Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Realty Biz News takes a look at San Clemente's Hartanov Team, one of the top agencies in that part of Califormia. In this segment of individual agency profiles, taken on the fly, we gauge Drew and Linda Hartanov's Prudential California realty for their web presence.
A big part of our job here at Realty Biz News is evaluating the digital reach of real estate companies, and offering advice on how Realtors can expand their footprint, their brand, their services. Quite often, these reviews take on a negative connotation, there's just so many agencies behind the learning curve where the web is concerned. The Hartanov's, as I will show you below, have done a better than average job of employing today's tools for their clientele.
5657 Followers on Twitter and 900 plus fans on Facebook, just numbers do not accurately reflect whether or not a business is truly engaged in social media. However, balancing accounts (ratios of followed by to following), message frequency and type, posting expertise, and overall effectiveness criteria do. Looking at The Hartanov Team's presence, it's easy to see they've spent some time deciphering the world of the social web. The company does broadcast a bit, but what is "tweeted" is relevant to local events, things followers would be interested in, in short, no nonsense stuff. The screen below is the event at the end of a tweeted link, San Clemente has not shortage of cool events to partake of.
The Orange County Fair Tweeted by the team - one of many informatives
Okay, some of the past spotlighted groups might be saying; "Big deal, they know how to tweet!" And this is fair, understandable. But Twitter prowess is not the end of the story here. Facebook is also not a story for the ages when it comes to downright prevalence for this Realtor. As you can see looking at the company's pages, knowing how to take and present pictures (as below from a 7000 sq ft listing), posting some relevant content, and linking stuff (accounts) together, this is not rocket science.
What is significant about Hartanov Team's Facebook role is first, the company's understanding of the role of social media profiles. The FB contingent is a bit like walking into an office, you get to look around at pretty listings, then if you need, there's somebody there to answer questions. So, the perfect Facebook entity is, in reality, a mirror of your business services outside the digital world. And then there is Hartanov's value as a digitally aware business, "relative" to the field there in San Clemente.
A South Laguna estate listed by Hartanov - a perfect showoff
A simple search for "luxury real estate San Clemente" turns up a few competitors of Hartanov. The list to follow is certainly not all inclusive, but it is significant, as any property hunter might use a similar method to find a high end property. What follows is a veritable San Clemente digitally real estate roundup:
- Top San Clemente Homes - no social, ugly site, a pass by if ever there were one - RBiz score: 1 of 10
- Luxury Portfolio International - ditto above only with better images - RBiz score: 2of 10
- Luxury Real Estate - a national cookie cutter with SM - but following back nobody - RBiz score: 2of 10
- San Clemente Real Estate - A nice website, good images, no social - RBiz score: 3of 10
- Beach Cities - more cookie cutter charm - RBiz score: 1 of 10
- Beach Cities Luxury Homes - little more, a different site design - RBiz score: 1 of 10
- Dream Homes Magazine - RBiz score: 1 of 10
- Keller Williams - Corporate cookie cutter at its best, some social - RBiz score: 3 of 10
- Broker Matt Cabrera's & Owner Mike Ciampa's OC Residential - Has a nice website, no social to speak of, and the "team" images look a bit like Homie G Corn Dog comes to luxury property (sorry, my instant thought)
The OC Residential Team - Is this Miami Vice or???
To be fair, I searched some other phrases and terms to see if there was another super Realtor lurking somewhere in the Google SERPs. White Water Realty was there, Debbie Ferrari and Orange County Real Estate South, San Clemente Homes has a Facebook that looks like something from the situation comedy "Two Broke Girls", Sanclemente.com is, well, it is pitiful. None of these online places deserves a rating actually. So, we come to "relative" value.
Unless there is some super secret Broker out there in San Clemente, or unless high end property in one of California's most prestigious zip codes is sold via street sign (Country Club 19th hole suggestion) or some other method we are unaware of. The Hartanov Team seems to be the only one in town serious about buyers and sellers hooking up. How can I say this? Because viable businesses make use of every channel to do their customers' bidding, that's how. If I can't find a competitor in half an hour, what are the chances YOUR home will be seen, listed with an INVISIBLE agent?
Turn to Zillow, and get your property in there right alongside 58 others with thumbnails and a general description. The image below pretty much tells on Zillow as not caring about personalization, big images, and more than calloused tools for the desperate buyer migrating from horrendous Google searches (Google should put Hartanov 1st on principal). On the down side of The Hartanov Team's endeavors, their Twitter avatar is blurry, and some more social engagement would help clients, where reach goes. Other than these minor issues (things time can fix) the company get a 7 of 10 from me.
A choice listing via Zillow's map.
As for The Hartanov Team, a last parting note. Apparently the team that was number one in transactions in San Clemente last year, some of them must go to the Country Club too. However, their efforts extend past the 19th hole, at least in helping out other agents with their initiatives. The image below shows on their Facebook, a benefit gold tourney posting.
The Hartanov team website is my go to for home listings. I have been watching and search for some time and all of the other sites that feature local homes are definitely inferior. The Hartanov Group allows me to look at homes with good descriptions and photos. They allow me to ask questions without the hard sell. And they demonstrate their understanding around what people go through when trying to purchase a home. Great job!
Gil
@Gil,
Thanks very much for taking your valuable time to come and elaborate, contribute. The biggest reason we do these analyses is to help all agents find better ways to help their clients. Some take the criticisms the wrong way, some businesses do not realize how really easily they could do better. Clearly, most real estate agencies are fairly clueless about how the web works.
A website is a huge billboard. A store front. An opportunity that is enhanced by social media integration, marketing efforts, advertising, PR, and community. I always talk about "lost opportunity costs" and how the people we missed in any transaction state (money or attention) could be far more valuable than we know. Not knowing who left your site, is more damaging than any concept you can think of. That $10 million dollar sale, the rentals you wanted to fill, a key investor, may have passed by and deemed you unworthy - without so much as a whisper.
Sometimes these aspects cost money, and a lot of it depending. But, in general, most of the strategies we suggest are just not that expensive. This is why I have come down to calling some agencies downright lazy. Spend $10,000 printing brochures with properties in them that are already sold, but leave your brand hanging out there on the WWW looking like you are an idiot? There is it Gil, and there is one reason Hartanov is probably a wealthy man. He did his homework.
Thanks again Gil,
Always,
Phil
Hey, Phil , thanks for the positive review of our business. We took note of your comments and will be addressing those. We take our business seriously and the Internet and social media are a dominant part of what we do. Always nice to know what others think! Thanks again.
@Drew, Thanks very much for proving out what I was saying Drew. It's easy to see you take your business quite seriously. It is also pretty clear some others do not. I do not like the fact that business mediocrity, in using this fantastic tool called the Internet, has caused me to become a sort of Consumer Reports for Brokerages. But here we are. If I ever need a home in San Clemente, anywhere in Orange County, my choices are pretty dog gone clear.
We are basically talking about what a real estate commission is worth in all this. But you know that. If buying or selling a house is important at all, then hiring the best people is equally. Thanks for taking your time to comment. This is not the New York Times, but somebody on your team saw it in Google News, and fast too. I don't see the competition??? All the best,
Always,
Phil