Posts Tagged ‘Facebook’
How To Put Testimonials to Work for You!
Friday, August 5th, 2011
Information is instantaneous in our day and age which can be good… and bad. Let’s think in the realm of reviews and referrals. If your friends go to the newest restaurant in town and love it, you’re sure to hear about their experience. Whether you talk in person, read it on their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter, their review can be easily received by many people at once. Chances are, all of their friends are now eager to check out the restaurant and word begins to spread quickly.
The bottom line? Whether good or bad, a single review can have a ripple affect which can boost or bury a business.
As a real estate agent, you have a great opportunity for word-of-mouth marketing. Buyers and sellers are dealing with a large financial investment and will look for referrals for which real estate agent to use. Their friends and families opinions will play an important role in who they choose and when there’s a great real estate agent in town; chances are word will spread quickly.
So how can you generate more reviews or client testimonials? Ask them! More than likely people don’t think about writing a review of their experience unless they’re asked. Having a written review or testimonial is great because:
- It gives you a direct quote to add to your website (with their permission, of course).
- It allows them to think through their experience and when friends ask them about it, they’ll already have thought through the answer!
Here are 3 great ways to gather reviews:
1. Ask for reviews in your monthly newsletter or weekly email.
2. Setup a Yelp or Trulia account. Both of these offer mass email options that you can send to your database.
3. Ask for reviews on your Social Media sites. If others see great reviews on your Facebook or Twitter page, this can encourage them to do the same!
Having a testimonial page on your website and reviews on other social media sites can allow potential clients to get a feel for how you deal with clients and the services you offer. It also gives you more credibility and builds that trust that people are looking for in a real estate agent.
Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can help boost your business with generating reviews and client testimonials! Whether you need a testimonial page added to your website or want your REVA to set up your Yelp or Twitter account; we’re here to help!
Contact Carrie
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The Future of Search is Social
Friday, July 29th, 2011Up until recently, we have been promoting social media as a means of making connections, building relationships, and connecting with your community. That’s still the fundamental purpose of a social media presence, but now, thanks to the brand new “+1” button from Google and Bing’s integration with Facebook, it’s clear to us that search engines are hopping on the social networking train, as well. This is great news for you as real estate agents, because now having a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ account can serve a purpose that goes beyond just making connections. Now, having a strong presence on these sites can boost your SEO as well.
Many of you, while searching the web, might have seen the “+1” icon come up on various websites you use, or next to each website on yourGoogle search results page. There’s a reason for that. The “+1” button, which has become integrated in Google’s brand new social networking site, Google+, is a prime example of how search is starting to go social. When you are logged in to your Google account and start searching for news, services, or entertainment, if you like something, you can click the “+1” button as a recommendation. Then, if a friend starts searching for a great movie to see, an awesome real estate agent, or even someone to do their landscaping within Google, they will most likely see the page that you recommended before other pages. They will see that the website was given a “+1”, and they’ll also see your picture and name underneath the website, showing that you’re the one that recommended that movie, real estate agent, or landscaping service.
Just think about how powerful that could be for your business. If your past clients, friends, and online community all click the “+1” button on your website, or next to where your website shows up on Google, then their Google chat, Gmail contacts, or Google+ circle would see that they recommend you when they search for real estate services in your area. This is an incredibly powerful way of getting new business, because think about it: people trust their friends and contacts when it comes to recommendations. You’re more likely to get an interested lead if they heard your name from someone else. This new integration of search and social media will prove to be integral to your SEO.
Online search engine Bing has also begun to jump on the social media train by integrating with Facebook. They’ll be offering a new Facebook plugin that will allow people to see which websites their Facebook friends favor. What will ultimately come out of these new additions to Google and Bing is this: your placement within the social graph will start to affect where you show up on the search engine results page. The more people recommend you, whether it be by Facebook or “+1”, the higher up your website will be on the Google or Bing rankings.
