Posts Tagged ‘social media’

Getting Back Into Work Mode After the Holidays

Friday, December 30th, 2011

As you toss the last empty carton of eggnog into the recycling, you think of all the memories you created over the past couple of days. Opening presents with the kids, reuniting with family and friends, a kitchen full of wonderful food. Then, a new thought comes to mind. It’s something you haven’t thought of since mid last week. Tomorrow it’s time to return to work.

As a real estate agent, you love what you do and are eager to return to your work. But even with all that positivity, returning to work after a long weekend (and no to mention gorging on mass amounts of food) and getting back to the grind might be the last thing you want to do. Returning to work means the holiday that we looked forward to for so long is now over. The freedom of little structure and having no set routine or concept of time has come to an end.

Of course after a few days those feelings of dismay and longing for another day off will fizzle out, and the normal routine of the everyday work environment will settle in. But what can we do to make the transition easier? Real estate virtual assistants want to make sure you are on top of your game no matter what. While everyone enjoys a little time off, it’s even better when we can make a swift recovery upon returning to what we love…work!

Here’s how you can accomplish it:

1. Time it Right: If you travel during the holidays, make it a point to return home a day or two before starting work. This will give you some down time to prepare yourself for what’s ahead. If you have been sleeping in for a few days, this extra time will help you get back into the routine of waking up early. Arriving home the night before at 11:00pm will not help your cause of being fresh and rearing to go at 7:30am the next morning.

2. Stay in Touch: Keep in touch with your colleagues over the holidays. While some people prefer to completely disconnect during their time off, others like to keep involved. It’s actually beneficial to stay in touch with work matters during time off, to prevent being bombarded with an unexpected workload upon your return. Luckily, our smart phones and other modern technology allow us to keep abreast of work progress while we are away.

3. Use Your Brain: When we have some time off, we tend to neglect some of daily activities that are non-work related as well. During the next holiday, keep your brain working while you’re off by keeping up with the news, completing puzzles and reading books. This way, your brain won’t be totally confused when you have to start using it again.

4. Plan a Weekend Getaway: Plan a weekend getaway somewhere in the near future immediately after returning to work. Whether or not you actually go is immaterial, but the concept of getting away will keep you in good spirits. If taking another weekend off is out of the question, plan daily, weekly or even monthly activities that will give you something to look forward to. This might be a fitness class, taking your dog to the park, or a scheduled lunch rendezvous with a friend. In the end, it’s these little things that keep us going.

5. Talk with Workmates: When you return to the office, swap holiday stories with your coworkers. This will keep the atmosphere light end friendly while you’re getting back into the nitty-gritty of things. Not only will this lighten the mood, but it will keep the spirit of the holidays alive just a little bit longer!

6. Friendly Reminders: If you’re tempted to crawl back under the covers when your alarm goes off, remind yourself of why your job is awesome. Your job is important to you, you’re good at it, and it holds value and purpose. You’re lucky to have a career that brings you security, fulfillment and happiness!

Hopefully these tips will help all of us ease back into the working life. If not this year, there’s always 2012!

Have an awesome day!

Carrie Gable and the team at RealSupport, Inc.are our “VA Quick Tip” columnists offering expertise in real estate marketing, technology and more. RealSupport’s office and team of 9 full-time staff members is located near Chicago, IL. Their successful team works virtually for many top real estate agents and brokers nationwide. Pioneers in the Real Estate Virtual Assistant industry, RealSupport offers marketing, branding, website and logo design, listing marketing, lead generation, technical support, transaction management, social networking, blogging and much more… Just ask!

Contact Carrie 
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Healthy Benefits of Indulging

Monday, November 28th, 2011

Are you like me?  Feel like you ate the entire Thanksgiving table by yourself?  With groaning belly, your little internal voice scolds, “I shouldn’t have done that.”  Then the guilt kicks in, you beat yourself up and promise to never do it again.  But it’s OK – really!  See, it’s actually good for you!  Here’s why…

Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!

― Mae West

It’s commonly called “indulgence” and is most often looked at as a negative kind of thing.  People who indulge themselves are viewed as lazy, greedy, and selfish.  In striving to maintain our self-image as good and decent folk, we deny ourselves things we truly desire, both big and small.  The more we refuse to acknowledge these things, greater importance gets attached to them and we have to work all the harder to not indulge.  Talk about stressful!  That’s right – the stress of NOT doing something can be more harmful than doing it (in moderation of course).

