It’s important to know when company representatives are doing a good job, and this is one of those times. I recently joined The Northern California Connection, a realtor collective who chose PropertyMinder for its website design and management. When asked to update our website, I contacted PropertyMinder and was directed to JIMMY NGUYEN, who worked with us initially to customize our site. Within just a few phone conversations, Jimmy helped me customize our data, adjust our design and resolve niggling issues, all with patience, humor and professionalism. Jimmy’s “can-do” attitude – and his quick training to help me do work on my own in the future – made me understand why NCC chose PropertyMinder for its web presence. Thank you, Jimmy, for excellent customer service!
Archive for April, 2017
5 Social Media Tips You Probably Aren’t Implementing (But Should)
We’ve shown you recently how critically important social media is for your business (+ tips on how to gain more “likes” and followers). From marketing and repeat clients, to snagging new leads, social media can be one of the most impactful and cost-effective marketing strategies you’ll ever employ.
Today’s Tip of the Week is going to assume you know the basics of marketing on social media. That is to say, we’re going beyond just showing you how to advertise on Facebook or set up your X (aka Twitter) account. We’re going to show you a few out-of-the-social-box ideas that you either haven’t thought of before or just haven’t had the time to implement.
By using some or all of these ideas, you’ll discover additional ways to stay in close contact with your buyers and sellers.
Hootsuite
Some of us at PropertyMinder personally use Hootsuite – that’s how amazing we think it is.
The principle behind the platform is simple: It can be difficult to remember the specific days and times you want to post to social media to connect with the real estate industry and your clients. Hootsuite lets you schedule posts ahead of time to X (aka Twitter), Facebook, Google+ and more. It will even shrink URLs for you and show you how many characters you have remaining to type with for X (aka Twitter) compared to, say, Facebook. Then select the exact date and time you want the post to go live. Boom. Done.
80/20 Rule
80% of your social media posts should be engaging, entertaining, and helpful content for your potential homebuyers and sellers.
Save the other 20% for direct marketing of your services and/or to encourage clicks to specific pages on your website.
X (aka Twitter) Bots
This one sounds more intimidating than it actually is. No, you don’t have to be a computer engineer or know how to code to create a X (aka Twitter) bot for your business.
RealtyBizNews captures the essence of X (aka Twitter) bots better than we ever could, so we’ll let them take it away:
“X (aka Twitter) bots are basically just software programs that perform specific actions. It’s possible to program X (aka Twitter) bots to do more or less anything, from instantly responding to mentions, directly messaging users who follow you, or instantly follow someone that uses certain words and phrases. The good thing about X (aka Twitter) bots is they’re easy to write and maintain. You don’t need any special coding skills either – simply create a X (aka Twitter) account, go to apps.twitter.com and set up your own bot. Just program a specific search term and select an action the bot will perform when that search term happens.”
Where the millennials at?
Depending on your market, millennials may or may not be potential clients today, but they absolutely will be in the not-so-distant future.
What’s not as popular with this crowd: Facebook. What is popular? Platforms like Snapchat and Instagram.
Figure out where in the home buying funnel your millennials are, and then you can determine the best social media strategy to engage them.
The Power of Video
It doesn’t matter if all you have is an iPhone; you need to make videos – and the distribution of this content – an integral part of your social media plan.
Think how easy it is for people that follow you on social media to have your videos auto-begin in their Instagram or Facebook feeds. With absolute minimal effort, potential clients and revenue interacts with your content to thereby increase branding and awareness.
Social media is a highly effective way to market to your audience. When combined with emails, newsletters, and other methods that engage with the leads in your CRM, social media is yet another tool that sets you apart from the competition in your zip codes.
More marketing advice can be found on our featured
Tip Of The Week Archive & Current Tip Of The Week webpages.
Why Selling With You Makes Better Sense.
We have a feeling that many of your leads are thinking about using a family member or close friend as their next real estate agent. We both know this is a horrible decision, but here are some tips you can forward to them to convey why they should choose you instead.
Let’s paint the picture for you real quick: You’re either buying a new home or selling your current one. It doesn’t matter. You know you need a real estate agent you can trust.
Wait a minute! Isn’t your Aunt Sally a local real estate agent? The same goes for your childhood best friend, Blake. Why would you ever risk going with some agent you found online or in the newspaper when you have trustworthy experts directly at your disposal?
Eh … there are a lot of reasons.
Trust us, we get it. It’s just natural to seek assistance from those closest to us. Sadly, however, family, friends, and real estate just don’t mix.
Here are four reasons why:
- They tend to tell you what you want to hear
Has a close friend ever asked you if she looked good in a certain outfit and you refrained from giving your true and honest opinion? We all probably have, and this same issue can happen when friends and family are searching through the MLS to find homes they think you want but probably aren’t a good fit.
A neutral real estate agent will tell you her true and honest opinion even if it’s not what you want to hear. That’s exactly what you need for such an endeavor as this.
- Friendships and kinships can go sour
Have you ever loaned a friend or family member money? He promised to pay you back in a month, but it’s been six weeks and your money is nowhere to be found.
Talk about a quick way to sour a lifelong relationship.
Things can go sideways during a home transaction. It’s just a part of life, but it shouldn’t ruin the special relationship you have with your family member or friend.
Play it safe and hire a neutral party as your real estate agent. Wondering if this neutral party is someone you can trust? Start by checking out her website to get a better feel for her skills.
- Are your secrets safe?
Everyone has skeletons in the closest, or at the very least, things about their personal lives and finances they’d rather keep under wraps.
There’s a reason many folks spill their guts to a therapist in a way they wouldn’t with a friend or family member. It’s personal information, and when you don’t hire a trusted, local real estate agent, you risk someone blabbing personal info you’d rather not share with others.
- You’re fired
This one is pretty simple: How are you going to feel if you have to fire a real estate agent that just happens to be your uncle or best friend from graduate school?
It’s not going to be fun, and it’s probably going to be ugly. Best to just avoid it altogether.
Play it safe. Find a local real estate agent with a track record of success. If you are going to consult friends and family (even if they are real estate agents), ask them for referrals instead of their services.
Ready to show these leads once and for all why you’re the best option for buying and selling their next home? Let’s get them in the best CRM you’ve ever worked with and start proving to them today why they’d be crazy not to work with you.
More marketing advice can be found on our featured
Tip Of The Week Archive & Current Tip Of The Week webpages.