The way that search is going suggests one thing: if you’re not on social networking sites, it’s time to get on them. They’re becoming increasingly more important to marketing your business, and now that you’re going to seeing a stronger SEO from social media, it’s become even more imperative to get social. Setting up your Facebook business page, Twitter account, LinkedIn page, or Google+ profile might sound like a lot to deal with, but your real estate virtual assistants are always here to help! They can set up your profile, make your information keyword-rich and search engine-friendly, and maintain all of your sites for you. The sooner you start getting involved in that social sphere, the sooner you will see it boost your SEO!
Contact Carrie
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3 Good Reasons You Should Never Kick Your Blog to the Curb!
Friday, July 22nd, 2011
In our social media society, it seems we’re constantly being faced with updated features, new tricks and even new social media sites. And, while it’s good to stay on the cutting edge of social media marketing, it doesn’t negate having a solid and consistent real estate blog. In short: Facebook should never replace your blog.
Now, you may be wondering, “What’s the big deal? I’m not a writer and posting on Facebook only a takes a few minutes.” I understand that not everyone enjoys sitting down and writing a post! So, I thought I’d give you a few good reasons why blogging is still a great necessity for your real estate business.
1. Blog Customization and Branding: Let’s face it, you can only do so much with the look of your Facebook page. It’s not a bad thing; Facebook has its reasons for wanting to keep everything pretty basic. However, your blog is your chance to create a look and feel that ties in with your website and branding. It gives visitors a strong sense of your style, your committment to professional branding and serves as an extension of the information they’ll find on your website. Believe it or not, this type of consistency builds trust in who you are and the services you offer.
2. In Depth Analytical Reports: Want to know where your visitors are coming from, how many times a day your blog is viewed, and what posts are most popular? Most blogs have these analytical reports built in and grant you easy access to the stats you want to know! Find out what key words are being searched, how long visitors spend on your blog and more with your blog statistical reports or by adding in a 3rd party analytical tool. You’ll find these detailed reports to be helpful as you hone in on the needs of your target audience.
3. Search Engine Optimization: Yep, good ol’ SEO is one of the main reasons to hang on to your blog. There’s no replacement for providing rich content with key words that act as a feast for search engines. Sites like Google and Bing survive on pertinent information and the more quality content you provide, the more they like you and boost you to the top. We all know that no one will continue to page 10 in a search when the information they need is on page one. We’re happy to say that many of our clients sit on page one because of their blog… simple proof that it works!
So, you may be thinking that this is a “blogs are better than Facebook” post… it’s not. In fact, your blog and your Facebook page (and all of your other social media sites) should be interacting and supporting each other! It’s not a matter of having to choose between them; they are built to work together for the good of your business. And that’s an encouraging thought.
Here are a few examples:
Your blog should feature your Facebook and other social sites.
Your blog posts should contain a signature with all of your links.
Your Facebook should feature your blog.
Your Website should highlight all Social Media sites and your blog.
The list can go on and on! As you can see, the idea is to have all of your sites “talking” to each other and to create easy access for visitors to explore everything you have to offer. If you still aren’t convinced about keeping your blog; talk with your Virtual Assistant! They can answer any further questions you have or can even handle your real estate blogging for you along with your social media!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
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Another Social Media Site? 5 Things to Know About Google+
Friday, July 15th, 2011
You’ve probably seen bits and pieces of information surrounding Google’s latest endeavor, Google+. And, like me, you’ve probably wondered “what in the world IS Google+?”.
In short, Google+ is the Google version of Facebook. Now, before you begin to have a slight panic attack about yet another social media site that you’ll have to keep up with as a busy real estate agent; take a deep breath. Google+ is not ready for businesses yet…. but it’s coming.
Forbes.com recently came out with an article noting Five Things Small Business Must Know about Google+. I don’t know about you, but I love concise explanations that give me a run down of something so that I don’t have to stream through a whole article trying to pick out the highlights. So, I’m going to give you these five points that Forbes.com pointed out so that you can get an overview of the latest social media site.
