Creating an Interesting Interactive QR Campaign
Published November 18, 2011 | 
QR codes have been popping up everywhere. I’ve seen them on real estate signs, Facebook pages, mobile websites, blogs, entertainment magazines and even food items. It seems that many people were quick to join this revolutionary way to pass information in a quick, concise way. However, if not used properly, QR codes may go the way of the pet rock and be banished to the “graveyard of fads from yesteryear”. How do you avoid this? By creating an interesting interactive QR campaign.
First of all, you need to decide exactly what message you want your QR code to convey to potential real estate clients. Are you trying to sell one specific property? Do you want them to view all listings in a specific county, city or neighborhood? Or do you simply want to market yourself? Narrowing your focus for each QR code you can showcase your knowledge in a niche market.
Encourage your potential real estate clients to actively participate by creating a call to action. Adding a simple phrase that describes what info they will get by scanning the code gives a higher scan rate than just inserting the code with no explanation. If your listing is offering a buyer incentive, add a “scan here for $5000 cash back at closing” or something similar. Give a customer a reason to scan the code.
The design of your website, blog and marketing materials can make an impact on the success or failure of a real estate marketing campaign. The same can be said for a QR code. Simple black and white codes do work. But a colorful, uniquely designed code can make a bigger impact and still scans the same on QR readers. Many times, this is enough to catch a potential client’s eye so that they scan it to find out what it means. I’d still suggest adding a tag line of some sort, though. Also, you need to make sure that where you send your customers is easily viewed on a mobile phone. Sending them to your regular website may not be user-friendly on a cell phone, even with today’s smart phone technology. Many times, regular websites look distorted or are too hard to navigate on a mobile phone, causing visitors to abandon the site altogether. Second Self can help you set up a mobi site if you don’t already have one.
How do you know if your QR code campaign is working or not? The amount of scans isn’t necessarily an indicator of a campaign’s success or failure (however, no scans is a definite problem). What you really want to look at is the amount of time a visitor spends on the link. If a visitor is spending several minutes on the link, it’s a good campaign. If they are clicking off quickly, it could mean that you need to tweak it a little because they didn’t find the link helpful or it may mean that there is an issue with the scan itself. Also, place your QR code in an area that is sure to be seen, such as high up on your web page, blog or other advertising materials.
Another way to measure the success of a QR campaign is to look at how it has affected other areas of your business. Have you seen more hits on your website after using a particular QR code? Have your Facebook fans increased? How many more Twitter followers or LinkedIn connections have you seen?
The use of QR codes is only limited by your imagination. Creating an interesting interactive QR campaign can help shoot your real estate business into the stratosphere. Let us know if there is anything we can help you with to get you started.
Google+ Business Pages
Published November 10, 2011 | By now, you should be well aware of how important a business page is on the internet. If you don’t have your real estate business listed on Google, Yahoo and/or Bing, you’re behind the times. Of course, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are also great places to create business listings as well as interact with your peers and potential clients. Google+ has now incorporated the best aspects of social media into an SEO-friendly business listing with their Google+ business pages.
Creating a Google+ business page is really quick and easy. First, you sign in to your personal Google+ account using your Google account info. Proceed to the Google+ Business page. You will have five choices for the kinds of business page you want to create: Local Business or Place, Product or Brand, Company/Institute/Organization, Arts/Entertainment/Sports or Other (for those that don’t fit into any of the other categories). Most likely, as real estate professionals, you will choose either the Local Business or Company categories. Choose the subcategory you want to be placed in, add a tagline (you only have 10 words to sell yourself here), choose your photo, share your link with your circles and you’re good to go. You can create a lengthier profile, share more photos and videos and add posts to your page. And you’re done.
You can create up to 10 business pages using your Google+ account. Create a separate page for buyers, sellers and foreclosure/short sales or show off your local smarts by creating a business pages for each community you serve. You can highlight specific events, showcase your favorite haunts and show off what makes each neighborhood so special. Then, share your pages with whomever you wish. This is marketing at its finest.
Google+ is quickly becoming an important tool in the business person’s arsenal. If you need help setting up your Google+ business page, feel free to contact me. Second Self Virtual Assistance is always on the lookout for the best ways to help our real estate clients stay on top of the latest marketing trends. That’s what makes for a great business partnership.
