So you did it, you went ahead and started a twitter account for your business. Now what? While you probably won’t be tweeting about your breakfast options, or that funny comment you heard at happy hour you can still add your own personal touch.  Twitter is a great tool for sending out real time information to your followers, and can be effectively used in localized situations, such as for a real estate professional. So here are some things to consider.

Custom Feeds Are Key- So you figured freely posting live information would be a breeze, just hastily type a sentence or two and voila ! Instant communication to the world. Well my friend, you would be wrong. Take the time to customize your feeds. No one will read what you have to say if you are not reading what he/she are tweeting. You can find people by using the Twitter directory.

Stay Organized- Just like you group your phone numbers on your smart phones you should also categorize those you follow on twitter, fellow realtors, real estate enthusiast, you can even follow real estate publications in your area.

Get Localized- Just because there is a plethora of information out there does not mean you have to stay tuned to everything. Get yourself localized by finding out who is tweeting in your area. Real Estate is all about location and tweeting can help you stay on top of fellow realtors and new happenings in your area.

Mind Your Manners: Survive the Tweeting World

Remember that tweeting has it own set of rules, so keep these in mind when tweeting for business purposes.

1.Re-tweet: When you Re-Tweet (repost someone else’s comment) you are A.) commenting on something you like (which is always great) and B.) you are allowing your audience to exponentially grow.

To Re-tweet: Click “Re-Tweet” button next to a message you like and want to share with your followers, or simply just copy and past the message, don’t forget to add RT @ _____ (that would be the person you are re-tweeting).

2.Be thankful: For all those who mention you, make sure to thank them. You can check to see who mentions you by clicking on the @_ _ _ button on your home page. And do it every day, yes tweeting is a constant so be prepared to stay on top of what is going on.

And also make sure to respond to those direct messages you get, just say thanks. Beware, don’t start sending those annoying spam messages it is an easy way to lose followers and quickly.

3.Sharing is Caring: Don’t shy away from being personal and letting your spunky personality shine, after all this is twitter and it is all about connecting with people. Be genuine and in no time finding material to tweet about will be a breeze.

Social Media is a fun and personal way to keep your business growing. What are some other things that you have found helpful when using twitter?

Source: Inman News

 

Katie Lance, of Inman News, has a plan to keep up with your social media pages. She calls it her “Secret Sauce,” below is her plan that has made her successful. The best part is that all you need is an hour.

Katie suggests starting up all your pages (Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter), plus your website, blogs, and favorite news sites. Then move fast, but make sure to reply to all messages, put up your posts for the day, and comment/re-tweet on anyone else’s post that you found interesting. Log out and close those windows.

Once you are done with the social aspect of social media, move on to your websites, blogs and favorite news sites.  Pick 6-8 links to share on twitter, and then pick 3 to post on Facebook. She suggests also using Hootsuite.com, and plugging your posts and links into the site, separating them 1-2 hours apart.

The key is to be quick about it, don’t dilly-dally and lose focus. Repeat in the evening and then the next day. This will soon become a habit. She suggests adding an extra 2-3 hours for bloggers and taking the time once a week to add new friends/ followers. Above all don’t forget to stay social, comment on other’s posts, and have fun interacting with your network.

For details on Katie’s one-hour a day plan, check out www.inman.com.

With all the marketing tools available nowadays it can be difficult to decide which is best for you. Although Social Media has dominated the networking scene, it may not be for everyone.

Like all marketing tools you must first decide what you want to achieve by going the social media route. Yes, you may be able to reach large amounts of people by going this way, yes you will be able to quickly relay time sensitive information, but consider the time and dedication you must put into it.

Luxury Insights offers these tips when planning out your social media approach.

• Positioning
  Know your desired positioning.  Be on message for your target market.  Own your niche and communicate appropriately.
• Professionalism
  Demonstrate your market expertise, professionalism, and competence.  Be ethical.
• Personality
  Be memorable–do business with style.  Be human and personable.
• Persistence
  Social media is increasingly time and location-based.  It’s not a one-shot deal, but more likely an ongoing commitment to publishing content on a regular basis.  It will require patience, focus, and persistence.

Are you up for the challenge? Remember social media was created to express your individuality. Think about your personality and feel free to show it off. Before beginning lets revert back to those early marketing classes.  Remember the SMART goal setting rules?

