We strive to keep our clients updated on the latest and greatest when it comes to marketing and technology. Below are this weeks "Bright Ideas"...
Social Networking is Here to Stay...Are You Connected? It's no secret that in today's competitive marketplace, social networking is a must. There are hundreds of social networking websites from which to choose. Find out which websites will benefit you the most...
Wordless Marketing Creates Strong First Impressions! Think of the pictures of a listing as the initial draw. If buyers see blurry, dark or cluttered photographs - they are far less likely to look any further into the home. But, imagine what a single, strong eye-catching photo can do!
Zillow Showcase Ads - Are They Effective? To be a successful media company, Zillow needs to make sure their customers are realizing success with their ads. It is important to look at what the best-performing ads look like, and the lowest performing, because ad content is crucial to performance.
We strive to keep our clients updated on the latest and greatest when it comes to marketing and technology. Below are this weeks "Bright Ideas"...
Special Announcements: We’re excited to introduce you to our newest team members. They have been in our extensive training program for the last three months and they're fully trained now. Their photos and profiles are below, enjoy!
Meredith Lee, Listing Coordinator
Meredith joined the RealSupport Inc. Team in July of 2009. She graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design and is excited to bring forth her new and exhilarating ideas to our team.
With five years of experience in freelance design; designing everything from scrolling advertisements, unique branding pieces for several companies and artistic photography to working on projects for various nonprofit organizations. Her creativity and interest in social networking websites has lead her to dive head first into website design and she has been learning and exploring new software ever since. She will be contributing many of her innovative and invigorating ideas with our clients.
Meredith is in the process of purchasing her first home and during this exciting time has learned even more about real estate including effective marketing and the closing process. Meredith is an avid animal lover and in her free time, she enjoys taking photographs and spending time with her fiancé, friends and family.
Nicole Cannata, Listing Coordinator
Nicole joined the RealSupport, Inc. Team in July of 2009. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Benedictine University and is excited to begin her career. Prior to joining our team, Nicole worked for a very successful real estate agency in the northwest suburbs of Illinois. Her already existing interest in real estate grew while supporting several top producing agents. Nicole was responsible for inputting the agency's new listings into the MLS as well as several other top marketing websites. She also created eye-catching home brochures and postcards to attract potential buyers.
In her free time, Nicole enjoys dancing and spending time with family and friends.
IN THE NEWS: Tell your clients now! The $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Has Been Extended - Be the first to let your buyers know! Contact us to brainstorm ideas to get this information to your clients!
Real Estate on Reality TV - It Doesn’t Get Much Better! Introducing HGTV’s Real Estate Intervention. The show takes struggling sellers on a tour of other listings in the same price range and same area to see if they are pricing their home realistically compared to the competition.
What is Google Juice and How it Can Drastically Increase Your Search Engine Ranking! Google Juice is a slang term for “the ability to get pages to appear high in the Google search rankings.” It sounds pretty simple, right? A few key tips will help you climb the Google Search Ladder...
Tracking the Effectiveness of Your Craigslist Ad Just Got Easier Some of our clients spend upwards of $400 for us to market their listings. We want to be certain they are getting the most bang for their marketing dollars. In search of a tool that would allow us to make sure we have the data to back-up our positive opinion about Craigslist, we have been testing a free tool...
How can YOU have a marketing and closing team at your fingertips and not at your office? RSVP for one of our FREE upcoming webinars - Every Thursday at 2 PM, CST! Click HERE to reserve your spot or click HERE for more information on our webinars!
I have seen a lot of drip direct marketing campaigns, but this one seems different. While Corefact offers the usual just listed, just sold, Happy Holidays postcards, it also offer a lot more. In particular, what caught my eye were the following custom series of cards:
Home Estimate Series: The home estimate series provides homeowners with the usual call-to-action - an offer for a free value of their home - nothing new here. What is new, and pretty amazing is the map on the card of their neighborhood that displays current market activity.
Local Expert Series: This series is designed for agents who are actively marketing into a geographic farm. Each card hits on a different aspect of the home selling process and positions you as the local expert in your farm. The series is available with Corefact's patent-pending Market Data Access Key on the back of the card to establish a connection with your target audience (also very cool).
