Do you use social media like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to market your services and listings? With over 75 million users on Twitter, 75 million users on LinkedIn, and 500 million users on Facebook these social networks have clearly established themselves as sustainable online communities. So how can you start marketing to these communities after you’ve created your profiles?

One way to get started is to add social media badges to your web pages so prospects and clients have several ways to contact you online. These badges (which consist of an image and an HTML link to your profile) can help users find you online and follow your activity. To download social media badges, visit the following sites (you may need to log in first):

• Twitter
  www.twitter.com/badges
• Facebook
  www.facebook.com/badges.php
• LinkedIn
  See your account settings, under “Edit Public Profile”

So you have just purchased your shiny, new real estate website. You’ve chosen your layout, entered your contact information, and gotten your IDX feed set up, plus a host of other tools for Internet success. How large or small this success is directly relates to your website marketing. Marketing your website can be as simple as mentioning in your voicemail message or as elaborate as purchasing paid advertisement program on a major search engine, with many levels of participation in between.

Marketing your website begins with simply informing others through conventional means that you have a website. Believe it or not, one of the primary pitfalls that smaller website owners encounter is a lack of simple word of mouth publicity. If an agent’s immediate circle of contacts has no knowledge of their site, it’s a safe assumption that only a few web savvy clients who have sifted through a few pages of Google results have heard of your site. The first step in Internet marketing is to admit that you have a site, and letting your co-workers, family, and most importantly, your existing clients know is absolutely crucial.

Mentioning your website whenever possible (in whatever media possible) will garner a surprising number of new contacts – all for very little additional monetary investment on your part. Add your website name to your voicemail message so that if you happen to be assisting a client on the other line, a new client can be immediately directed to the information they need. On signage you were already going to have made, add your website and email address. For printed materials and promotional items, also be sure your website and email address are featured prominently. And don’t forget to add your website address to all of your social media profiles!

Branded email addresses reinforce your website name and brand with your clients. Not only will your clients remember “you@yourname.com” more than they would an address hosted by a major email provider, branded email addresses yield a more professional appearance. Having your own domain name gives the impression of legitimacy and permanence to your potential clients; it shows that you care enough to purchase a name, and that you might care about a few other things, like selling their home! Additionally, the more often a customer sees or hears your website name, the more likely it is that they will visit.

You may find that by telling people about your site, putting your site on all of your client media, and having branded email may be enough to make some notable results. But why stop there? Consider these options from Homes.com and AgentAdvantage:

Featured Listings
Featured Listings are an excellent way to showcase your listings on Homes.com, and they get 10 times more clicks than basic listings! Featured Listings also include real-time stats, a built-in lead generation form, and larger photos for maximum exposure and impact. For more information, see the Homes.com Featured Listings page or contact a Member Services representative.

Display Advertising
Homebuyers and sellers who click on your display ad on Homes.com will go directly to your real estate website, brining more traffic to your site and more leads to your listings. Plus, you can target your ads in the zip code or city of your choice so your ad will only appear to consumers looking for properties in your service area. Learn more at Homes.com Real Estate Advertising.

Search Engine Marketing
PowerSearch Advantage from AgentAdvantage gets maximum exposure for your website where homebuyers look first: Google! Robust keyword campaigns are optimized continuously to keep your site at the top of Google search results and ensure a steady stream of warm leads to our agents. For more information, visit the PowerSearch Advantage website.

Though the Apple iPhone 4 release certainly taught us a lesson or two about the importance of good PR and solid customer service, it also forces us to think about mobile technology in new ways and redefine what smartphones can do for us. With the advent of mobile video chat, GPS, and hundreds of thousands of smartphone apps, today’s phones are changing the way we interact with each other, and the services we provide as internet marketers. Here are a few tips to keep you ahead of the competition during the mobile revolution.

Mobile Search

More and more people are flocking to mobile apps to search for homes, and the ‘print out listings and drive around on Saturdays’ approach is becoming a thing of the past. As the ‘grab the phone and go’ technique gains momentum, you’ll need to make sure your listings are being syndicated to websites with mobile sites or apps. Also, make sure your property addresses are correct so they are properly displayed in mobile home searches that use GPS technology. Visit the Homes.com Mobile page to download the free Homes.com mobile app.

Mobile Video

With 3G and 4G networks and an ever increasing pixel resolution, mobile video is not the painfully slow ordeal it once was. Your video tour or slide show can finally shine on these newer devices, and buyers (and sellers) will certainly appreciate the extra effort. If you’re a YouTube user, simply upload your next property tour and your video will be automatically optimized for mobile browers (and if you have a YouTube channel, be sure to mention it on your AgentAdvantage website and in your next listing presentation!). Want to move beyond property tours? Consider creating an ‘About Me’ video, a video blog, or videos about key subdivisions, cultural hubs, and entertainment venues in your service area. To learn more about using YouTube on your phone, visit the YouTube for Mobile page.

Mobile Contracts

Mobile contracts are no longer a fantasy for real estate agents, now that DocuSign and the National Association of Realtors have partnered to create software specifically for Realtors® that allow you to get documents signed right from your iPhone. Those poorly designed mobile scanners and printers we’ve dealt with may be headed to the nearest recycling center at last. For more information about DocuSign’s products under the Realtor Benefits Program®, visit DocuSign Realtor Edition or DocuSign for iPhone.

