Corporate Vs. Personal sites...

[jmhooten]

Has anyone experimented with sites that look more "corporate" meaning they don't look like an agents site (making it more of a "contact us") Vs. a "personal" looking site where my photo is all over it and has lots of requests to contact me... if yes which did you find was more successful overall in generating good leads?

[Micheal Pannell Realtor]

that is what i have done with all my sites. they are not personal. i use them for my whole company.

[jmhooten]

Actually, both sites that I've done and are successful are corporate - but I am wondering if I should try a personal site, or adding a personal touch (IE my photo with a "how can I help you" type verbage) to my corporate site...

[webmaster]

Your design should match your message, your branding and your services. Do you market yourself as a personable people first realtor, or a high end, corporate entity?

[fc902]

I believe a corporate feel means the person who filled out a contact form will get called back vs. 1 agent who is on vacation a lot or could even be a part-time agent.

[3plains]

It doesn't really matter. The real estate shopper needs to have a call to action button and the general feeling that they will get a call RIGHT AWAY and their is someone on the other end. Give them a call to action right on top of the listing - Request a Showing, Talk to a Realtor Today, etc.

[Sam Chapman]

I set up a referral network with local agents and made a "meet Sam's team" page. I have pages for each person on "my" team including what or where they specialize. I have one for downtown high-rise condos, one for HUD and REO properties, several for places farther than I go, two for buyer's agents and two for investors. There is a disclaimer at the bottom of the page stating that I don't employ these people, but I refer business to them if it is specialized or in areas I am not very familiar with.

This makes me look bigger than I really am and really does generate leads. I had a lady a month ago call me to se up an appointment with my downtown condo specialist and now I have a referral fee on the way.

This is also a great way to get additional pages of content - some, if not all (I haven't checked all) of these pages are indexed.

[alloyd1]

I am attempting to make a few sites, one that puts a personal end on it and the other attempting to brand my Team without photos.

After attending a seminar though, I learned something very interesting... SOI and Referrals are okay with personal photos and etc... making yourself presentable.

But if the guy who started pepsi put his face on his advertisment, it would of failed.... instead we know it by their logo. Branding should be something other than a face. (even if the mug shot is cute). It will more than like not qualify you as an expert. A buyer or seller is not concerned with you at all, only what you have to offer them.

Your maketing should be compeiling, have a statement why should they do business with you vs. every other option they have, Targetted and something that is stimulating enough for them to want to give you thier information.

I have not mastered that art yet, but I am sure pumped up to do so... thus why I am in the conversion forum. What I have done since returning home on Friday from the seminar is started building a new site.

http: // www. stealsanddealsonhomes . com

I believe this is something on which the seminar touched base on. the first page is almost done... I realized, my web mastering skills are horrible... but slowly I should complete my first project of non-personal website.

[avonreal]

it depends on your target audience; if you're targeting a small community a personal site might work better. but if you're in a bigger market with some competition its better to look corporate rather than small fish..

[Bigtoe]

When I took my photo off my website the number of leads went up immediately. People tend to make first impressions and none of us can impress everybody with our mug shot. People tend to gravitate to faces that are familiar and shy away from faces that bring back bad memories.

Too much left to chance with mug shots.