Jan O'Brien - Real Estate Coach

Building Your Social Media Profile Panel at RISMedia Social Media Summit

I had the opportunity to be a part of a dynamic panel on Social Media Profiles at the RISMedia Leadership Conference/Social Media Summit in Rye, New York (June 9-10).

The panel was facilitated by Krisstina Wise, Broker-Owner of The Good Life Team in Austin, TX.  Krisstina has (in just over a year) dominated in her market place with her web presence through blogging and integration of other key social networks like Facebook and Twitter. More than 50% of her business is generated through social media. 

The panel included:

1. Pat Wattam, Broker/Associate, Re/Max First in Baton Rouge, LA
2. Anthony Crecco, Broker/Owner Crecco Real Estate
3. Craig Donato, CEO. Oodle
   
4. Rebecca Chandler, Director of Marketing, The Real Estate Book  

I discussed the importance of knowing your goals (purpose, outcomes) before embarking on your social media marketing journey.  Here are the key questions to consider:

What do we want to accomplish with our social media strategy? Be specific.

• Do we want to communicate and build more relationships online?
• Build brand awareness?
• Visitors complete a form, sign up for something, calls or emails for more information, become a prospect for our business or service?

Who is our target audience? Our perfect customer?

• What social media and networking sites are they using?
• How do we know or how can we find out?

Who is going to maintain our social media presence?

• Write and upload the blog posts?
• Status updates? 
• Do we have the resources to sustain our strategy?

How do we measure success?

• Are we measuring views, traffic, comments, subscribers, leads, sales?

I also reviewed some strategies for managing your online brand (name reputation). 

1parkplace has a free report The 5 P's of Social Marketing which includes a checklist for building your social network profiles and a list of sites to monitor your brand online.

Request your Free copy of this report as well as several others at:

http://rissummit.1parkplace.com/

FREE Virtual RE BarCamp is 1-4-10; Social Media & Tech All Day Mega-Webinar

I attended the first amazing REBarcamp in San Francisco, August 2008 - held prior to the Inman Connect.  REBarcamp is now Virtual and still FREE and it's TOMORROW - January 4, 2010.

If you want to seriously get a jump start on how to integrate Social Media into your Real Estate Business --- sign up now!

Educating Real Estate Agents On How To Use Modern Technologies To Better Their Business Will Never Be The Same!

On January 4th, 2010 dozens of the most respected educators in the real estate industry converge to host most exciting event of its kind, the Virtual Real Estate BarCamp.

Virtual Real Estate BarCamp is a 1-Day Learning Extravaganza.
From 9am until 4pm PST, three concurrent webinar "rooms" will each host 7 different sessions, for a total of 28 different presentations.
There is something for everyone and everything for someone, and best of all, IT IS FREE and attendance is unlimited!

Click below to:
Register.
Learn more.
See who is coming.
Check out the Session Calendar.
Get sponsorship info.

Attendance is projected to be at least 1000 agents, nationwide.
Do not miss out on being part of this ground-breaking event.

Potential Session Topics Include:

Facebook for Real Estate
Twitter 101
Driving Quality Traffic to Your Website
Beginning Search Engine Optimization
Advanced SEO
Getting Started with WordPress
Advanced WordPress Techniques
Using Flickr for Real Estate
Using YouTube for Real Estate
LinkedIn Business & Referral Strategies
Selecting an IDX Company
Single Property Websites
Getting the Most Out Of Your Mobile Devices
The iPhone and Real Estate
Photoshop for Real Estate
Video Blogging
Video Listings
Advanced Twitter Tips
Preparing to Start a Real Estate Blog
Google Analytics and Traffic Statistics

...and much more, with new sessions being added every day.

And if that wasn't cool enough, individuals from around the country are volunteering to host In-Real-Life MeetUps for after the event.
Learn all day, and then meet to have a beer with local participants. This is going to be a blast!

We hope to see you there!

