Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Redfin says that the rebound of the housing market in towns like Greensboro, NC is being hampered by high housing costs, and low supply. Amazingly, home prices in this quiet North Carolina town managed to go up by 12.5%, which is probably because supply is so low. The Redfin report said average listings fell by almost 30% from last year. What this means for buyers and sellers is Greensboro is a highly competitive and complex market now, which is why we focused our top agent hunt there this week. Here are four of the best according to every metric we applied.
Chris Pappalardo and his team have had 118 sales in the last 12 months. This, combined with 198 perfect reviews on Zillow and over 100 stellar recommendations on Google sets him apart from most professionals in the Greensboro market. An adequate Facebook effort with 1,300 followers indicates the agency is trying to convert digitally. The team’s Instagram is active but less engaged than their Facebook and other efforts at marketing. The same goes for Pappalardo’s LinkedIn networking, where he has 2,139 followers.
Pappalardo’s website is one of the better ones we’ve seen over the past year. It’s simple, elegant, and valuable for visitors. The site does not appear to have a sitemap and other key SEO elements, but overall the off-page SEO is good except for backlinks. The Chris Pappalardo Team also has an excellent Youtube channel with almost 200 subscribers. What I like about this agent’s efforts is that they are all linked properly, and some effort has been applied to each facet of branding and marketing. If the Keller Williams agency has one setback, it’s the fact ads and traditional media coverage don’t seem to be in the game plan.
Ashley Meredith is the only agent other than Chris Pappalardo who scored big across branding, ads, social media, and the other criteria we use to rank professionals. 1,400 Facebook followers and 5-star reviews there, 67 sales this past year, 5 stars over 109 reviews on Zillow, etc. The Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Professional uses the BHHS corporate site, as anyone would. And like Pappalardo, she makes good use of LinkedIn networking possibilities.
What differentiates Meredith from most of the Greensboro agents is revealed in her Link.tree. The Instagram channel is particularly nice, but it’s her up-to-date and pertinent blog that I found most valuable. As a writer, I can appreciate the amount of extra effort any real estate agent is making when they publish a blog like Meredith has. And yes, she even has a Youtube channel, albeit one that is not fully developed yet. Sadly, like the rest of the Greensboro professionals, there’s no news mention of Meridith regionally, locally, etc.
Abbey Efird of RE/MAX Revolution is a Zillow Premier Agent with 185 perfect reviews. Her team has made 83 sales in the past year. Efird has not put as much effort and confidence into Facebook as many other agents we’ve reviewed, but her team does maintain an adequate profile there. Like many Re/Max professionals, she makes use of the company’s cookie-cutter website. She’s made solid connections on LinkedIn too, but so far has no reviews on Google. This is the main reason she’s trailing all the others. Efird does not seem to have claimed a space on Instagram either.
I’m a bit confused that an agent with over two decades of experience seems to have left a lot of lead generation and client conversion power on the table. Using Zillow ads at sites like Homes.com is effective, and taking advantage of Re/Max’s vast resources is too. Still, I think of that sale that slipped through the net when professionals marginalize channels.
Tracey Shrouder of 360 Realty has gleaned 5.0 reviews on Zillow with 53 sales this past year, she’s also taken advantage of Zillow’s Premier Agent program. 2k plus followers on Facebook puts her in good company, as well. What’s missing, as far as I can see, are Instagram, Youtube, and local media outreach. ,
Shrouder’s website is neither a thing of beauty nor a whizz where SEO is concerned. Our tests revealed an overall B- score, but the problem is the backlinks. Where Shrouder does shine is on LinkedIn with almost 1,300 connections. With a little more effort, I think Shrouder could boost her yearly sales.
You are missing out on my SEO content, with my YouTube handle at the360realty, my TikTok Page under my name, my Instagram traceys360, and Twitter. You are also missing all my off market sales, as I sold packages and am a member of all of the MLS systems from the Mountains to the coast. I am also a neighborhood guide on Google and a Yelp reviewer. I'm out there and growing every day!