Now, suppose for a moment that instead you denied those little voices telling you that to indulge in something is bad, and gave yourself permission to enjoy.  Oooo – there now, doesn’t that feel good?  Not only do you have that little reward, but you have a few other things going for you.  Firstly, people who take time to do something for themselves are shown to have an increased sense of self-worth and accomplishment, because you know have the ability to reap the reward of your work.  Secondly, when you admit to a weakness or desire and let go of judgment over it, you find that thing has much less hold on you going forward.  Finally, by being honest with yourself, you are building a true and realistic image of yourself rather than a false one based on ideals.

Keep in mind however, that any indulgence should be safely within the bounds of your lifestyle and kept under moderation.  Making a conscious choice to enjoy life’s little pleasures should never pose a serious danger to health and well being.

That being said, the next time that voice says “You shouldn’t do that,” feel free to answer, “Oh yes I should!  It’s good for me!”

The Gift of Being Grateful

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

How often do you go out of your way to help people?  Most real estate agents complain their time is already crunched with too many demands.  Being almost constantly overwhelmed can make us blind to other situations going on around us.  This also, unfortunately, makes us blind to the possibilities or gifts available to us at any given moment as well.

Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart. — Henry Clay

I read a news story lately about a man who, although late for an appointment, stopped to help a stranger on the side of the highway change a tire.  Nice, right?  Just hold on… The tire being secure, the man gets in his car and drives off, but a couple miles up the road suffers a heart attack!  Meanwhile, the man he had just helped with the tire came along, called for help and performed CPR until medics arrived – saved his life.  If the first man had not stopped to help with that tire, the second would not have been able to get there in time to rescue him.

The message here is not original, but is a very simple and profound truth.  Soon or later, you get what you give, often multifold.  And not just the normal things you do for people in your everyday life.  It’s the special times, the times when you see an opportunity to do something meaningful for another even though it is not convenient or enjoyable for you.

As Thanksgiving approaches (for the U.S. anyway), take a minute to think about the news story I mentioned, and by turns put yourself into the position of each man.  Imagine how grateful the guy felt who needed help changing his tire that someone had enough empathy to pull over on a highway and provide assistance.  Imagine the depth of gratitude the man having the heart attack felt to have someone there who knew what to do to pull him through.  Imagine what the outcome would have been had neither of those two events happened?

What are you truly grateful for?  Who made what happen in order for that to be possible?  You never know how deeply what may seem like a simple act on your part impacts another person.  So look for those opportunities, enrich someone else’s life… as well as your own.

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!

 

Carrie Gable and the team at RealSupport, Inc.are our “VA Quick Tip” columnists offering expertise in real estate marketing, technology and more. RealSupport’s office and team of 9 full-time staff members is located near Chicago, IL. Their successful team works virtually for many top real estate agents and brokers nationwide. Pioneers in the Real Estate Virtual Assistant industry, RealSupport offers marketing, branding, website and logo design, listing marketing, lead generation, technical support, transaction management, social networking, blogging and much more… Just ask!

Contact Carrie 
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
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Become a Real Estate Icon with These 5 Tips!

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

As a real estate agent, you may not automatically think of yourself as an entrepreneur, but really, that’s what you are!  You’re building your brand, clientele and entire livelihood from the ground up.  While your business is similar to others in the real estate field, it’s up to you to establish yourself as a legit business and bring growth and success; and that’s a large task!

So, what are some of the key steps you can take to really set yourself up as a solid business, a real estate expert or even an icon in the field?

Now, you may think, “Okay, I can see myself as an entrepreneur, but an icon?  I’m not so sure…”  We’re all aware that to have a dynamic business means to constantly be pushing yourself to continual growth; so aiming for the status of icon in your real estate market or even on a national level can be just the thing to urge you to constantly strive for more.

Does this seem overwhelming yet?  Well, take a deep breath.  Becoming an icon doesn’t happen overnight and will take consistency and a daily committment to provide the best and most innovative service to your clients.

Recently, entrepreneur.com gave five great tips that will help boost you to that iconic level.  Of course, I’ve modified them to make them real estate specific, so take a few minutes to review how you can take your business to the next level!

1. Start blogging- Blogging is a great way to establish yourself as an expert.  You can easily provide pertinent information about your real estate market, your listings, home buying or selling tips and even community events.  Giving people the information they want about the real estate market, their home and the community will keep them coming back for more.  The more you blog on a consistent basis, the more people will begin to see you as a trusted expert in your field and in your community.

