The Similarities of Social Media and Real Estate

Social media is a great way for businesses to market to large audiences with low costs and limited time commitments. Is it always the best option? I have been studying social media since its inception several years ago. I would watch as my girlfriend (at the time) was chatting with students at Yale, Harvard and the other 30 colleges on “TheFacebook.” Little did I know this new technology would blossom into one of the most dominating companies of all time. Facebook is literally changing the game on a grand scale in terms of marketing.

Now let’s look at the real estate market. There are several markets we love to look at like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Why? Because we like to see the trends and the latest features in our industry of real estate. Do we focus on these areas? Not likely, unless of course you are in or around these global markets. We focus on our local markets. How does this translate for you? What you do locally may not be what agents do in Los Angeles or New York. Knowing the trends and latest features is part of our job and we need to review these macro-level concepts in order to develop professionally. The same goes for social media, knowing the trends and being able to see what is next is critical for anyone using social media as a marketing outlet.

Macro level views, but how does it help me locally?

The similarities of Social Media and Real estate do not stop at understanding on a macro level. They also include implementation on a local or micro level.  Basically what is done on the grand scale in dynamic locations may not necessarily translate to your local market. Here in Tucson we have two separate social media cities. One by the University of Arizona which adheres to the southern California style of Instagram and Twitter. And second among the Tucsonans who are primarily on Facebook. Even within our city we have two separate forms of localized social media markets.

A local view, now what does it mean to you??

I see several posts from large companies on all social media outlets expressing the latest and greatest technology for agents to use. Understanding what is out there is great, however implementing the latest trends in your local market may not be needed. I would caution agents in reading these posts because of the localization of the social media market. Where are you located; is your consumer on the social media described in the post? I can say with full confidence here in Tucson our market is not on snapchat. This allows me to manage my time more efficiently and focus on the places where my customers are on, like Facebook and Pinterest. I wrote a great article a few months ago on why it is okay to not like Facebook and I still believe this. If your market is about meeting with people on a personal level, then have coffee with them. There is no shame in not using the latest technology if it is not relevant to your local market.

Real Estate and social media are similar in that the dynamics must be just right for success. Be sure to keep a pulse on your market, both with real estate and with social media use.

Facebook Branding for Real Estate Agents

Facebook Branding 

I was working on a referring partners Facebook page this morning and came across some a technical issue which I am sure agents have struggled with in the past. I wanted to give a simple tips on getting through this technical problem and encourage agents to try some great online resources for branding on Facebook.

Branding on Facebook is a topic of much debate because most agents do not even brand themselves off of Facebook. They simply think branding is something done by large companies who have marketing budgets. This could not be further from the truth. Branding is an absolute must in every small business and most agents are independent contractors who should focus on branding even before they get licensed. Agents who are not on teams do not necessarily think about branding. However, it should be part of their job because without even knowing it they are already creating a brand through Facebook.

A recent report on social media only confirms this aspect of branding. How can agents be branding without knowing about it? Every picture, every post, and every article they share online are developing their online persona which is being conveyed to, potentially, every friend they have.  We have all see these photos online in some form, what this does is elaborate on the unknown branding we all do through social media shares like facebook posts.

Facebook Branding - a technical issue 

Now that I have thoroughly expounded on the branding aspect of social media as a whole and Facebook in particular. I wand to share with you a little tweak to make you Facebook Page a little more professional.

Here is an image of a cover photo I made for an agent outside of Facebook.

Here it is on the Facebook cover page.

Can you see the issue I am having? The text on the photo and the text on Facebook are overlapping. To solve this problem, I simply went back to my photo editor and moved up the text. (I also recolored the text and the background to make it pop a little better)

Now it looks better than the original because all the text is aligned properly and it is formatted correctly.  Like Her Page Here and Ours Here 

Technical issues can hamper a branding message so it is important to think about exactly how you want your brand to look online. This tip is one which I hope will save you time and effort in your Facebook branding.

Facebook Branding - online resources

There are several online resources which agents can use to develop their branding message. I will go through a few of them here.

