Real Estate Marketing
[VIDEO] Fun Friday: One company’s creative response to a tweet!
Have you ever tweeted something about a brand, a restaurant, a company and wondered, “Is anyone reading this?”
I know I have! I am always secretly waiting to be impressed by someone from “corporate” who sees my tweet about the bad service I had or my recent food craving. If this happened to me, I would be very impressed!
In fact, just recently, I praised my local mall, Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, CA for having Expectant Mom parking. Shortly after, I received a nice Tweet back. I was impressed.
Below is a great example of someone monitoring and managing their brand via social media.
Just about everyone is familiar with Wheat Thins, so to do something ‘outside the box’ and fun – they responded to this tweet:
Wheat Thins response? They delivered a pallet of Wheat Thins to her house! This one video below has generated over 200,000 hits to their website!
(Can’t see the video: click here to view it!)
What was Wheat Thins response? See below:
“Wheat Thins’ problem is, if anything, over-familiarity. The reverse of the awareness problem. It’s available everywhere and it’s been around forever. But there is a lot of love for the brand on Twitter. While coming up with ideas for Wheat Thins we had the idea of searching Twitter to see what, if anything the Twits were saying about Wheat Thins. We were stunned to find hundreds of unprovoked declarations of undying love for the brand. Some were just slavish “I love Wheat Thins so much i would die for them” . Some were more witty.
As anyone who tweets regularly knows, the one thing you DON’T expect is for your random tossed-off utterances to have any consequences. That’s the ONE THING you can be certain of. Until now that is!”
So what are people saying about you and your brand? Are you monitoring this daily or throughout the day with Google Alerts, Facebook and Twitter?
I guarantee most people and brands on social media are not.
Those who manage their brand relentlessly – THOSE are the ones that will gain raving fans AND fans that will transact with you!
Take note real estate agents and brokers. Manage your brand – even if YOU are not on those social networks – your clients are!
Would love your feedback about this! Leave me a comment below!
Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News
5 Rules for Managing Your Email
I don’t know about you – but email can be very stressful! As you sit at your computer, trying to get things done, and more and more email comes in, your ‘to do’ list keeps getting bigger and bigger!
About two years ago I made the conscious decision to take back control of my email and not let it get me stressed out. I was really inspired by a presentation from Merlin Mann from 43 Folders that I heard from Real Estate Connect SF a while back. He promotes the concept of ‘Inbox Zero.’ I don’t think there will be a day for me where I achieve that fate – but there are few ‘rules’ I live by when it comes to email to keep in manageable.
Here are 5 things rules I live by to help me stay sane – and also help to keep my Inbox to 20-40 emails max at any one time.
1. Don’t have your email open all day long and turn off those “bings.” Email can be the most distracting thing. You are working on something and then “bing!” you have an email, and you get distracted. Make sure to take the “bings” off you phone too! I check my email probably every 15-20 minutes or so. I check it more often if I am waiting for something deadline driven but otherwise I don’t let it dictate my ‘to do’ list of that day. Or, if I am in the middle of a big project, I will put my out of office with a specific time that you are answering email that day. This makes it a little easier o
2. Work backwards. When you read email read your oldest messages 1st – your goal is to move fast – get through those emails that are a couple days old. Reply, delete or file – and then move on to today’s emails.
3. Deal with email once. It’s like ’snail mail’ – don’t go to the mailbox, grab all your bills and junk and then leave it in a pile. Stand by the trash, throw out the junk – put the bills where they need to go and then move on.
When you get an email – don’t read it and then let it sit it your Inbox. Either delete it, reply and them delete, or reply and then file into a folder. Within your email, make sure you have your folders or labels set up. You can set them up by month, by project, by client name – whatever makes most sense to you and your business. If you are an agent – make a folder for each client. Every email you get – goes right in there and out of your Inbox.
4. End of the day – get your Inbox to your comfort level. What is your comfort level? Zero? 10? 20? 50? Whatever that is – the last 15 minutes of your work day, clean up your Inbox.
