Archive for the ‘ARCHIVED POSTS’ Category
Increase Blog Traffic With Groupon’s Referral Widget!
Friday, December 2nd, 2011When fans visit your blog, wouldn’t it be cool to offer them a fun incentive to keep them even more engaged? With Groupon’s new referral widget, you can! By adding the Groupon Referral Widget to your blog, visitors will have a chance to take advantage of your city’s daily deal provided by Groupon. For every Groupon purchased from your blog, you will receive $10 that will go directly into your Groupon account! Pretty neat, huh? You give 
a little and you get a little, what a great compromise.
For those of you who don’t know, here’s a little information about the fast-growing business known as Groupon. Groupon is a popular business that works with other businesses to offer local deals across the country. From food, shopping, entertainment, pampering and more, Groupon’s possibilities for sweet deals are endless. The deals usually range from a 50-90% discount, and reach subscribers via email or smart phone notifications. Groupon has helped thousands of businesses gain new customers and is the fasted growing business ever, and now they could help you, too!
Your virtual assistants want to make sure you’re doing everything you can to keep your social media efforts as engaging and enticing as possible.
Whew! Now for the fun part. To add this useful, fun and creative widget to your blog, follow these simple steps. Your readers will be happy you did!
1. Go to www.groupon.com. If you’re already a member, sign in with your login information. If you’re new to Groupon, the site will automatically prompt you with questions about your location and interests.
2. Once logged in, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “Groupon Referral Widget.” You will be brought to the Groupon Referral Widget page with the featured local deal in the top right corner. You may be tempted to purchase the featured deal, but keep on going. This won’t take long!
3. Under “appearance” select how you want the widget to look on your page. You can choose a color for everything down to the color of the price tag of the Groupon. As you are choosing your options, the featured deal to the right will update so you can see a preview of how it will appear on your page.
4. Select your location. While Groupon can automatically detect where visitors are coming from, you can select a specific location for your widget. By selecting a specific location, only deals in that area will appear on your page.
5. Enter your referral code. At the bottom of this page on the left hand side you will see the link “Get my referral code!” Click this and enter the code in the box where prompted. This will allow you to receive the $10 every time a Groupon is purchased from your page.
6. Generate your code. Click the “Generate Code” button and voila! Copy the code and paste it into your blog. For a WordPress blog, follow these instructions. For a Blogger blog, try these. About.com is great place to find step-by-step instructions for adding widgets to most blogging platforms.
Thanks to this awesome widget, you now have another way to drive more traffic to your blog!
Have an awesome day!
Contact Carrie
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7 Signs You Need a Break!
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
With the holidays just around the corner, many of you are probably looking forward to a much needed break! Whether you’re gathering with family or friends, or are just craving a few days of personal R&R, having a little time to switch gears and turn off the noise of work can be just the thing you need to get refreshed and ready to go for the new year.
Now you may be one of those real estate agents that thinks, “Take a break? I wish!” As Real Estate Virtual Assistants, we know that there’s a lot of hard work and endless hours that you as real estate agents put into your company. If you own your real estate company or are with a very small firm, you probably feel the extra weight of keeping the momentum going, and a break seems out of the question.
However, not taking time off can hurt you more in the long run! If you get to the point of being burnt out, you’ll have to take a much longer time off in order to recover and your business, co-workers and even family and friends will suffer. So, how can you tell it’s time for a break? Here are seven key signs:
1. Loss of Joy- If the job you once loved and were passionate about is now becoming a dreaded part of your day… you need time away from it. Being passionate about your job, especially in this line of work, is imperative! Your clients will notice and your work will clearly reflect your passion, or lack thereof!
2. Lack of Focus or Creativity- It’s impossible for anyone to run at full speed all the time. When you notice you’re not able to focus and solutions to problems seem to allude you; you need a break! Give your mind a rest and you’ll find a much more productive you when you return!
