Posts Tagged ‘reva’
The Foundation for Successful Marketing for 2012
Friday, December 9th, 2011
The beginning of a new year can be very inspiring as it offers the opportunity to implement change. If you’re thinking through ways to really make your real estate business stand out in the coming year, there are a wide variety of ways to do so! From social media marketing, creating videos and a customized YouTube channel, real estate blogging, enhancing your website and networking; your options are nearly limitless!
Yet at the core of all of your marketing, and even at the core of your company, there needs to be a solid foundation of your brand. Defining the brand of your company forces you to think through questions such as:
- What is the mission of my company?
- How do I want others to view me and my services?
-What is most important to my clients?
- How do I want to run my company?
Using these questions as a jumping off point will help you discover your brand and establish a base for the new year and will be a building block for many years to come!
A recent article by John Williams, an advertising guru who’s created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies such a Mitsubishi, pointed out eight effective ways to build your brand. Of course, I tweaked them for real estate, but the basic points work in creating a top notch brand for any company.
1. Get a great logo- Place it everywhere. If you don’t yet have a logo, or you’d like a professionally designed logo customized to your business; let us know! Our design team would love to work with you to create a logo that’s uniquely yours and that helps you stand out!
2. Write down your brand messaging- What are the key messages you want to communicate about your brand? Every employee and agent in your company should be aware of your brand attributes so they can better portray them to clients.
3. Integrate your brand- Branding extends to every aspect of your business such as how you answer your phones, what you or your agents wear to meetings and open houses, your e-mail signature, everything.
4. Create a “voice” for your company that reflects your brand- This voice should be applied to all written communication and incorporated in the visual imagery of all materials, online and off. Is your brand friendly? Be conversational. Is it ritzy? Be more formal. You get the idea.
5. Develop a tagline- Write a memorable, meaningful and concise statement that captures the essence of your brand.
6. Design templates and create brand standards for your marketing materials- Use the same color scheme, logo placement, look and feel throughout. You don’t need to be fancy, just consistent.
7. Be true to your brand- Clients won’t return to you, or refer you to someone else, if you don’t deliver on your brand promise.
8. Be consistent- This point is last only because it involves all of the above and is the most important tip. If you can’t do this, your attempts at establishing a brand will fail.
Putting these eight rules for branding into practice for 2012 is a great way to build the foundation of your real estate business! Even if your company has been in existence for some time; if your brand has been pushed to the wayside, it’s time to create a fresh start!
Now it’s time to get started in creating your brand that will establish your company and act as the launching pad for years of success!
Have a great day!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
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Did You Know…?
Friday, June 17th, 2011
As Real Estate Virtual Assistants, we often get agents come to us with the statements, “I don’t know if this is something you do…” or “I didn’t know you guys did that!” so I thought it was time for a little session of Did You Know…?
Being a Real Estate Virtual Assistant is worlds apart from being just a virtual assistant. Many virtual assistants work from home on their own, will need to be trained in the real estate specific tasks you need them to do, and will provide only the service that you request of them. And that’s okay. For some agents, they just want the basic help and have more time to oversee every small detail; and that’s they’re prerogative!
But, as Real Estate Virtual Assistants (REVA’s), we can provide more service than you ever thought possible! As Real Estate Virtual Assistant we’re constantly discovering new ways to help our clients, and giving them suggestions on new marketing tools and ideas, and are here to make your life easier. If you have a minute, take a look at these Did You Know questions and see how many you already knew… some of them may surprise you!
Did You Know….
- You don’t have to train your Real Estate Virtual Assistant? Yep, if they’ve been in the real estate business, they probably have done nearly every task imaginable. From entering listings into the MLS, posting listings to real estate websites such as Postlets, Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, etc…, to lead management, closing coordination and everything in between; your REVA can take your tasks and run with them! You don’t have to spend one minute in training!