Blogworld Expo '09 - Insights from Laura Fitton on Awesomeness, Connecting and Twitter

Laura Fitton (@pistachio, oneforty.com) delivered an inspiring and thought-provoking opening keynote at the Blogworld Expo 2009. 

I have to admit, my internal struggle with Twitter and blogging in general has been to surrender to the process, let go of my own fears and truly be transparent, less technical, more remarkable and interesting. I am in awe of the people who brilliantly tweet, blog or post a Facebook status in a succinct, intriguing, thoughtful, entertaining, funny and compelling way. 

Laura's talk had several nuggets to share - here is a summary:

• Fear is a terrible motivator - don't make decisions from Fear
• What is your superpower?
• How to be remarkable - cash in on your passion?
• • Luck
  • Believe
  • Connect
• Twitter is overcoming human isolation
• You have to embrace randomness to really get Twitter
• The real influencer is the message - not you!
• Be useful - turn it inside out.  Don't just retweet or post a link - Ask a question, produce value, make a connection, set it up, add something
• How to become Awesome on Twitter
  
  • Listen
  • Learn
  • Care
  • Serve
• Influence was attracting attention to yourself - Influence IS providing attention and value to others
• Be uniquely you -
• Resources/books to check out:
• • Twitter for Dummies - Laura Fitton. et al
  • Think Big Manifesto
  • Awesomeness Manifesto - Umair Haque 
  • Crush it - Cash in on your passion

Ready to get real...

REBlogworld 2008 - Highlights & Best Tips Part 1

REBlogworld was a well-organized and successful event.  I enjoyed participating, networking and the learning and sharing of ideas.  Kudos to Todd Carpenter and Jason Berman for all their hard work and to all the speakers and attendees for being on the leading edge of the RE.net.

Here's a recap of some of the sessions I attended/participated in at REBlogworld on Friday, September 19, 2008.

Mariana Wagner - From Click to Close.  Mariana covered 10 major points of conversion using and expanding on a traditional sales cycle adjusted for

1. Find - Potential clients will find you online due to your SEO; Pay Per Clicks/Adwords; adding your blog to directories; joining various online communities and offline marketing strategies
2. Click - Increase your click through rate with compelling content; enticing headlines/titles; relevant keywords that the consumer is searching for; long tail posts
3. Stick - Powerful calls to action, compelling content, ease of navigation and interior links can help your stickability - having a visitor stay on your site longer
4. Inquire -To get visitors to contact you or register for your home search, place properly worded calls to action in key areas on your blog.  Use graphical buttons on a prominent area above the fold (front page area visible on the screen).  Top 3 ideas: Search Homes for Sale in ____ ; Find Out How Much your Home is Worth in Today's Market; Get our Exclusive Weekly "Best Buy" Homes/Foreclosure List.  Put your call to action links in the body of the post when it makes sense or at the end of the blog post.
5. Contact - Find and build rapport as soon as possible.  Add and offer value through your blog content.
6. Appointment - stay in their mind; get permission; use your targeted blog post informative content in your drip email campaigns; create a sense of urgency to take action; remain helpful
7. Agreement - Use your blog to subtly promote yourself and address their concerns.  Be the expert.
8. Contract - Continue to educate through the process.
9. Close - Reinforce the process with blog posts.  Keep yourself educated.
10. Referral - Involve your clients in your blog - record and post testimonials; interview your clients - promote their business or favorite charity for example.

