When it comes to ways to find customers, one of the best places to look for real estate leads is the internet. That is because over 70% of buyers search for real estate online. But the net is a big place, how can you know just where to find those real estate leads? Here are a couple of ideas that will get you started to help find customers where they live, on the net.

Blogging for Real Estate Clients

One of the best ways to find customers who will come to you already interested is to write a blog, about the real estate in your area, but also just about the area as well. As a real estate agent, you are probably already someone who stays on top of changes in tax codes, knows where the local schools are and keeps track of any new local businesses. This is part of the work, and you can make sure someone looking to move to your area knows about you with a blog. Have a strategy to find customers for your blog that will see you through and bring real estate leads through your intentions.

<p>These days, people begin doing their homework looking for a new home six months to a year before their intended move. Sometimes they know enough in advance to plan and will want to find out more about the areas they are considering. This is your chance to find customers and create a relationship with them before they even start to talk about houses. Your real estate blog should be three to five posts about non-selling to every post about a new listing or some other topic related to selling. Give tips on the neighborhood, report on the local Little League team or who is starring in the high school football team. Give those real estate leads a chance to feel that they like this area and want to move here, and that you are someone they can trust to find them just the right house when they are ready to talk real estate.

Using Pinterest for Real Estate Leads

We know that photos are still the big item that helps to sell real estate; it only stands to reason that the big social media site that is all about photos, Pinterest, is a great place to generate leads for real estate businesses. As the fastest growing independent site with over 10 million users, this is a place where people come ready to find what they need, and houses are a big part of that mix. Pin that luxury condo in NYC that is on your sell list, and you can be sure that you will find customers who are looking for a NYC Condo. They may not be in the market for your condo, but if they love it they may decide to pin it on their page or their Facebook page or anywhere else. They may even share it with their sister who does want a luxury condo in NYC.

But there are good and bad ways to use Pinterest and many businesses have found themselves in trouble for being overly commercial on what is seen as a personal sharing site. Three tips for using Pinterest for posting your real estate:

• Always use your own photos, it is better to be sure there are no questions about ownership
• Always pin your blog posts (which you should be doing for every property and more) and videos
• Mix in other non-sell pins; even add a few extra theme boards. Sell in Manhattan? How about a board on the best restaurants or pet services? The ratio should be the same as for blogs.
• Don’t forget to include keywords when pinning, to make searching easier

The big thing to remember is that people are on Pinterest because they want to interact with a person, not a business. So make your Pinterest site fun and interesting, and most of all have it reflect who you are.

Creating Real Estate Leads on YouTube

One of the best places to find customers and show off your real estate listings is, of course, YouTube. When you combine customized videos of listings on Google Video and YouTube with Facebook postings and Twitter feeds, you have a simple easy way to reach out to a host of potential clients. Making your videos available by smartphone means you can find customers anywhere, on the way home or heading to the store. Don’t forget to look up keywords to find out exactly which terms people are using when looking for real estate in your area and include those in your YouTube video. Remember, Google cannot “read” pictures or video so you always must tag those with keywords to help Google send potential real estate leads to your video.

There are dozens of other ways that you can use the internet to help you to find customers from ads in Craigslist to setting up your own real estate website. Another good resource would be to follow mortgage brokers on twitter for real estate leads to see when people first approach mortgage brokers before they start their home search. The bottom line is, the internet is a powerful tool for anyone looking to sell in real estate, and the more you use it with a plan in hand, the better your chances are to find customers who are true real estate leads for you today.