REBarCamp Sacramento

June 11, 2010 By 2 Comments

Real Estate Bar Camp SacramentoThis week I attended the Real Estate BarCamp here in Sacramento, an event centered around social media for real estate professionals.  It was a day long event with events scheduled each hour and it was great!  There was an incredible mix of people new to social media and those that have been using it for a while.  And each session was more like a discussion, so everyone was able to participate and share their thoughts.

I attended sessions on How to build a good reputation online, HyperLocal blogging, Useful WordPress plugins, and Search Engine Optimization.  I learned something in each one both from the leader of the session and from the people attending.

There was a really good turnout, but considering the number of realtors and real estate professionals in the Sacramento area, I believe more should have attended.  Especially since it was free!  I think it shows that people are still slow to adopt social media in their real estate business.  I am not sure if it is lack of interest, lack of time, or just lack of knowledge.  If it is lack of knowledge, than an event like REBarCamp is a great place to start.  There were 101 sessions all day on blogging, Twitter, Facebook and more.  Between the sessions and the attendees, there was plenty of information available!

I thought the whole event was worthwhile and full of value.  If you have a REBarCamp in your area, try to make it.  No matter what stage you are in – beginner or big time social media player, it will be well worth your time!

Filed Under: Real Estate, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

Your Virtual Assistant can Help you Maintain your Online Presence

June 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Social media has many benefits.   Like I said in Why Real Estate Agents have to use Social Media, there are so many cool ways to reach people and to build your reputation online.  But, there is effort involved.  There is content creation, and listening and monitoring, and updating and connecting.  Although, many of the tools are free, the time commitment is not.  You have to put in some time.  You are the expert and you are the person who has to build the relationships.

There are certain aspects of your social media that can be outsourced to a virtual assistant.  So that you free up your time to make the relationships, create the content and follow-up with prospects – along with the rest of your to do list :) .  Some of the areas that a virtual assistant can help are:

  1. The Technical Stuff – social media virtual assistants spend a lot of time online and they are well versed in the tools and technology required to create an online presence.   So the technical side – from creating your accounts, maximizing your profiles, customizing your pages, creating a blog, and connecting everything together – can easily be handled by your virtual assistant.  And, usually much quicker than you could do it anyway!
  2. Research – your social media virtual assistant can research keyword and conversations and create a report for you.  As well as, find relevant people for you to follow and connect with.
  3. Keeping your accounts updated – your virtual assistant can find relevant articles and information to post on your social media accounts to keep them updated.  Leaving you to do the relationship building and commenting.
  4. Re-Purposing Content – One of the best uses of your time is to re-purpose content that you have created and re-use it.  So, for example, your VA could extract some short tips from one of your blog posts to use as status updates.  Or turn a newsletter article into a blog post.  This way you get the most mileage out of every piece of content you create.
  5. Tracking your Progress – your virtual assistant can keep track of your analytics.  So, whatever metrics you are using to measure your progress can be tracked and put into a report for you to review.

As you can see, there are many tasks related to social media and internet marketing that can be delegated to your virtual assistant.  It is just a matter of determining what are the vital items that you need to take care of, and then outsourcing the rest.  Leaving you time to focus on the most important tasks – relationship building and following up!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

Integrating Social Media with Offline Marketing

June 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Marketing yourself and your business online is a very important piece of your marketing plan.  You can extend your reach and build your brand online using tools such as Facebook,Twitter, blogs, and email marketing.  But, you want to make sure you integrate your online marketing with your offline efforts.  Finding the balance between the two – online and offline – is the key.  Here are a few ways to integrate the two:

1.  Add the web address to your social networking profiles to your business card.  This way everyone you meet in person can also find and connect with you online. For example, www.twitter.com/devonzimny is the url for my Twitter profile.

2.  Add your web addresses to all for your offline marketing materials – such as postcards, brochures, and flyers.  This way you offer the opportunity for people to get to know you and connect where they want.  Many people who spend time on Facebook are comfortable there.  And they may choose to get to know you a little better through your Facebook page before taking it to the next step.

3.  Search for the people you meet at offline networking events online – Do a search for them on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter.  By expanding your online network with people you have met in person, you can further that relationship and create a stronger network.

4.  Make sure to invite those that you meet offline to join your email list.  Let them know about the value you provide and ask if they would like to receive updates from you.  Email is a great way to stay in front of people.  And by providing consistent value, you will build a really strong relationship – and be the person that comes to mind first.

5.  Attend events such as Tweet-Ups, which are offline meetups of people on Twitter. These events are a great way to meet people you connect with on Twitter face to face.  They are also great for meeting new people and expanding your network.