- Some REVA’s can create custom logos, graphics and websites? Your real estate virtual assistant design team is a creative hub that will take any dreams you have for a logo, graphic or website and turn it into a reality. Even if you have no idea what you’re looking for, a quick kick-off call will have the design team up and running on your project!
… Coffee beans grow on trees? Okay, this one may seem a bit random, but we know the crazy schedule you keep as real estate agents and we are guessing that, at times, a good cup of java is the only thing that keeps you going. We thought it would be good for you to know where it came from.
… A REVA can take care of all of your social media needs? From creating a custom Facebook page or Twitter account, to taking time each day to interact and post on your social media sites; your REVA has got you covered. A social media real estate virtual assistant can drive traffic to these sites and put you ahead of the game when it comes to your social media life!
… The iphone 4 sold over 1.7 million units in the first 3 days on the market in June 2010? We know with the ease of use, real estate applications and the convenience of having everything at your fingertips; real estate agents probably accounted for a majority of the sales, right? Well, we’ll give you the credit anyway! Rumors have it that the iphone 5 will be hitting stores of October of this year… just thought I’d let you know!
… A REVA can write custom website content and blogs? It’s true! Real Estate Virtual Assistants know the importance of SEO for real estate agents and that, just as importantly, having great website and blog content is important! You not only want to show up high in search engine rankings, but you want to really provide a service of useful information for those visiting your website or reading your blog.
… A REVA can keep you on the cutting edge of real estate marketing? Since we’re in the thick of real estate marketing everyday, we’re continually being updated on the latest and greatest ideas and tools for agents! For many of our clients we will give suggestions based on their specific budget, audience and goals that we can implement to keep them ahead of the competition.
So, how many did you already know? Were there any that were new to you? Whether you are currently using a Real Estate Virtual Assistant or have been considering using one for a while; we thought it’d be beneficial to give you a further glimpse into what a REVA can do for you!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
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Ask Your Fans a Facebook Question!
Friday, June 3rd, 2011Many of you might have noticed a new addition to your Facebook page. Right above where you update your status, along with the normal “Status”, “Link”, and “Video” options, you probably noticed the tab that says “Questions”. Facebook Questions is the newest way to interact with not only your fans, but the entire Facebook community. As an agent, you can use Facebook Questions to capture leads, interact with your community and find out what they’re interested in, and get even more fans in your area to “like” your page. We wanted to share our newest Facebook find with you, so you can start using it as part of your social networking initiatives.
For those of you who don’t know, Facebook Questions is a feature that allows you to create polls for your Facebook fans, (or friends, they offer it on personal pages too!). You can ask them anything from what their favorite pizza place in town is to whether or not they’ve thought about buying a house recently. You can also enable your fans to contribute responses of their own, outside of the ones you created for your poll. The best part about Facebook questions is that once one of your fans or friends answers your question, their response shows up in their newsfeed, so THEIR friends can answer your question, too! The benefits of Facebook Questions are endless. Here are just a few reasons that you should start using it:
It can help you figure out what you should post about next. If you ask your fans to give their opinion on things such as their favorite coffee shop in town or their favorite summer sport, you can see which local businesses or sports the people in your area are most interested in. You can then take the results of the poll and use them as clues as to what topics will get the most interaction on your Facebook page. For example, if you ask your fans what their favorite spring sport is, and the majority respond “Lacrosse”, you know that any community lacrosse-related posts will likely get more interaction than the other options. Not only will you get that interaction on your page, but you’ll get insight into how to get even more!
You can interact with other people in the Facebook community, besides your fans, and get even more people to like your page! When you post a question on your business page wall and one of your fans answers it, your question then shows up in their friends’ news feeds, along with what answer they chose. This means that their friends are seeing what question that your page posted, and they will see that it came from your page! What’s even better is that their friends can also answer your question directly on their news feed, which creates a viral effect. More people will start answering your question, more people will see that your brand and your page is on Facebook, and as a result, you will get even more fans. Facebook Questions, in a way, allows you to interact with the entire Facebook community, and not just your fans. This is a powerful way to both get interaction and draw more, all while giving your page more exposure.