5. Don’t treat your email like a ‘to do’ list. I keep a running Word Doc called “working on” that I save to my desktop. As new email comes in, if it requires action on my part (more than a simple reply), I cut and paste any pertinent info from the email onto my list and then delete or file the email away. Otherwise your email box lies stagnant with all these emails you have read but have to take action on. What I like best about this method is that I group things by category on my ‘working on’ list. So for an agent, you could group things by: clients, prospects, marketing, and more. This has worked really well for me.
At the end of the day, I still battle with my email – but I try very hard to be smart and move fast through email!!
Do you have any tips you’d like to add? Would love your feedback, leave me a comment below! (but don’t email me HAHA!) just kidding…
Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News
Looking for Guest Bloggers for FOREM
Are you a great blogger and writer? Do you love real estate technology and innovation? Are you a big fan of this blog and enjoy the content? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, I invite you to apply to be a Guest Blogger for FOREM.
We are looking for a few great writers to write guest articles from time to time.
As many of you know, FOREM is one of the oldest and most respected real estate blogs – started by the awesome and super-talented Joel Burslem in 2006.
If you are interested, please email me at katie (at) inman (dot) com with the following info:
- Name, Title, Company
- 1-2 paragraphs: tell me a little about yourself, your expertise in real estate tech & social media, and why we should choose you?
- 3-5 links of examples of your writing
I am looking for a small handful of the best of the best! Looking forward to seeing the results!
Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News
How Do You Sell a $40 Million Dollar Home?
Agent Reboot – Next Stops on 12-City Tour: LA, Seattle and San Diego
Hey FOREM fans – our first-ever Agent Reboot in San Francisco last week was a huge success! With hundreds in attendance and select premium exhibitors – this was a show people were excited to be at! I met many FOREM fans that day and also at Connect SF – it’s always great to meet someone face to face that you met online. That is the power of social networking!
Next 3 Agent Reboot Dates (this month!)
Here’s what our Agent Reboot attendees had to say:
- 96% said Agent Reboot met or exceeded their expectations
- 80% said they would attend future Agent Reboot events
- 97% said they would recommend Agent Reboot to a colleague
“Great networking with a high level of tech experience. Many conventions gather people, but this one really brings the technology to the forefront.”
“Almost every presenter gave tools for me to incorporate into my business. I feel if I do just one or 2 things I will have improved my presence so thank for this.”
“One of the best, if not THE best, conferences I’ve ever attended (and I’ve been to Buffini’s, Ferrys, et al).”
Join us at our next Agent Reboot – register today for only $79 (use promo code ‘FOREM0722’)
*regular price is $99 and onsite is $149
P.S. Bring a friend – events like this are always more fun when you can bring a colleague!
Questions? Contact registration@inman.com
Check out all the cities we are going to:
- Los Angeles – Aug 5
- Seattle – Aug 18
- San Diego – Aug 25
- Denver – Sept 8
- Las Vegas – Sept 15
- Portland – Sept 22
- Houston – Sept 28
- Chicago – Oct 6
- Boston – Oct 13
- Ft. Lauderdale – Oct 20
- Washington, D.C. – Oct 27
Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News
How to Increase Sales By 61%
FREE Webinar: ROI – Increasing Your Brokerage’s Bottom Line
Hi FOREM fans! Please join us on Wed. July 28th at 10 AM (PDT) for a ROCKING free webinar!!
TOPIC: ROI – Increasing Your Brokerage’s Bottom Line
Sponsored by: Market Leader
DATE: Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
TIME: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (PDT)
COST: FREE!!
In this webinar, you’ll get a comprehensive look at ROI and ways to evaluate it effectively across all of your marketing and lead capture efforts. We will explore the differences between measuring the ROI of different platforms so that you can set realistic goals for your brokerage. We will show you how to use ROI to focus on the strengths of your brokerage.
You will learn how to evaluate what is working, and what is not, so that you can drive your profitability and spend more time doing the things that add to your bottom line.