6.  Do a little research before attending a live conference or event – check to see who else is talking about the conference.  Also, check to see if a hashtag (#) has been created for the conference.  If so, be sure to include it in your updates and to follow along with others mentioning the conference.  By preparing ahead of time, you can determine some people who you want to connect with at the event and even schedule some coffee chats.

Just because you are starting to utilize online networking tools does not mean that you abandon all of your offline efforts.  By integrating both of your online and offline efforts, you can strengthen your relationships and build a strong network.

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , ,

Realtors: 5 Things You Must Do Before Implementing Social Media

May 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

You have been hearing about social media for a while now.  You know that you just have to start using it for your business.  You can’t wait any longer or else you will be too late.  With all of the talk about social media, you may feel that you have to rush in and get going immediately.  Before you jump in, stop and think first.

You will save yourself time in the long run if you strategize in the beginning.  Coming up with a plan will help you narrow your focus and save your precious time. Before you make the leap, consider the following 5 things first:

1. Determine Who You Want to Reach – A vital part of an effective social media plan is understanding who your target market is.  Who are you talking to?  Is it first time homebuyers?  Move Up buyers?  Buyers who are downsizing?  Narrowing down your focus to a specific market will help you fine tune your message and save you time!

2.  What Information is your Market seeking? What are their questions?  What are their problems and concerns?  What information do they need to know and understand before they buy?  By getting to know your target market, you can create content and share information that answers their questions and solves their problems.  This will make your content creation much easier.  As well as providing your clients, customers, and fans with the information they are searching for.

3.  Where do your target customers hang out online? Do some listening and research to find out where your customers are spending their time.  Maybe there are specific forums or niche social networks that cater to your potential customers?  Doing this research ahead of time will allow you to focus solely on the communities that are most beneficial to you.  Since there is never enough time in the day, choosing where you need to spend your time online is an important decision.

4.  What do you want your target customers to do? Think about your sales process.  As you bring more potential clients into the funnel, how do you want to direct them. Should they sign up for an email newsletter?  Should they visit your blog or website? How does social media fit into your current sales process?  You want to focus your social media efforts in such a way that directs your potential customers to take an action.

5.  How are you going to measure success? Once you know who you are trying to reach, where they are hanging out, what you want them to do, you want to be able to measure your results.  So decide on how you will measure your progress.  Maybe it is to track newsletter sign ups or website visits.  Whatever the measuring stick is, you want it to be in place when you start.

By spending some time strategizing up front, you will keep yourself from spinning your wheels in the long run.  So, set aside some time and work on these 5 questions.  You will be happy you did!

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mfinleydesigns/
Filed Under: Real Estate, Social Media, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

How to use Facebook for Business: Profile or Business Page?

May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Facebook

When considering using Facebook for your business, it can be confusing at first.  If you have been on Facebook personally, getting back in touch with friends, keeping up with family, and even playing games, you may not get how that could translate to business.  The first piece to understand is the difference between a Facebook profile and a Business page.

A Facebook profile is your personal page on Facebook.  If you have been using Facebook already, you have a profile.  To connect with others through your profile, you must friend them and they have to friend you back.

Once you have become friends with someone, you then get their updates, can see their pictures and videos,  and can send messages back and forth.  The same is true of what you post.  Anytime you update your status, comment on another post, upload a picture or RSVP to an event, all of your friends can see it.  You have control over the privacy of your page and how much is shown to those who are not your friends.

Your profile is not meant to be used for business.  When someone becomes your friend, it is ok to mention your business here or there, but your Facebook profile is truly meant to be personal.

Now the business page  is a little different.  Your business page (previously called a fan page) is essentially the storefront for your business on Facebook.  It is a completely public page that can be found via a search engine (such as Google or Yahoo) or through Facebook search.  Anyone can see the information on the page.

Those who want to keep up with your business page will click the “like” button.  This will allow them to see any updates made by your business page.  So anytime you update your status, post pictures or videos, or add an event to your business page, anyone who has liked your page will see that.  It is simple to “like” a page, and you do not need to approve it or friend them back.  They are essentially opting in to receive updates from you through Facebook.  Since they are dealing with the business page, they expect to here news and information related to your business.  So be sure what you are posting is valuable and helpful.

Creating a business page is the best solution for a business presence on Facebook.  It allows you to keep in contact with current customers, as well as future customers.  By simply updating your status or posting a link to an interesting article, you are keeping your business at the top of the mind of your customers.

Filed Under: Social Media, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,
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