Communication is Key with Clients
Published November 3, 2011 | 
Every successful real estate agent knows that communication is key with clients. This is true whether your client is a buyer or seller. With sellers, in particular, there are a few specific ways you can keep your clients “in the loop” on what’s happening with their listing. An informed client is a happy client. Happy clients refer you to other potential clients and everybody wins.
Follow-up After a Showing – This may seem obvious, but it shouldn’t be overlooked. Whether via email or a personal phone call (whichever your client prefers), informing them of how the showing went in a timely manner helps alleviate some of the stress they are feeling during this important time in their life. Take lots of notes during the showing and ask important questions, such as what the buyer/agent liked most/least about the home, what they think needs to be improved on, how many other homes have they looked at and how does this home rank in comparison to the other homes they’ve seen. When you take this feedback to your client, they can get a more realistic picture of how their home looks to potential buyers. This can help both you and your client tweak your marketing plan to accommodate.
Sign Up for Google Alerts – Most of today’s homebuyers begin their home search online. So, it makes sense to follow what is being said about your clients’ property and where it is being seen. Setting up a Google alert for the property’s address takes only a couple of minutes. You can receive the alert as often as you want, but you may only want to share this information every other week or so with your client. You don’t want to overwhelm them with too many alerts. This will show them that you are always keeping an eye on their listing because they are very important to you.
Analyze Online Listing Performance - Smart real estate agents understand the importance of posting your clients’ listings online. But, it’s not enough to just post and syndicate these listings. You need to know how these listings rank in search engines, who is viewing them and which portals they are viewing them most (ie, Trulia, Zillow, Craigslist, etc). Most listing sites provide an in-house report that will allow you to track how your listing is doing on that particular site. Do a weekly update to see where your clients’ listing is getting the most viewings so you can, again, tweak your marketing plan to take advantage of the traffic. When you present your findings to your client, they will see for themselves that their listing is never far from your mind.
When you deal in a customer service-oriented business like real estate, you quickly find that communication is key with clients. Word-of-mouth is still a very powerful and effective advertising tool. Keep your clients informed and they will be more than happy to pass along your name to their friends, families and coworkers. Then, they’ll tell two friends and they’ll tell two friends and so on and so on…
Harness Social Media in an Online Newsletter
Published October 27, 2011 | I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Social media can be a great tool in a real estate professional’s arsenal. When used correctly, Facebook is more than a way to catch up with old friends or stay in touch with distant relatives (which is nice) and Twitter has become so mainstream that it has been the “go-to” source for late-breaking news at legitimate news outlets. How would you like to harness social media in an online newsletter quickly and easily? Paper.li is just the site for you!
The key to search engine optimization is creating fresh content on a regular basis. The more relavent content you create, the more food the search engine spiders have to crawl. This helps give your real estate business a boost in the rankings as well as makes you seen as an expert in your field by your peers, potential clients and search engines. With a free account on Paper.li, you can literally create your own online real estate newsletter in a few simple clicks using Twitter, Facebook and your blog feed. How crazy is that?!
All you have to do to get started is visit the Paper.li website, create a free account, create an attention-grabbing title (be as creative as you can but not too wordy), add a few links and content is automatically streamed from your sources into an interesting newsletter format that can be shared to your friends, family, colleagues and potential clients every single day. You can stream content from your Twitter account, Twitter accounts of people you find interesting or a specific Twitter list you have, specify hash tags you want info pulled from, search out keywords on Twitter and Facebook and, finally, add RSS feeds from your website or blog. You are allowed a combination of up to 10 of these sources to create your own newsletter. You can also set your newsletter up to automatically tweet a link every time new updates are added (up to once a day).
You have full editorial control. When you find new and interesting people, websites, information, etc. that you want to share in your newsletter, simply go into your paper’s content settings and change/update wherever needed. Use your own photos for a custom appearance. Manage your subscriptions. It’s all pretty simple and simply amazing.
Harness social media in an online newsletter without having to do all the legwork yourself. Work smarter, not harder, to achieve the real estate success you deserve. If you have any questions, you can always contact me. Social media really is a great way to create new real estate business if you use it wisely.
What I Won’t Be Posting on Facebook
Published October 20, 2011 | 
Social media has become commonplace in today’s tech-savvy culture. I just read recently that even regular featured phones are predicted to go the way of the do-do bird in the next 10 years thanks to the portability, availability and user-friendliness of the smartphone. Places like Facebook and Twitter can be used to stay in touch with long-distance family and friends, promote your real estate business, find long lost high school buddies or to keep up with your favorite TV shows, personalities and brands you love.
