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Use Twitter Lists To Focus Your Social Media Marketing and Cut Out The Noise

Posted on: July 23rd, 2012 by Beth Heilman

Creating Twitter lists and categorizing those lists will save you tons of time and probably your sanity.

In order for Social Media to be effective in your business, you have to filter out the noise and be able to concentrate on the things that will connect you with potential customers and eventually make you money. That is what you’re in business for, right? Ok, just checking 🙂

One nifty tip I want to share with you today is how you create a Twitter list and the different types of lists you should have.

First of all, log in to your Twitter account. I’m assuming here that you have one if you’re reading this. If you don’t, trot your buns right over to Twitter.com and get one. It’s a powerhouse for connecting with
prospects.

After you log in to your account, go to your profile page and find “Lists”. Click on “Create List”

A box will pop up that gives to places to name your list, add a description and make it either public or private.

Make sure your use good keywords in your title and description. Doing that will help people who are searching for the same information find you.

For example, I have public lists called Social Media Gurus and Real Estate. Anyone out in the Twittasphere who’s also looking for Real Estate people or Social Media Influencers can come and either follow my entire list (and I’ll get notified when they do), a select few people on my list or little ol’ me (because I put together a darn good list and they like my tweets)

Here’s how you’ll make your list…

Search for the people you want to follow. You can use terms like Real Estate if you’re looking for other Realtors (I’ve found this one works better than using the term “Realtor”…go figure), a city or state you want to concentrate on. Even getting away from the work focus, you could search by a hobby or a favorite food.

Life isn’t all about business, ya know 🙂 Some really great conversations have been started on Twitter because I include that I like Merlot and Mexican food.

Now that you have your lists you’ll be able to keep closer tabs on either the people who influence the area you specialize in (can you say referrals?) You’ll also be able to keep your finger on the pulse of the latest trends in you area.

Lists are just another tool to tame the social media beast and put you in control of your online marketing efforts. Once you use them, you’ll never look back. Let me know how you’re using Twitter lists to cut out the chatter in your social media marketing. I’d love to hear how you’re doing. Until then…

To your Twitter list success,
Sonrisas (smiles),

Beth 🙂

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5 Reasons Why Real Estate Pros Should Have Their Own Blog

Posted on: July 9th, 2012 by Beth Heilman

 

5 Reasons Why Real Estate Pros Should Have Their Own Blog

 
When I talk to my fellow Real Estate peeps and the subject of Marketing Online comes up, the Conversation usually turns to whether or not they, as a Real Estate Pro should have their own blog.
 
Some argue that since their company or broker has one, that should be good enough, right? Uh, try again. 
 
If you're depending on just having your picture, your bio and the information your Broker puts on the your company site to bring you 
business, you're putting your career and your paycheck in someone else's hands.
 
Here's five compelling reasons why you should have your own separate blog…
 
Compelling Reason #1– You get to show the world who you are as a professional and as a person. By sharing your expertise, your 
personality and the things you enjoy doing, you're bulding a connection with your audience. That's how you attract the clients you really want to work with. How much fun is that?
 
Compelling Reason #2– You are generating your own leads. In real estate, if you have no prospects, you're out of business. We all know that (some of us all too well) As you share interesting articles, photos and events you're naturally going to have folks who will want to work with you. You won't have to depend on buying leads (that aren't really leads anyway) or relying on referrals from your Broker(some of those splits can really cut into your commissions). 
 
The days of giving up a big chunk of your paycheck for a referred client will be a thing of the distant past (as it should be ;-)) Also, when you get those blog readers who live in other areas who want to buy or sell, you can refer them to someone in their area and YOU earn the referral fee. 
 
Now who's smilin' all the way to the bank?
 
Compelling Reason #3– you get to connect on a more personal level with your clients. Company websites are fine, don't get me wrong; but there, you're just another face in the crowd. Unless you have an outstanding photo (not talking about nose glasses or lime green hair here..although now that I think about it…nah) you're just going to get lumped in with all the other suit-wearing, arm-crossed, smiling agents in your office. 
 
