It doesn’t matter if the market is up or down, you are a driven real estate agent and that can mean only one this – more commission dollars every month. As such, you are always looking for ways to get a leg up on the market. Maybe it is developing relationships with sellers before they even know they will need to move or maybe it is reaching out to newlyweds to start the conversation about buying a house.

Either way, you want to be recognized as the top agent in your market and you know the only way to reach that goal is to get out there and meet people. Or so it used to be. Sure, you still need to work hard and hustle, but technology is quickly transforming how we sell homes and that means the top agents are increasingly adding a bevy on online tools to their arsenal. With that in mind, here are four online methods to help real estate agents make more money.

1) First Impressions Matter

You are a great agent and you know all about curb appeal. However, did you know your website’s first impression could make or break your business? As such it is important to make sure you thoroughly test your website to make sure it delivers a great experience every time.

One such trick to test this out is known as ‘website staging’. This is when you set up a website that looks like your live website but it used to test out new widgets and other elements that you want to add to your internet presence.

While these sites are private, you can use them to gauge the response from targeted visitors. This will give you the feedback you need to continually keep your site – and by extension your presence – ahead of the market.

2) Adopting Best Practices

As a top agent, you are constantly looking at what the best agents in the country are up to and you should apply the same approach to home you market yourself. One best practice employed by online marketing gurus is that you should give as much information as possible – translation you need to share knowledge.

This might sound counterintuitive but the reality is that we are living in the days of a knowledge economy and this means you need to be the go-to source on your area of expertise. To achieve this goal, you need to answer the questions your readers want answered. For example, how to sell your home at the price you want in a down market.

Give this your online presence should be chock full of ‘guides’ for buyers or sellers. These can help your target audience to better their understanding of issues relating to the real estate market in your area and as such, they will be more likely to reach out to you when they are interested in buying or selling a home.

One additional best practice is that you should ask the reader for their email. This will give you the opportunity to remain in touch with website visitors – with their permission, of course.

3) Build Your Brand

You’ve built an amazing website and it is full of amazing content but this is only the beginning. This means that you need to build a brand that will stand out in the minds of your target audience – something called ‘mindshare’.

To build an amazing brand you need a few things: 1) Personality, 2) Voice, and 3) Story. It is the combination of these three characteristics that endear you to your audience. With regards to personality, this should reflect who you are – after all, agents live in the real world.

In terms of voice, this relates to the tone you use when engaging online. If you are not sure what voice to use, think about the concerns of audience has and how they will want to be treated. Lastly, you want your personality and voice to translate into a story for your brand. This is the living, breathing part of developing a brand and to craft a great story, you need make sure all elements of your online presence are tied together as this will help you stand out from the crowd and by extension, make more money.

4) Getting Social

Being a successful real estate agent has long been about developing close ties with your community and while online methods might seem cold and impersonal, they are an indispensable way to connect with your audience. As such, you want to make sure you tie social networking into your broader approach.

Sure, this can seem exhaustive as the number of platforms seems to grow every day but the trick is to find the platforms which are most used by your audience. For example, baby boomers are more likely to use Facebook. While this is not to say they are the only group on Facebook, many observers have noticed that younger audiences are eschewing the site for platforms such as Snapchat. The lesson is that you need to adjust to fit your market, not the other way around.

There you have it, four online methods to help you make more money as a real estate agent. Use these methods to stand out and before you know it your business will be booming.