the community, researching neighborhoods and individual properties, and, finally, hiring me as their REALTOR. I would like my website to clearly articulate my value proposition (i.e., I’m the most knowledgeable and experienced local agent for buyers looking for their perfect home in the Williamsburg, Virginia area).
Uniqueness: I’ve worked hard to provide information no one else provides. If there’s a new biking trail in town, I have information on it before it hits the newspapers. I keep my ear to the ground for what’s new, what’s changing, zoning laws, new developments, stores and even neighborhood association news.
Over the past eight years, I’ve created an ever-growing reference directory of over 150 Williamsburg neighborhoods. Prospective buyers get both a bird’s eye view of communities as well as in-depth details: videos, photos, amenities, neighborhood clubs and associations, and more.
In addition to the typical (static) information found on real estate web sites, (e.g., cost of living, school info, climate, and real estate search), I provide hyper-local and comprehensive information. I post daily, and update existing information continually, and try to incorporate answers to every Williamsburg-related question I’ve ever been asked. I believe that MrWilliamsburg.com easily has 500 times the information available on any other single site about the Williamsburg area. In all, I have 1,600 pages of custom content.
Domain Name(s): I own MrWilliamsburg.com and Williamsburgrealestate.com — it’s been decided to use MrWilliamsburg.com.
Discussion Points: Completing these blog posts outlining the strategy and goals for the site has proven tremendously valuable in helping me organize my thoughts and clarify my brand strategy. Here are the questions I have..
- How can MrWilliamsburg.com create a simplified user experience, better-organized content, clearer navigation, and stronger calls to action?
- What professional design elements can “wow” visitors and inspire them to connect with me?
- How can I better leverage social media on twitter and Facebook? I use both but they are mostly one way conversations.
Note: some of the facts above relate to my other current site, www.WilliamsburgsRealEstate.com, where most of the content currently resides.
Note from the Editor: Not sure what Geek Build 2012 is? It’s building a few real estate websites from scratch publicly with the help of the Geek Estate Community and overseen by an experienced steering committee. Read more about Geek Build 2012 here, or view all posts related to Geek Build 2012 here.
**Geek Build logo designed by Dominic Morrocco at M Squared Real Estate.
Drew Meyers
Posted at 00:32h, 01 MarchDig into “Mr Williamsburg” — what do you stand for, aside from the “go-to” guy? I feel too many agents want to be known as the local expert that gives excellent service and puts their clients first. That’s a given (I would hope). Dig deeper.
Social media – the integration into the website is one thing, but the actual strategy is beyond the scope of this specific project.
Daniel Bacon
Posted at 12:42h, 01 MarchYou have a lot of great content on your site, but I find myself confused both by the number of options and by the design. When I look at the home page I’m not sure what to do, and not quite sure what the site is about. I think simplifying your design is going to help greatly. There is also the consideration of whether to have the blog page as your home page or not. Your posts are very long and there are a lot of them, so your home page is very long. If you were going to stick with having your blog posts up front I would suggest using teasers and keeping fewer posts on the home page.
Greg Fischer
Posted at 18:42h, 03 MarchJohn – love the name Mr Williamsburg. On your social media questions I have a few suggestions. On Facebook I’d suggest you setup a business account for Mr. Williamsburg. Get your friends to like it, and encourage more people to like it. Post business related and community related content (a mix of original and shared information, and include links to your blog posts and other cool places on your website, etc) Encourage new clients to like your page and friend you (if you/they want to). Casually mention your real estate business every once in a while on your personal page to remind people what you do for a living. For example “Just closed another one, on my way to Busch Gardens to celebrate!” should do the trick.
mrwilliamsburg
Posted at 06:31h, 06 MarchGreg,
I do have a Mr Williamsburg business page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mr-Williamsburgcom-Real-Estate/21595477536?ref=ts#!
Although I admit its hard to interact on it as I should, I most just autofeed my blog posts. Will work on those strategies in the future.
Greg Fischer
Posted at 06:54h, 06 MarchThat is a great start. I’m just starting to experiment with what works on mine too. Giveaways are a dead-ringer for interaction, but I’ve also found a lot of Facebook users click on my blog posts when they are “the top 5” type of post. I could not find your business page using the Facebook search function.
mrwilliamsburg
Posted at 06:34h, 06 MarchDaniel,
I couldn’t agree more. Thats why I am participating in Geek Build 2012. My site is horrible. As you suggested I feel short blurbs would work best on the front page maybe the last five posts.
I also want to do the top five neighborhoods in the same fashion on front page. ( If everyone concurs)
mrwilliamsburg
Posted at 06:36h, 06 MarchI would love to hear what everyone feels is the best IDX provider. I don’t think IDX Pro is in that group. Diverse Solutions, and IDX Broker are my two favorites , what about you ?
Drew Meyers
Posted at 06:40h, 06 MarchWell dedicate an entire post to IDX
mrwilliamsburg
Posted at 06:37h, 06 MarchWhat’s the widest width you would consider for a website ?
Drew Meyers
Posted at 06:41h, 06 MarchYou’ll run into issues with anything over 980