Think about this a minute. Who do YOU relate with more? A corporate head shot or someone who shares pictures of their kid's Little League game, a mouth-watering  photo of a perfect loaf of bread that just emerged from the oven (with the recipe to go along with it) or a story of how you helped a deserving young couple overcome huge obstacles to become happy homeowners. I'm betting the warm and fuzzy connection gets you every time. Your prospective clients are no different. People want to work with people they have things in common with. Show them that person is you. 
 
Compelling Reason #4– Your blog is YOUR piece of internet real estate. It's a part of your business that follows you no matter who your Broker is. When you have your own blog (and the marketing funnel that you build to go with it), it's YOURS. You own the domain, you own the content. you own your list of prospects (you will be building a list, won't you? Of course you will) Those are the people you market to for however long you choose to remain in business. 
 
If you depend on your company site, anyone who goes through their site remains a lead of the company. If you choose to leave and you've been working with folks that came to you through the Broker's site, too bad. 
 
Any relationship you may have formed will be left at the door when you turn in your keys. Ain't gonna happen if you've generated your own list. 
 
(Now, all you good Realtor people out there,. I know I don't even need to say this, but you DO need to let your client remain if they're in escrow. Totally not cool to try and take a Buyer or Seller away from your Broker. I'm talking here about the folks who haven't done anything yet. OK…ethics lesson over. Wish I could give you C.E. credits for that 😉 )
 
 
Compelling Reason #5– It's just plain fun to share your hobbies, favorite hangouts, recipes, and real estate triumphs (and some 
frustrations are OK, too) with your audience. By creating your own blog and sharing who you are and what you know, you're helping folks you may never get to connect with any other way. Here's a scenario that happens a lot. 
 
Someone on the polar opposite end of the country reads your blog post about a really cool event you and your family just went to in your town. 
 
That same person just found out they're getting a job transfer to your area (that's why they were reading about the event) and sees that you're a Realtor. 
 
They already feel connected with you by reading your blog and like your style, your sense of humor and the way you posted a picture of your two year-old holding her ice cream cone and letting your puppy take a lick. (If you're gonna be real, you may as well go all in, right?) Who do you think they're going to call to help them relocate? If you don't say you, I'm going to thump you right now…hard. 😉
 
Yes, they're going to turn to you. You've shown yourself to be warm and genuine. They get how much you love what you do and want to help them. 
 
They wouldn't even think about looking for someone else. Besides, they want to see the puppy…giggle. 
 
You got in this business because you want to help people and solve their problems (and make good money in the process). SO do it already and enjoy it while you're at it.
 
These are the five most compelling reasons why you, as a realtor should have your own blog. Can you think of any more? Do you have your own blog yet? Let me know in the comments below. And if you have any questions about how to get started, ask me that too. I'll be happy to help. Until next time…
 
To your blogging success,
Sonrisas (smiles),
 
Beth
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Social Media For Real Estate-Where Are the Best Places To Get Started?

Posted on: June 4th, 2012 by Beth Heilman

You've been hearing it for a long time. To succeed in the real estate biz these days, you have to be online. Specifically, you need to be on Social Media.

But with all the Social Media sites out there and all the choices available, the question I hear the most is "Where do I start"?

You may have been asking yourself the same thing, so today I want to give you a little crash course in Social Media 101…

First of all, all Social Media sites are not created equal. They have different uses (and users) and to a point their own language.

Let me explain.

The sites that will get you the most traction when your looking for potential buyers, sellers and property management opportunities are what I call the Big 4.

They are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

Here's why these Social Media sites are where you want to start.

1) The daily, no, hourly, no, every darn minute activity is huge. These sites are where the majority of your potential clients hang out.

2) You can post all kinds of photos, videos, links to articles, podcasts…you name it. You know the kinds of things your potential
clients are looking for and enjoy seeing. Give it to them. When you do, they'll share, retweet, and repin your content with their friends and it goes viral. The better (and more consistent) your content, the more it gets shared and the more people you'll reach.