S- Specific

M-Measurable

A-Attainable

R- Realistic/Relevant

T- Time-bound

No matter what marketing route you choose, this will help you stay on target.

Technology has brought us some pretty amazing things. Yet, for the real estate industry it has proven to be indispensable in marketing campaigns. Brace yourselves for a new wave of marketing tools designed to bring the homes directly to the buyer.

Imagine yourself driving down your favorite neighborhood. You begin to think this place is great, I wonder if there are any homes for sale, and suddenly your phone goes off.  You automatically have alerts on homes for sale in the area. As easy as turning on your phone, valuable real estate information has been complied for you specifically with the neighborhood you are in.  How is this possible? With “location-based” applications of course.

Thanks to the good people at Placecast, who have created an application called ShopAlerts, real estate marketing has reach a whole new level. This is how it works: Once the application is started on your mobile the gps technology in the phone will determine your location. Then the application will compile data from the set area and automatically send it to your mobile phone. Originally this application was intended for stores. So if a client regularly shopped at Saks Fifth Avenue, any time they would pass by the store, deals, new products and special promotions would automatically be sent to them.

This technology called “geo-fencing” can easily be translated into real estate marketing; defined areas of any location known as “fields” are set to trigger alerts to the mobile phone, therefore making the marketing campaigns personalized to a specific client.

Talk about instant gratification. Realtors will be able to set up entire marketing campaigns directly from their phones and computers, plus have it automatically sent to industry insiders. That is some pretty powerful marketing if you ask me.

For more information on location-based technology check out www.transparentre.com and www.realestatemarketingblog.org.

 

Let’s face it in this fast-paced kind of e-world attracting the right clients to a property has become increasingly difficult. Attention spans are not what they used to be. However, there are a few tried and true tactics to keep your real estate listing from falling into the gutters of real estate oblivion.

 

Visual Appeal

 

You wouldn’t put a listing up with out enhancing its visual appeal, so don’t forget about it in the ad copy. This is the property’s calling card, it needs to be easy to read, clear and concise. Formatting your ad copy is one of the easiest things to do when trying to grab a buyer’s attention.

 

• Don’t use all capital letters or all lower case letters.
• Break up big blocks of text. Studies have shown that buyers tend to read the first few sentences and headlines of ads. Make sure your most pertinent information is placed in the beginning.
• Include Heading and Subheadings
• A picture is a worth a thousand words. Don’t be afraid to include images, just make sure they reflect what your text is saying. If you describe a staircase, show the picture.

 

Literary Appeal

 

Everyone loves a good story. Writing students are often urged to show rather than tell. This is a great tool to use for advertising a property. Find the home’s “story” and place the reader in it. What makes this home special? Even something as simple as a new stovetop can be used as selling point. Realtor Magazine suggests asking the sellers to tell you what they will miss most about their home. By emphasizing the positive aspects of a home a buyer is more likely to consider the listing.

 

Avoid using puffery. Puffery is described as flattering, often-exaggerated praise and publicity, especially when used for promotional purposes. The fine line between creative use of information and puffery can be avoided by including both the positive and negative aspects of a home. Don’t be afraid to include a potential negative instead try show it in a positive light.

 

Know Your Market

 

Not everyone is going to be a fit for every home. Avoid generalizing a property by focusing on the target buyer, rather than generalizing. Consider the neighborhood, the lifestyle of that person who would want that type of property. Readers will respond better if they feel they can relate,  good copy will consider the client’s personality. For example, an ad for a loft in the middle of the art district could include points an artist will appreciate like great lighting, and perhaps an easily accessible sink to rinse out used brushes.

 

Take the time to be a little creative. With a few simple adjustments any home can be written to attract its rightful new owner. For detailed samples on telling the story visit Laurie Moore-Moore’s tips on ad copy at: http://www.luxuryhomemarketing.com/real-estate-agents/home.html

Why use ActiveRain as your Blog?

">/0.jpg" alt="YouTube Preview Image" />

ActiveRain currently has a membership of over 160,000 RE Industry members averaging 200 new members daily.  There are more than 1.3 million articles posted, with an average of 10,000 new posts monthly.  Two million+ visitors traffic the ActiveRain network each month, over 80% are consumers.  Only Rainmaker upgraded accounts receive Google traffic to their blogs and posts.  ActiveRain Members blog posts receive more than 500 views on average.  Activerain provides a wide of variety of tools, services, and solutions to the Real Estate community and to the consumer.