Free Facebook Branding Resources

PicMonkey

PicMonkey is always a go to resource for me since it allows for easy Facebook cover image templates. It allows the user to add images and create simple and clean facebook cover photos. PicMonkey also allows for some simple photo editing and enhancement features. Play around on this site and see what your can come up with.

Canva 

Canva is another online photo editing site. It allows for users to create useful social media photos and even customizable Facebook cover photos. I used this service to create the Facebook cover photo above. I am a little new to this site, yet I find it quite easy and fun. I look forward to exploring this website in the near future. 

If you are in Arizona and would like to learn more about branding or just sit down with me for a little bit, please give me a call at 750-8888 or email at chris.webb@novahomeloans.com

Common SEO myths Realtors Believe

For Realtors, SEO is often used as a crutch. What I mean is agents often talk about it in terms of what it can do for their business. They misunderstand the concept of SEO because they assume it is a "set it and forget" it fix to all their online marketing and inbound marketing woes. This cannot be further from the truth. SEO is about providing the right content to the right inquiries. It also has some technical aspects which may need to be researched and implemented. However, it is no place to cut corners or assume. This is why I came up with some brief explanations of SEO myths for real estate.

SEO Myth 1 – Millennials are great at SEO

Keep in mind, this is an explanation on the aggregate, not an individual who might be great at SEO. On a whole, we look at Millennials as tech savvy which means they must be good at SEO, right? This is a myth because the SEO industry is an ever changing business. It used to be SEO was the job of the IT department, now it is more likely there is an in-house SEO position or businesses leverage themselves and hire a private firm to do it. SEO is about planning, executing and then measuring – not about being tech savvy. It is about knowing and understanding the trends in your unique marketplace. This is a job for a professional who understands some technical aspects as well as marketing principles.

Too often real estate professionals look to cut corners on this highly technical and analytical aspect about the industry. If you know a young person who is looking to get into the SEO field this would be a great hire, if you assume they will just know it because they are on Facebook the outcome will be a disaster. SEO is first and foremost an emerging marketing discipline, not something to be brushed off. 

SEO Myth 2 – It is all about video

While I absolutely love videos, especially in marketing, there are places where videos are not all you need. Technically speaking videos can slow down the rate at which a page loads. Also, there are some companies which may block the video streaming capabilities of different video sources like YouTube and Vimeo. This hurts your SEO because the user will then go back to the search engine to look for another solution. This brings me to the main point of all SEO which is the user. By providing the end user with a memorable experience, your website will grow. SEO is about this natural organic growth.

Video is great for real estate agents because images entice people to want to look at homes. One thing I would suggest is having a video page on your site which might keep people on your page longer. Video is huge with SEO, however, it is more a part of a marketing plan then an entire marketing plan. Remember SEO is about the end user, not what you think is clever.

SEO for real (estate)

Real estate is unique in that the process from inquiry to close is long, sometimes several months with short sales. It is also unique since the purchase is often the largest of the buyer’s life. This makes the inquiry to appointment time frame critical in the overall marketing of real estate. You must draw the attention of the lead and keep the attention for some time. SEO is a great strategy to do this. As you plan do not mistake what you think is important cloud what actually is. Make sure you do not fall for these and other SEO myths. 

Real Estate Blogging Made Easy

Blogging is a great way to build a business online. If you have ever attended any blogging webinar or have been one of the lucky ones in my workshops, you know blogging is good because it indexes your keyword posts for future reference. What this means is when a search engine reads through the blog post it measures keywords and files them away for users to review based on the search engines algorithm and the users inquiry. If you have multiple posts on a particular topic, for example, online marketing, your blog posts will begin to rank in the results. As people review and share your posts your rankings will go up and down within the search results. Most agents understand blogging is a great way to develop their business online. However, what they have trouble with is creating the posts for their blog.

Blogging Made Simple

I blog all of the time either through this site or others. I know my time is valuable, so I made a simple process to create content and distribute it over a few simple steps.