The down side of all this “sharing” is that some people tend to “overshare”. While the words you write on social media sites may not be set in literal stone, they are out there for all the world to see and read. This includes your mother, your boss, your co-workers and would-be thieves. So, dear readers, here is a list of what I won’t be posting on Facebook and I encourage you not to as well:
Location – Call me paranoid, but I keep thinking “Big Brother” when Facebook asks me if I want to verify my location when posting a status update. If I want you to know where I am so you can join me, fine. But, no one other than my husband really needs to know where I am at all times. Besides, shouting that you have finally realized your dream of a 10-day European vacation is advertising to Facebook-trolling thieves that the contents of your household are open for the taking and no one will notice for a week and a half. Yikes!
My New Toy – Yes, I am so happy that your new 52″ LCD TV has a picture so clear it makes looking out the window seem grainy in comparison and that brand new $1200 Sony VAIO has really changed your life (apparently). I repeat, however, that you’re just giving thieves something to check off their “must-have” lists. Don’t invite thieves to do their early Christmas shopping in your home.
Party Pics – Now, I like to have a good time like anyone else. But my idea of a good time doesn’t include getting blitzed out of my mind on Yaeger bombs. That doesn’t always hold true for others. So, before you post that photo of feeling “free” on the nude beaches of Europe or how sloppy drunk you were at the company Christmas party, consider that these photos can be viewed by anyone in your circle and whomever they choose to share them with in their circle (who then tell their friends, who then tell their friends and so on and so on). This means they can eventually get back to your boss, your preacher or your mother (…children). Is that the impression you want to make? I know it’s not the one I want people to remember me by.
Those are just a few of the things I will not be posting to Facebook anytime soon. I strongly encourage you to consider not posting them as well. A good rule of thumb to follow when posting anything on Facebook is what my daughter told my grandson when he started his Facebook account: “Don’t post anything that you would be too embarrassed for Mom to see…cause she WILL.”
Five Essential Twitter Tools
Published October 13, 2011 | Unless you have been living under a rock…in the middle of Siberia…by yourself, you are well aware of Twitter. Many commercials show a “follow me @” somewhere in their 15-30 second spots. Entertainment shows feature segments on celebrity tweets. Even legitimate news outlets feature news stories broke via Twitter. As a business person, it’s crazy not to consider using Twitter to enhance your real estate business. But, as your followers and list of people you follow grows, it can be difficult to manage all the information. So, I’ve done the research for you and found five essential Twitter tools that you absolutely must have to manage your tweets.
Mention Mapp – This is an interesting tool that is also pretty cool to look at. Mention Mapp creates a visual chart that maps out who you’re following, what hashtags they use most, where they’ve mentioned you or the subject you’re interested in and how often. This is a great resource to use your current Twitter followers to find new, pertinent people to follow.
Brand Chirp – Perfect for managing your brand on Twitter, Brand Chirp allows you to find out what followers are saying about your business in real time. Using specific keywords and a map-based feature, you can even find out which Twitter users are tweeting using those terms. This can help you create a larger real estate database of potential clients.
Proxlet – Sometimes Twitter chatter can be a bit overwhelming. If you find that your Tweet stream is filled with tweets from oversharing friends or an endless line of comments about a real estate conference you don’t happen to be attending, you can “mute” them for a period of time. Proxlet also allows you to block apps and filter tags to keep the relevant information you want and get rid of the “junk tweets”.
SocialOomph – Just like the name implies, this is just the “oomph” you need to get a handle on your Twitter followers. You can set your account to automatically follow anyone who follows you (totally optional, of course),
send a “thank you” message to anyone who follows you (which you can use to direct them to your blog, website, company site or social media), view mentions and retweets, create an extended Twitter profile and even track keywords.
Twaitter – Much like Tweet Later, Twaitter allows you to create recurring tweets and set tweets up to post at specific times. But, it can also translate tweets and allows for multi-users on the account (great for businesses). Keep track of which Tweets are occurring, when they will be posted and where they are posting to using your own Tweet calendar. That way you don’t overload your followers with too many tweets at a time, possibly making them block you completely.
Next to Facebook, Twitter has become one of the top services that smart real estate professionals use to grow their business. These five essential Twitter tools will help you manage your Twitter account and use it more effectively to interact with current clients and find new business. Let me know if you need any assistance.