1. It’s a social media site- As we’ve noted, Google+ is Google’s version of Facebook. You can share content (such as text, photos, video, etc.) to a network of contacts. Your contacts can respond and rate your shared content in turn. You can add contacts, block them, connect to other services like Twitter, and much more.
2. It’s sort of like Facebook, but different- Unlike Facebook who’s dealt with their share of privacy issues, Google+ (or G+ as it’s being referred to) has a high sense of privacy. You can create groups called “Circles” and post content that can be seen by only the groups you select. It’s also similar to Facebook in that the “+1” you’ve probably been seeing around Google is like the “Like” button. However, there’s a difference… see point #3.
3. The +1 will probably effect SEO- It’s not set in stone how the +1 button will effect SEO yet, but it will most likely play a role. Google’s definition of the +1 is that “Clicking on it would indicate to Google that you have endorsed that result as a solid source of information for the search term you used.” Google denied that it would affect search engine rankings when it was first conceived about a year ago, but there’s no doubt it will be a part of the future ranking system.
Here’s how Forbes explains it: “With G+ using the +1 button as a way to endorse a post by a contact, the overall vision for +1 is revealed to be a bit grander. Google envisions +1 as the tool that ties together all user-endorsed content across the web. Whether you +1 something in search results or a photo that your friend took of his dog and uploaded to Google+, you’re contributing to your personal version of Google’s search algorithm, meaning that content may eventually be served to you differently based on your +1 behaviors.
This concept is very bold and presents an interesting problem for SEO management, if it does indeed create a personalized set of results which varies wildly for every user. When the SEO community reaches some sort of consensus (or if Google releases more information) then I’ll do a follow-up to this post on how +1 effects Google+ SEO performance.”
4. Google’s not ready for businesses..yet- While Google says that Google+ is not ready for businesses, it doesn’t mean you can’t set up a profile for yourself to become familiar with it. Google is anticipating launching their business pages this fall which are said to be highly valuable for business owners as they will probably entail some type of analytical data that displays detailed looks at demographics. Again, creating a profile for yourself now to get a feel for this social site can be beneficial, but you’ll most likely need to recreate a business one this fall when that launches.
5. Google is putting its full weight behind G+- It seems that Google has high hopes for Google+ and will apparently be fading out some of their current services such as Picasa and Blogger and will be using G+ as the platform for these service instead.
Now, before worrying about this possible change since we use Blogger for many of our clients; I reminded myself that, as with any major company, they will not leave Blogger users hanging. I’m sure the transition, whenever that takes places, will be fairly seamless and will actually work in favor of our active blogging clients who are looking to build their SEO. In fact, Forbes notes that “SEO is going to be influenced by this in a big way. Instead of being an aggregator or a channel to find blog posts about your firm, G+ will instead be both the platform and means of distribution for content.”
So, it appears as though Google+ is here to stay and that our view of how we use Google and work to increase SEO will be changing. Of course your Real Estate Virtual Assistants should keep you updated on the latest G+ news and how you can incorporate this into working for you and your real estate business.
While it still seems that Google is ironing out the details of G+ for business; I at least wanted to give you a little insight into this new social media platform and how it could eventually affect you and your business. I hope this helps!
READY TO GET STARTED? Here is a short video that I created that shows you step-by-step how to properly set-up your Google+ profile to get the most out of any future Google Juice we may get from having a public Google+ profile.
Setting Up Your Google+ Profile – A Video Tutorial
Contact Carrie
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Make Your Social Network Posts “Valuable”
Friday, July 8th, 2011Building and maintaining a social media presence is difficult enough, but on top of everything else, you have to start assessing how much interaction your page is getting. Whenever we start maintaining a page for one of our social networking clients, we always ask ourselves this question: what can we post that the public will see as valuable? Whether you’re offering a freebie or telling a joke, your Facebook fans want content that they feel is both interesting and valuable to them. It’s the number one way to get interaction.