Pick A Topic

This step seems pretty simple, however, it can often take the time to come up with a topic that is just right. For example, in Real Estate home buying is a great topic. What happens is it is too broad, you can write for hours without any coherent or natural progression. This is why at this step I like to create an outline. This collects your thoughts and develops a blog storyboard. It allows the writer to coherently write and develop a sequence of steps toward a thesis statement. Outlining is a great way to begin your blog post.

Create A Headline

This is a critical step because it is the zero moment of truth with the reader. This step is where a great post can be overlooked or overshared. If you have a great headline it will get people to the post which will translate to more shares and higher rankings. Headlines are the doorway to which people either choose to enter or choose to walk past. Be very careful how you choose your headline. **** possible tool for headlines here****

Write Your Content

I use the Yoast rule of 300 words or greater. This is a rule which is measured through a WordPress plugin called Yoast, which assists with SEO on WordPress websites. I have also read where more than 500 words is a good starting point. The fact is search engines love high-quality content and you simply cannot go into the great depth without writing in detail about the topic you choose. So a good rule to follow is 300 or greater when writing. Also follow your outline at this stage. You created the outline to give your post a natural progression. One other thing to remember is as you write more posts, you will get better at following this process.

Now Re-Write Your Content

You may have thought writing was over, think again. The editing aspect of your content is a huge factor when writing blogs. If a new reader views your post and sees a misspelled word, they will not see you as a professional. They will see you as someone who is simply writing to write. Be careful of word processors because they can tick you into thinking your spelling and grammar are correct. (Please note, my Microsoft Word did not catch the word tick… it is supposed to be the trick) Editing is fundamental in all writing, why shouldn’t it be in blog writing.

Did I Mention Re-Writing?

Once you have fully vetted your post it is now time to…read it out loud. This will allow you to ensure it is in your voice and tone. This also allows you to review for grammar. Sometimes sentences are not necessarily written with incorrect grammar, they simply sound awkward. Reading your posts out loud will give you the benefit of reviewing and replacing problematic sentences with one which is more fluid in its presentation.  (with one that is more fluent in its presentation.)

Formatting Your Post

Hubspot believes the best way to create a lead base is by producing content which is worth sharing. Formatting is how you can create this content. It both organizes and completes your visual representation to the reader. With a blog, we have the ability to create headings and subheadings and include pictures and even videos. Blogs are quite dynamic and with this comes several opportunities to create a truly great post which people will share with others. Remember to use your outline as a general guide when formatting your blog posts.

SEO – The Unseen Hero of Blogging

There are tons of articles on SEO, even a few I have written. This step is where you make sure your topic, headline, content, and formatting do not go unseen. It is the place where you make a few tweaks and authorize your post are submitted and indexed by search engine robots.(Not sure what this is trying to say.) The main aspects in this step are the meta-description, location, title text, and link. Also providing the right alternate text to image files inserted into the post is part of this step. For agents who use WordPress blogging platforms, I would highly suggest using the Yoast plugin to monitor SEO at this step.

Publish Your Post

This is the last step in presenting your content to the readers. I recommend reviewing the post in the preview mode to see if all the formatting is correct and to see the general look of the post. For some, the publishing phase can be the most difficult. Keep in mind there is one more step, even for the best of posts. You can always review your posts and repost them. Publishing is a commitment to your readers that you value them enough to produce great content and add value to their lives. Blogging is about providing the general public with insight into a particular topic. For Real Estate, it is tips on both the home buying and home selling process. They will see this content and appreciate it. They will also come back for more.

Review and Revise

Once you have published good content and gained some followers you will have a chance to have an open dialog about the topics you write about. You may even read comments which will give you further insight on the topic as a whole. You can then revise the post with this new information. This also occurs when laws change or even when technical aspects of the topic change.

Blogging is a great way to develop your business, especially in Real Estate. Follow the chart here and create your outline and get started NOW! Remember your business tomorrow is impacted by your decisions today.

Real Estate Video Marketing Statistics That Will Shock You!

Here are some of the highlights:

Video Marketing (non-real estate related) will continue to grow in 2015. 