Proof of Production Series: We have all sent out postcards with our most recent sold statisics, which is great - but this system takes it a step further. The Proof of Production Series combines information on homes you’ve sold with their patent-pending Market Data Access Key to position you as a results-oriented real estate professional who is best equipped to sell the prospect’s home.
While we haven't personally used this company before, we will be recommending them, as from what we can see so far, the product is quite unlike any other out there. I love the neighborhood maps on the home estimate series, it may be my favorite feature they offer. Can you imagine getting a postcard with actual data of YOUR neighborhood - and all displayed in a "Google Map" type format? Pretty neat!
Another often overlooked aspect of direct marketing is the call-to-action and the connection the lead has with you after receiving the postcard. This company seems to really understand that and offer it as part of each of their campaigns. Now that they have looked at the card, what's next. They don't leave out the most important part! Visit my website for this free offer, etc. We always make sure we include these types of call-to-actions on any custom cards we do!
Don't think you have time to start a campaign like this? No problem! Need a Real Estate Virtual Assistant? Contact us today. We're a team of real estate specific Virtual Assistants and because we're in the industry working with Top Producers every day, we can help!
I know most of you post your listings on Zillow.com and hopefully have your profiles in the directory on the site as well (If you don't - it's easy - sign up here). Zillow is now offering the ability to add your social networking links to your profile - and the best part is they display them in a great little social networking package - see below!
This is quick and easy for you or your virtual assistant to implement as well! People are looking on these social networking sites, so why not take advantage! Simply follow the steps below:
3. Scroll down and enter your social networking information in the spaces provided under "Professional Information" - Click "Submit".
That's it! As easy as 1, 2, 3!
Don't think you have time? No problem! Need a Real Estate Virtual Assistant? Contact us today. We're a team of real estate specific Virtual Assistants and because we're in the industry working with Top Producers every day, we can help!
I’m sure you all have noticed the popularity surge of real estate reality TV shows. It started with the success of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Then it really caught on when HGTV rolled out a slew of real estate shows and soon became much more Home and much less Garden.
House Hunters, What You Get for the Money, Flip This House and Moving Up. It’s pleasurable to watch other people turn fixer-uppers into contemporary living spaces or young families moving up in the world to purchase 5 bedroom, 4 bath homes in nice neighborhoods.
These shows were great to watch because they were an escape from reality. You may not be able to buy a home, but it’s fun to live vicariously through others who can. But I think there’s only so much one can take of watching an overly confident REALTOR in a show like Million Dollar Listing sell homes for 20 million dollars while some modest homes are getting foreclosed on – and their owners kicked out on the street...
Well it looks like reality TV is finally choosing to reflect the current market...
Introducing HGTV’s Real Estate Intervention. The show takes struggling sellers on a tour of other listings in the same price range and same area to see if they are pricing their home realistically compared to the competition. Your hosts are Sabrina Soto, the gentle REALTOR who is sweet as pie to the often sensitive and defeated homeowners and Mike Aubrey, the tough-looking real estate expert with a military background who takes the direct approach and tells the homeowners that it’s time to face the facts.
This show is not exactly the light-hearted fluff that we are used to with home buying shows. In fact, it’s pretty heartbreaking. Take Evelyn who lost her job 6 months ago and can no longer afford to stay in her beloved townhome in the pricey neighborhood of Georgetown in Washington, DC. She has put a lot of work into her home – and a lot of personal touches. With every comparable home that Aubrey shows her, she refuses to accept that any of them are more valuable than hers. To the audience, she seems so obviously blind to what she needs to accept. She may have updated her kitchen with a blue tile backsplash that she thought adds an upgraded finish, but Mike needs to explain to her that granite countertops and stainless steel appliances is what makes a home show well.