If you ask the right questions, you can get leads without even realizing it. Asking questions such as “Have you thought about putting your home on the market this year?,” “When you think the best time to sell a home is?,” or “Are you thinking about taking the plunge and buying a home?” is a great way to get leads. If someone answers “Yes” to any of these questions, or even “Maybe”, you will have leads directly on your Facebook page. You can view who responded to each question, so if you click on the answer, you will see who selected that when they answered your question. You could then send that person a Facebook message introducing yourself, or, if you want to take a softer sell approach, continue interaction with them right on your page. For example, if Hannah Smith picked “Maybe” on your “Are you thinking about taking the plunge and buying a home?” question, you could maybe comment her back and say “What is it about buying a home that you’re unsure about?” This would create a conversation between you and a potential lead, and it would start that relationship in a way that’s not coming across as overly-aggressive.
One of the best parts about being on Facebook is that they are always thinking of new ways for people to interact with one another, especially for their business pages. Facebook Questions is another way to interact with your fans, but it’s also so much more than that. It allows you to interact with the entire Facebook community, and even start a soft-sell conversation with potential leads. One of the most important parts to having a successful social networking presence is to embrace the new, and this is a new way of communicating in your social networking initiatives!
Make it a great day!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
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What Matters More in Social Media: Quality or Quantity?
Friday, May 27th, 2011
Each time we log in to Facebook and start jumping around to different business pages, we’re always impressed by the Facebook pages that have large numbers of fans. It’s impressive to have a large following, particularly for smaller businesses. Sometimes, however, we get caught up in the how many Facebook fans and Twitter followers we have and forget what the whole point of building a social networking presence is: interaction. That’s why, when it comes to building up your social media presence, we tend to think that it’s better to have a quality following, not just a large amount of fans.
Think about it: would you rather have only 75 fans on your Facebook business page that are active and responsive to you, or 3,000 that barely comment? As much as we’d like to show the world that 3,000 people “like” our business, the reality is that you’re never going to get anything from those fans unless you see interaction from them. That’s why the goal of your social networking efforts should be building quality relationships with what fans you do have, not just worrying about building your numbers. Of course, it is important to do some things when you’re first starting social media to build up your fan base. After all, nobody wants to “like” a page with 3 fans. The important thing, however, is not to dwell on the number of fans you have and instead to focus on the quality of your fan base, rather than the quantity.
Here are some ways that you can insure that you have a fan base of quality, not just quantity:
Be selective of who you follow on Twitter. When you go to follow people back on Twitter, take a look at what they’re tweeting. Do you actually have an interest in interacting with this person? Are they local business, or someone who lives in your area? If you can’t answer “yes” to any of these questions, it’s probably best not to follow that person back. They would just flood your Twitter streams with tweets that you’re not interested in, and it’s better to be selective if it means you get more interaction in the long run.
Post every day. We know that it can be difficult to find the time to post on your Facebook and Twitter accounts every day, but it really is the only way to remain in people’s minds and get the interaction you want. The world of social media moves so quickly that your content could move through people’s news feeds or twitter feeds at a fast rate. If you’re not posting frequently, your content could get lost in the shuffle, which makes people less likely to comment on your posts.
Focus on building your fan base, but make sure it’s for the right reasons. Ultimately, yes, you do want the fans to “like” your page, but not because they see that so many other people have. You want your fans to see your page through their friends’ interactions with you. If someone sees that one of their Facebook friends interacts with your business page frequently, they’d be more inclined to not just “like” the page, but to join in the interaction, too.
When you first start posting on Facebook and Twitter, it’s absolutely a great idea to focus on building your fan base by inviting your current friends to become your fan or follower and reach out to your data base. It’s also a great idea to run a Facebook ad, but once you start getting that initial fan base of about 25 or so, then it’s time to start focusing on interaction, not just the number of fans you have. Losing site of the reason you’re maintaining a social media presence can result in a Facebook and Twitter page that isn’t very successful.
