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Networking in Denver CO with Google+ and Houzz

By
Home Stager with Hampton ReDesign, Home Staging and Redesign

Spring is a great time to get out and network. This is especially true when your livelihood depends on the real estate market. Isn't  Spring  traditionally the kickstart of the home buying season in most parts of the country? 

The past couple of weeks, I've been bouncing around the Denver metro area to various networking events. Last week I attended a Houzz event at BAC Appliance Center in Englewood CO. Over three hundred design and building professionals showed up to enjoy a yummy buffet and sip wine and beer. The highlight of the event was a presentation by Lindsey from Houzz on how to tweak and upgrade your professional profile on Houzz.com.

Apparently Houzz was the brainchild of an eBay exec and his wife. It now hosts over 3 million photos uploaded by home building and interior design professionals like myself. If you're in the market for a home update or renovation, Houzz is a fabulous online magazine experience with endless inspiration. It's a little like Pinterest on steroids. Once you start looking at photos…. you can't stop. Maybe it's like potato chips!

Last week I also attended a Google+ workshop given by +Sandra Watson of ABCs of Google+ held at Mountain View Window and Door.

Listening to Sandra was eye opening. Google knows more about us than I realized. Not only has our browsing history been collected since day one but also Google is using facial recognition software to verify who we are and our footprint online. Her advice was to match your profile photo and make sure it's up to date.

Google's market share is now 67% of all US searches. To ignore Google+ is to ignore a substantial player in creating your online brand awareness.

One last tip from Sandra. Your own personal profile is more important than your business profile. People want to engage with you, they don't want to be marketed to.

Creating relationships one on one. I keep hearing that over and over. I'm having fun connecting one on one through my networking. So much more fun than sitting at a computer.

So the answer to the question. What do Google+ and Houzz have in common? Two powerhouse social networking sites for you if you are a design, real estate or home building professional.

Hope you're ready for spring thaw. I am enjoying my first Denver winter. Everyone said the winters here aren't really that bad and they're right. Snow followed by sunshine and biking weather is fine with me!

Posted by

Tessa Skeens

Interior Design, Real Estate Staging and Marketing Support 

M 817-891-9563  

TwitterFacebookPinterestLinkedinHouzz

HamptonRedesign

 

 

 




 

Comments (9)

marti garaughty
garaughty.com - Montreal, QC
a highly caffeinated creative type...

garaughty, abstract art, graphic design, WordPress consultant

Apr 04, 2014 02:13 AM
Donna Foerster
HomeSmart Realty Group - Parker, CO
Metro Denver Real Estate Assistant

Hi Tessa~ I missed both of these networking opportunities. Darn! How did you hear about them. Sounds like I missed some valuable information!

Apr 04, 2014 04:02 AM
Will Hamm
Hamm Homes - Aurora, CO
"Where There's a Will, There's a Way!"

Great information Tessa,  I know I need to work more on google.  Glad you think Denver winters are not that bad, they really are not bad.

Apr 04, 2014 09:00 AM
Eric Galuppo
Real Estate Rev - More Leads Means More Revenue

I couldn't agree with you more about Google plus and should say, everyone should get into the swing of Google plus.  If you ignore Google, then Google will also ignore you and your business.

Apr 04, 2014 06:36 PM
Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Tessa, great post and Houzz is very popular when homeowners are considering remodeling their home.   Google + is a powerhouse to get our branding out, along with our listings.

Apr 04, 2014 11:57 PM
Tessa Skeens
Hampton ReDesign, Home Staging and Redesign - Grand Junction, CO
Staging For Realtors, Builders & Investors

Thanks Marti for the feature!

Donna, these were good networking opps but most important a lot of good information!

Nice meeting you yesterday Will. I have already been out for a bike ride today so yes winters here are not bad at all when you have biking weather a day or two after snow!

Eric, you're absolutely right. I have been ignoring Google+ but this event was a wakeup call.

Hi Joan, thank you! I am going to try and be more diligent about learning Google+ and how to make it work for me. Hope you have a great weekend.

Apr 05, 2014 04:24 AM
Chuck Willman
Chuck Willman - Alpine, UT
NewHouseUtah.com

How is it I've never heard of Houzz? I guess I'll have to check into it- thanks, Tessa.

Apr 10, 2014 02:16 PM
Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Tessa, it is tough to stay on top of all the social media sites when business is booming.

May 06, 2014 10:48 PM
Susanna Haynie
CO-RE Group, LLC -Real estate sales and services - Colorado Springs, CO
Colorado Springs Realtor GRI CNE MCNE ePro MRP

I just decided that I'd like to connect with more local professionals here in the CO Springs area on Houzz. I have started to follow abt 80 with a request to network and connect with me. 12 followed back. As houzz grows I 'd imagine that to change.

Nov 23, 2015 11:14 PM