If you’re new to the social networking sphere, it can be tricky to assess exactly what your target market finds “valuable.” As real estate virtual assistants, we have found that these six things not only get you the interaction that you’re looking for, but the positive feedback as well. Remember, nobody wants to be the first person to start commenting on a Facebook status. Once you get the ball rolling and the interactions flowing, you will see a surge in the number of fans that start participating on your page. A good place to start getting those interactions would be offering them one of these six valuable “rewards”.
Give away something for free. Whether you go as small as an iTunes gift card or as large as a kindle, people want free stuff. By promoting a free item on your page, you will see that a lot more people will start interacting. You can hold a photo contest on your page, or have them post a funny poem and direct them to fill out a form on your website to qualify for the prize. Not only will you get the lead generation from the form on your site, but you’ll see a spike in your page’s interaction. It will break the ice to invite more comments and participation on your page in the future.
Give your fans some control. The most successful Facebook pages for small businesses have one thing in common: they make their fans feel important. Whether you post something like “Where should I eat lunch today? Suggestions!” or let them vote on your next Facebook profile picture, your fans will love that you take their input so seriously. As a real estate agent, you want to keep your clients happy, so showing that quality on your Facebook page will only do positive things for your brand.
Say thank you. Is there one fan in particular who is always participating on your page, whether it be by posting photos, “liking” your statuses, or commenting on your wall posts? Take some time to thank them by giving them a shout-out on your page. This is especially easy on Twitter, because you can easily thank new followers or give a mention to someone who consistently retweets your material, or has mentioned you in one of their tweets. Not only does this make you look more engaging, but you’re starting an interaction with your fans in a way that isn’t intimidating.
Teach them a little something. While it is, of course, very educational to post buyer and seller tips on a regular basis, sometimes it’s okay to think outside the box. Every week or every few weeks, find some random trivia fact that’s interesting and tweet it, or post in on your wall. You’d be surprised at the reaction you’ll get! People love learning random, interesting facts now and then, so offering them that content from time to time will keep your posts varied and interesting.
Let them into your personal life for awhile. Share your accomplishments, a cute family story, an inside joke at the office, or an upcoming event! While it is important to maintain a level of professionalism on your page, having it be all business all the time gets boring. People enjoy reading about the personal lives of people. That’s why Facebook became so successful in the first place! Tweeting and posting personal tidbits from time to time humanizes your brand, and that is very valuable to your fans. They want to see you as a person, after all, not just as a real estate agent! Don’t be afraid to get a little personal.
Make your fans laugh. Whether you just saw something hilarious on the street, you find a good joke online, or you see a story in the newspaper that is ridiculous, everyone loves to laugh. Showing that you have a sense of humor can only boost your interaction and your content’s value. Making your fans laugh will increase consumer engagement and keep them coming back to read more, which is key.
While your fans aren’t necessarily getting something tangible out of all of these kinds of posts, they are still getting something of value. Whether it’s a good laugh, a peek into your personal life, or some say over your Facebook profile, your fans will feel important after participating.
Having trouble thinking of something creative? No problem! Your real estate virtual assistant, can come up with and implement these ideas. Before you know it, your Facebook and Twitter accounts will be filled with valuable content and you can rest assured that your fans are enjoying the time spent on your social media sites!
Contact Carrie
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The Three Most Common Social Media Mistakes
Friday, June 24th, 2011
Social media is a brand-new form of marketing, so if you’re an experienced real estate agent who is used to more tried-and-true marketing tactics, it can be difficult to grasp the concept of Facebook and Twitter. It’s hard enough learning how to use social networking sites and to understand the lingo, but when you’re not getting the results that you want, it can get frustrating. That’s why sometimes, it’s important to take a step back and yourself this: What am I doing wrong?