3. Constantly Feeling Overwhelmed- As a real estate agent, there seem to be a million things demanding your attention at the same time. High maintenance sellers, first time home buyers, showings, marketing, social media, networking events, etc… the list appears endless! If you’re feeling buried under the weight of all these things and are having a tough time prioritizing… take a step back! Take the time to look at your business from a distance and you’ll feel more in control.
4. Irritability- We all have off days where we feel on edge, but if you’re feeling this way on a regular basis it’s a good sign you need a day off. Whether it’s related to stress, depression or worry; your irritability can have an effect on your co-workers and clients. Be sure to take a break before you burn bridges!
5. Insomnia- Sleep is essential to keeping a fast paced and high demand lifestyle. If you’re finding it’s hard to fall asleep at night, getting fresh air during the day, sunlight and even exercise can help get your inner clock back to normal sleep rhythms. Take a personal break to do these things on a daily basis!
6. Health Issues- A good sign that you need a break is when you begin developing health issues. Hopefully you’ll see warning signs and take a break before this occurs, but many people will ignore the red flags until it’s too late. Stomach issues, regular migraines and not feeling well on a regular basis may mean it’s time to visit your doctor. Chances are, they’ll prescribe a much needed break!
7. Warnings from Family and Friends- If those that know you best and are around you the most are concerned you’re overworking yourself; take note! They may see the warning signs before you do and can be that voice of wisdom that you need to heed! They’re looking out for your good and it’s important to not ignore their sound advice.
I hope that you take the time needed this holiday season to relax and enjoy being with loved ones! This is a great time of year to unwind and take in a few personal days so that you can hit the ground running in 2012!
If you’re worried about the amount of work that seems to be piling up and feel that you can’t take a break with all there is to do; let your Real Estate Virtual Assistants know! They can cover your listing marketing, social media,website maintenance, print marketing, real estate blogging, and much more! Take that much needed break this holiday season and rest assured your work is in good hands!
Contact Carrie
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Create a Branded Google+ Page!
Friday, November 18th, 2011The long-anticipated day has finally arrived: you can now create a Google+ page for your business! They are called “Branded Google+ pages”, and they are not only very easy to set up, but they’re also another way that you can truly expand your online presence. As real estate virtual assistants, we like to keep you in the loop about the latest technology updates, so when we saw that Google+ rolled out this new feature early last week, we immediately created a branded Google+ page of our own.
We know what you’re thinking: yet ANOTHER profile for me to maintain? Trust me, I understand. It seems like technology is changing every day, and who really has the time to maintain all of these aspects of your social media presence every day? Despite this sentiment, these new Google+ pages are necessary. They’re taking all of the SEO benefits that Google+ provides and taking it to your business. If you haven’t already created a branded page, now is the time to do so.
• Go to http://plus.google.com and log in to your Google+ account. If you don’t have one, you’re going to have to create one. This is easily done by logging in to your Google account on the main page. From there, you’ll create a profile.
• Once you log in, scroll over to the right side of the page and look at the sidebar. Underneath where it says “Hangouts”, you will see a link that says “Create a Google+ page”. Click on that.
• Pick a category. As a real estate agent , you’ll most likely select “Local Business or Place.”
• Pick what country your business is in and put in your office phone number
• From there, you will be directed to a map where your office may show up. If you’re registered in Google Maps, then you will most likely come up. Pick the listing that applies to you and edit your business name to be what you want your page to be named, along with all contact information.
• Select a category that your business falls under, (most likely Home and Construction) and then make your page publicly visible by selecting that option from the drop-down menu.
• Make sure you agree to the Pages terms by checking the box and then click “Create.”
You’re done! Your Google+ page is now created, and from there, creating and editing your profile is the exact same as it is with your personal Google+ profile. You’ll include an introduction with keywords linking to your online presence, add photos and make sure your recommended links go to your website, blog and social media presence. After your page is created, make sure you publicize it on Facebook, Twitter and even your personal Google+ profile! You’ll want to start building your circles on your business Google+ page as soon as you can.
