real estate blog lab

While the lights were dimmed in the Lab for a couple of weeks to start August.  I was on the road with my camera bag on the seat, laptop on the floor and Panasonic Lumix FX35 in the my left thigh pocket of my cargo shorts.  Cargo shorts have become my uniform of dress this summer and probably into the winter.  I love the extra pockets and room to carry lenses and other photographic equipment.

Along the way I wanted to see the country from a different perspective than I’ve ever considered before.  As I rolled down the highway and pulled off for fuel for the car or fuel for myself, I looked around as someone who might want to live here.  I know there were people wondering why that idiot was taking pictures of a McDonald’s sign, (is this guy from some other country?  hasn’t he ever seen a McDonald’s?)  I took pictures of gas stations and car washes and more than one McDonald’s or McDonald’s signs.

If there was a small park or historical display of some kind I pulled out my camera and started shooting.  One early Saturday morning I even turned around, found a place to park and photographed a . . .  A White Castle.  Not in honor of Harold or Kumar.  It was a good image, the sun was in the right place, the grass was green, the flag on the flag pole and the colors of the building were vibrant.  I got some interesting looks that time too.

Sure I took some places that were very photographic as well, like Kingwood Center in Mansfield, Ohio and the Botanical Center in Des Moines, Iowa.  One night I even was standing on a bridge with a bunch of cat fishermen who wondered what the heck kind of pole I was pulling out of my vehicle.

I stopped and shot windmills and corn fields, and Rest areas, one that looked like a barn.  I even got a shot of a couple of garbage cans in Illinois I call Frank and Al.

I’m using many of these photos on my various RE blogs; talking about things I encountered, real estate related and life related along the way.  Now back home I’m driving around town with a fresh eye to what others who are considering moving to my community might find interesting.

When you have lived someplace longer than a year a lot of things about it become second nature, lost to the senses and eye of a new comer.  But, you want to speak to more than just the newcomer, you want to reawaken those who have lived in your community for years themselves.  You want to awaken the emotions and passions your neighbors have for their community.

Evoking Emotion and Passion

White Castle, you really think someone would be interested in a picture of White Castle.  I wondered the same thing so I posted the image in my JPGMAG.com account.  Yes of all the thousands of images uploaded there each day there were people that clicked on an image of a White Castle in Ontario, Ohio It might be a small burger joint at the edge of town, maybe one that used to be called “Dog and Suds” and now is called “The Warrior”.

Buildings, parks, schools, places where peoples lives touch other peoples lives create emotional connections.  They can spark a note of passion in a person touching on something they are or have been very interested in or a cause they champion themselves.

These are Subjects and Topics of a Hyperlocal Blog.  Not just the Fireman’s Chili Cookoff in the fall or the annual Air Show, more than events which are annual are the places that touch peoples lives almost daily.

They might drive by this place a hundred times a year and give it no thought, till they read your post and see your images displayed and you strike a cord with that individual.

This is one of the core tenants of Hyper Local Target Marketing.  It has nothing to do with selling yourself or your service, it has everything to do with establishing a connection.  A connection to individuals and a connection with your community.  The word transparency has been so over used I think many are numb to it.  But, this is what is meant by transparency in your real estate business, transparency isn’t providing free unregistered access to local MLS Searches.  Transparency is more than a couple of posts about your dog or children, though those are nice touches.  Transparency is about touching emotions and passions in people with your images and words.

Sensitize Yourself to Your Community

Having trouble picturing this?  Drive to a nearby community someday and take pictures of anything and everything.  The parks, main street, stores, coffee shops, homes that catch your eye, buildings which have character, gas stations, burger joints, fast food, etc.  You get the picture.  You can either assemble these into a post, a slideshow to go along with it; or you can see this as an exercise to open your eyes to these same things in your community which have become invisible to you.

You want to build your Real Estate business in your community, then step outside of your Real Estate Box and into your local community.  Stop being a sales person for a while and become a member of your community, see it as someone would who is seeing it for the first time.  Stop thinking about poeple as prospects, or leads and think of them as potential neighbors who contribute to your community.

This is the stuff of Hyper Local Target Marketing.  Your Subjects and Topics have been right in front of your eyes all the time.  Can you see them?

If you want to see the larger versions with titles click on the “View All Images” button at the bottom of the slide show.