As real estate virtual assistants, we have adopted social networking as one of our biggest marketing tools for our clients. Along the way, we have learned what to do to have a successful Facebook business page or Twitter account…and what not to do. These three mistakes are ones that we’ve noticed several real estate agents make on their accounts.
Their approach is too hard-selling. The second that people go to your page and decide to “like” it, they know that you’re a real estate agent. They know that you’re on Facebook to have a business page and to market yourself and your brand. With that being said, having your posts push listing after listing, link back to your website constantly, and only talk about the benefits of using your business will not spell success for your page. You do, of course, want to do this on occasion, but doing it too much and
not changing up your posts will be viewed as annoying, and more often than not, people will disable your posts from their news feed and stop reading your content. Get your message and your brand out on your page, but also take the time to act as a community resource and show some interest in your fans by inviting them to participate on your page. Once you start focusing on building relationships instead of marketing yourself, you’ll find that your page will be a much larger success.
They don’t have a plan. Since most real estate agents are busy, they don’t take the time to sit down and create a plan for their social networking. Instead, they create the page, start posting sporadically, and then give up when they don’t start to see results from their page. The important thing to remember is that social networking is not a marketing medium that will give you instant gratification. You need to take some time to create your pages, build your presence, build up your fan
base, and start building relationships. In order to do this successfully, you need to sit down and create a timeline of how you’re going to build up your presence. You can start by allotting a certain amount of time to create your pages and build up your content, then allotting a time frame for building up your fan base, and from there gradually start building relationships with your fans and followers. Having a plan helps you stay organized and allows you to set realistic goals for your social media marketing efforts. One of the benefits of having a virtual assistant is that we can show you our plan and make it work for you.
They’re way too business-like in their interactions and responses on their Facebook and Twitter pages. While we understand the need to be business-like and professional on your pages, it’s also important to make your fans feel comfortable. Taking the time to show gratitude to people who are engaging with your brand on your business page, referring to each person by name as you interact with them, and acknowledging the various points of view and opinions that show up on your page goes a long way. It’s also important to take an interest in what your fans are up to and keep the conversation as casual as possible. Not every Facebook and Twitter interaction will turn into a business transaction on the spot. Building that genuine friendship and relationship over social media will make your fans remember you, and if they ever do need real estate services, whether it be five weeks from now or five years from now, your name will be the one they think of. That’s how you should approach all of your social media interactions.
Now that we’ve recognized these three mistakes, the key is to make sure that when you go about building up your social networking presence, you don’t make the same ones. Remember, the key to social networking is to be social, not only to market yourself. It can be a powerful marketing tool, but in order for it to work, you need to take a different approach.
Contact Carrie
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Multiple Custom Facebook Tabs That Cost Nothing!
Monday, June 13th, 2011
A few weeks ago I wrote a post about how to make a Facebook Welcome Tab that helped convert visitors into fans. It depended on the ability to create a custom Facebook tab which back then was not free. I’ve now discovered a way to do this that costs nothing and even allows you to create up to 12 custom tabs on the same Facebook page. Here’s how…
Static HTML is a free Facebook app that let’s you create these custom tabs very easily. It also gives you the ability to create “fan” and “non-fan” versions of each tab with any kind of Web content you can imagine. And, just as importantly, these tabs are still visible to those visitors who have logged into Facebook via the secure method.
Using this app to create custom tabs is very straightforward. However, if you would like to see a brief step-by-step tutorial on how to use this app to create your custom tabs just go to www.Facebook.com/OnlineDominance and click the Free “How To” Videos! tab (yes, I created it with Static HTML) and watch the first video.
Your ability to stand out and generate new business via Facebook is changing almost daily. I will continue to do my best to help you discover and implement the best of these. The key word here is “implement”. The only useful tool is the one you implement.
Spice Up Your Social Media This Summer with these 6 Quick Sizzling Tips!