This webinar is ideal for brokers, owners, managers and team leaders!
I encourage all of you to register for this webinar – and feel free to tell a friend!
Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News
Is Facebook Bigger Than Google? A Viewpoint from Real Estate Connect SF
One of my favorite sessions at Real Estate Connect SF was a panel answering the question: “Is Facebook bigger than Google?”
What do you think? With Facebook approaching 500 million fans – they are certainly in the right position!
The panelists who spoke during this session were:
- Drew Burks, Broker, Web Real Estate Tools, @sdrealtors
- Nicole Nicolay, Founder & CCO, Agent Evolution, @nik_nik
- Dale Chumbley, Realtor with Prudential NW Properties, @DaleChumbley
Drew Burks spoke about recent changes in Facebook and their new ‘open graph’ platform.
He emphasized that everyone should add the ‘like’ plugin to their blog (something I need to do ASAP!) It’s one of the easiest ways for people to share you info on Facebook. Also ‘liking’ a post or page helps to index you in the world of search. This stat was staggering:
“Facebook indexes 25 BILLION pieces of information a month!”
Drew’s shirt says it best: “Google Me” – this is his business card. I love it!
Nicole talked about Facebook ads and gave some excellent advice:
- Set your goals. What do you want to accomplish?
- Establish your target criteria. There is a tremendous amount of targeting you can do when creating your ads – including demographic, gender, age, likes, interests, and so much more.
- Have compelling content. She spoke a lot about the ‘nature of the network’ – we aren’t likely to click on ads unless they are eye-catching, interesting, funny, or are very relevant to us.
Also, Nicole said to make sure that the link on your ad is the your most productive link – whether that is a link back to your page or back to your website. Historically the links that work best are link back to your Facebook page. It’s easier for someone to ‘like’ a page and then get to know you and your brand before they transact with you.
Dale Chumbley, famous for his 365 Things to Do in Vancouver page (which now has over 11K fans), spoke about Facebook pages – do/don’t and the tremendous opportunity.
One of the biggest opportunities agents have is that they know their communities and the ins and outs of neighborhoods better than anyone. On Dale’s page there is no mention of him as a real estate agent. All of his content resides on his blog – so he will always ‘own’ the content – in case anything happens to Facebook. He blogs everyday and links to his blog posts once daily. He said he started his blog 146 days ago and his Facebook page is now #4 on Google when someone searches for his county and #2 on Google when someone searches for his city.
He does caution about starting a ‘365′ page – it’s a lot of work and a big commitment! But whether your community is large or small, any community could benefit from having a community page created from someone who knows it best – a real estate agent!
Overall I thought this was an excellent panel because they talked about each facet of Facebook and how a real estate agent can maximize this huge opportunity. Thanks Drew, Nicole and Dale for doing a fantastic job!
Would you love your opinions on this – leave me your feedback and comments below!
By they way, a video of this session, (along with all conference videos) will be available soon to Inman Premium Members. Sign up now for only $99 and get a 1 year Inman Premium Membership which includes ALL post-conference video.
Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News
Facebook – Inman News | Facebook – FOREM
Designing Great Web Experiences – Viewpoint from Real Estate Connect SF
I’ve had a few days to de-compress from Real Estate Connect SF – what a fantastic event! After looking through my notebook, I wanted to share with FOREM fans one of my favorite sessions.
Designing Great Experiences - Kevin Hoffman, User Experience Director, HappyCog, @kevinmhoffman
This session was the first session in the Digital Marketing Workshop at Connect. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this was one of the most informative sessions during the show!
During the presentation, Kevin showed a variety of screen shots of websites from different industries. He showed some great examples of what works and what is confusing to the consumer. Happy Cog mantra is this:
“Happy Cog delivers beautiful websites that never lose sight of the human being using them.”
I love this. So many times in real estate we get caught up in terms and phrases that we know and understand but forget to take a step back to think of someone looking at the site for the 1st time.