To put it all together, the answer to the question in our title is that a quality fan base is far more important than having a humongous number of Facebook fans and Twitter followers. Focus on interacting with the fans that you do have and start getting interaction from them, and once the interaction starts to come, the large number of fans will follow.
Make it a great day!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Become a Facebook Fan
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It’s That Time…Social Media Spring Cleaning
Friday, May 20th, 2011Spring has finally arrived! The flowers are blooming, the weather is getting progressively warmer, and we’re already gearing up for Memorial Day next weekend. Many of you have probably already done the appropriate “spring cleaning” on your homes, but what about your social networking sites?
If you haven’t updated your account in what has seemed like forever, or you haven’t sent a tweet in months, you might be surprised as to what you’ll find when you log in. You might have spam all over your Facebook page, or have gotten hundreds of new Twitter followers, all spam. It’s understandable that you wouldn’t have time during the spring housing market to maintain your social media presence, and that’s where social media spring cleaning comes in. Just take these three steps to clean up your profiles, and your accounts will be as good as new and ready for your next post!
1. Start by searching yourself. The number one goal is to be towards to top on the Google search page, right? If you haven’t blogged or updated your social networking profiles in a few months, you might see that your rankings have slipped in the search engines. Take a second to step back and look at yourself from the perspective of a potential client. Are you easy to search? Will someone see your website, blog, and social networking sites simply by googling your geographic area for real estate? If the answer is no, then it might be time to take a step back and start building up your “Google juice.” You’ll realize that you have to resume your blogging and social networking posts in order to get back on top in the search engines.
2. Update your profile. We’re not talking about posting here. It’s easy enough to start resuming your Facebook, Twitter, and blog posts at any time. I’m talking about the actual, informational profile aspect of each site. Chances are, if you haven’t touched your social networking sites in a long time, then much of your information is outdated. If you take the time to answer a few of these questions, you’ll find that your profile might need a little more polish than you had anticipated:
- Is my picture current?
- Does my bio and general information portion of my profile have a recent and up-to-date overview of my professional accomplishments and services?
- Do I have the latest, most cutting edge tabs and applications on my profile that will help me get my page out there?
- Are my social networking sites feeding where they should be?
- Are any of the links I have posted on my page broken?
If it has been a long time since you’ve even logged on to your social networking sites, chances are you would have answered “yes” to one or more of these questions. Luckily, these are all situations that are easy to rectify! Simply make the necessary updates to your profile, and see what applications other agents are using that you could potentially add to your page.
3. Clean up your Twitter following. As much as Twitter is a quality marketing tool in this day and age, there is also a high frequency of spam on the site. You’d be surprised on how a seemingly normal-looking profile could be a spam account that tweets the same things over and over again. The point of Twitter is to connect with your community, potential clients, and network, not to read spam! Go through the list of people you’re following and remove all spam accounts. It’s also important to sort through users who you actually pay attention to and users you don’t. For every person you follow, ask yourself why you follow them. If you can’t think of one good reason, chances are it’s time to take them off your list.
Following these three steps will significantly clean up your social media accounts and make them ready to post. You’ll have a list of followers on Twitter that you care about, your bio and profile will be up-to-date, and as you start blogging and posting on your social networking sites, you will move back up the SEO ladder.
Make it a great day!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
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5 Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Business!
Friday, May 6th, 2011
With warm weather, fresh air and longer days luring us outdoors, many of us are attempting to get our spring cleaning done around our homes in order to relax and enjoy the summer season. Yet we oftentimes stop when our kitchen cupboards are organized, we’ve washed our windows and have cleaned our gutters… but what about the rest of our lives?