Or what about Rebekka who was so proud of buying her first home three years ago, at the height of the market, when she could afford the mortgage. When the rate adjusted, she found herself drowning in her interest-only loan. Now she has to sell her home, but she has no money to make updates or renovations. On top of it all, her mom has terminal cancer and she wants to get home to take care of her. She has priced her home at $259,900. She owes $240,000 in payments. When they find a comparable home in much better shape at $243,500, Aubrey must break it to her that $209,000 is about all she going to get for her home and that a short sale is the best way to go. Sitting in her small dining area, we watch her cover her head in disappointment as she takes in the depth of what Aubrey is telling her.
It can’t be easy to accept that the home that was, at one time, a great investment is now worth a fraction of its expected value. And of course it’s human nature to put high value in what you own because you know what it’s worth to you.
These people in this show are real. They’re our family, our neighbors, ourselves – accepting they can no longer afford to live in the homes where memories have been made. It’s nice to see a reality show actually reflecting reality. It’s just unfortunate that reality isn’t always pretty. But hey, it’s still VERY interesting to watch!
Real Estate Intervention: Four Stars ****
Warmest regards,
Stacey Clarke, Listing Coordinator RealSupport Inc.
What is Google Juice? Those of you who are familiar with search engine optimization may have an idea of what Google Juice is. For those who don’t, Google Juice is a slang term for “the ability to get pages to appear high in the Google search rankings.” It sounds pretty simple, right?
A few key tips will help you climb the Google Search Ladder:
Tip 1: Repeat your targeted search phrase a number of times on the website page and/or blog post: This is so easy to do – and if you want to consistently get good rankings, you need to make a habit out of doing it, OFTEN! It is easy to do this the WRONG way, so beware, you want your text to make sense, while still peppering in your keywords/phrases. Do not overdo it! Too much of a good thing can be bad! Link those keywords and/or phrases back to relevant pages on your website.
Tip 2: Bold Keyword/Phrases: Google gives more weight to keyword/phrases that are bold. Just like everything else in SEO, you don't want to over-do the bolding. A couple bold instances per page should be enough. If you have links between your pages about the keyword phrase then it's a good idea to bold those links.
Tip 3: Social Bookmarking for Google Juice: Google not only looks at what is on your pages to decide your Google ranking -- incoming links are also a big part of what makes up good Google Juice. It's also not just the number of links, but how well respected the linking sites are in the Google algorithm. So, how do you quickly get good Google Juice links? Social bookmarking!
Three or four social bookmarking links can do wonders for your Google Juice and therefore, your Google ranking. If you don't use any other social bookmarking sites, one Google Juice blog suggests the following: StumbleUpon - Digg - BloggingZoom - Sphinn. You will almost instantly have good incoming links to your pages even if the post doesn't rank well with the particular social bookmarking site.
Tip 4: Crosslinking: You can boost your Google juice by creating multiple posts about the same keyword phrase. Link keywords from one blog post to another related blog post, to your site. Link to your website from your blog, and to your blog back to your website. If done right you can multiply the effect of your good placement in Google rankings.
Summary: Your blog is a powerful tool that can be easily used to raise the ranking of your website or blog. If you are using your blog to and raise the Google ranking for your website, do the following:
1.) Use your desired keyword(s) often and in places it makes sense.
2.) Bold those keywords and links to your site.
3.) Crosslink from your blog to your site and visa versa. Use social bookmarking to help your site along in it's Google ranking.
It's no secret that in today's competitive marketplace, social networking is a must. There are hundreds of social networking websites to choose from, and often times it is difficult to know which websites will benefit you the most. All in all, the facts are indeed the facts - in 2009, classified newspaper ads are not going to go nearly as far as online marketing will. Whether you want to market your business, your listings, or both, portals are available to begin your online marketing endeavor.