You Can’t Get a Gourmet Meal at a Happy Meal Price
Published October 6, 2011 | 
Everybody is trying to save money wherever they can nowadays. Eat out less, rent a movie, clip coupons…it all makes good dollars and sense, right? There is, however, a dollar vs quality aspect that some people lose sight of. I mean, you wouldn’t go to a five star restaurant and expect to pay a Happy Meal price, would you?
Like you, I am all about saving money wherever I can. Some things, however, are well worth the price. For example, Tide may be more expensive than Dreft, but I use less of it to get my clothes cleaner. It averages out to just about the same price for a much better result. Also, my husband and I used hand cranked can openers for years but they always seemed to break or go dull, rendering them useless pretty quickly. Finally, when we were looking at replacing it for the umpteenth time, I turned to my husband and said, “For the amount of money we spent on all those awful can openers, we could have purchased an automatic one that still works and actually saved ourselves money.” So, we bought the automatic can opener. Of course, we keep the low-tech version for our emergency kit.
In the real estate business, some sellers are trying to save money by representing themselves (ie, via a FSBO). You and I both know that, while it appears that they are saving themselves a few bucks, in reality, it can cost them much more than if they hired a real estate professional to do this work for them. Your knowledge, expertise, contacts and experience are the reason you get paid your commission on a sale – you earn it. You can put all your skills to work for your clients to get the job done in a quicker fashion and, most likely, for a better profit.
The same can be said for a Real Estate Virtual Assistant. We understand that it’s a tough world for everyone. Saving money is on your mind as well. So, when someone offers you their VA services for what amounts to less than even minimum wage, it can sound very enticing. However, you usually get what you pay for. As a Real Estate Virtual Assistant operating within the United States, we at Second Self keep ourselves abreast of the most current trends to keep your online presence constantly evolving. Through education and experience, we are able to present you with a marketing strategy that is unique to you. We can be a collaborator, an innovator and a huge money-saving resource all rolled into one. We are committed to making your business the best it can be because that is OUR business. And, we speak your (professional) language. We know what you need and know how to make it happen.
Yes, you’re going to have to pay more than $7/hour to get good, quality work. But, remember, you can’t get a gourmet meal for a happy meal price!
Running Around 90 Miles an Hour with Your Hair on Fire?
Published September 29, 2011 | Do you feel like you’re running around 90 miles an hour with your hair on fire?
- Are you running out of time before you’ve run out of work to be done?
- Do you wish you had two of you to help with your daily duties (a “Second Self“, if you will)?
- Has the sales portion of your business (not to mention your family) suffered because you’re spending way too much time on administrative duties and marketing your business?
Successful real estate professionals know that, in order to be productive and stay on top of their game, they need to delegate their workload so it’s completed in a timely, proficient manner – giving them more time to focus on their buyers and sellers. That’s where a Real Estate Virtual Assistant comes in. But, what should a Real Estate Virtual Assistant be doing for you?
The right Real Estate Virtual Assistant has the experience, dedication and knowledge to take care of just about any job a traditional in-house assistant can do for you. They never call in sick, you don’t have to pay for their health insurance and payroll taxes, they need no training and you only pay them for work they do. There is no “down time” cost for adding a Real Estate Virtual Assistant partner to your staff.
A Real Estate Virtual Assistant should be able to help you organize and maintain your online presence. This includes blogging, social media networking and marketing yourself where it counts. That’s what gets your name on the tips of potential real estate clients’ tongues and keeps your phones ringing.
A REVA can also make sure your clients’ listings are promoted across the web to get the most exposure. As you already know, most buyers in today’s real estate market turn to the internet first when looking to purchase a home…even before they decide on an agent to represent them. So, getting your clients’ listings seen on the internet is an important factor in selling real estate to today’s tech-savvy buyers. Using mobile sites, drip campaigns, weekly or monthly newsletters, consistently blogging, targeted social media marketing and a professionally designed and maintained website can create a platform for both you and your clients to gain a widespread audience, especially to those potential buyers who are outside of your local real estate market and are contemplating a move to your area.