As a real estate agent, you’re well aware of the stresses and busy schedule that await you each morning. While you love your job, you don’t set time aside to freshen up your business each year, and it can end up dragging you down in the long run.
So, in honor of this refreshing season, I thought five tips for spring cleaning your business would be just the thing to help you regroup, get organized and prioritize. You’ll be feeling less cluttered, rejuvenated and ready to continue through the busy warmer months!
1. Plan Your Day- No matter how small your to do list seems, making a daily plan is essential. If you only have one showing and the rest of your day is “free,” take that time to do things you’ve been pushing off. While you don’t want to be working around the clock, tackling one extra project on a less busy day will keep you from being overwhelmed down the road.
2. Delegate- In a recent article, Kristin Marquet, who founded the communications firm Marquet Media in New York city noted how much money she wasted trying to do everything herself. She found that spending 10 hours per week doing administrative tasks, caused her to lose around $10,000 since her hourly rate is $100. Because of this, she hired a bookeeper, web designer and writer at a fraction of the cost of her time. While it may seem hard to let go of some of your daily tasks, it will save you time and money in the long run! Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant, should take these daily tasks off your plate, which will free up your time to do what you do best!!
3. Have Clear Direction- If you have an office of people working for you, an assistant or you’re on your own, having a clear direction is 
vital. This means organizing your weekly and daily tasks from keeping track of your marketing, your blog, procedures for current and potential clients or anything else you do on a regular basis. A great way to do this is through lists and checklists. Ideally, you should have a few people in your office or your assistant completely trained and up to speed on what you do on a regular basis. Give them the big picture of your plans as well as the details of your small, daily tasks. This way, if someone is sick or your assistant quits, it’s easy to train someone else and you’re up and running again without missing a beat.
4. Fix Your Leaks- Leaky expenditures can add up and cause you to wonder where all your money is going! It’s easy to sign up here and there for small programs, websites and subscriptions that, although they’re real estate related, you don’t really need them. It’s important to look at a month’s spending and really evaluate what you need to keep and what you can cut. Although a few ten dollar expenses a month doesn’t seem like much, they can add up to significant amounts in a years’ time.
5. Be Picky- It may seem counterproductive to turn away potential or current clients, but there are those clients that will drain you with endless calls, emails… you know the type. While bending over backwards for them, you realize you’re pushing other clients to the backburner and aren’t making any progress in any direction with any of your clients. It’s okay to turn down a client that you feel end up giving you more of a headache than it’s worth.
So, as you take on spring cleaning around your house, I would encourage you to tackle spring cleaning your real estate business as well! You’ll feel rejuvenated having your work life in order and will find you’re not working harder, but smarter! Have questions about delegating those tasks that are taking up your time? Let your Real Estate Virtual Assistant know!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
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5 Cost-Effective Ways to Create Buzz about You and Your Business!
Friday, April 22nd, 2011
Every agent wants it. Whether it’s walking into a local restaurant and having people recognize you as “the” real estate agent in town, gaining new fans on your social media sites every day, having your phone ring off the hook with new leads or requests to be a guest speaker at a real estate conference; recognition and success go hand in hand.
Yet we all know this type of buzz about you and your business will not just happen overnight. It won’t even necessarily happen if you’re simply a great agent! Your selling record may far exceed your area competition and you may be able to assist first time home buyers with an efficient home purchase, but if no one knows; it won’t help you gain any new business.
So how do you create a local buzz about you and your real estate business? How can you pull ahead of the competition and be seen as a great real estate resource in your community? Below are five simple and cost-effective ways to jump start the buzz and put you on the path to real estate celebrity status!
1. Network- Opportunities for networking are all around you. Begin with building your support system with family and friends and express your desire to grow your business. They’ll be the first to jump on board and will want to talk about your services at any chance they get! Most cities have networking events that you’ll want to be sure to attend. These are ideal for making those professional connections which can be invaluable for recommendations.
