MagicBricks aims to engage with users through original content

Nearly half the users who visit portals like Magicbricks.com do so to purchase a house, according to the website; and these are users who are clearly engaged and looking for information in making a very important decision, one which is often a once in a lifetime move.

To better engage with these users and provide value for their time on the site, Magicbricks is looking to create original content and the latest step in that direction is the launch of a section called GuruTalk, where users can talk to realty experts via a live chat.

Sudhir Pai, Business Head, Magicbricks.com, said, “Today We had Niranjan Hiranandani, MD of the Hiranandani group, to chat with our users about property investments in a booming economy, but he was willing to chat with them about a number of questions on realty across the board as well, so for people who are looking to buy a house, or to make an investment, it was a great opportunity to gain a lot of knowledge.”

This is just one part of the content strategy that Magicbricks is looking at though. Pai explained, “We have just started the live chat, but aside from that, we also carry relevant content from the Times of India and the Economic Times, so people visiting Magicbricks get access to real estate knowledge quickly and easily. Aside from that, we did a roundtable of industry heads in February, before the budget session, to discuss the implications for realty, and we're going to do this more often.”

“We are going to get industry heads and government officials for live chats as well, to help our users make more informed decisions, and in a similar vein, we are also running a legal advice column with S Jalan, a leading lawyer, and we are going to add more content of this sort, from other experts too,” Pai added.

Over 10,000 people connected using GuruTalk, and MagicBricks is hoping that their content focused plans will help grow the number of users that visit the site, with regular updates and specialised knowledge. The move also benefits as users might want to share an article on social networks, or link to a story they liked, which will also move the needle on SEO, though it remains to be seen how effective the new measures will be for the website.