Sotheby’s International Realty Brand Launches Extraordinary Living Blog

By: Sotheby's International Realty | 7 Shares 88 Reads

August 15, 2012 // Franchising.com // PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC today announced the launch of its Extraordinary Living blog on sothebysrealty.com, designed to provide insights into a range of real estate and lifestyle topics.

Recent blog posts include The Best Places to Buy a Summer Home in the United States and The Lure of Buying a Private Island. The blog will cover lifestyle topics from art and architecture to travel and interior design, as well as feature Sotheby’s International Realty ® executives and network members.

“Our new blog is truly the destination for extraordinary living online,” said Wendy Purvey, chief marketing officer, Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. “It was designed to offer unprecedented access into the distinctive lifestyles of the connoisseurs of life from the best possible source: our network of experts worldwide.”

The blog is the latest enhancement to sothebysrealty.com, which has seen a 25 percent increase in total visits and 10 percent increase in unique visitors since its redesign last July.

“We attribute the success of the redesign of sothebysrealty.com to the site’s improved optimization and our comprehensive marketing strategy that spans the digital and social media space,” said Purvey. “In fact, sothebysrealty.com ranks No. 1 among what compete.com considers like-minded websites in terms of traffic. Sothebysrealty.com allows users to define and refine how they search, whether by amenity or lifestyle. As well, our global search engine marketing campaign has been reorganized completely and drove three times as many daily visits to sothebysrealty.com for the month of July,” said Purvey.

The Extraordinary Living blog launch follows June’s debut of the Sotheby’s International Realty brand’s first in a series of branded websites for specialty markets, with the initial one focusing on the luxury Farm & Ranch segment. The specialized website, which can be found at farmandranchSIR.com and features nearly 800 properties, matches the look and feel of sothebysrealty.com and provides detailed Farm & Ranch lifestyle and listing information and resources. In the month since its launch, visitors are spending nine minutes on average on the site. The brand plans to follow up with a Waterfront specialty website in the coming months.

The Sotheby’s International Realty network currently has more than 12,000 sales associates located in approximately 625 offices in 44 countries and territories worldwide.

About Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC

Founded in 1976 to provide independent brokerages with a powerful marketing and referral program for luxury listings, the Sotheby’s International Realty network was designed to connect the finest independent real estate companies to the most prestigious clientele in the world. In February 2004, Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real estate and relocation services, entered into a long-term strategic alliance with Sotheby’s, the operator of the auction house. The agreement provided for the licensing of the Sotheby’s International Realty name and the development of a full franchise system by Realogy’s subsidiary, Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Affiliations in the system are granted only to brokerages and individuals meeting strict qualifications. Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC supports its affiliates with a host of operational, marketing, recruiting, educational and business development resources. Franchise affiliates also benefit from an association with the venerable Sotheby’s auction house, established in 1744. For more information, visit www.sothebysrealty.com.

Contact:

Jennifer Zimmerman
Director
Public Relations and Communications
Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC
1 Campus Drive Parsippany
NJ 07054
(973) 407-6375
Jennifer.Zimmerman@sothebysrealty.com

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