The Friday Five for April 24th
No question, the business of Real Estate is changing at the speed of light and I sometimes wonder if by the time I’ve researched an idea or platform, something better has come out. Am I just playing a giant game of “catch up”? Over the last 5 years there has been an explosion of articles and posts written about social media, blogging and technology developments. Let’s face it, it would be next to impossible to wade through all the content. So, each week, in my little corner of the world, I offer up the articles that I find interesting and put them together in the Friday Five. I hope it helps you be better at whatever it is you do!
I stumbled across this one through my LinkedIn news feed and, while it is not tech or social media specific, there are many take aways that could be applied to our business of Real Estate. Check out the eleven concepts on becoming a better leader. They are especially relevant if you substitute the word leader for Realtor…or manager… or baker….well you get the picture. This one is from Dave Kerpen author of Likeable Business. http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130128162711-15077789-11-simple-concepts-to-become-a-better-leader?trk=mp-details-rc
It’s much easier to market your business when customers readily associate a face with your brand. Many companies, from Apple to Zappos, have drawn success from their leaders’ knack for capturing the public’s attention and inspiring new schools of thought in their field. Today, business owners have an array of options for getting in front of potential customers. The Web and social media have opened up new avenues to share expertise and reach people of influence. This is a great article on building personal brand from @inc http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/05/build-your-personal-brand.html
If you thought Pinterest was for looking at pretty pictures this infographic should change your views dramatically. Put side by side, which platform is better….Pinterest or Facebook? While Facebook gets more traffic, Pinterest beats out Facebook in the other major metrics. Lesson? It might be time to think outside the Facebook box. Thanks to @RWW for this http://readwrite.com/2013/04/17/social-networking-for-marketers-pinterest-crushes-facebook-infographic
Love this one from @jeffbullas. Some might call me a Twitter Jedi, others might say I’m just annoying and plugging up their feed, but what ever I’m doing, it seems to be working. My blog is hitting numbers like never before. Twitter may not be the answer to your lead generation prayers but it certainly can’t hurt if it is used right. I love this quote…The principles of a coherent marketing strategy should not be discarded because social media mania has turned your brain to mush. Twitter in the right hands with the right plan and approach is a very sharp marketing tool. Works for me.
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/06/27/how-to-create-a-twitter-marketing-strategy-that-rocks
I liked this one from @B2Community on LinkedIn invitations. Over the last year I have received at least a hundred invites to connect on LinkedIn. The problem is (and I’m guilty of it too) is that they use the generic greeting message. You know the one…. I’d like to add you to my professional network. Boring. From now on, I’m going to reach out to people with a personal message or link. I will let you know how it goes. http://www.business2community.com/linkedin/your-biggest-linkedin-mistake-can-be-easily-fixed-0466848?goback=.gde_3754448_member_233121144
Have a great weekend everyone!
The Friday Five for April 12th
Crummy weather can’t stop me. I love putting the Friday Five together. Why? because all the information you could ever need to be a fantastic agent is out there. Don’t pay someone to tell you how to do Facebook ads or be an expert blogger. You have to find your own way of doing it. My passions are marketing, branding, blogging and social media. As such I do a fair bit of homework on those subjects and share it with agents across the country. The important thing to remember is that everything we do on-line only works if you have the abilities to show your stuff OFF LINE. Social Media is a fabulous tool that every agent should utilize but don’t do it all. Pick the ones that work FOR YOU! I am a Twitter fanatic, probably due to my short attention span. I suck at Four Square. I’m ok at Facebook, but I am the biggest fan of Tumblr (I have two accounts). To each his own. Go with what you know. Without further ado, here are this week’s Friday Five!
Word-of-mouth contagion has always been at the heart of smart marketing campaigns so when it comes to marketing to the social savvy consumer, consider these fine points via @Smedio http://smedio.com/2012/10/01/marketing-to-the-social-savvy-consumer
We have been pushing the implementation of doing real estate on iPads for a long time. With reason. Going paperless will help to change your business, and build your brand. Don’t believe me? Check out this post from @katieLance on why she is so passionate about docusign. https://www.docusign.com/blog/docusign-spotlight-3-reasons-why-i-am-passionate-about-paperless
Doesn’t it make you sick when you google someone and their picture shows up next to the text? This happens because Google has implemented an Authorship Markup tool that allows writers to identify themselves to the search engine by linking their online works to their Google+ profiles. This allows for a blog, article, or website to stand out from the crowded search results with a picture of the writer inserted next to its description. Ok so the downside, if you want to call it that, is that you must have a Google+ account. Small price to pay. Good article and step by step directions from @inmannext. I did it and will let you know how it goes. http://next.inman.com/2013/04/google-authorship-get-your-picture-in-search-results-and-drive-more-traffic
Here is another one from @KatieLance on the sociability of Real Estate. Long gone are the days of real estate marketing limited to bus stop benches and newspaper pull-outs. Real estate is fully online, and going social. I especially like number 3. Don’t forget that Real Estate is LOCAL. http://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-tips-real-estate
There is corporate brand and then there is your personal brand. Can they work together. My favorite blogger Anna Rydne from @Coskills has a great post on the subject. Watch the short video by William Arruda a personal branding guru. Short and to the point. http://communicateskills.com/2012/08/20/brand-building-activity/
Happy reading everyone. Oh, and see how my name is high lighted here? thats because of the whole Google authorship business. Hey if you need to reach me….just google me.
mark mclean
The Friday Five for April 5th.
Happy Friday Everyone. I’m excited by this week’s Friday Five which is all about BRAND, Marketing and getting the real estate word out there, developing trust and of course…the little black dress.
As the saying goes…there is more than one way to skin a (insert animal of your choice here) just as there is more than one way to solve the marketing puzzle. The methods listed can range from the very simple and traditional to the more esoteric. Virtually any budget can be accommodated using these techniques to get a company or personal brand established and to attract as much business as possible. http://soho.ca/index.php/5-ways-to-brand-your-business-on-a-budget/
Check out this interesting post from Katie Lance about the bygone days of real estate marketing when we were limited to bus stop benches and newspaper pull-outs. Real estate is fully online, and going social. http://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-tips-real-estate/
There are lots of success stories and case studies documenting business success through Twitter. Taking from those successes are the following tips to leverage this platform for your business. http://www.businessesgrow.com/2011/11/29/15-ways-to-use-twitter-to-toast-your-competition/
Are you wondering how to influence potential customers and prospects? The latest findings from Technorati’s 2013 Digital Influence Report show that “consumers are turning to blogs when looking to make a purchase.” In fact, blogs rank favorably with consumers for trust, popularity and even influence. Ummm…..do you need any other reason to start blogging? Yeah, I didn’t think so. http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/blogs-outrank-social-networks-for-consumer-influence-new-research/
And speaking about blogging and trust, this one is not just for the women in my life. Social Media is a trusted media today, it’s not a fad. Today it’s as necessary in a brand manager’s marketing mix as the little black dress is in any womans wardrobe. But the similarities don’t end there. Hmmm…this sounds interesting. Thanks to Anna Rydne and @coskills for this. http://communicateskills.com/2012/11/08/black-dress-social-media-marketing/
As usual I value the imput of my readers so if you have anything to add please let me know. I am SO available it isn’t funny. Find me here;
http://bosleyrealestate.com/4a_office_team.php?office_id=101
https://twitter.com/mark_mclean
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=39092971&trk=hb_tab_pro_top
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