Your clients hire you to handle their real estate transactions because they need the knowledge and expertise you possess. This is the same reason you need to hire a Real Estate Virtual Assistant. A dedicated REVA continually educates themselves on the latest marketing techniques that help their REALTORS® succeed, not unlike a smart real estate professional does with their continuing real estate education. The REVA you hire doesn’t even have to be in the same city or state as you are to get the job done. We, at Second Self Virtual Assistance, have worked with clients from as far as Hawaii and Alaska to New York and Florida.
These are only some of the things your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be doing for you. There may be a special project that pops up that necessitates getting help. A REVA can do that. Do you need someone to help you with traditional real estate marketing (such as flyers, postcards, etc.)? A REVA can do that. Only need someone to handle listing syndication or weekly blog writing? A REVA can do that.
Set an appointment with a Real Estate Virtual Assistant to discuss your current support needs and let your REVA set up a Plan of Action to accomplish your professional goals. Stop running around at 90 miles an hour with your hair on fire and start enjoying your real estate profession – and your family!
Slideshare Goes Social
Published September 22, 2011 | There has been a lot of talk about the new updates that Facebook has rolled out recently (hello blue tab “Top Story” and new layout). I haven’t decided yet whether I like or loathe it. I’ll have to let it marinate for a while first. Whatever your feelings are about it, there’s a reason Facebook seems to be kicking Google+’s little booty. Social networking continues to be a great tool for real estate professionals to integrate their business savvy in a social arena. Now, one of the best information sharing programs available online has joined in on the social networking bandwagon. Slideshare has gone social.
When you log in to your free Slideshare account, you will find that you now have a newsfeed (like Facebook) that shares what your friends have recently uploaded, comments on your presentations, Slideshare’s feature presentations, who has been looking at your profile recently and when someone in your friend network follows someone new so you can check them out for yourself. Your friends will be able to “favorite” your slideshows that they like, which then gives you exposure on their network of friends, extending your slideshow’s reach even further. By having the ability to view and read commentary on what your friends are looking into, you can determine whether you feel their friends are worth following as well, thus building your social network through Slideshare.
As we are all well aware of, social networking has become a mainstay in our personal and professional lives. If utilized properly, it can be an exceptional tool in your real estate business. Now that Slideshare has gone social, you can use your Slideshare presentations to an even bigger advantage in building your real estate business. Contact me now to find out how you can harness the power of social networking to create a strong presence for yourself and your business online.
Don’t Forget Anything Ever Again With Evernote
Published September 15, 2011 | 
Everyone seems to living a “hurry up and GO” lifestyle. Multi-tasking has become a common way to get through our daily lives. That is especially true when it comes to the life of a real estate professional like yourself. But, when you multi-task, you run the risk of forgetting some important information that you really wish you had later. There is a new real estate tool I have found that I believe can help you remember every idea, snapshot, memo and more for retrieval at any time. Don’t forget anything ever again with Evernote.
Evernote was created for any busy person living the on-the-go lifestyle. With Evernote, users can save notes, clip interesting web pages, store photos and even keep pdfs on file. It is easily accessible through your desktop, laptop or smart phone as well, making it totally portable and user-friendly anywhere you need it. If you have tons of paperwork and want to keep it organized, you can take a photo with your smart phone or scan it into your Evernote account at your home or office.
With your free Evernote account, you can create as many files (or “notebooks”) as you want. Add as many notes, photos, web page links, scanned documents and pdfs as you want to any notebook as often as you want. You can add tags to each file for easy reference. With their Web Clipper download, you can even “clip” parts of different web pages and send them to your Evernote notebook whether you use Windows, Firefox or any other web browser. It’s also available as an app on your iPhone, iPad or Android smart phone for your convenience.
Make a separate notebook for buyers, one for sellers, one for foreclosures and short sales, etc. You can include a checklist of information each new real estate client will need to have on hand that fits their particular profile (maybe a checklist of information a buyer will need to have on hand, what a seller needs to do to get their home ready before listing it or what a homeowner can expect when buying a short sale). Voila! You have an instant marketing package to send to any client.
Create an individual notebook for each client that includes their wants/needs listed to help you stay organized. When you do a broker’s open or caravan, take photos and upload them to specific clients’ notebooks so that you can share them with your clients later. You can also save any emails sent back and forth between you and your client in one area.
Evernote makes it easy to share with anybody and everybody, too. Simply go to the notebook you wish to share, click the “Share” button and choose whether you want to post it on Facebook, Twitter, send it through an email or get a link to share in another way. You won’t ever forget anything ever again with Evernote!
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