Not a writer?  Delegate the copywriting to your Real Estate Virtual Assistant

2. Market yourself- In being your own brand, marketing is key to your success.  While you may not feel comfortable with self-promotion; it’s really the only way to market your business since you are your business.  Marketing your services, your field of expertise, even your awards or recognitions allows others to get to know you, your values and what you will be able to do for them.  This is just another way to establish yourself as an expert and give an open door to becoming an icon.  Exposure brings recognition, which breeds familiarity and establishes trust.  It’s just how our minds work!

A great way for real estate agents to do this is through a one sheet marketing approach.  We’ve created this for a few of our clients and its been a huge success!  A one sheet is simply a sheet of paper that gives a brief synopsis of who you are, your certifications, area of service, expertise or anything else you want to highlight about you and your business.  They’re perfect for leaving at an open house, giving to potential clients and handing out with your marketing presentation.  Check out this example of a one sheet we did for our North of Boston client, Sven Andersen.

3. Create Compelling Content- Whether you’re bloggingwriting a buyer or seller page for your website or creating your print marketing material; your content should be compelling.  That means sentence structure and grammar should be impeccable, and the topics or advice you are presenting should be up to date and interesting.  Visitors to your website or blog will know when something’s just been thrown on a page, and that will send the message that you are okay with doing the minimum just to get it done.  Why not show how much you care about your business and your customer service ethics through great content?  It will help set the tone for your entire business.

4. Create Products- Did you know that real estate agents can have products too?  While you’re not trying to sell them to make a profit, having products or tools to provide for your clients can help set you apart.  It can be anything from a free monthly market report, to an e-booklet on 365 things to do in your community, an informational guide to short sales, a drip email campaign that delivers great tips or market news to their inbox, or a brochure you’ve created about your city.  Giving your client or potential clients something extra is unexpected, sets you apart and establishes yourself even more as an expert.

5. Take it to the Next Level- Now that you’re seen as an expert in your community, boost yourself to icon by taking it to the next level.  If you’re passionate about selling homes or helping people avoid foreclosure; do all you can to grow in your area of expertise.  Begin to register yourself as an expert on real estate sites or other marketing avenues and network, network, network!   Real estate conventions are always looking for speakers in a specific field and the more you put yourself out there, the more likely you are to have opportunities on a national level.  Imagine how sought after you’ll be in your community after receiving national recognition!

Phew!  This is may seem like a lot to take in and a lot of hard work; and it is!  Reaching your goals will take time, dedication and a focus on the end results.  Remember, taking it a day at a time is key!  You won’t become an icon, or even seen as a real estate expert overnight, but you’ll be encouraged by those daily “wins” and as you see your business begin to grow.

Carrie Gable and the team at RealSupport, Inc.are our “VA Quick Tip” columnists offering expertise in real estate marketing, technology and more. RealSupport’s office and team of 9 full-time staff members is located near Chicago, IL. Their successful team works virtually for many top real estate agents and brokers nationwide. Pioneers in the Real Estate Virtual Assistantindustry, RealSupport offers marketing, branding, website and logo design, listing marketing, lead generation, technical support, transaction management, social networking, blogging and much more… Just ask!

Contact Carrie 
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
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Where Should I Find My Facebook Posts, Anyway?

Friday, August 12th, 2011

 

When we first begin our social media setups for our clients, we create something called a “cheat sheet.” This cheat sheet has everything from our clients’ hourly social media budget for the week, to links to their website and blog to client preferences to a list of resources we should use for posts. The cheat sheet is, in a way, our social media lifeline for each client. By glancing at the cheat sheet, we know exactly where to go to find what to post for our clients and what geographic area each client is in. It’s a way to save time, be more efficient, and focus on what’s important in social media marketing: getting interaction.

Many real estate agents struggle to figure out what to post. They want content that will be interesting to their fans, but they want to keep things professional and relevant at the same time. It can be a struggle, but if you create you own “cheat sheet” of go-to resources for your social media posts, we can almost guarantee that you’ll spend less time figuring out what to post and more time interacting with your community, which is what social media is all about!

We have a list of a few go-to real estate, community and technology resources that we’d like to share with you, to make your social networking efforts easier. Here are five of our favorites:

HGTV Front Door: If you’re looking to post buyer and seller tips, this is the perfect site for you. Full of how-to guides, to-do and not-to-do advice, and informative articles about the real estate process, this website has some perfect articles that you can share with your fans in order to educate them. People love reading about the changing trends and tactics in real estate, particularly if they’re thinking about putting their home on the market. You can always find something different to post on FrontDoor, so use it well!

