Reputation Management for the Modern Realtor

Buying a home is a pivotal event in a person's life. Given the monumental importance of this life altering occasion, one would clearly want someone trustworthy and experienced in their house hunting party. And guess where the majority of them go to do their background checks? Exactly! Here. The Internet. It's for that reason alone that the modern realtor should take an interest in managing their online reputation.

The popularity of social media outlets like blogs, message boards, and video streaming sites has grown immensely over the last few years. Thanks to sites like Twitter and Facebook, it is now possible to make the Internet your personal digital soap box. They have given the masses a voice so powerful, it can topple regimes. Ok, so, maybe you won't get a mob of protesters outside your office for a less than stellar experience, but there could be one unsatisfied customer who could make it their personal vendetta to soil your good name. To quote Ben Franklin, "It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it."

For a realtor, reputation is everything. It can be the reason you either get more clients or lose them. That's why you should always keep a close eye on what others are saying about you. One popular site for reviews is Angie's List. This site encourages users to post their experiences with various services. Since human nature tends to lean toward posting spiteful horror stories of dissatisfaction, you'll find more negative reviews than positive ones.  Google Alerts, a web monitoring tool, emails updates on any new information published on the web based on your topic of choice. You can easily use this tool to help monitor any instances of negative and hopefully positive reviews where your name is mentioned. Finding a negative review isn't the end of the world, though. You should always respond to any criticism you may encounter and try to resolve the issue, always in a professional manner. Remember, these are public forums where the eyes of the internet are always lurking.

Aside from monitoring the internet, it's also important to maintain a strong presence therein. It's advisable to create a profile on various social media sites out there. Not only does this help with the networking aspect in the grand scheme of reputation management, but it will also move your name up on search engines. This, in turn buries any hurtful reviews that may exist into an endless sea of web pages.

Ultimately, to avoid a shattered reputation, simply give your client 110% every time. Actions will always be your strongest testament against slanderous remarks.