Ask any real estate virtual assistant - they’ll advise you to sign up NOW and start making those invaluable connections that can lead to referrals, new clients and more. Most social networking websites are FREE. As a team of real estate virtual assistants, we always tell our clients they must have a plan when utilizing social networking. Many clients come to us and want to join Facebook (for example) just because their colleagues are on there... Unless you’re competing in a popularity contest, that is not the best plan. Your real estate virtual assistant can listen to your goals and then create an effective plan to incorporate social networking into your overall marketing plan. Here is a list (and brief summary) of a few of the most popular social networking websites that you may want to join, based on your goals and plans:
1) Facebook - Yes, the hype is indeed true! Everyone is using Facebook...and you should be too! We've found that Facebook is not only an incredible tool for keeping in touch with friends and family, but it can also be utilized to on a professional level as well. For example, advertise your listings through a "soft sell" approach (with seller participation) that we have used for many of our clients. Another idea would be to join or create groups and/or networks to connect with other agents and potential clients. Add your blogs RSS feed to your profile and keep your "friends" up to date on your events and success stories. Recently. many of our clients are having us create a Business Page for them in effort of keeping their personal Facebook profile personal and separate from your clients and colleagues. Facebook ads are another amazing tool to get leads and VERY targeted leads.
2) ActiveRain - For any real estate professional, ActiveRain is considered the go to social networking website. With over 160,000 members, ActiveRain was designed specifically for real estate agents to create business relationships both within the industry and with the consumer. Create and maintain a blog to report on anything you want - real estate news, market reports or local events and trends - the sky is the limit! Another great feature is "Groups," which are smaller communities within the larger ActiveRain community. Join groups created by others, or start your own and get others to join - communicate with the entire real estate community about anything you want to share or are interested in obtaining more information about. Who knows, your next referral just may come from a connection you made on ActiveRain!
3) Twitter - Another website gaining plenty of ground! Within seconds of signing on to Twitter you can start following industry and technology leaders, other real estate agents and people from your local communities and target market. We’ve had some pretty awesome Twitter success stories and we can’t wait to hear yours!
4) LinkedIn - A business and professional network which is set up with a resume' profile, connecting you to others in your field, business or company, searching for employment and making deals and referrals. With more than 10 million users, it is a great place for a business person to network.
Social networking websites are here to stay. Don’t get overwhelmed by them, just have you real estate virtual assistant devise an effective plan based on your goals!
I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. Wishing you a successful and productive week!
Craigslist has become a very powerful tool for many real estate professionals. We typically recommend posting your listings to Craigslist. It is also a great place to post events like Home Buyer Seminars, general ads like “Receive a FREE Market Analysis of Your Homes Value”, and even for recruiting new agents.
As Real Estate Virtual Assistants, the online marketing efforts that we implement can be pretty extensive. At RealSupport, we provide package pricing per listing for listing marketing and we are often asked to recommend the best sites for advertising our client’s listing. I’m a big believer in Craigslist (however, I do realize there are reasons it doesn’t make sense for some agents), so this site is typically part of each of my client’s listing marketing plans.
Some of our clients spend upwards of $400 for us to market their listings. We want to be certain they are getting the most bang for their marketing dollars. In search of a tool that would allow us to make sure we have the data to back-up our positive opinion about Craigslist, we have been testing a free tool call http://craigslistadtracker.com/ that can be used to track the activity of each Craigslist ad. So far we have found this tool to be easy to use, accurate, and consistent in providing us hit reports on each ad.
With that said, perhaps we find the result to be the opposite and our ads are not being viewed… before you throw out the baby with the bathwater, I recommend tweaking your ad title. On a similar note, if you are posting your ads with HTML code from some other source (like Postlets), you MUST still upload a photo. Most Craigslist users will not click on an ad that does not have a PIC (which is the notification next to the title indicating there is a picture uploaded to the ad). I did not like the way the uploaded photo looked with the attractive HTML code from Postlets, so we tricked the system and we upload a blank image… now the ad still looks nice and the ad indicates there are pictures (which of course there is because that is part of the HTML).
How it works
Register an account
Create a tracker
Insert the tracking code on your craigslist ad or webpage
Every page view will be logged for reporting
Analyze the report
Why use this service?
Know the number of page views your ads receive
Know which type of ad gets the most clicks or generate more leads
Know your visitor locations
Up-to-the-minute real-time stats
Email notifications
Track unlimited postings
Several reports and charts to help you analyze your stats
Invisible and seamless tracking
Timezone conversion for reporting
Image hosting and tracking
It works on Craigslist, Oddle, Myspace and other networks that support HTML listings
If all this sound just a little to complicated, you need a Real Estate Virtual Assistant! Let a REVA do the work for you… all you should worry about are the results, right?
