‘On the Ground’ with Eric Brown: Digital Domination

Like many folks at this time, I like to reflect on the passing year and start to plan for the upcoming year ahead. I have reached out to several Twitter friends with the question, “What big idea are you implementing in 2011?” Lots of different things have come back, but the best I have heard was from a local real estate broker and friend, Mike McClure, where he coined the phrase “digital domination.”

We have been touting for the past few years that folks need to expand their digital footprint, but digital domination sums it up. Mike is an excellent example of that with his own business, utilizing video, blogs, Twitter and Facebook to build his real estate business.

The cornerstone of most social media strategies is a business blog, which can be the central core for creation and distribution of content marketing, with several rings around the core that make a strong digital footprint. While there are several schools of thought, what we have found to work well for our apartment marketing are Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and Facebook.

Think of these sites as placeholders for your various pieces of content. For example, your blog could be hyper local stories about area businesses and things your residents have an interest in. Your Flickr site could house pictures of your apartment community and resident events, all filed by community. Your YouTube channel can showcase videos on a nuber of subjects. Facebook and Twitter become distribution channels, as well as a means to have interaction and engagement with residents, prospects and folks within your circle of influence.

Once you have these sites set up, and you train your staff to constantly be adding various pieces of content, it doesn’t take long for your digital footprint to expand. Get your residents and prospects involved, and you are on your way to digital domination.

To share a comment about your trek of amassing digital content, send a tweet to @Eric_Urbane.