As daunting as having yet another profile may sound, this new Google+ feature is yet another imperative aspect of your online presence. The best part is that this feature is now compatible with HootSuite, so you can maintain this page on the same dashboard that you use to post to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you need any help getting this new page set up, feel free to contact your real estate virtual assistant for help!
Contact Carrie
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6 Tips for Effective Video Marketing for 2012!
Friday, November 11th, 2011
With the holidays right around the corner, many of you may already be thinking about what the next year will bring. Taking the time during the slower holiday season to really map out your business strategy for 2012 is essential for starting the new year out on the right foot!
You may even be considering some new avenues of marketing that will help boost your business’s appeal and draw in more clients. A great medium that is quickly gaining momentum is video marketing, and if you haven’t yet jumped into the video scene, this coming year would be a great kick-off point!
Many real estate agents have shied away from doing video for a variety of reasons. It may be a fear of being in front of the camera, not knowing what to create a video about, or just not having the right equipment. However, when done correctly, using video as a marketing medium can be just the thing to boost business for 2012!
Whether you choose to use an inexpensive handheld video camera like the new Sony Bloggie camera or prefer to hire a local video professional, here are six video marketing tips to help you get started!
1. Keep It Short- Don’t feel as though you have to have a five minute video to make it worth your while or to convey the information you want to share. Your video can be anywhere from a thirty second “quick tip” segment to a two minute video describing what you love about your community. Most potential clients will want a shorter video that allows them to get to know you a little better.
2. Pick a Focus- Make sure each video you create has a distinct focus or point that you want to make. If it helps, take the time to write out a script so that you know exactly what you want to say. Read over it and revise it until it’s concise and compelling! Any video you post that seems distracted or doesn’t have a clear message can give the wrong impression about who you are.
3. Offer Value- As a real estate agent, you are very familiar with the top questions you get from buyers and sellers. Using a video to address these questions will ensure your video is providing the valuable information viewers want to know! You can also use questions that your clients should be asking to help them prepare for the home buying or selling process.
4. Include a Call to Action- Many real estate agents fail to include a call to action in their video, which can defeat the purpose of creating the video. Even if it’s just a simple invitation to call you if they have further questions about your communities’ real estate market, they are at least left with a next step that they can take. This is imperative to encouraging them to take action!
5. Tag Your Video- Including key words in the title of your video such as your city, and what your video is about. This will help search engines index your video more quickly. You can also include key words in your video description if you’re uploading the video to YouTube. Help potential clients find your video more easily and you’ll get more views!
6. Post Your Video- Once you’ve created your video, you’ll want to post it in as many places as possible for ultimate exposure. Have a video page on your website, create a custom YouTube channel for your videos, post them to your real estate blog, and be sure to promote them Facebook and Twitter.
I hope these tips help get you started as you embark on this new marketing territory! Getting a video or two recorded before the end of the year will help you launch your new marketing and give your business fresh appeal with the beginning of 2012!
Contact Carrie
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5 Compelling Reasons You Can’t Forget Your Website
Friday, November 4th, 2011
While we enjoy bringing you all of the latest and greatest tips and tools for social media, we also are firm believers in the tried and true basics of online marketing! Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, a custom blog and other social media sites are all extremely valuable for marketing as they allow you to connect and interact directly with your clients and leads. However, they should never take the place of a customized, content rich website!
With the lean towards social media, it could be that your website has fallen to the wayside and has gotten a little outdated. Hey, it happens. The key, however, is to not let it stay that way!
Think of your website as foundational to your online marketing. Sure, people will flock to your social media sites, but they’ll eventually look for the link to view your website. They want to see that you’re on top of all of your online presence mediums and will be searching for further information on your real estate company, reviews, homes you currently have on the market, homes you’ve sold, more about you personally and other pertinent real estate information.
So here’s the test. Go to your website and look at it from a visitor’s perspective. Is it visually appealing? Are you providing enough information about your services and your community? How’s your bio? Is it outdated? Does your personality shine through? Are you social media sites even listed on your website? If your website is lacking in any of these areas; it’s time for an update!