3) Both Facebook and LinkedIn have groups you can join depending on your interests and the interests of your clients. It's like those breakfast networking meetings or nighttime mixers on steroids. People from all over the world join groups or form groups. They cut down the noise that can get pretty overwhelming at times and keep a focus on the thing that the folks in the group are most interested in. Get in a group (or three 😉 ), answer questions and be your usual helpful self, and people will naturally be drawn to you…and you don't have to drive across town.

Bonus!

4) Pinterest has become a Social Media phenomenon. Mostly because Pinterest is all about pictures. Have a great listing you want to get exposure for? Make a Pin board for it. Have a photo of a happy buyer getting their keys? Post it with a little testimonial of what an awesome agent you are. The possibilities are endless and I've never seen a Social Media site that gets a quicker response than Pinterest.

Convinced yet that marketing using Social Media is the way to go? I hope so. It's definitely here to stay so get familiar with it, get
comfortable with it and most of all…have fun with it. You'll be glad you did.

Are you marketing your business on Social Media? Come visit me on Facebook at http://facebook.com/bethheilmanbiz and let me know how you're doing. Until then…

To your Social Media Success,
Sonrisas (smiles),

Beth   
 

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What’s The Interest With Pinterest?

Posted on: March 5th, 2012 by Beth Heilman

What's the Interest with Pinterest?

There's a new kid in town on the Social Media landscape and it's taking the internet marketing world by storm. So what's all the interest with Pinterest? Pinterest, an image sharing site where fellow "pinterites" (I just thought of that one…cute, huh?) can visit your Pinterest page and "like" and repin photos you've posted on virtual bulletin boards you create within your account.

Folks are pinning things like motivational quotes, yummy recipes, cute critters and very cool clothes. Then there are those (like you and me) that see the enormous business potential this has.

Unlike sites like flickr where folks just go to look at lots of pretty pictures, Pinterest is proving to be a marketing powerhouse with incredible reach. In January 2012 alone, over 10 million visitors frequented Pinterest. Ten Million!! That's a lot of pinning!

For the average business owner Pinterest has enormous potential. For the Real Estate pro (that would be you) using this as one of your marketing channels could blow the doors off how you showcase your listings like nothing you've ever done before.

How, you ask? Let me tell ya…

Say for instance you get a really cool listing. I know, any listing is really cool, but follow me here. You upload photos of the house to the normal channels; your local MLS, Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow and you throw in Craigslist for good measure. Great job…you're cookin' with gas, and here's where the new kid on the block comes in.

You go to your Pinterest account and create a bulletin board JUST for this listing. You add the photos, put in some really catchy comments and hit the "save" button. The potential for what's next is enormous…

Say you have some fellow "pinterites" (heehee) stop by and repin your photos to their boards. Their friends stop by, people you may have never even met, like what they see and repin to THEIR boards. And so on and so on and…well, you get the picture (yes, pun intended).

But wait, it gets better. Every photo you pin to your board includes a link back to the original "pinner" (that would be you) so anyone interested in finding out more about that particular house can find you. and research shows that over 50% of people who repin, click through to the site the photo originally came from to find out more information. Are you happy dancing yet?

It's a backlink strategy made in heaven. (Note: for those not familiar with backlinks and other internet wizardry stuff, that's why I started Red Leopard Marketing in the first place, so you wouldn't have to try and figure it out. That's my job 🙂 )

Guys, Pinterest knocks most other kinds of ways to visually market your homes on their ear because of the HUGE potential to go viral. People all over the world will be able to check out your listings in a casual, fun way AND had direct access back to YOU!!

Are you excited yet? You should be…

Pinterest is still in the Beta phase as I write this, so you have to be invited to join (and yes, it's free). If you can see how awesome this can be for your business and want to learn more, shoot me a message along with your email and I'll send you an invitation. I look forward to meeting you and seeing what fun things you have to share. And please leave a comment below and let everyone know how you're using Pinterest (or would like to 🙂 ). Until then…

To Your Pinning Success,
Sonrisas(smiles),

Beth

 