2. Have Fun- Everyone loves a great contest and starting one that you can advertise on your website, Facebook, Twitter and blog is a great way to draw attention. Whether it’s real estate related or not, prizes like a free dinner or a night at a hotel is something that alot of people would want a chance to win. Have them enter on your Facebook page to gain new fans!
3. Socialize- Making sure your social media sites are enhanced and being posted to on a regular basis is a given in today’s marketing endeavors. Interacting with comments and people who are your fans will help your buzz gain even more momentum.
4. Reward- Giving your clients a gift after a successful home sale or as a house warming present for their new home will go a long way. It’s a way of rewarding their loyalty! It may seem small, but these little touches will stick in their mind and you can bet they’ll be calling you for their next real estate transaction!
5. Publicize- You can publicize you and your business without spending a dime! Look for opportunities to submit press releases about recent awards, designations you’ve received or community events or charities in which you’re involved. Local papers are always looking to highlight people in the community who are doing great things for the area. You can also let local newspapers that you’d love to be a real estate resource. You never know when an opportunity for an interview might come up!
These five tips should get you started on the path to creating a great buzz around you and your real estate services! I hope you can utilize a few, or all, of these tips! If you’re already doing something that’s working for you; let us know!
Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant is there to lighten your work load and help you build a successful real estate business! Let them help you create the buzz you deserve!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
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Get an Online Makeover to Enhance Your Business Face
Friday, February 18th, 2011
Everybody loves a good New Years makeover; even if we don’t get around to it until February. After we lose the pounds, there is, of course, a trip to the mall to re-vamp the closet and possibly even a trip to the salon to update the old hairdo. Then, just like every makeover show we’ve ever seen or ugly duckling movie we’ve ever watched, there is that iconic moment where the “After” results are revealed and everybody stops and stares with new admiration at a person who was there all along, but didn’t get a second glance until now. As we all know, unfortunately appearance does matter.
The makeover I am talking about, however, is a little bit more complex than that. What I propose to you is an Online Presence Makeover.
Most likely, if you have been around the block as a real estate agent, you are signed up with all of the major real estate portals. However, I also know that sometimes agents have a tendency to sign up for websites on impulse, only to never return. When was the last time you updated your profile on any of these sites?
First and foremost, you need to take inventory of what you already have. I know it’s difficult to remember all of the sites that you have signed up with throughout the years, so here is a checklist of some of the main sites to get your wheels spinning and spark your memory.
- Zillow
- Trulia
- Realtor.com
- Homes.com
- Realtytrac.com
- Homegain.com
- Patch.com
- Yelp
As you all know, websites are constantly changing, making updates, and offering new features. You need to revisit them, especially if they are free, and see what new options you have as their customer.
Not only are the websites changing, but you are too! In the last year, your business may have grown, you’ve taken new pictures, perhaps changed locations or got a new phone number. Are your sites up to date? What if somebody was to find you on Zillow, call the number you have listed, only to find that it has been disconnected. You just lost a lead. What does every makeover victim need? A savvy consultant, of course!
A knowledgeable Virtual Assistant will be your best bet to give your online presence an instant makeover. While it’s a big job for a busy agent, this is a task best left to someone who knows how to navigate all these sites and portals in order to completely cover all of your bases. Whether that means enhancing your Zillow profile by adding a video resume, or getting you and your business on Patch for the first time. Imagine the before and after:
Before Picture: A fair-weather agent, possibly puts a lot of time into your own website, but have completely forgotten about all of the other real estate portals out there. A half-finished Zillow profile, an outdated picture on Realtor.com, never quite got to adding contact info to Yelp…
After a VA steps in: A fully enhanced profile on every website, filled with home video tours, links to your website and all social networking sites, fully updated resumes, and all updated contact information.
Believe me, people will take notice. We know you were there all along, but with your new look, now online consumers will start taking notice too!