Still not convinced that your website still plays a vital role of your online presence? Take a look at these five reasons why websites still matter as pointed out by social media and online marketing consultant, Mikal Belicove.
1. Branding: Since it’s your site, you set the design, which affords you the flexibility to optimize the user experience in ways that directly support your business model and brand-related goals. There’s no competition on your website, just a branded experience that you direct yourself.
2. IT and Engineering Jurisdiction: When you control your own site, you have complete jurisdiction over its code, hosting environment, page count, content, plug-ins and more. With regard to branding, here too you have the elasticity required to make small or sweeping adjustments at will, an advantage you don’t get with third-party websites. With sites like Facebook, you can change minor graphics and some content but not code, navigation scheme, server speed or the graphic user interface.
3. Content: Create compelling and useful content that speaks to why someone is visiting your site, and you stand a higher chance of that visitor taking action with respect to your services. And since web pages are virtually unlimited on a site under your control, you have ample opportunity to add additional content and calls to action in any way you choose.
4. SEO: If garnering multiple, relevant and highly positioned placements in the SERPs (search engine result pages) is part of your marketing strategy, a website is a must. When properly coded and managed, your site delivers natural and sustaining search results that drive qualified traffic to the exact pages on your site where you want visitors to be.
5. Analytics: While many social mediums provide access to data related to demographics associated with who accesses your profile and how often they do so, website analytic tools go much deeper. They can provide you with the type of business intelligence you need to determine in real-time how your online marketing performs and stacks up against the competition.
It’s apparent that your website can’t be ignored! Your website is the foundation of all your other marketing and should reflect the excellence and effort that you put into every area of your marketing and service.
If your website does need a little renovation or if you aren’t quite sure where to begin, let your Real Estate Virtual Assistant know! They can help make those few minor tweaks or the overhaul that’s needed to your website to ensure your continued online success!
Contact Carrie
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Increase Website Traffic Through SEO Optimized IDX
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011You probably pay a lot for your IDX service, but have you ever wondered if you are getting as much out of it as possible? Many agents don’t realize that proper and strategic use of your IDX integration can not only make your site more engaging to the visitor, but increase your traffic and search engine ranking as well. You just need to take four steps…
Four Steps to Getting the Most from Your IDX
Search engines, are constantly crawling sites, looking and comparing information to determine the best results to return to users searching for a particular set of keywords. By using a few simple strategies, you can leverage your IDX for content:
Step #1: Ensure your IDX resides on your site.
Most do this now because of the high demand for it, but if you don’t start from this premise, the rest of this article is a moot point for you. When it does, then every individual listing in the MLS can be viewed as a page of content on your site – and this is the central crux of the matter.
To see how many pages you are being credited for, try this… In a Google search, type site:yourdomain (in the example below, site:onlinedominance.com). In light gray writing at the top of the page, you will see the words “About ______ results returned.” So Google finds 1,340 pages of unique content associated with Online DominanceTM.
You can get “content credit” for all those listings in your MLS, provided you follow the next steps.
Step #2: Create predefined searches and install them on your site.
Having just a form for people to fill in with their search preferences, while vital, is not sufficient for this purpose because search engines are just an algorithm and are not interested in completing preference forms. So, if you want the search engine to see your content, you have to make sure the data from the MLS is being actively pulled onto your site. By creating predefined searches, such as by price, location, or even type of property, you are setting up a stream of constantly linked data of every listing that falls within those parameters.
Step #3: Create unique content describing that search
One of the more recent “gotchas” initiated by Google is an update that finds “low quality” pages, which is basically information it determines is syndicated from one source to many different sites. So, unfortunately for you, this means you can’t have just the predefined search. But you can end run this by taking the time to write a paragraph or two of custom content and add targeted title tags, so when the search engine indexes the page it may see some syndicated material but this will be offset by the unique content.
OK, you’re almost there!
