Published in the Mohave Valley Daily News Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Local businesses take advantage of social networking on Web
By DANIEL CALLAHAN/The Daily News
BULLHEAD CITY – Ten years ago, if a company wanted to get more exposure, it would print flyers, make some phone calls and maybe even have a sign spinner on the sidewalk.
Today, the nature of marketing has changed. What once was a tangible medium now is an Internet-based model that relies on the use of social media. The utilization of Web-based social networking sites such as Twitter, MySpace and Facebook has opened doors between businesses and clients, allowing for a greater flow of information.
For local business people like Evan Fuchs and Nikki Reagan, business means communication and transactions in real time, online.
The spread of information, says Evan Fuchs of Bullhead/Laughlin Realty, in an integral part of the real estate business. With national reports daily about the dire state of the mortgage scene and rising foreclosures, Fuchs found himself in a different position.
“There’s so much bad information out there,” mainly because, he said, real estate markets differ quite a bit regionally. National averages are not always indicative of the reality in specific locations. “Locally, our market is very different.”
Fuchs says Bullhead City is on the rebound, with the numbers indicating a possible balancing of supply and demand for homes in the city. And he decided to do something about it.
“I kind of look at it as my job to get what I know out there without spin,” said Fuchs. “Sometimes it’s better, sometimes it’s worse but it’s the truth and I think that’s what people want to see.
“I’ve got a little bit of techie going through me,” he said, noting that his fascination with technology helps him more easily spread information via the Internet.
First came the Web site. Then the blog. Then the podcast.
“Social media opens a lot of doors,” said Fuchs.
From its inception 10 years ago, Bullhead/Laughlin Realty’s Web site has seen considerable monthly traffic and brings in “a ton” of business. “I’ve definitely found business through my blog,” he said.
Through the development and integration of the regional multiple listing service (MLS) – a database of home listings in the area – Fuchs met fellow Tri-state Realtor Todd Tarson of Kingman. After a few months of comparing notes via their individual blogs, Fuchs and Tarson realized the next step was podcasting.
“We talk about real estate and we do market updates, that sort of thing, but we also just kind of chat,” said Fuchs, of their now weekly Internet broadcast. “It’s real casual.”
The co-hosts of Mohave Real Talk connect via Skype, an online phone system, record the show and post it for free download on the Web site.
Fuchs says he favors Social media because it simply gives his audience what they’re looking for without pressure or hassles, which helps build trust.
“Our thing really – and this is what the Web site, podcast, blogging are all about – is to be a source of information for people,” he said. “I don’t like things getting crammed down my throat, so I try not to cram things down people’s throats. … We just put information out there and just hope that people find it useful.”
Maybe technology isn’t for everyone at first, but “everybody loves it because they’re hearing about it; but a lot of people don’t know where to get started.”
That’s why Fuchs has started offering what he likes to call Tech Tuesdays, where people interested in learning more about online tools can learn how to market themselves and their businesses.
Real estate agents aren’t the only ones who have found a place in the Internet marketing scene.
Local graphic designer and marketing professional Nikki Reagan is well-versed in the world of social media. She has written two books on the subject, along with assisting several local businesses in their efforts to develop a competitive Web presence.
A seasoned Web site designer, Reagan spent a considerable amount of time on the Internet and discovered businesses putting themselves out there in new ways.
“I started doing real estate marketing,” said Reagan, “and I started watching certain Realtors … using MySpace and marketing themselves.” As someone whose business is online marketing, Reagan saw it was a chance to expand.
“I have a habit of taking on too much,” said Reagan, but when the opportunity presented itself, she began to integrate social media with the Web work she already was doing. She used new tools such as Twitter, a Web site where subscribers can post short messages in a blog-type format. The local businesses she was working with wanted a way to quickly and easily update their Web sites.
“As business owners, they don’t have a lot of time … so they’re not going to play with it a whole lot,” she said. It was natural to embed Twitter feeds on Web sites so the businesses could easily upload coupons and keep customers abreast of recent news.
“I’ve kind of gone on a Twitter campaign,” said Reagan. “With Web sites like Twitter, you have up-to-the-minute, up-to-the-second information and an immediate response time.”
Reagan runs Web sites for multiple local businesses – from Dominos Pizza to Cork ‘N’ Beans Coffee and Wine Bistro – and maintains screen names, or handles, for additional businesses and causes. Reagan has written two e-books, books that appear only online, on marketing real estate and computer businesses via the Web.
Reagan also runs OurLocalScene.com, which has been dedicated to the local music scene since 2001.
Originally, Reagan and a friend planned to put together a print publication about local music. Printing costs were prohibitive, so Reagan thought the Internet would be a better idea.
Eight years later, there are pages on the site for local bands to post bios, upcoming gigs and other information.
Reagan has seen some opposition to the online marketplace, and not all the local businesses she works with have wanted to take on things such as Twitter.
“People are afraid of new things, especially if they’ve never heard of it before,” she said, noting that many people become interested initially but eventually fail to update their information, which slows traffic to their Web sites.
Still, she thinks online marketing is where businesses are going to have to go to stay competitive.
“You have people who, when they need a phone number, they look online for it,” said Reagan. The Internet has, in her words, “become a way of life.”
