The real estate profession shows no signs of waning in spite of the explosion of the Internet. However, constantly changing technology does impose new demands on those practitioners who value professionalism, survival and making money.
Technology, like real estate, is all about people. To blog is to connect genuinely with people in our digital era. Blogging is a platform for communicating, chatting, and community building through the posting of articles wherein you journalize your interest, your personality and your brand.
Blog from your computer. Blog from your tablet. Blog from your smartphone. It matters naught. Neither does knowing the intricacies of the blogging platform. You do not have to call the I.T. geek. You do not have to know everything about C++ machine language. Displaying yourself and your expertise is basic and fundamental. Just blog, blog, blog.
A blog-less Realtor can be a lonely, poor soul. If you shun the challenge of positioning yourself out there, then how do you set yourself apart from the competition in our techie planet?
Become a blogger and defy Copernicus. Become the centre of your universe. It can have quite an effect on relationships and sales. Outside of an expenditure of time and effort, blogging is free. Perhaps that is why so many shy away from it. Don’t. As a business tool, blogging is a modern day Excalibur.
One last caveat, courtesy of the poet Dylan Thomas: “Do not go gentle into that good night.” You must be authentic. You must be transparent. You must be consistent. You must be present. Essentially, you must be professional. Failing that, you will remain nameless rather than become famous.
Best yet, blogging is a prime tool for Realtors who want to dispel any notion that Obi-Wan Kenobi’s famous words can be applied to our profession: “a wretched hive of scum and villainy.” Excuse my Trekker faux pas but, “Blog well, and prosper.”
Ozzie Logozzo is executive director of OREA Real Estate College. He has a master’s degree in education from the University of Toronto and has managed a number of commercial and residential real estate brokerage offices over the years, including his own operation. He was the 1993 recipient of OREA’s Education Merit Award and 1987 recipient of Real Estate Educators Association’s prestigious Educator of the Year Award.