Step #4: Link often and well
If you want the search engine to think a page is valuable, you have to treat it as if it IS valuable. So, every time you write something that relates to one of these searches, for instance a blog post about a recent upswing in sales in a certain price range in your market, include a link to that predefined search result page.
How this Helps Get Traffic to Your Site
So I know right now you are saying “Sure, I understand how to strategize the IDX, but what about the traffic and visitor engagement?”
Well, when the search engines find more pages of relevant content that is frequently updated, it helps your page ranking. Also, having lots of related third party sites (such as Trulia, Active Rain, etc.) link back to multiple points on your site helps not only ranking but the likelihood of people finding you. Finally, since every listing is viewed as a page on your site, searches on specific addresses (like when someone drives by and sees a yard sign) will yield your site as a result, so you don’t have to rely on over-used or highly competed for keywords.
As to customer engagement, people love the convenience and instant gratification of being able to see properties in the ranges or categories they prefer with the click of a button. Often, they aren’t sure exactly what they are looking for until they see some results, and having to go back and adjust information in a search form can be a bother. You will get more clicks on saved searches that then allow the user to sift and sort their specifics from there.
A Few Words of Advice
You have the step by step plan to get your IDX SEO optimized, and as always the next step is to implement. But be aware of a few more things before you do!
- Do Not Sock Google – Google is like the referee in a game, it watches to see if you are playing by the rules, and will throw the red card at any suspected foul punch. So, if you had say, 30 pages on your site one day and then next had 20,000, what do you think will happen? That’s right! So, pick the top 2 or 3 searches you think would be most effective in your area, and start adding those, going through all 4 steps to get them strategized. Add slowly to make your results most effective.
- Use the language your users use – People will tend to type search terms that they use in natural language. Name your predefined searches that same way to increase the match rate and hence your page position.
- Get a help in executing this over time – This is the perfect kind of task, low-level and long term, to get a VA to help you execute. Set up the process, set your priorities, and give a VA marching orders. You will see the results as they are added to your site, while freeing you up from worrying about maintaining the flow of information.
So, there you have it! Make sure you are getting the most out of your IDX’s capabilities when it comes to site traffic and visitor engagement by consistently initiating these strategies over time. The best thing is, since that IDX resides on your site, it will all be for your greater good!
Special thanks to Brad Carroll of Dakno Marketing for his contributions to this article.
Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an internationally recognized Internet speaker, trainer, author, and strategic consultant to the real estate industry. He’s dedicated to helping real estate professionals leverage their people skills into profit on the Internet. Send your Internet questions to help@askmrinternet.com or you can visit his Website at http://www.OnlineDominance.com and Facebook page at Facebook.com/OnlineDominance
This article is reprinted in its entirety from the October 2011 issue of REALTOR® Magazine by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright © 2011. All Rights Reserved other than mentioned above. Mr. Internet® is a registered trademark of RUSSER Communications.
5 Tips for Reaching the Millennial Generation
Friday, October 28th, 2011
Have you stopped to think how technology driven our society is today? It seems worlds away from where we were twenty, fifteen, even ten years ago! In fact, there’s a whole generation of people who don’t even know what life was like before the internet. They’ve grown up with immediate access to an abundance of information at their fingertips, a fast paced social life and are novices as quickly sorting through the best and most convenient path to take in any given situation. They’re call “Millennials.”
So, how do you reach this 17-34 year old, on-the-go generation? Since they are the next wave of home buyers and sellers, being able to capture their attention and speak their language is vital!
Two of the key aspects are to be mobile and be social.
Millennials aren’t tied to a desk top, but reliant on their smartphones, tablets and laptops. Being as mobile as they are will help you keep their speed. Being social reaches them where they spend the majority of their time and will help keep you at the forefront of their mind when they do decide to enter the real estate market.
Here are five main ways you can reach the Millennial generation with your marketing as pointed out by Matt Britton, founder and CEO of Millennial generation marketing agency Mr Youth.