If you are ready for a makeover and would like to find out more about what Real Support can do for your style, just e-mail Info@realsupportinc.com or give us a call at (847) 705-1655! We look forward to hearing from you!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
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Diary of a Virtual Assistant
Friday, January 28th, 2011
We often get wrapped up in our own world and assume that everybody knows what we know and sees what we see. Your job as a real estate agent is second nature to you. You use terms such as MLS and REO on a regular basis and assume that everybody else knows what you are talking about. More than often though, they don’t. That’s why they trust you with their homes and not themselves.
I often speak to you in this blog and assume that you know exactly how my company works. Instead of assuming you know what a real estate marketing company does, I am going to give you a little insight into what goes on in the inner workings of our office.
For those of you who don’t have experience working with a marketing team, I may open your eyes to new ideas and possibilities. For those of you who value your real estate marketing, I may get your mind rolling in a new direction. Let’s follow my team of VA’s through the day!
8:30 am
Our team arrives, ready to start the day. First thing she does is check her task system. The task system is RealSupport’s way of keeping track of all of the projects and assignments we get from our clients. Some are re-occurring every week (i.e. re-posting Craigslist ads, sending out Seller Reports), while others are big scale projects (Write 4 Keyword-Rich Community Pages for San Francisco Client).
9:00 am
Email check-ups. Periodically throughout the day we get responses from projects we’ve have been working on, but also inquiries of all shapes and sizes.
“What do you think about this Tweetlister thing? Do I need to check this out? Can I link it to my Facebook?”
“I love the Bio you wrote for my website! Where else can I put this???”
“I changed companies this week. Can you update my info on all my sites?”
We proceed to respond to each e-mail, sometimes forwarding them on to a person most appropriate to answer. You see, each team member has their own area of expertise…
Sarah is our resident real estate Social Media guru. When it comes to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or any of the other millions of sites, she is your girl. On a daily basis, she tweets interesting information, creates new Facebook Business pages, or figures out how to seamlessly feed one social networking site to the next. Her list grows on a daily basis because there is always something new and exciting that one of our clients “have to have.”
Brandie is our design girl. If a client wants a new logo, a custom header, a postcard design, brochure design, etc. – the task goes to her or a freelance designer, depending on our workload. As you know, esthetics are very important for a real estate agent. No marketing team could survive without a design specialist.
Have you ever found a new site that you want to use, but don’t have the patience to figure it out? Guess what? We have somebody for that too. When it comes to troubleshooting and processes, Ron is your man. When one of our Connecticut clients decided to try QR codes, Ron found a user-friendly website, drafted up a fool-proof checklist, and created a QR code for every listing our client had on the market.
We have another girl, Allie, who has the incredible ability to be in multiple places at once – Evanston IL, Half Moon Bay CA, Lexington MA, Andover MA, and the Big Island of Hawaii, to name a few. No, she doesn’t actually travel to these places. She blogs about them. She has made it her niche to get to know everything about a client’s community so she can speak on their behalf, once a week, on their blogs. She spends her day Googling, reading articles sent from clients (“Blog Food”), and scouring real estate tips to provide our clients with well written, keyword-dense, blog masterpieces.
For all of our statistic-minded clients who like a little less fluff and a little more fact, they go to Lori. With a real estate background and a love for numbers, market statistics was a natural choice for Lori. With years of experience as a virtual assistant, she also has every process down to a science. From foreclosure procedures to the often complicated process of MLS entry, Lori is your girl.
12:00 pm
Lunch Time! A homemade wrap and a much-needed coffee in the lounge. Real estate marketing takes a lot out of you!
1:00 pm
The phone rings (for probably the 100th time that day). It’s from a client we hadn’t heard from in awhile. After going through a lull with her business, it’s back and booming and she’s ready to jump right back on that marketing bandwagon. She wants the full service treatment – listing marketing, blogging, and, of course, a Facebook Business Page. Lori forwards the call straight to Erica. As the Operations Manager, Erica knows everything there is to know about our business and real estate marketing. She gives her the rundown on what she needs to do to get started again. She quickly pulls up her files and finds it will be easy to jump in where we left off.