This is a fact among social media marketers who are currently using video as a form of marketing. What this shows is marketing expectations will now include video as a form of education and consumption. If you are not marketing using video, the consumer will simply not take you as serious as the agent who does. If we can agree a major aspect of real estate is marketing and marketing at par level now includes video; we can see how not using video in marketing can hurt agents moving forward. 

Non- quantifiable metrics (again with the unintended consequences...)

Videos have a way of conveying nonverbal communication. What this means for the agent is they can literally showcase the reasons why people enjoy doing business with them. For example, we work with some agents who are flamboyant and eccentric and other who are processed and timid. The thing is, people who are timid want to work with other people who are timid. Users cannot see this behavior without seeing the person, which is why video will increase your business no matter what type of person you are. A brief caveat here, if you are a perfectionist and you think the video must be film quality - stop now and find a new way to market. The general public pays hard earned money to watch Hollywood stars on the big screen. They want to see a real human behind the camera on a YouTube video. It is okay to have a professional video, however sacrificing the human element for the sake of production will simply not work. This is only for videos which feature you, not listing videos with actors. I want to be clear, when the video is to market you, you have to be yourself! 

One study showed listings with videos had an increase in customer inquiries of 43%! 

This was a study out in Australia, however, it could translate to some cities here in the US. What this statistic did was simply provide a powerful number to the empirical evidence we already are aware of - namely, videos work! 

The question for agents is... 

What are you doing with videos now? Are you aware of the search engine optimization factor of videos? Do you truly see these trends and dismiss them as simply one person's opinion? What are some of the methods you use? Do you have any partners who will assist you with your video filming, editing, and production? 

If you are in the Southern Arizona area and are looking for partners who are more interested in helping your business grow then simply writing you a check, contact my team at 750-8888. We are revolutionizing the real estate marketing industry. No other Lender in the state offers what we offer - including other NOVA lenders, we truly believe there such thing as a win-win. You can either be first or be late - the choice is yours. 

Videos are here to stay and they are pushing the acceptable level of service higher for real estate agents. Will you be able to adapt to the future?

Why Google+ Matters to Real Estate Agents

I have been invited to speak on Google+/Google Hangouts this week and wanted to share some interesting aspects of my research. For those who may not know, yes Google+ is owned by Google. It is a relatively young social network at just less than 4 years old but has over 350 million active users! Some estimates have the number of total users close to 1 billion. (believe it or not, Google is a little tight-lipped about their accounts.) With numbers like these and other reasons listed below, Google+ could be your Social Media Secret Weapon. 

So What Exactly is Google+?

Google+ is said to be the social layer of all Google Applications and this is one of the main reasons for its quick rise in active users. This can also give some insight into the large number of perceived inactive users too. For example, do you have an android phone? If so, you have a Google Profile with access to a Google+ account. This means even if you do not have an active Google+ account, it is simply a few clicks away. If you use Google Chrome, another of Google's many applications, you may recall the small +you or +Chris (your name) button in the upper right corner of the start screen. This link is also on your Gmail inbox screen. These are one-click buttons to access your Google+ account. They have made is pretty simple and seamless to find and use your Google+ account, chances are some of you will click the button now... and with good reason.

The New Social Network?

A recent article displays a great case for having a Google+ account. It mentions the direction of social media as a whole. For example, do you remember the small social media site Instagram? Facebook purchased it because of its image sharing capability, especially through mobile devices. Google+ already has this capability. Couple this with Google+ Hangouts and you essentially have a social media site where you can store photos, video chat and here is the kicker...NO PAID ADS!!

What can Google+ do for Me? 

Google+ is one of the best ways to increase search engine optimization. Like other social networks, it should be a place to meet and chat with other people about interesting topics. Google+ has a few advantages for SEO like index-able pages, Search+YourWorld, and its association with Google Local. However, this is not a good strategy if you are not acting socially. Overall, great content is still the best strategy for SEO results on Google+. This brings me to the main fact when it comes to real estate, SEO, and Google+ - It can be easy after it is hard.

Keep the faith with Google+, practice often...