Utility: Millennials are multitaskers. They have 15 tabs open in their Chrome browser while their iPhones push Twitter alerts and their Facebook feeds are blowing up. They don’t want their time to be wasted, so you’re best suited by offering tools to help streamline their day, as opposed to adding one more thing to check.
Keeping on top of your Twitter and Facebook accounts can help streamline their online time as you feed your blog and other social media sites through these hubs.
Entertainment: The average YouTube user spends 15 to 25 minutes per day on the site; we like being entertained. And since traditional media consumption is being turned on its head by streaming services, companies need to find a new way to get in front of their audiences and entertain them.
Having a custom YouTube channel for your listings and community videos will spark their interest and give them that visual entertainment they’re searching for.
Information: We are bombarded daily by information online, and one huge reason we use the web is to find more of it. The information you provide on your blog and other social media sites needs to be current and relevant in order for the Millenials to take the time to read it. They’re smart and will quickly dismiss any information they feel like they’ve heard a thousand times. They simply don’t have time for it. Fresh and pertinent information is key!
Rewards: Rewarding is most effective as a retention tool, and not an acquisition tool, Britton says. Offering a prize to your 200th follower might get you a few more fans, but they’re only there for the free stuff and not because they’re huge fans of your business. On the other hand, rewarding your existing fans is a great way to bolster their connection to your company.
Whether you’re offering an exclusive coupon or a prize, be sure to reward the existing fans who got you are past clients or current leads. These are your loyal fans who are most likely to stick with you and use you again in the future, unlike a fair-weather follower who only showed up for the latest contest.
Recognition: Be appreciative of your fans’ interest and support of your company (it doesn’t have to be monetary, even a “thank you” will go a long way). Branding isn’t just important for companies as millennials are all building their own personal brands, too.
If you have a current client who is showing in a local gallery; recognize their accomplishment on your sites! Having your recognition and interest in their lives will show them you care and show others that you’re a real estate agent who will go above and beyond. This will give them even more reason to tell their friends about you and your services, which could result in even more leads for you in the future.
Now, it may sound like it will take a lot of extra time and effort to reach out to this next generation of home buyers, but taking it a day at a time will go a long way. If you find you don’t have the time needed to reach out to this demographic in the way they need to be reached, your Real Estate Virtual Assistant will be a great resource in helping you achieve your goals!
Contact Carrie
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4 Tips for Protecting Your Social Media Reputation!
Friday, October 21st, 2011
With the whirlwind of the social media surge, it seemed that everyone jumped on board at the same time. Before we knew it, everything had turned social and if you weren’t on the bandwagon, you were quickly left out. Over the past few years, it seems that everyone and every business has turned to social media to stay in touch and on top of their game. But at what cost?
If you haven’t considered how social media could affect your reputation, now is a great time to start. As a real estate agent, your image and what others say about you are important. People are always looking for referrals for large investments like buying or selling a home, and one bad report can hurt your business. In the same way, a positive experience or a great testimonial can help you tremendously!
Even if you haven’t thought of how your social media could affect your reputation, taking a close look at these tips can help you organize your thoughts and ensure that your social media is working as effectively as you’d like it to and helping to boost your business. These tips originally appeared in an article on the American Express Open Forum, but I’ve adapted them to be more real estate specific. Take a look!
1. Research and Plan- Ideally, this would have been part of the process prior to jumping into your social media, but it’s never too late to begin thinking through how you’d like to use your social media. It’s important to ask these questions:
▪What are my goals and objectives?
▪Who am I trying to reach? Where do I think those people are online?
▪What online channels or social media sites might be the right fit for my business?
▪How much time do I realistically have to invest in this?
▪Am I prepared for negative conversation about my services?
After looking at your business and your audience, you may find that you don’t have to be on every social media site out there. Honing in on a few of the key ones that you know will reach your target audience can help you put your time and energy where it will matter the most.
2. Monitor and Listen- It’s important to be aware of what others are saying about you and your services. This way, you can address any negative issues on your social media sites.
