3 ways to build trust in your estate agency online1 Apr 2021

According to the IPSOS MORI Veracity Index, Estate Agents are just one of the professions to have a negative trust rating alongside bankers, local councilors, and journalists. That STINGS. We hate talking about this because it’s utter balls, we know and work alongside so many bloody brilliant agents who regularly bend over backward for their clients – why is this nonsense even important? Because according to Dataloft, 67% of landlords say they choose estate agents based on trust and likeability. But how do you even begin to smash the stereotype, and push back against something as intangible as a feeling? You might know you’re fab and trustworthy, but someone encountering you for the first time won’t have a clue, and you need to show them. Here are 3 places to start to build trust in your estate agency online.

#1 Reviews

People love reading through reviews and although you won’t see them, people thinking about listing their properties with you are looking at yours right now!

It’s not enough just to have a few good reviews, either. You ideally need lots in order to ramp up the trust level. The best way to get them, is to just simply ask your customers face-to-face. You don’t need fancy email surveys; those will often go ignored. But a simple, personable, ‘thank you so much for your feedback, would you mind leaving me a review?’ while handing a card with the link they need to go to, will get you a much higher uptake.

Like me, when people are reading your reviews, they’re not just looking at what your customers think. I personally love seeking out bad ones and looking at how a company deals with someone who has had a negative experience. (Often, a good response highlights that the person complaining is actually not being entirely honest!)

One of our fab clients Northfields, is working on building the number of Google reviews that they get, and we make sure that we reply to them all on their behalf.

How to deal with bad reviews and turn a negative into a positive >>

#2 Google My Business

Keeping on top of your Google My Business profile means making sure all of the information is up-to-date, your Google reviews show here so keeping on top of them is important, and as well as building trust with your potential customers who are searching for what you offer online, it also has the benefit of building trust with Google and improving your search rankings. The more reviews you have, the higher your business listing will be in results.

Organic Google search results which appear near the top of rankings are trusted by searchers more, because they subconsciously thinking that to be featured so prominently, a business bust be well-trusted by a lot of people already.

Why conquering Google My Business is essential for your brand >>

#3 Social media and your online profile

We hear this from a lot of agents who don’t see the value in social media if you aren’t getting a person a day messaging via Facebook asking if you will sell their property. The reality is, when people are making big purchases or massive life decisions – both things that can be associated with buying, selling, or letting out a property, they ask for recommendations from people they know and trust first, and next, they’ll turn to lurking.

What do I mean by lurking?

They will check out your website, they’ll have a gander at your social profiles, and they will be paying attention to the kind of things you post, and how you interact in your online spaces.

It might seem like we bang on and on about making sure your social feeds are varied, interesting and appealing and not just all of the properties you’ve got on one after the other, but who would you trust more? An agent who only posts about how good they are and the properties they have, sell, sell, sell, or an agent who engages with the local community, posting about charity work, photos of staff, and a level of transparency about how they work?

Need help to build trust in your estate agency online?

We can help you with everything from your social media posting strategy, to writing bespoke content about your area, and from looking after your Google My Business profile to responding to your reviews. Drop your details below, and we’ll be in touch to arrange a chat.

Katie Gillingham

Katie is a Freelance Copywriter living in rural Dorset with her daft old Labrador. She first started writing content for the property industry back in 2015, and loves nothing more than bringing brand voices to life!