Totally Unique
Most realtors or real estate brokerages are rather conservative when it comes to design. Nearly every major national brokerage uses some variations of the colors red, white and blue. They also typically they want to portray a very “old-school” appearance. This works for many agents and brokers but Keisha Hopkins and Ellyn Franke wanted to break the traditional mold and show the world that they can be modern and cool while conducting themselves professionally. We loved this challenge because it can be difficult to be personable and fun, yet professional and “business-y.”
Two Young, Hip and Modern Women
Keisha and Ellyn really inspired us when they explained that they wanted to start with a unique color palette. Originally, the palette was inspired by colors from modern fashion magazines that were totally focused on the comeback of 1980’s styles…bright colors, played out in a more modern way. On top of that we determined that their core audience might be predominately female and although we didn’t want to exclude the male demographic we DID want to make the site a little softer and ‘more rounded.’ This not only helped appeal to a more feminine demographic but represents Keisha and Ellyn well as young, hip and modern women.
Consistent Logo, Consistent Message
Matt Franke, from Franke Construction created the “FH” logo, which appears in most of their print marketing materials. In several pieces the repetition of the logo in bright colors looked like stained glass. We wanted to try using a similar effect (to maintain brand consistency) on the hardwood floor in the background of the website. We also wanted to set it at a 45-degree angle to flow with the main navigation. This gives the site a sense of depth (layering) and brings the foreground and background together.
Quick Search
Ultimately, no matter how ‘cool’ we want the site to look, the most important metric of a successful website is how well it performs. The most important part of this site is the users’ ability to search all available homes that are for sale in the area. For this we setup a ‘Quick Search” bar that is integrated with the Cybernautic MLS System. The “Quick Search” bar appears on EVERY page of the entire website to encourage users to search through the available listings until they find the home of their dreams!
Get in Touch
The next most important part of the site involved making the Franke-Hopkins Team ‘accessible.’ It’s great to allow users to be able to search all available listings but if they don’t submit a contact form, call to get more info or schedule a showing they can never be converted into a sale. To accomplish this we made a standard rule that a contact form or a contact link must be available on every page of the website.
Search Engine Optimization
Keisha and Ellyn recognize the value of ranking highly with search engines like Google. Real estate is a competitive business and if you are not leading the pack, it can be hard to find buyers and sellers to represent. So the Franke-Hopkins Team has deployed one of our more aggressive Search Engine Optimization packages to make sure that when you search for a realtor in Central Illinois…they come up near the top of the list! Ultimately, this improves traffic, leads and sales…a powerful combination!
The Social Network
They were keenly aware of the shifts taking place in todays market; shifts like social networking. So we integrated the “Share” on Facebook buttons and “tweet” to Twitter buttons on their “Tips and News” page. So as they publish “Tips and News” they can let their readers share that information quickly and easily with their friends and followers on Facebook or Twitter. This is an excellent way to gain brand exposure and let the Internet community do the advertising for you!
Web Video
Keller-Williams, helped The Franke Hopkins Team put together a great web video promo so we were sure to include a link to that on every page, next to the “Quick Search”
If you’re want a unique website, to rank at the top of Google, to integrate with the major social networks or anything else listed above, give us a call today, we’d be thrilled to help out!