REALTOR Online Magazine: This online magazine has daily real estate news updates that are interesting to real estate agents and consumers alike. They provide insightful and relevant information about the real estate market, and they also give some thoughts on what the latest trends are in the market, which could be interesting to your fans. We go on this site at least once a day to see what’s happening in the real estate world.

Mashable: Mashable is an online news site that is technology-focused. As irrelevant as it might seem, technology is incredibly popular right now. The whole world is waiting for Apple or Android to launch their new product or for the latest Facebook news. While some of the headlines might not be relevant to your fans, trust us when we say that the consumer will want to read about major tech news or social media tips. You can post things from this site once in awhile to change up the content.

Patch: If you’re looking to post something community-based, Patch is the place to go. If your town has a Patch site, chances are you’re probably been on it. All of the news on this site is community-focused, and they offer frequent, daily updates about the latest events in town. It also gets updated all day, so you can check back frequently to see what’s new in your community. You can even subscribe to a daily newsletter that gives you an overall summary of the latest news in your town. It’s quick, easy, and doesn’t require much effort to access. You’ll find several community posts on Patch.

This Old House: In a buyer’s market, home improvement projects have become popular again. People are always thinking of ways they can add to their home, in order to boost its value. In this economy, the majority of homeowners are looking for ways to fix up their home without breaking the bank. This Old House is a great resource for DIY home improvement projects and will give your fans some great ideas. They have great posts that are both Facebook and Twitter material, so we like to keep this one bookmarked.

If you’ve been struggling with figuring out what to post on Facebook and Twitter, these five resources can give you a head-start. The more you search and utilize these resources for your posts, the easier it becomes to find quality content for your social networking sites. If you’re looking for someone to help you post quality content or get your social networking presence set up, ask your real estate virtual assistant!

 

Carrie Gable and the team at RealSupport, Inc.are our “VA Quick Tip” columnists offering expertise in real estate marketing, technology and more. RealSupport’s office and team of 9 full-time staff members is located near Chicago, IL. Their successful team works virtually for many top real estate agents and brokers nationwide. Pioneers in the Real Estate Virtual Assistantindustry, RealSupport offers marketing, branding, website and logo design, listing marketing, lead generation, technical support, transaction management, social networking, blogging and much more… Just ask!

Contact Carrie 
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Become a Facebook Fan
Follow me on Twitter

The Future of Search is Social

Friday, July 29th, 2011

Up 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 FacebookTwitterLinkedIn, 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 pageTwitter 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!

 

Carrie Gable and the team at RealSupport, Inc.are our “VA Quick Tip” columnists offering expertise in real estate marketing, technology and more. RealSupport’s office and team of 9 full-time staff members is located near Chicago, IL. Their successful team works virtually for many top real estate agents and brokers nationwide. Pioneers in the Real Estate Virtual Assistantindustry, RealSupport offers marketing, branding, website and logo design, listing marketing, lead generation, technical support, transaction management, social networking, blogging and much more… Just ask!

Contact Carrie 
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Join Our LinkedIn Group
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Make Your Social Network Posts “Valuable”

Friday, July 8th, 2011

Building 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!

Carrie Gable and the team at RealSupport, Inc. are our “VA Quick Tip” columnists offering expertise in real estate marketing, technology and more. RealSupport’s office and team of 9 full-time staff members is located near Chicago, IL. Their successful team works virtually for many top real estate agents and brokers nationwide. Pioneers in the Real Estate Virtual Assistantindustry, RealSupport offers marketing, branding, website and logo design, listing marketing, lead generation, technical support, transaction management, social networking, blogging and much more… Just ask!

Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Become a Facebook Fan
Follow me on Twitter

 

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.

Carrie Gable and the team at RealSupport, Inc. are our “VA Quick Tip” columnists offering expertise in real estate marketing, technology and more. RealSupport’s office and team of 9 full-time staff members is located near Chicago, IL. Their successful team works virtually for many top real estate agents and brokers nationwide. Pioneers in the Real Estate Virtual Assistantindustry, RealSupport offers marketing, branding, website and logo design, listing marketing, lead generation, technical support, transaction management, social networking, blogging and much more… Just ask!

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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.


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