Seven Article Series for Social Authority

In the new real estate economy, real estate agents are shifting to the buying side of the transaction as there is more opportunity for success in representing buyers. Real estate agents servicing market areas seek to achieve local market dominance or market share. Consumers now control the home buying process and utilize the Internet to obtain the information they want and need. In order to attract these buyers, agents must have a high visibility online. An effective method to obtain this visibility is building social authority.

Social authority is often referred to as online influence, recognition or expertise. For real estate agents, becoming recognized as a local market expert will attract home buyers seeking the advice and guidance of a professional. Representing home buyers includes educating the buyer about the market as well as the process. You can build social authority by posting articles, reports and guides that provide consumers with valuable information about a local market. "Hyper-local" blogging will accelerate the process of building social authority.

As you build social authority online by providing information without commitment, you will generate more interactions with consumers. The following seven series of articles have been proven to be popular with potential home buyers.

1. Hot pick of the week - as a real estate agent, you have access to preview properties, assess market value and conditions and determine which listings may provide the "best value". Each week, select a listing and promote it's unique value in the marketplace.
2. Homeowner advice - post articles on home maintenance, energy savings, decorating trends and safety issues.
3. Local culture - promote recreational facilities, museums, galleries, restaurants and other places that provide the quality of life.
4. Market reports - once a consumer becomes interested in a community they will start to assess the property values to determine their price range. Providing market reports for average sales prices and units sold is a great tool to help them understand local market conditions.
5. Groups and organizations - write articles about the clubs and civic organizations as they are an integral part of the community.
6. Local businesses - interview small businesses and feature them on your blog. Consider interviewing customers of those businesses for their testimonials.
7. Places of worship - interview the spiritual leaders in the community and focus on their beliefs about the community.

Post one article a day from one of the series and each week you will have one new posting in each series. This method builds social authority quickly and effectively and will expand your sphere influence exponentially.