Friday, June 10th, 2011
So, we’re about half way through 2011 and you’ve found yourself fully embracing the social media trends. You came up with a brilliant social media marketing plan as part of your New Year’s resolution in order to tackle this lively marketing medium, and you’ve stayed on course. We’d like to congratulate you on a job well done! We know coming up with, and sticking to a social media plan takes a lot of work and dedication, and we applaud you!
However, while you saw a surge of new Facebook fans or Twitter followers in the first few months, you may have noticed the fan engagement with your site has plateaued. So, as with any recipe, finding a way to spice things up will help inspire the much needed boost that you’re searching for!
Recently, Constant Contact CEO Gail Goodman, came up with six ways to add a spark to your social media plan. We thought these were great ideas to help get you over the mid-year slump and keep your social media a vibrant marketing tool through the end of the year! Of course we tweaked them to be real estate specific just for you. Take a look!
1. Respond to Current Events
Engage clients and leads over social media by sparking dialog around news or events that are real estate related. Interpret the news, and offer your opinion, while inviting contacts to chime in with their concerns and views as well. Always keep in mind, however, that some political issues can bring about heated reactions, so choose carefully and always respond in a professional manner.
2. Introduce a New Product or Service
If you have a new product or service you’re offering, such as a great home search tool on your website or a blog you just launched; inform your fans about it. You can even draw attention to an overlooked tool on your site by asking a simple “Did you Know?”. Enhancements to your business provide ample reasons to reach out to your contacts with mini marketing bursts.
3. Invite Fans to a Special Promotion or Event
Whether you’re involved with a community activity or are hosting an open house; inviting your contacts will allow them to gain that personal connection. If you are actively involved in your community, this will also allow them to see how passionate you are about serving the area in which you live!
4. Share a New Company or Client Video
This is another way to create an engaging marketing opportunity. Share a casual video message from yourself or one of your agents, or a customer testimonial video. Producing video can be fun, easy and, most importantly, engaging.
5. Give Thanks in a Client Appreciation Message
It never hurts to tell clients, “I just wanted to thank you.” Neither does showing them how you’re using their feedback by telling them, “You spoke, I listened: I’ve made some changes to my business.” Or, celebrate your in-business anniversary by thanking customers for their loyalty.
6. Offer a Free Report, Tips or Other Timely Information
This is perfect for real estate agents who can provide clients and leads with free CMA’s, regular market updates and a list of new homes in the area! You don’t always have to ask contacts for their business. Sometimes, you’ll want to give back. You can do so by providing knowledge and insights in the form of free info, how-to guides, service giveaways or some other limited-edition offer.
Spicing up your social media, as you can see, can be time and cost efficient! We hope these sizzling tips are exactly what you needed to create more interaction this summer.
Need help with your Facebook Fan page or Twitter? Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant, can create custom social media accounts just for you and can even maintain it everyday so that you’re free to take some time to relax this summer. While your social media sites are sizzling, you can sit back and enjoy sipping an ice cool lemonade in the shade. Now that sounds like a recipe for a successful summer!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
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How To Create A Facebook Welcome Page That Will Explode Your Fan Base!
Monday, April 25th, 2011
If you want to dramatically boost your Facebook page membership, you have to give your visitors a compelling reason to become a fan. And at the same time once they are a fan, you don’t want to bore them by “reselling” reasons for being a fan over and over again. Here’s how you easily achieve both objectives…
NOTE: you can attend my upcoming April 26, 2011 Live Group Coaching webinar that is dedicated to the topic of creating killer Facebook Welcome Tabs. There is no cost for attending, just CLICK HERE to register.)
Facebook Opens Up
Just recently Facebook announced that it is now allowing any kind of Web content within any of your Facebook page tabs. This means anything that could be put in an HTML webpage including Flash, JavaScript, Web apps, etc. can now be part of your Facebook page content. This opens up whole new worlds of possibilities in terms of creating value for your Facebook fans. This also means that you now have the ability to create a “Welcome Tab” that can knock the socks off of visitors who are non-fans in such a way that they can’t resist clicking the “Like” button.
