This is a good article written by Jimmy Mackin – I suggest starting out with a website in which your blog is a page within in it. Your goal is to drive traffic to you website and to optimize your web site – Call me for more information how this can be a part of your real estate marketing plan!!!

Facebook Page or Blog? Where do I start?

Where do I start?

Many Realtors® who are new to Blogging and Social Media do not know where to begin.  A common mistake many Realtors® make is they try to do everything at once.  I want to share with you the strategy we used to build our brand.

July 2nd, 2010 – we launched our Facebook Page.

Over the next 6 month, we focused all of our attention on connecting and engaging with our community.  As a result of our efforts, we were able to consistently grow our Facebook Page month after month.

When we launched our blog (Jan 12, 2011)- we immediately started seeing traffic flowing in from our Facebook Page.  In our first 108 days, we have driven in over 16,000 visits and 35,642 Pageviews.  Our readership is growing by approx 30% per month.

The important takeaway here is that only 8.84% of our traffic is coming from the Search Engines.

We often think that the only way to drive in traffic is to rank well for relevant keyword phrases, we have found that there is an alternative marketing strategy that you can use that may help you get better results.

Pre Social Media

Realtors® would launch their blog, hope that Google would crawl their site, index their web pages, and “hopefully” rank their pages for highly relevant keyword phrases.  This is a push and pray marketing approach  - push out your content and pray that Google ranks your pages well.

The challenge many of us face with this approach is that we cannot control how well we rank for specific keyword phrases.  We can optimize our sites until we are blue in the face, the fact remains, that ranking well for highly competitive keyword phrases very difficult.

Post Social Media

Facebook allows us to take more of a proactive approach to building a following.

There are two very important distinction worth making

Establishing yourself as a resource for valuable information is a great way to attract followers.  This doesn’t require you to create all of the content, you simply need to be a good curator.  A perfect example of this is The Corcoran Group.

People are the engine that drives growth – not bots.

I just posted 7 property listings to Craigslist for one of my clients in a matter of less than 30 minutes!!! How long does it usually take for you? Not only did the ads have information about the property, but it also included a link to a squeeze page (ie – leads) for more information.

Whether you like Craigslist or not – your clients do.

Contact me today to find out several ways you can do this!!

Check These Links Out!

Would You Like a List of OBX Investment Properties?

This Better Homes & Gardens Magazine Cover Home Can Be Yours!!

We’re over halfway through January already! Where did it go? Sunday I finished putting away all my Christmas, Holiday and Winter decorations. There’s way too much snow outside to be reminded about it inside. And those little signs that say, “Let it Snow!” have just GOT to be put away. NO, DON’T JUST LET IT SNOW!!

All this reminded me about the optimistic resolutions made less than 3 weeks ago …. or even, how about all those things you meant to do last year that you didn’t get around to or find time to implement? Are they still nagging at you? It’s like wanting to go on a diet, but don’t find the time to exercise or don’t pick out the right food at the grocery store. Wishing it won’t loose the weight or make you healthier.

Your business could be weighing on you just as much and just as unhealthy. So, what are you going to do about it? How are you going to pump up your business?

1. Make a wish list of what you want your business to look like by the end of the year. Go crazy! Go WILD!! This is just a wish list – use your imagination!
2. Who do you admire – is there an agent/businessperson out there you just envy and would like to be like? Well, what do they have or what are they doing that you aren’t? Make a list! Why can’t you implement some of their winning ideas?
3. Hire a coach or take some classes that are just continuing education. Some have very short term, shot in the arm classes to at least point you in the right direction and will perhaps help in your to do list. (YourCoachingMatters)
4. Hire some help! If you are doing things yourself to save money, but they’re not getting done, how is that more cost effective than hiring your projects done to actually be finished and used? The great thing? It doesn’t have to be a full-time assistant! It CAN be per project!!
5. Subscribe to some great talent out there – for free! Gitomer.com or Seth Godin
   
6. Read books on how to build your business – Jeffrey Gitomer. Gitomer’s books can be easily read while you’re waiting for a client to show up or other appointments.
7. Get back in touch with your clients/database! They need to know you are still in business!

You still can change how you look and pump up your business looks for 2011! Then in 2012, your resolution will be to make smart investments with all that extra new income!!

The Holidays are here and year end is looming ahead. What are you doing to prepare for 2011? It is so easy to take a little bit of really needed time off and enjoy the season. While that is extremely tempting, is it good for your business?

If your business is a little slack, NOW is the time to get organized, find out what you need to put in place and start working it.

• Do you have your blog up and going?
• Are subscribed to all the major Social Media groups? Are these icons on EVERYTHING?
• Do you have a squeeze page? and is it where it will actually WORK for you?
• Do you have a 2011 Marketing campaign written out – AND A MARKETING BUDGET?
• Do you have an outline of what you need to do if the year is lean? if 2011 year has moderate sales? and the wish list of 2011 is a gang buster of a year?
• Have you looked over what marketing is done now, reviewing if it is working or should it be scraped for something more effective?Are you just renewing the same old thing for a lack of anything new? Is the old marketing working for you?
• Have you opened yourself up for new and different ideas for the New Year?

Now is the time to get a plan in place, work out the cobwebs and start working it. Before the spring rush.

Also, if you’d rather NOT be doing all the marketing plan yourself or have no idea where to start, you are not alone. There is help. Hire a part-time virtual assistant who will guide you to making your real estate business profitable and a working machine.

Give me a call – I’m here to help!