I know I will have some agents who will get all excited about the prospects of using Hangouts to video chat with inbound clients. I know they will immediately start posting on Google+ the next day and wait for the results. I know they will even use it to join groups and chat with other agents across the country. The one thing most will not do is dodge the fact of all real estate business. It is going to be hard at first, and it will get easier.

Google+ Presentation

Why you Can't Measure SEO without Google Analytics

I recently wrote about the unintended consequences of blogging and I thought I should also provide a brief explanation on tangible metrics. Blogging is not a fad, it is not a trend – it is now a must for every professional marketing plan. In real estate, if you are serious about expanding or building your business, blogging is an absolute necessity. I will not go into how to start a blog in this post, I am really just going to review the metrics and how they translate to your real estate business. 

Search Engine Optimization – SEO - The One True Metric

SEO is probably the simplest and most complex metric you will encounter online. It can be defined and redefined in various ways, then be completely changed with a new algorithm release. When I talk about SEO I am talking about Google. I know there are companies that will talk about Yahoo and Bing, however, the numbers show, Google owns the market. On a more personal level, have you ever searched with Bing or Yahoo? 

SEO is one of the best reasons to start blogging. Study after study shows blogging increases your website views, leads, and even sales. Hubspot, an online marketing firm out of Boston Mass, quotes that nearly 40% of US company’s blog for marketing purposes. Additionally, they mention 71% of readers say blogs affect their purchase decision! In fact, what is often the case is leads from blog posts are typically better quality because they are qualifying themselves as they read your posts.  With numbers like these it is important to see that users are looking for blogs and are basing purchase decisions on blog articles. SEO is how users find your posts. 

How do we measure SEO?

SEO in itself is not something that is measured at the time of writing. It must be measured after a post is published. Let me be clear, SEO in itself is not something that is actually measured, what is actually measured is numbers relative to previous numbers with different strategies. Numbers measured after a blog is published are the tangible metrics bloggers can use and are the true measure of your blog's success. Remember with business blogging there are some unique goals that traditional blogs are not using. SEO is the increase or decrease in these numbers based on your content, keyword placement, and a few other factors.  

The best way to measure your blogs metrics is to connect it to a Google Analytics account. Again, I am not showing you how to do this, there are several videos you can find and they will walk you through how to connect a blog to Google Analytics. For the purpose of this post, I want to explain why adding Google Analytics is important and what it measures. 

Measurability – Google Analytics 

Google Analytics first measures who is visiting your blog. It goes into the geographic location, which browser, and even what time people visit your blog. This information is quite helpful in real estate because you can see what feeder states are reviewing your blog; for example here in Tucson we have several people from California and the Midwest looking for information on living in Tucson. Can you see how this information can be used to re-frame your marketing plan? The browser information is helpful because it will give you an understanding of what kind of web surfers you are attracting. If your content is coming from internet explorer from desktops, it is most likely coming from an older demographic. Again, a great place to re-frame your marketing plan. Finally, if your web viewers are peaking at a particular time, this gives you an estimate of when the best time to post is. This is especially helpful when it comes to local traffic.  

Some additional metrics Google Analytics can provide are how users arrived at your site, how they interacted with your content, and even when they left your site. All of this information is critical in term of usable metrics for your blogging strategy. Keep in mind, Google Analytics can do so much more than what I have mentioned here. It is a full-service measurability tool for all types of online marketing outlets. One can not simply provide every aspect of Google Analytics in one blog post. For the purposes of real estate blogging, I wanted to go into some brief metrics bloggers can use immediately upon setting Google Analytics up for their blog. 

A brief recap – What Google Analytics Measures   

Basically, if it can be measured with a direct relationship, I would consider it a tangible metric. I also believe this is what we refer to as an intended consequence. If you blog to attract more website views, you can see which posts attract more hits. You can also see which ones are not attracting visitors. 

SEO is a great reason to blog, but do not lose sight of your readers. Writing for a search engine is the number one way to not get SEO results. Google looks to the users and to see if they are interested in your content. Write for your users first and the search engines will take notice.