So you think this might be a good resource for your business?

• Think about building your realtor base nationwide
• AR is a cost effective way of starting a blog
• Access to Localism  you can sponsor your community ( if it is available )

Here is the link to an ebook that will guide you through ActiveRain

 

Trulia Blogs

One way to set up a blog is on a site such as Trulia. Trulia is similar to other MLS aggregators that put together the property listings for the public ot search. You can start your blog once you set up your account on Trulia. Here is a short video on seting up your blog.

">/0.jpg" alt="YouTube Preview Image" />

Trulia has other features like trulia voices where consumers can  ask questions about real estate and realtors who have signed up for trulia voices can answer these questions. Just another  way to make contact with the consumer !

 

Great Information for Your Homebuyers!

The $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit, will be extended for contracts signed before May 1, 2010 and that close before July 1, 2010. First-time buyers, who are in the process of closing now, no longer have to worry about qualifying for the $8,000 tax credit if they do end up closing after the Nov. 30 deadline. The new legislation also increases the income limit for couples with income up to $225,000, a nearly $55,000 increase above the current level.

Buyers who already own a home are also now eligible for a tax credit and the purchase of a home. The $6,500 maximum credit will be available to existing homeowners who have lived in their current residence for five of the prior eight years. The legislation does set forth several provisions including, limiting eligibility for existing homeowners to homes worth $800,000 or less, as well as making both credits available only for primary residences, not second homes or investment properties. ( Information obtained from Keller Williams website )

Here is a chart that may help with the information:

	Current	New
Effective Date	·        January 1, 2009	·        November 7, 2009
Deadline	·        Close on or before  November 30, 2009	·       Contract signed before May 1, 2010, must close before July 1, 2010·       Members of the uniformed services, foreign services, and intelligence employees who served an extended service of 90 days will have until April 30, 2011 and June 30, 2011.
Amount	·        First-Timers: maximum of $8,000  or 10% of sales price ·        Prior Owners: $0	·        First-Timers: Unchanged·        Prior Owners: $6,500 if lived in prior home for at least 5 consecutive years of past 8 years.
Income Limit	·        Individual: $75,000·        Couple: $150,000	·        Individual: $125,000 ·        Couple: $225,000
Other   Restrictions	·       Home must be primary residence for at least 3 years. If home is sold or buyer moves before 3 years, must re-pay full amount of credit.	·       Buyer must be at least 18 years old and not classified as a dependent for tax purposes·        Home must cost less than $800,000·       New Home must be primary residence for at least 3 years following purchase. If home is sold or buyer moves, before 3 years, must re-pay full amount of credit. Exception for military, foreign services, or intelligence with extended 90 days service overseas.
How to claim	·       If purchased in 2009, by amending 2009 tax return or claiming on 2010 tax return	·       If purchased in 2010, by amending 2010 tax return or claiming on 2011 tax return

Keep it Simple

These days its very easy to start your own blog. There are many platforms like Wordpress or  Blogger, where you can go in pick a template & start designing your own blog. Or you can hire a company that will design your blog using one of those platforms. It’s all a matter of time & money!

I think the simpler the blog the better, what really counts is the information you share. The information you share is called your content .

Here are some tips on developing content for your blog

1. First ask yourself who is your audience, are they buyers & sellers of real estate or another sector of the market?  You will be writing for them so you will need to put yourself in their place and figure out what is important to them.
2. Read other blogs in your industry & see what others are blogging about.
3. Your writing does not have to be perfect it should be as if you were having a conversation.
4. Write about your property listings or someone elses!
5. Write about events in your community

Offer help, be consistent, add value. This is what you do anyway. Now you are doing it online for the world to see !

From Dianna Kokoszka’s Journal

Dianna Kokoszka is the president of MAPS Coaching for Keller Williams Realty. I was at a BOLD training and came across this statement from Dianna.

• When you want it means you lack. The brain hears you want & helps keep you in the wanting.
• Want = lack
• When you want money the brain says give them what they ask for-They ask for wanting money so keep them wanting money.
• Want control – never get it.
• Wanting control means you are lacking control & you’ll always lack.
• We cannot stand up & sit down at the same time
• You cannot want & have at the same time. 
• Release the want & you’ll receive it.

We must change the way we speak to ourselves in order to change our circumstances. This is the start of changing our limiting beliefs.