Dan Green of The Mortgage Reports shared some excellent advice on the design and aesthetics of your blog, among them:

• Put your most important info above the fold (the area visible on your screen when you go to a website or blog
• Your contact information must be clearly visible
• Dan uses a triangle format on his blog and in his posts that follows the normal eye pattern of someone visiting the site (the header; a graphic adjacent to a call to action (his "Work with Dan" area)
• Include an email subscription widget - many people still don't understand or use RSS feeds

Dave Smith and Rich Jacobson debated the benefits of Active Rain vs. Wordpress:

• Rich outlined the benefits of Active Rain and some of the newer features like Outside Blogs, changes in Localism.com which will be opening to the public soon to be part of the community
• Loved Dave's comment about every post is a "line in the water" - another opportunity to attract a potential reader, client
• Write about local events and happenings in our community - make sure to use keywords in the title and post.  You'll be amazed at how you will come up in the search engines sometimes more prominently then the actual event organizer or site.  (Especially when you use the SEO power of Active Rain)

Blogworld 2008 - Dave Taylor on Search Engines and Findability

 Dave Taylor -  Ten Things Your Need to Know about Search Engines and Findability

It all starts with good content - interesting, compelling and relevant.

Search Engines use semantic (what are you saying) and contextual analysis (who links to you and how they link) to figure themes and topics.

Here are Dave's 10 Things (plus a Bonus Tip) to Know About Search Engine Optimization:

1. Importance of titles- is title good enough to draw attention? Does is contain a keyword or concept about the post?
2. Keyword Density - think keywords when writing - use the keyword several times in the post and not "it" or other pronouns.  Don't use click here - make the keyword text a link.
3. Smart image filenames - Rename your images with relevant keywords for the particular post
4. The alt and title attributes -Take the time to fill out the alt and title tags for your uploaded images and files - again with relevant keywords/concept.
5. "More..." is definitely less" - Reconsider the use of the Read More  in the post.  Change the link from more to the keyword heavy title for example.  Consider not using "Home" but the name of your Website in Navigation.
6. Use savvy permalinks -  Each blog post has it's own unique URL - choose the most powerful words to describe the content of your post.  Wordpress has plugins to customize your URL.
7. Use HTML too, not just CSS - Search engines like HTML - All blog platforms have easy HTML editors. (header tags <h1> <h2> for example)
8. Minimize exit links - scrutinize who and how many links are in your blogroll.  The more outgoing links you have increases possibility of visitors leaving your site
9. Use internal links to cross-promote content - Use Related/Similar Posts at the end of your post (Use Wordpress plugin); Title of the blog post is the link.
10. Encourage easy commenting - Don't require login or registering in order to post comments.
11. Bonus Tip:  Use Keyword Research Tools to see what combination of words and word phrases people use and how often people search for certain keywords.

Blogworld 2008 Kicksoff with Keynotes on the State of the Blogosphere

The opening keynote address at Blogworld & New Media Expo 2008 featured Technorati CEO,Richard Jalichandra unveiling part of the latest State of the Blogosphere report. Look for the 5 part series on Technorati this Monday. Six Apart's Chris Alden and Anil Dash spoke about The Past, Present and Future of Blogging. I am posting this from my iPhone using the new Typepad app I just downloaded.

RE Blogworld Sept 19-21 - Save $100 until August 22nd

Do you want to learn all the latest about blogs, podcasts, video blogs and social media?  Then sign up today for the 3 day conference coming to Las Vegas September 19-21, 2008.  Friday is a full day of workshops and panels geared for the real estate professional.  Your conference registration ($350 until August 22nd then it goes up to $450) also includes both days of the Blogworld & New Media Expo. 

Visit the REBlogworld Blog for more details and check out this post from Todd Carpenter What does my registration get me?

5 Key Social Networks for Real Estate Agents and Why You Should Participate

Blogging from ReBarCamp in San Francisco... 120+ participants, lots of energy, networking, great conversations on a variety of topics (from Foreclosures 2.0 to everything blogging and social networks). 

An informative and thought-provoking session entitled: "What are the 5 Social Networks Every Agent Should Participate In?"   brought out some key points to explore before deciding what social networks to join.

1. What is your objective, outcome, goal?  And it should not just be about the sale!  The power of social networking is connecting with others and building relationships.  It's about the community and sharing.  It's about you being authentic and transparent and not just another salesperson.  The same basic principles of traditional networking groups apply to online networking - it's about meeting people, having a conversation and socializing!
   