3:00 pm
A handful of new e-mails arrive to our team account. One is “blog food” from a Maryland client. It’s a news article on living green. It goes to Allie, of course, for blogging material, but also to Sarah so she can use a tidbit from the article to post to the client’s Facebook wall and Tweet to her Twitter. Another is from our Northern Virginia client. It’s her latest market statistics. That goes straight to Ron for seller reporting. He will gather the information together and place it in a well-presented email to send to each seller that client currently has listed.
4:00 pm
Stacey has a kick-off call with our Florida client about his drip campaign. He has sent her a few different ideas that include interesting and unknown facts about golf. Why golf? Because his niche is Golf Communities in Florida and he wants his clients to know that he knows his stuff when it comes to golf. Stacey jots down notes, and takes inventory of the free drip campaign that already comes with his Point2 account, and she begins to tweak each email to make it personal to our client. By the way, Stacey is one of our real estate copywriters. She writes “About Me” pages, Community pages, Drip Campaigns, descriptive ad copy, Newspaper Ads, Tag Lines, and, of course, blogs!
I hope this was helpful in opening your eyes to our world. If you want to become a part of it, all you have to do is give us a call. When it comes to real estate marketing, there really is nothing we don’t do.
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
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The Importance of Networking- People Need People
Friday, January 21st, 2011
In our social media age, we often lose sight of the value of face to face contact and interaction with actual people. It seems that because we can interact quickly with a multitude of people on five different sites within a matter of minutes; we’re convinced that we’ve done our networking for the day.
Thank goodness we don’t put the same qualifications on our entire life!
Why do we want to get together with friends to talk over dinner when we using our cell phones would be so much more convenient? Why take the time to go to our kids soccer game when we could just as easily watch a video of it on our phone? Ever wonder why we feel the need to go to a coffee shop to work when we could save money and make coffee at home? The answer? Human interaction!
We’re made to want to be around people, to interact with them and share life with them. Why wouldn’t you do the same thing for potential or current clients?
Of course social media is a great tool for interacting with people, but it’s only half of the whole. There is still something to be said for good old fashioned networking, and many successful companies recognize this fact! Google and other large companies are now creating the executive level role of Chief Networking Officer. These CNO’s attend events and create extensive plans for following up with people. Although seemingly basic, this type of networking is something we’ve lost sight of, and it’s time to revisit the past.
Here are a few ways you can regain the art of networking:
Attend Events- Whether it’s real estate related, a community event or volunteer opportunity; attending one to two events a month is a great way to start. Meeting new people is an effective way to get your name and face out there and can be a great way to generate buzz about your business. Imagine the impact you can have with people in your community as you have the opportunity to get to know them and they get to know you. Word of mouth marketing is still the most desired way to market as referrals are priceless!
Send Mail- Postcards, cards and notes are still greatly appreciated by most people! Remembering to send past clients a card for the holidays or on their birthday will be a refreshing surprise! You can also send notes to people you’ve been in contact with from a networking event, your past business contacts or even the manager of your favorite lunch spot where you tend to meet up with clients. This is a great way to stay at the forefront of people’s minds while still maintaining that sense of personal contact.
Make Calls- While not as personal as a face to face conversation; a phone call is still better than a text or Facebook post. Call recent clients, people you met at the farmers market, or the couple you sold a house to last month. You may not have the time to make phone calls every day, but committing to making two phone calls a week will fit into anyone’s schedule. A call will let people know that you care and that you’re willing to take the time to follow up or simple touch base.
I hope these simple networking techniques will spark even more ideas for maintaining personal contact with people and the desire to find a well balanced approach to online and in-person networking. We’re not suggesting that you kick your online presence to the curb; it is important! But this is just a little reminder that, at the end of the day, people need people!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Become a Facebook Fan
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