For example, if people have complained about your lack of communication, use your social media to post about some of the new technology you’re using or tools that will allow you to communicate quickly and efficiently with clients whether it’s a monthly newsletter, your social media sites, or that new phone that allows you to be in constant communication with clients. It’s all about listening to what your clients are saying, monitoring your social media sites and making sure to get involved.
3. Join in the Conversation- If you’re monitoring your comments on your social media, take the time to jump into conversations! We handle the social media for many of our clients and regularly post questions to spark conversation. If you do this, you have to be sure to jump into a conversation and stay involved! People may have follow up questions or may begin a new topic entirely, so don’t check it off your list once you’ve commented one time.
Even though you’re a small business, planning ahead on what topics you want to discuss can keep you from defaulting to the latest political news or a mindless post. Remember everything you post is public and will, in some way, affect your reputation. Having a schedule of items you want to post a few weeks out can give you clarity and let your fans or followers see that you’re organized and are posting things that are pertinent to them. Never post something just to post!
4. Have a Plan for Negative Feedback- Whether it’s a negative comment or complaint, you want to have a predetermined plan of how you want to handle it. Of course, we don’t like thinking through these things, but how you handle something like this can also play an important role in your reputation.
Just deleting anything negative on your site may look like you’re trying to hide something or you’re not willing to address the issue. It also will more than likely add fuel to the person’s fire and can blow up into a bigger issue. Taking the time to respond professionally, being willing to apologize if necessary and quickly righting any wrong will speak volumes into who you are. Take the opportunity to turn something negative into a positive and chances are, you’ll find the person who had the issue could quickly become one of your biggest fans!
As you think through protecting your reputation on your social media sites, we hope these four tips will steer you in the right direction! Social media is here to stay and it can play a major role in how people view you and your business.
Contact Carrie
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How To Be Stress Free!
Friday, October 14th, 2011
Do you ever feel rushed, tense or worried for no particular reason? Do you find yourself doing normal things too fast such as walking, eating or working? When I start noticing these things in my daily routine, I know that the main reason behind it is stress. And as a hard-working real estate agent, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Whether we have a lot going on or nothing, stress can show up at any time and learning how to calm your nerves is important for maintaining a healthy and happy lifestyle.
Even when stress isn’t work related, it follows you through your day and could put a damper on your goals. Fortunately, feeling stressed-out is a normal part of everyday life. In fact, sometimes it can even be strengthening. This is why the goal isn’t necessarily to eliminate stressful situations completely, but to develop the ability to relax during stressful day-to-day activities and throughout challenging occurrences.
As your real estate virtual assistant, we know how hectic the life of a real estate agent can be. For this reason, we want to make sure you are as cool, calm and collected as can be. So the next time you are feeling like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, consider trying some of these simple stress reliever exercises and feel like yourself again.
Add Some Beauty to Your Workspace: Try adding a touch of something beautiful to your office or work area. This could be as simple as getting a vase of colorful flowers, or as complex as a new paint job. The brain is very responsive to color, with bright colors causing more brain activity, and cool colors promoting calmness. Keep your office decorated with things that make you happy, such as pictures of your family and friends, awards, or a post-it note of a quote you find inspirational.
Add Enjoyment to Your Day: We know you to work and you love what you do. But make sure you are incorporating your recreational hobbies into your day whenever possible. When you are having a stressful day, that family bike ride or trip to the movies will keep you motivated by giving you something to look forward to.
Take a Break After Meals: We know that you can’t spend the whole day at lunch, but try to avoid the “eat and run” routine. If you rush back to the office immediately after lunch, it will feel like you had no lunch at all. Take a walk to the nearest park, or enjoy a latte and the newspaper at the coffee shop. It’s okay to add a little bit of “me” time into your everyday life to take some of the edge off.
Stretch: No wonder you’re tense! You’ve been sitting at your desk following up with clients all day! Or maybe you’ve been out showing properties and haven’t even had a chance to sit down. Take five minutes to stretch once a day. The effects of this simple exercise might surprise you. You may look a little goofy, but trust me, you’ll feel better.