2. Find social networks that fit your lifestyle, hobbies and passions.  What do you like to do?  What are your interests?  Real Estate Agent Teresa Boardman is an avid photographer.  She shared her success with Flickr - using photos in her blog and being actively involved in the Flickr community.  She goes on group photo walks set up by local members, for example.  For Teresa, it's all about meeting people, building the trust and relationship first - sales and listings will be the ultimate result.
   
3. Leverage the power of your profile.  All of these networks have a profile - complete it fully!  This is your opportunity for people to get to know something about you right away.
4. Keep it Local.  Research and join social networks that have a local connection.  You could join Yelp.com and contribute reviews of local restaurants or businesses for example.  Or, join a Meetup.com group (or start one) that you are interested in to meet new people and build community.

By the way, the consensus from the group to answer the initial question of which 5 Networks to participate in...

1. LinkedIn - the best professional, business social network; online resume service
2. Facebook - started out as a college crowd network and has really grown up; stay connected with your groups and contacts 
   
3. Flickr - share photos - including your listings - make sure to optimize for search engines by including titles and tags for all of your photos
4. Active Rain - largest social network for real estate professionals; great starting point for new bloggers
5. Twitter - spontaneous blogging; you can use your cell phone to post brief comments(140 characters or less); answers the question "What are you doing now?"; broadcast to your network quickly and easily

Related Posts:

• Real Estate Online Marketing Tips - Consider Joining These 3 Social Networks
• To Twitter or Not Twitter?

Real Estate Blogworld in Las Vegas - September 19-21, 2008

I am excited and honored to be a part of the RE Blogworld Conference on Friday, September 19, 2008 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  I will be joining Pat Kitano of TransparentRE and Kevin Boer of 3Oceans Real Estate as moderators for this full-day conference kicking off the Blogworld & New Media Conference set for September 20 and 21 in Las Vegas.

Todd Carpenter and Jason Berman are the organizers of this full day event for real estate agents, mortgage brokers  and other real estate professionals.  Learn from the leaders in the RE.net about how to leverage the power of blogging and other social media to enhance marketing efforts and your overall business.

The BlogWorld & New Media Expo is the world's largest blogging and new media trade show.  I attended the Blogworld Expo last year and totally enjoyed the experience.  There was something for everyone - a variety of tracks to choose from blogging for beginners, advanced blogging, to video and podcasting.  Here's a link to my blog posts and reviews of the Blogworld 2007 sessions I attended.

Registration is now open for the 2008 event! Save $200 and sign up before June 20th and receive full access to RE BlogWorld and BlogWorld & New Media Expo for the combined price of $250!

BlogWorldExpo 2008

Managing Your Online Reputation

One of the panel discussions at the recent Bloodhound Blog Unchained covered the topic of online reputation management with:

David Gibbons, Zillow
Rudy Bachraty, Trulia
Jeff Brown, www.bawldguy.com Real Estate Investments Broker

Here are some of the best ideas and tips I gleaned from the discussion:

•    Leverage your blog presence by commenting on blogs - reaching the audience you seek
•    Use Google Alerts  to receive updates on topics of interest.  Set up a Google alert on your name, company, etc.
•    Zillow & Trulia agree  that when someone trashes their company – it is a great opportunity to engage and get publicity; promote their company by setting the record straight, engaging in the dialog
•    They like to engage negative, controversial comments the most as it tends to create better dialog and learning
•    Write for the evergreen content value – think longevity – depth and breadth of reach on Internet
•    Set -up Subscribe to comments feed on your blog
•    Correct  faulty info on other blogs via comments
•    Don’t overreact to negative comments – breathe – wait – then address with gratitude
•    Get on Craigslist Housing Forum for your area
•    Comment on the Featured content at Active Rain 
•    Trulia Voices – find your zip code and join the conversation
•    Find local areas of blogs like Yelp.com and add value
•    Join Facebook and LinkedIn