One of the things I really enjoyed about Kevin’s presentation was that he is not in the real estate industry. He brought some really fresh insights on why website fail or don’t convert like they should. I thought he was very well prepared, easy to listen to, and had some fantastic points!
Kevin suggests asking yourself several questions when you put your site together. He says,
“Great user experiences are easy when you ask the right questions!”
Does your site answer the questions:
- What can I do for you?
- Who are you?
- What does your audience want to do when they get to your site?
- Is your site as easy as it should be?
- Can I trust you?
Here are some great takeaways I took from his presentation:
- You don’t need to put ‘click here’ on a website – they know to click, they are ONLINE!
- Is their consistency in your website (i.e. verbiage, fonts, style)?
- Don’t use different words that mean the same to you but are confusing to a user of our site (i.e. ‘log in,’ ’sign up,’ ‘premium homes,’ ‘fine homes’) – this was my ‘a-ha’ moment. How many times have you looked at a real estate site and have seen things called a variety of names? What is a fine home? A premium home? What is a map search versus a home finder? Things that make total sense to us – may not make sense to the average consumer.
- If you have comments enabled in your site – make sure you have comments! Comments = social proof. This is one of the reasons Digg is so successful!
- Your site should move someone from being a stranger to engaging in your business.
You can view Kevin’s presentation slides here >>
Kevin’s video (along with all conference videos) will be available soon to Inman Premium Members. Sign up now for only $99 and get a 1 year Inman Premium Membership which includes ALL post-conference video.
Would love your comments and feedback – leave me a comment below!
Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News
Facebook – Inman News | Facebook – FOREM
Agent Reboot SF Highlights – Social Media, Facebook, Mobile Tech & SO MUCH MORE!
Today was an awesome day – it was Inman News‘ 1st ever Agent Reboot – a one-day event devoted to just real estate agents. It was so exciting to be in the room and see Nicole Nicolay (@nik_nik) and Daniel Rothamel (@realestatezebra) kick off this event (which is the 1st on a 12-city road show!)
There was so much great information – but before I nodded off to sleep I wanted to post the nuggets of info I took away from today: (by the way – these are just SOME of the highlights – there were WAY more speakers and great content than listed below!)
- 50% buyers will use mobile apps in next 24-36 months
- It’s no longer about the device. It’s about the application.
- Her marketing is like ‘3 legs of a stool’ – email, blog and face-to-face
- She writes content that is interesting to her and made the choice to have her ‘blog voice’ be in a similar tone to how she speaks.
- She says “You can’t be everything to everybody – I made the decision a while back to work with people I like!” (love this!!)
- Basics of her writing: clever, to the point, low graphics, 200-300 words max. Be interesting, be relevant be conversational, be yourself
- Stuck on what to write? Write down every question a client has asked you! There is some great content right there!
- (talking about Facebook) “Make a friend now, do a deal later” (so true!!!)
- Facebook has become the hub – the entry point into your social media world. It’s where SO many people start their day! Facebook is one of the easiest places to start in social media!
- (in regards to a Facebook page) “People want to be a fly on the wall and see what others are saying about YOU!” (never thought of it that way!)
What’s Next?
- Check out tons of photos and updates on the Agent Reboot Facebook page and you can check out the #AGENTRB Twitter stream!
- Next Agent Reboot is in L.A. on August 5th! If you are in So Cal – don’t miss this one!!
- Check back for more updates – tomorrow Real Estate Connect kicks off!! Follow #ICSF for all the updates!
Did you go to Agent Reboot SF today? Chime in with your thoughts and feedback please – thank you!
Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News
7 Tips – How to Tweet During a Live Conference
One of the coolest parts of a conference is the live tweeting that takes place. As a conference attendee – it’s exciting to be a part of the online conversation during a conference. If you are not at the event, it’s really exciting to watch an event unfold via Twitter!
As you probably all know by now, Inman News has 2 really exciting events coming up this week: Agent Reboot and Real Estate Connect. I will be live Tweeting, Facebooking and Blogging from the event.