Take Your Shoes Off: Sounds kind of silly, right? Taking your shoes off during the work day will offer an “at home” vibe and make you feel more comfortable with your surroundings. Encourage your team members to do this, too, and you will all be feeling less tense in no time. Just remember to put them back on before a client comes in! If you aren’t ready to embrace this one, wearing loose, comfortable clothing is a great alternative.
Express Your Feelings: This might sound a little cheesy but it’s a good tactic towards getting stuff off your chest. We’ve all heard that holding in our thoughts and feelings is unhealthy. And although it may not be easy to open up, it’s helpful to maintaining a peace of mind. At the end of a stress-filled day, find a place or person to express your thoughts with.
There are many more ways to reduce stress, but these are just a few. I hope these are helpful as you consider your workload!
Make it a great (and stress free) day!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
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6 Ways to Customize Your Facebook Business Page
Friday, October 7th, 2011
As a real estate agent, you know that it takes much more than just a website to establish a worthwhile presence for your business. Maintaining a web presence on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others is extremely valuable in terms of connecting with prospects and clients, sharing content and generating leads.
But unlike your own website, it is not always easy to customize your social networking pages to your liking. You are forced to work within the set parameters and design limitations given to you, which can make it difficult to achieve a unique presence that sets you a part from your competitors.
But nothing is impossible, right? Here are several things you can do to uniquely brand and customize your Facebook Business Page.
1. Claim Your URL – Make sure your Facebook page is as shareable and easy to find as possible. You can achieve this by creating a more recognizable vanity URL. For example: http://www.facebook.com/username (insert company name here). Straight and to the point is all it takes for effective results. This will also make your page more professional, more identifiable and will make it easier to share with others. Keep in mind: you need at least 25 fans on your Facebook page before you can create a custom URL. Think of it as an incentive to really invest in growing your social media presence!
2. Generate a Custom Welcome Page – A welcome page can be used to welcome new visitors to your page and will encourage them to ‘Like’ you. By having a welcome page, visitors will not be able to view your page without liking it first. (Remember, your posts will not show up in newsfeeds unless you are ‘liked’) Set this page as your ‘Default Landing Tab’ so it’s the first page people will land on when visiting your page. There are several free services that you can use to create a landing page. You can also have website providers such as RealPro create a landing tab for your page that will match the branding of your website. Another option is to have your real estate virtual assistant create a custom landing tab for you.
3. Make Your Picture Stand Out – Your Facebook Profile Picture doesn’t always need to be your company logo. Be creative! Do you have an amazing new property that you would like to make known? Did one of your team members win an award? Honor them by making them your picture for a day or two. If you’re feeling spontaneous, you may want to experiment with different colors, themes and designs to get heads turning.
4. Create Custom Tabs – You can create custom tabs on your Facebook page to feature whatever or whoever you want. A few ideas of what to use could be: client testimonials, featured listings, product information, and publicizing your social media presence on other networks.
5. Generate Tabs Showcasing Other Content – In addition to your custom tabs, you can add a tab to your Facebook page to showcase work you’ve published to other websites or social networking channels. Maybe you have a slideshow presentation that you would like to make public. To get this content on you Facebook Page, all you need to do is create a SlideShare account and add the SlideShare app to your page. You can also do this with your other accounts such as Flickr and YouTube.
6 .Run a Contest or Promotion – Running a contest or a promotion is a great way to generate conversation and feedback to your page. It will also help to attract new fans and make your presence more unique. If you are having a hard time thinking up contests, look at it in terms of month by month. For example, for the month of October you could host a Halloween Costume Contest by encouraging fans to post pictures of their costumes. The contests/promotions could have prizes, or simply be for fun and engagement.
Establishing an online presence for any business is tough. It takes time, dedication and motivation, which are all things driven real estate agents know a lot about.
Have a great day!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Become a Facebook Fan
Follow me on Twitter