Beth Heilman is a 20 year Real Estate veteran and Owner/CEO of Red Leopard Marketing, a company specializing in using Social Media Marketing (and some other nifty cool things, too) to help Real Estate Professionals attract, engage and keep their ideal customers. After experiencing the devastating effects the housing market crash had on her and her fellow Real Estate peeps, she has made it her mission to get businesses back on track using innovative marketing strategies with an emphasis on Social Media. Business as usual just doesn't work anymore. Beth has lived in fabulous Las Vegas for 30 years. She's a mom of four great kiddos and a "gramita" to 10 amazing grandmunchkins. Her philosophy in business and in life is "when you do the right things for the right reasons, things will turn out just fine". Believe it…

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How to Avoid Bunny Trails When You Work Online

Posted on: January 30th, 2012 by Beth Heilman


Facebook and YouTube and LinkedIn, oh my. You know how it goes. You start your day of work online innocently enough logging in to your Twitter account. You see a few tweets with interesting links you want to check out…

Then of course you need to check out Facebook, too. Need to stay on top of the most current streams so you're "in the know" for your customers…

Oh, and then you remember the Farmville invitation you got from your cousin on the East Coast. It won't hurt to play for just a little while.

Next thing you know, you look at the clock and "Oh CRAP!!".

It's noon and nothing on you desk has gotten done. Sound familiar? Know anybody who does that (because we know it's not YOU!!) wink, wink

Ok, enough kidding and I'm certainly not scolding. When you use the Social Media sites for your business, they open up a world of
possibilities that weren't even available a few years ago, but be warned.

They can become the black hole of your productivity and an endless supply of bunny trails if you're not careful. What to do? Thanks, glad you asked 🙂

First and foremost, have your day planned ahead of time. If you don't have a planner or daily calendar or at least a pad of paper with a to-do list sitting on your desk, run to the store and get one…now. You'll be a whole lot less likely to roam around in cyberland if you have a plan.

Second, get thee a timer. Doesn't matter what kind…egg timer, digital timer, stop watch, set the alarm on your phone; something that you can set for a specific amount of time and preferably something that makes a loud, obnoxious noise when it's time to get your nose out of the cyber-barn.

You have important work to do and while it's okay to veg out for a few minutes with some of that stuff, collecting virtual cows and
chickens ain't gonna pay the power bill. Agreed? Moooooving on…

Third tip-o'-the-day is to automate. As much as possible you want to schedule tweets, article posts and the like in programs like Social Oomph ( SocialOomph.com) or my personal favorite, Hootsuite (hootsuite.com) Both of these have free and paid versions, both allow for scheduling and posting tweets and updates ahead of time. What a time saver!!

Hootsuite is great because you can hook your YouTube channel, Facebook (both personal profile and business page) and LinkedIn profile and access them all from one dashboard. Now, pre-programming everything will never take the place of live interaction and it's not supposed to.

Social Media is meant to be just that, social. But isn't it nice to be able to pop in to engage in a conversation and pop back out to take care of something in the "real world" (like say, meeting with a client or feeding your kid) and because you programmed things to post throughout the day, your content is getting seen even if you aren't. Bonus!!

And one more thing about Hootsuite. They have an app for iPhone and Android so you can set everything up over the phone!! It's a
HOOT!!…sweet! ;)

So there you have it. Three simple recommendations to corral those bunnies and keep your work day on track. Simple, yes. Sometimes the things that work the best aren't complicated at all. You have work to do…now hop to it.

This is where I ask what your favorite tools are to keep you on the straight and narrow in your business. Please do share below in the comment section. You'll be helping lots of other folks and they thank you…and so do I. Until then…

To Your Success,
Sonrisas (smiles),

Beth 🙂

Career Change Agent, Social Media Maven and Realtor Extraordinaire, Beth Heilman is a 20 year Real Estate veteran and Owner/CEO of Red Leopard Marketing, a Social Media Marketing company created to help small businesses and solopreneurs "Connect the Spots Online". Beth is a 30 year Las Vegas resident, a mother of four great kiddos and a "gramita" to 10 wonderful grandmunchkins. Her philosophy in business and in life is "when you do the right things for the right reasons, you'll always succeed" and "there is always a way". Do you believe that? You should… 🙂

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