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Agent Media Kit - Hidden Gems

By
Real Estate Technology with ActiveRain

Wouldn't it be great to see your name printed in the local newspaper dishing out local real estate advice?

A couple of months ago, we announced that we were starting an ActiveRain Media Team.  Members of the media team are provided with a special media kit to help them reach out to their local print/online news hubs as we publish new infographics and other news worthy content.

Join the ActiveRain Media Team

This media kit is for our newest infographic, Hidden Gems in Real Estate. Hidden Gems is the compilation of over 1,500 survey responses from the ActiveRain community. Agents, brokers, home stagers, lenders, and other real estate professionals were asked to look through a series of specific home features and decide if they significantly impact the value and enjoyment of a home.

What this infographic really needs (and what will get you noticed) is YOUR own personal experience and story.  Don't just toss this out to the media, add your local insight! Talk about the features in your local market that are even bigger "hidden gems" and feel free to shoot down findings from this survey that you disagree with.  Make this content yours.

 

Hidden Gems in Real EstateYou'll need these three items:

  1. Press Release Template for Hidden Gems (Word Doc)
  2. Downloadable JPG of the infographic
  3. The html embed code of the infographic in case a reporter requests it

Our goal is that any articles that get printed are about YOU as the real estate agent, not about ActiveRain as a company.  Adding your experience and local flavor should accomplish that.

All we ask is that the article includes a link to http://www.activerain.com/hidden-gems. When ActiveRain is cited as the source of the survey data and infographic, it builds up our domain authority and helps everyone's blogs on the site to rank higher.

 

Customize the Press Release

ActiveRain has already written the bulk of the Hidden Gems Press Release for you.  All you need to do is customize it with your own local angle on the story and your business contact information. Any text in red that you see in the Word Document needs to be changed. Don't forget to convert all of the text back to black before you sent it off to the reporters!

 

Send Your Press Release to Local Media

Read the blog post Press Coverage and PR Basics for Real Estate if this is your first time working with the media or if you simply need a refresher. We provide you with detailed instructions on where to send your customized press release once you are finished writing it.

 

HTML Embed Code

If you are working with an online news agency and they request a copy of the infographic, please send them this HTML Embed Code Text File that will properly source the infographic back to ActiveRain.  The story they write should be all about you as the agent, but we still need to make sure the ActiveRain gets the proper citation on the data.

 

Know Your Data

Any time you are approaching the media, it is important to understand how your data was collected. Reporters want to make sure that the information is trustworthy.

The information from “Hidden Gems” was compiled by surveying more than 1,500 members of the ActiveRain community.  Real estate professionals were given a list of home features and asked to rate each item based on the value to the home buyers.  Here is the raw data we worked with to build this infographic.

Q1 Rate these hidden gems that frequently aren’t reflected in the listing price that buyers should be on the lookout for.

Hidden Gems Question 1

Q2  These upgrades are typically reflected in the listing price. Rate these items... are they "worth every penny" for the buyer?

Hidden Gems Question 2

Q3  Lifestyle attributes are about the location, not the physical home. Rate these items that are normally reflected in the listing price based on their value.

 Hidden Gems Question 3

 

Let Us Know How it Goes

We want to know where you get published, please make sure you leave a comment in this post or email one of our community managers if you hit paydirt!  We'll share your success with the entire ActiveRain community.  Good luck!

Hella M. Rothwell, Broker/Realtor®
Carmel by the Sea, CA
Rothwell Realty Inc. CA#01968433 Carmel-by-the-Sea
Excellent way to take important information and make it your own.
Mar 26, 2014 02:30 AM
Eric Liu
RentApplication.net - Chicago, IL
RentApplication.net Founder

Excelent post, this is exactly the reason why I browse ActiveRain. 

Mar 26, 2014 03:25 AM
Andy Chaudoir
Professional Inspection Services - Georgetown, Texas - Georgetown, TX
Your Home Inspection Connection in Central Texas

Hello Kris - Thanks for the great post.  I will try some of these out.  Thanks again.

Mar 26, 2014 04:14 AM
Kris Neese
ActiveRain - Bellevue, WA
Mr. Behind the Scenes at ActiveRain

I appreciate the positive response, everyone. Please let me know what works and what doesn't work as you send out that press release. This idea feels like it has a lot potential for our community.