We all know the saying a picture is worth a thousand words, which we would all agree to be true. Seeing a single picture can evoke strong emotions or take you somewhere else entirely- and that’s powerful! So, knowing this to be the case; let’s talk about real estate photography.
You may have the most creative and top-notch marketing strategies. You may have a monthly budget that far exceeds other agents in your area and may have the upper hand on ad placement. However, if the pictures are low quality- it can deter buyers quickly.
Think of the pictures of the home as the initial draw. It’s the first thing people see and will create a strong first impression. If buyers see blurry, dark or cluttered photographs - they are far less likely to look any further into the home. But, imagine what a single, strong eye-catching photo can do! You’ve probably experienced walking down the street or in a grocery store and something grabs your attention out of the corner of your eye. And what you see is a magazine with a bold front cover featuring an interesting subject or bold colors.
Now, imagine a buyer browsing multiple real estate websites and seeing home after home. Suddenly, they are drawn to a striking picture of your listing, so they click on it to view more because you’ve peaked their interest! This, now fully engaged, audience is interested in seeing what else this home has to offer. And you’ve succeeded in creating a great first impression.
So, the dilemma arises: you’re not a professional photographer. We understand. But, there ARE ways to capture great images of your listing! If you’re not at all interested in taking your own pictures, there are a few options:
1. Hire a Professional. If you’re willing to pay a little extra in order to save you the time and energy of doing this yourself, then we encourage you to do so! You will get great photos and if you agree to use the same photographer on a regular basis; they may be willing to work out a deal with you!
2. Hire a Student. Photography students are more than eager to gain experience in their field! If you live close to a university or even a community college, post an ad for a photographer on Craigslist or a school job board or website. You’re almost guaranteed to get plenty of responses!
Some students may be willing to shoot for free if they’re working on a project or just want to build their portfolio. But, even if you do pay them, their services will be far less expensive than a professional photographer. They will love the flexible schedule and will put their heart into giving you the best pictures possible. Since they’re immersed in their photography classes; their eye for detail and editing skills will be sharp. Be sure to request to see a portfolio before choosing which student you want to use. This will ensure you like their style and that you’re getting the best photographer for your listings. (P.S. Need an updated self portrait or team photo? They will most likely jump at the chance for this project too!)
While these may be the best options for getting dynamic, quality images of your listing; you may not want to bother with the extra costs or coordinating schedules to find a time to shoot. If this sounds like you, read on. You want that strong first impression of the home, but perhaps you aren’t too sure how to achieve your desired results. Don’t worry. We’re here to help!
In the coming weeks, we’ll be going over the various aspects of photography that translate into a compelling photo. From lighting, color and sizing, to tips on creating an appealing room scene and photo composition. We’ll cover all the bases in a simple way! Join us on this journey of developing a strong first impression of your listing without having to say a word!
Fall is the time when everybody comes a little closer together. It's a little colder, the days are a little shorter and it's full of family gatherings and celebrations. There are so many opportunities to remind your clients who you are - and maybe make them feel like you’re a part of their family too.Below are a few ideas to stay in touch with your current and past clients this month:
Tips To Prepare Your Home for Fall/Winter
With the fall of that first leaf comes the cloud of winter chores that hangs over your head. There are a lot of things that are necessary to prepare your home for winter. If you’re lucky, you remember to do these things before there is a foot a snow on the ground.
Take this opportunity to send your SOI a checklist of to do’s called “Getting Your Home Ready For Winter,” so they can get started now! Even if you are in a warmer state, (We’re in brrrrr… Illinois) We believe you can think of some general things that still need to be done this time each year.
We know, we know…you don’t have time… This is the perfect task for your Real Estate Virtual Assistant! Let your VA know what you want to do. Decide if you want to send an email, postcard, or a letter. We personally recommend graphical, eye-catching jumbo postcard. Below is a postcard we’ve designed for our clients to send out, just to give you an idea.