Here are my top 7 tips for successful tweeting from a live conference:
1. Make sure you have the right hashtag. Every event should have a hashtag (ask the event director what it is if you don’t know.) The hashtag is the what you need to post in each tweet so your tweet will show up for anyone who is following that hashtag.
- These are Inman’s two hashtags for this week’s events: Agent Reboot: #agentrb and Real Estate Connect SF #ICSF.
2. Make sure you have the proper apps downloaded to your smartphone. I prefer Hootsuite, but Tweetdeck and just the standard Twitter app will do just fine. Download it ahead of time, know how to use it – how to check @ messages, how to search for the conference hashtag, etc.
3. Be familiar with the program ahead of time. Preview the program and make notes about who you definitely plan on tweeting about.
Download the Agent Reboot program here >>
Download the Connect program here >>
Download the Connect mobile app here >>
4. Watch what others are tweeting about the event. Re-tweet, respond and add your comments. This is a great way to connect with people at an event.
5. Sit in the back or on the side of the room. If you plan on tweeting/typing the whole time, you may offend some people who may not realize what you are doing. Sit in the back or the side if possible!
6. Quote people when possible and use their Twitter handle is you know it. Many conference programs (like ours) has Twitter handles listed, so it makes it very easy for people to tweet about them!
7. After the conference, use your tweets as ideas for possible blog posts! Attending an event will give you great ideas of new content to talk about. Make sure you do not copy anyone’s ideas – but reference them as needed (and give them credit!)
Hope to see you all at Agent Reboot and Connect this week! Send me a tweet @katielance or @inmannews
You can also check out things on our Facebook pages: Agent Reboot and Inman News
What are your Twitter tips for conference blogging? Would love to hear from you – leave me a comment below!
Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News
Do You Live in the SF Bay Area – Last Chance!! Don’t Miss Real Estate Connect
Hey FOREM fans – if you live within driving distance of the SF Bay Area next week I really can’t emphasize enough how important it would be for you to be at Real Estate Connect SF!
If you’ve never been to a Connect conference, or maybe it has been a few years, you definitely should consider checking it out.
Connect draws the very best of the best in the real estate tech industry. It’s the one place people go to find out about the future of real estate and technology.
This year there so are so many cool speakers I am really looking forward to hearing – such as Gary Flake form Microsoft. He is such an interesting and dynamic speaker. He recently spoke at TED and I was blown away by the concepts and ideas he presented. I am also really looking forward to the 4 hour Wordpress workshop – this is a 1st at Connect. I can think of no better time than now to have this type of workshop. I am super excited to hear Jane Wells speak during this workshop – she is the user experience lead for WordPress, and has worked in the web industry for 10 years. I am also super excited to hear from Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit.com. He is one of the keynotes and will be talking about social media and engagement. Robert Scoble – who in many circles is basically the ‘father of blogging’ will be keynoting at Connect too. Can’t wait!
There is so much more – the people you meet in the hallways, the awesome cocktail parties, the debates, the workshops, sponsored intensives, tracks, meet-ups, the Premium Lounge… it is a jam-packed event!
Check out the complete program >>
Last chance – register by 7/12 and get 25% OFF (using the code ‘FOREM0709′)
Questions? Email us at registration@inman.com
Hope to see all of you in SF! If you are already registered, leave me a comment below – would love to meet up!
Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News
Fun Friday: Go-Go-Gadget HOME! Unbelievable – Must See to Believe
Remember Inspector Gadget? If you loved that cartoon as a kid then you will get a kick out of this video below.
I’m all for making the most of the space you have in your home – but this home in Florida takes creativity to a while other level. This home belongs to Joe Pires who was probably not ok with the idea of having a common garage, so he decided to spice things up.
It is not clear from the first picture, but check out the video – you are sure to be stunned.
Once a device is triggered, the whole facade of the “residence”- including windows, porch, pillars and fence- gradually moves upwards, revealing the parked cars inside a space that seems to take shape out of thin air. Enjoy!
(Can’t view the video below? Click this link)
What do you think of this home? Creative or crazy? Leave me your comments below!
Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News
Tip Tuesday: 3 Social Media Mistakes Real Estate Agents & Brokers Make
I consider myself someone who is ‘in the thick of it’ – in terms of social media. I manage all the social media channels for Inman News and because of that I always keep one eye on what real estate agents and brokerages are doing in the social media world. I currently follow about 500 real estate pages and close to 400-500 real estate people on Twitter plus I have another 200-300 LinkedIn real estate connections. Through all of these ‘connections’ – it gives me a birds eye view on who is really mastering this marketing tool.
As you all know, simply creating an account on Facebook or Twitter rarely equates to being plugged in. The most common reason for not spending time on developing a social media strategy is that real estate agents and brokers fear there will be little to no return on investment – and that frankly ‘it’s just too much work’ or ‘I don’t have the time.’
Here are 3 common mistakes that I see real estate agents and brokers doing all the time:
1. Doing too much at once. For people in real estate, it’s often best to start with a small social media presence. Check out LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter – which one appeals to you the most? The one that makes the most sense to you should be your starting point. Start there and then set goals for when you will branch out onto other channels.
2. Giving it to the intern. Too often, social media responsibilities will be piled on the most inexperienced assistants or worse, someone who detests social media. If you are going to hire someone to help you manage your social media, make sure you hire someone who is not only savvy in communcation, but comfortable with exposure to the public. Social media needs a personal touch and someone who is aggressive and strategic.
3. Making conversations one-way. Too many real estate agents and brokers just see social media tools as just another way to push out information. Bombarding people with listings won’t earn many followers, there has to be a dialogue that keeps the audience engaged. Remember, less about you and more about the people receiving the information – always ask yourself, ‘what’s in it for them?’
So, now what? How do you know if your successful or not? One of the easiest things to do is to monitor your web site and blog traffic. Make sure you have Google Analytics set up on your site and that once a week you are looking at where your traffic is coming from.
Here are a few real estate Facebook pages that in my opinion are doing a great job!
- The Corcoran Group
- Contra Costa Association of REALTORS
- The Dawn Thomas Team of Intero Real Estate Services
- PMZ Real Estate
- The Robin Milonakis Group, Official Fan Page
- ERA Real Estate
Bonus: Want to see an agent doing something fun and different on social media? Check out this great video from Ben Balsbaugh, an agent from PMZ Real Estate in Modesto. Awesome job creating something that is about him but in a fun way that makes people want to share it!
(Can’t see the video: click here to view on YouTube)
What mistakes are you seeing real estate agents do with social media? Would love your feedback, please leave me a comment below!
Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News
5 Patriotic iPhone Apps for the 4th of July
This 4th of July, in between barbecues, picnics and fireworks, here are 5 really cool ‘must have’ iPhone apps!
1. 3D Fireworks 2 ($0.99)
Why cramp your neck looking up in the sky when you can create your own display in the palm of your hand? 3D graphics, full touch-screen control and autopilot mode let you enjoy the show in a variety of ways.
2. BrainFreeze 4th of July Edition Puzzle ($1.99)
Game players rejoice with this casual gaming app in a special 4th of July edition. Traveling? This app will keep you occupied! A puzzle game perfect for flight delays and traffic games, you can display your patriotic colors and challenge your brain as well.
3. Pyro Pro Fireworks (Free)
Can’t make it to fireworks in your favorite U.S. city? Then download this fun free app that lets you detonate to your content above the skylines of a variety of U.S. cities.
4. Patriotic Music Box ($0.99)
Sing along to 12 classic American anthems, including Hail to the Chief, America the Beautiful and Yankee Doodle Dandy.
5. America Deluxe ($1.99)
Take a virtual tour of the United States with this app offering information and photos on our nation’s natural wonders, cities, parks and history, as well as a selection of traditional songs and a biography of each U.S. president.
Do you have any other July 4th mobile apps that you love? Leave me a comment below!
Wishing you and your loved ones a happy and safe 4th of July!
Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News
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