Mar 26, 2014 04:16 AM
Elva Branson-Lee
Solid Source Realty GA - Atlanta, GA
CDPE - Atlanta Real Estate & Short Sale Agent

Well, this doesn't seem too hard, Kris. I will send out the information, and pray. I've never yet had a good response to a press release in the Atlanta market. Could be I just don't have the right contacts, I don't know. But I'll try.

Mar 26, 2014 05:08 AM
Kris Neese
ActiveRain - Bellevue, WA
Mr. Behind the Scenes at ActiveRain

Elva, sending out a press release definitely isn't a gimme, these reporters get hammered by a ton of lousy article ideas everyday!  Make sure you read the advice we compiled in the PR Basics blog post. It give you tips on how to start building a relationship with the press... love is a two way street, right?

Mar 26, 2014 07:26 AM
Barbara Altieri
Better Homes and Gardens RE Shore and Country Properties - Shelton, CT
REALTOR-Fairfield County CT Homes/Condos For Sale

Thanks for the mention, Kris. You have put together an excellent blueprint to follow.  You've done most of the work!  I think anyone who puts his/her mind to it, thinks it through, and is consistent will succeed.

Mar 26, 2014 07:38 AM
Jeff Jensen
The Federal Savings Bank/Lending in 50 states - Greenwich, CT

That is a good idea to collect actual responses and categorize them.

Mar 26, 2014 07:52 AM
Nick T Pappas
Assoc. Broker ABR, CRS, SFR, e-Pro, @Homes Realty Group, Broker/Providence Property Mgmnt, LLC Huntsville AL - Huntsville, AL
Madison & Huntsville Alabama Real Estate Resource

Kris, I certainly see the potential that this offers and plan to follow through...I'm sure I'll have questions.

Mar 26, 2014 10:30 AM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

I like the PR template!

Mar 26, 2014 01:52 PM
Kimo Jarrett
Cyber Properties - Huntington Beach, CA
Pro Lifestyle Solutions

How do all those agents who blog constantly ever find time to buy or sell properties? Do they employ copy writers or ghost writers? 

Mar 26, 2014 05:59 PM
John Wiley
Fort Myers, FL
Lee County, FL, ECO Broker, GRI, SRES,GREEN,PSA

AR does a great job of providing us with so many tools to help the consumer.

This is great.

Mar 26, 2014 08:41 PM
Michael Setunsky
Woodbridge, VA
Your Commercial Real Estate Link to Northern VA

Kris, good information for using this InfoGraphic. Thanks for the info and the template.

Mar 26, 2014 10:37 PM
Jeffrey Hogue
Jeffrey Hogue Realtor Group - Reading, PA
Real Estate Pro in Pennsylvania Since 1993

Nice informative post. I will be following your posts and adding some helpful hints as well.

Mar 26, 2014 10:42 PM
Kris Neese
ActiveRain - Bellevue, WA
Mr. Behind the Scenes at ActiveRain

Kimo... the key to real estate blogging is to write about the answers your customers are going to ask anyways. Instead of replying with a long email or phone call to their question, blog about it so you have a long-term resource working in your favor.  You can build up a great stable of content that can be shared over and over, used in your marketing, and discovered by Google.

(Probably a little more answer than you were looking for, right?!)

Mar 27, 2014 01:28 AM
Fred Sed
Fred Sed Group ~ Your Premier Southern California Realtors - Irvine, CA
Your Southern Cali Realtor, Why? Because Fred Se

Love the PR template! Thanks!

Mar 27, 2014 06:11 AM
Gordon Wood
Canyon Ridge Realty LLC - Scottsdale, AZ
480.226.2842

Thanks for the incredible information.

Mar 28, 2014 01:24 AM
Kristin Hamilton CA REALTOR
Berkshire Hathaway California Realty - Beaumont, CA
(909) 557-6966- Specialize 55+ Communties Banning

This is a great press template and I am working on my post right now. Thanks.

Mar 30, 2014 07:40 AM
Donna Foerster
HomeSmart Realty Group - Parker, CO
Metro Denver Real Estate Assistant

Thank goodness Marte Cliff referenced this post in one of her recent eNewsletters or I would have missed it. Now I'm following this blog.

Apr 03, 2014 09:37 AM
Inna Ivchenko
Barcode Properties - Encino, CA
Realtor® • GRI • HAFA • PSC Calabasas CA

Kris,

you have a lot of great plans.

I'm looking forward to how AR is going to be transformed with your ideas.

Jun 19, 2014 05:24 PM