Let your VA take it from there. Your SOI will appreciate that you’re sending them such useful information and what’s better is that you’ve reminded them you are here, and you are ready to serve their needs.
Time Change Postcard
Halloween may be over after October 31st, but there is nothing scarier than the chance that you’ll forget to set the clocks back on November 1st. Give your clients a friendly reminder by sending them a postcard reminding them to set their clocks back. And don’t forget to add that the reason for daylight saving time is it allows us to use less energy in lighting our homes by taking advantage of the longer and later daylight hours. They’ll appreciate the gesture and you’ll stay fresh in their minds with the start of the winter season.
Below is the Fall Back Postcard we have designed for our clients.
Other Ideas:
Pumpkin Giveaway:
It’s halloween again. That means costume shopping, trick-or-treating and pumpkin picking! Those new to the neighborhood are looking for ways to get to know the community. A day at the local pumpkin patch is the ultimate community activity - a way to enjoy the fall weather, surround yourself with other families from the community and create lasting memories for the family. Give them a nudge in the right direction. Send out a postcard to your past clients, current clients and SOI advertising a pumpkin giveaway. They enter by filling out a form on your website and the winner is announced by email notifying them where they can pick up their winning pumpkin - at the community’s favorite pumpkin patch of course!
Costume Contest:
Everybody loves a costume contest and there are some creative minds out there when it comes to Halloween costumes. When you put a lot of energy into a Halloween costume, you want as much recognition as possible. After all, you only get to appreciate it that one night of the year. Give your clients a chance to bask in the limelight a little longer. Ask them to send in pictures of their Halloween costumes. The winner gets $100 and their picture posted on your website! You can guarantee the winner will be so proud of their accomplishment that they will be showing everybody they know their picture on you’re website.
This doesn’t have to stop with Halloween. Ask your VA to create an extra page on your website specifically for contests. They are the perfect way to pique interest and keep clients coming back to your website.
Don't think you have time? No problem! Need a Real Estate Virtual Assistant? Contact us today. We're a team of real estate specific Virtual Assistants and because we're in the industry working with Top Producers every day, we can help!
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
We strive to keep our clients updated on the latest and greatest when it comes to marketing and technology. Below are this weeks "Bright Ideas"...
RealSupport Inc. 
Local Expert Series:
How it works
Carrie Gable, President 
We all know the saying a picture is worth a thousand words, which we would all agree to be true. Seeing a single picture can evoke strong emotions or take you somewhere else entirely- and that’s powerful! So, knowing this to be the case; let’s talk about real estate photography.
Think of the pictures of the home as the initial draw. It’s the first thing people see and will create a strong first impression. If buyers see blurry, dark or cluttered photographs - they are far less likely to look any further into the home. But, imagine what a single, strong eye-catching photo can do! You’ve probably experienced walking down the street or in a grocery store and something grabs your attention out of the corner of your eye. And what you see is a magazine with a bold front cover featuring an interesting subject or bold colors.
It’s halloween again. That means costume shopping, trick-or-treating and pumpkin picking! Those new to the neighborhood are looking for ways to get to know the community. A day at the local pumpkin patch is the ultimate community activity - a way to enjoy the fall weather, surround yourself with other families from the community and create lasting memories for the family. Give them a nudge in the right direction. Send out a postcard to your past clients, current clients and SOI advertising a pumpkin giveaway. They enter by filling out a form on your website and the winner is announced by email notifying them where they can pick up their winning pumpkin - at the community’s favorite pumpkin patch of course!
Everybody loves a costume contest and there are some creative minds out there when it comes to Halloween costumes. When you put a lot of energy into a Halloween costume, you want as much recognition as possible. After all, you only get to appreciate it that one night of the year. Give your clients a chance to bask in the limelight a little longer. Ask them to send in pictures of their Halloween costumes. The winner gets $100 and their picture posted on your website! You can guarantee the winner will be so proud of their accomplishment that they will be showing everybody they know their picture on you’re website.
;)
;)