To see an example of a dynamic Welcome Tab in action just CLICK HERE to go to the Online Dominance Facebook page. If you are already a fan, you’ll simply land on the Wall. And if you click the Welcome Tab you’ll see different content than non-fans. If you’re a non-fan and go to the Online Dominance Facebook page, you are automatically taken to the Welcome Tab that has very powerful and compelling multimedia content designed to visitors to click the Like button.
Not as Easy as 123 — Until Now…
Unfortunately, Facebook makes this process anything but easy. In addition to some required coding, you would also have to have the webpage that you use for the Welcome Tab content to be put through a secure server. Otherwise, anytime someone views your Welcome Tab after logging into Facebook using the secure method, they will see an error screen.
Fortunately, there is now a service that handles all of these issues for you so that literally within 60 seconds you can have your custom Facebook Welcome Tab. You can view a live demonstration showing how easy it is to create a custom, compelling Welcome Tab for your Facebook page during my free April 26, 2011 Live Group Coaching webinar. This session will also include “Best Practices” of Welcome Tab creation (to help maximize fan conversion). Actual examples of how other real estate professionals have used these methods to create their own custom Facebook welcome tab will be shown as well. Just CLICK HERE to register for this free webinar.
A Facebook business page is useless without lots of highly targeted fans. This new capability is one of the best methods I’ve seen yet for turning visitors into raving fans.
How to Develop Your Online Kaizen
Monday, April 4th, 2011
If you had a choice between instant results and “slow and steady” implementation, which would you choose? Okay, now which one is reality? Well for most people it’s neither, but for the really smart ones it’s the latter.
Last night I had a chat with one of my all-time favorite students, Doug Newby. The purpose of the call was to get his permission to include his Website’s monthly unique visitor count for a Realtor Magazine article I’m writing (over 25,000/mo. in case you were wondering).
Our conversation quickly evolved into reminiscing about how we first got together. He was in the audience of a presentation I did on behalf of the Dallas Association of Realtors, way back in the 1990′s. After the session he came up to me and tried to hire me as a consultant (at several hundred dollars per hour) which I politely turned down.
Not one to be frustrated in his attempt to move his online business forward, Doug attended one of my first 3-Day Advanced Workshops in the early 2000′s. Even though he had made some changes to his Website (based upon my first presentation) it had a long ways to go. He volunteered to be on the “Hot Seat” in front of the entire workshop audience –which was a gutsy thing to do. There wasn’t much left of his Website by the time I was through with it, other than the possibilities of something much greater. Instead of feeling dejected, Doug literally glowed with the excitement of what could be. In fact he won a medal from my staff and me at the end of the 3 days for being the one attendee with the greatest possibilities of improvement.
The following year he attended yet another 3-Day Workshop (still in the early 2000′s) and proudly announced that his online business had shot up 300% from the previous year. He has continued to make small, incremental improvements over the years to his Website. And then in July 2009 he took the leap of creating his ModernHomes Facebook page. Though he was very uncertain about this whole “social media thing” he trudged onward with the advice of Brad Carroll and myself. In just over 18 months his fan base for this page went from zero to over 300,000. And as a result of his slow and steady approach to implementing other proven online principles, his Website now enjoys over 25,000 unique visitors a month and has higher Google rankings than even 500 agent firms in the Dallas area.
Oh, there is one thing I almost forgot to mention. Doug will be the first person to admit that he is anything but a techy. He can send and receive email and use a Web browser without getting lost, but that’s about it.
We live in an “instant” world. Instant news, instant pain relief, instant weight loss, instant wealth. There is no pill to take or silver bullet to purchase that will cause your business to flourish immediately.
Doug Newby, with his contagious enthusiasm, sense of wonder and commitment to consistent incremental improvements is a perfect example of what really does work. His Kaizen approach to business is an inspiration that we all could look up to and learn from.