Adding additional property photos to your listings is a great way to attract buyers, please sellers, and increase traffic to your website. According to the National Association of Realtors® 2009 Home Buyers and Sellers Report, more than 80 percent of home buyers found photos and detailed information about the property very useful when searching for a home online.

Adding extra photos can also boost your listings’ rankings on the new Homes.com website. The more photos you have with your listings, the higher your listing will appear when consumers search for homes in their city. Here are some tips for getting the most out of your online marketing efforts with property photos:

Use high resolution photos

The photos on your 2 MP camera phone may look great on your handset, but when visitors enlarge them online they may appear grainy, fuzzy, or distorted. Photos on Homes.com are now displayed two times larger on the new Photo View tab of each listing detail page, so make sure your photos look professional. For tips on using free software to improve your photos, check out “Editing Your Photos for Free” at the AgentAdvantage Learning Center.

Power in Numbers

The more photos you include in your listing, the higher your listing will appear in the Homes.com search results. AgentAdvantage allows you to include 30 photos with each one of your listings, so don’t let them go to waste!

Be aware of your conditions

Clutter, litter boxes, ladders, and stormy weather are just a few things that should never make their way into your property photos. Be aware, come prepared, and plan accordingly.

Creative implementation

To maximize impact, you can create slideshows, commercials, and print materials for free with the AgentAdvantage Marketing Design Center. These additions turn your static listings into moving, visual presentations that highlight the home’s best features. Need help getting started? Check out the Marketing Design Center How–To Guide. Want a photo gallery, listing details, school information, and more complete with your own personal branding? Consider a Single Property Website.

Do you know the best way to communicate with today’s consumers? Is your marketing attracting buyers and sellers in generations outside of your own? In order to stay competitive agents will need to implement new action steps to communicate with different generational groups and market to them effectively.

Most of us understand the characteristics of the Baby Boomers, the over–50 crowd that controls 50% of all discretionary income in the U.S. But what about the up and coming Echo Boomers (ages 10-27) with their solid educations, rapidly increasing incomes, and love affair with ‘one–stop’ shopping? This group, now with over 75 million members, is by far the most tech–savvy, and the most likely to research your business reputation online before even thinking about calling you on the phone. The holiday greetings and recipe cards of yore aren’t effective marketing tools for this group, and may do more harm than good!

And what about our mature segment? With increased emphasis on networking and word of mouth marketing for this group (and print publications on the decline), what are the best ways to keep this group engaged?

You can begin to tackle this issue by thinking about your clientele and determining who your current marketing is reaching. Then you can see which groups you may need to make targeted campaigns for, such as millenials or seniors. After you’ve set your goals you can attend our free webinar, “Thriving in a Multigenerational Marketplace” with expert John Ansbach as he explains how to create high–impact messages that are tailored for each generational segment. He’ll give plenty of tips and techniques to communicate effectively with each group so you can stay competitive in any real estate market.

Do you have any strategies for communicating with different generations that you’d like to share?   Post them here!

How can you increase the “stickiness” of your website and provide in–depth community information to your visitors? Improve your ratings in search engine results? Solidify your position as an expert in your field? You can accomplish all of these things and more by providing hyperlocal content on your website!

What is hyperlocal content?

Hyperlocal content is extremely detailed information about a particular community or service area. Hyperlocal content on your site can include local news, historical facts about your city, local entertainment and attractions, or even a list of your favorite restaurants. Content that is especially useful to outsiders includes descriptions of local schools, the amenities available in popular subdivisions, and information about utilities, cable, and telephone service providers, and contact information for public safety departments.

Providing detailed information about your service area gives visitors more data to browse (keeping them on your site longer), significantly improves your search engine optimization efforts, and positions you as a knowledgeable resource within your market.

No time to write your own articles?
If you don’t have the time to create hyperlocal content for your site you can have our professional writers create content for you by ordering a TopSeller Package. Contact Member Services at (800)889-3726 for details.

Convert more leads with your choice of either long or short forms for your AgentAdvantage Website!

As a real estate agent, leads are the heart of your business. Your AgentAdvantage website is a lead–collecting tool. Without means to collect leads, your website is nothing more than a pretty container for your contact information and listings available for consumers to freely browse. No guarantee exists that a customer will leave contact information in exchange for your listing. All too often, this uneven exchange occurs and agents wonder why they do not notice an appreciable gain in leads. With the lead generation tools in your AgentAdvantage website like the new Form Manager, you can convert leads more effectively by choosing a form that meets your specific needs.

Many agents are concerned with the length of their Contact Form and how it affects their ability to convert web leads. Short forms are great for collecting a large number of leads because browsers are more likely to complete a short form for more information. Long forms are great for weeding out serious prospects who are willing to give in–depth details about their situation. Using the new Form Manager feature, you can choose the best lead form to suit the needs of your business in seconds!

 
Screenshot of short contact form

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We are proud to bring you the first real estate mobile agent and broker sites to be optimized for iPhone, Blackberry, Palm and all major smartphone platforms – a new FREE feature exclusively for AgentAdvantage clients!

With the number of mobile homebuyers on the rise, we’ve listened to your feedback and have created your NEW Mobile Site with a clear and easy-to-navigate interface, to lead homebuyers directly to your listing search of your MLS (if connected) for maximum conversion! Additionally, your AgentAdvantage Mobile Site can be customizable to match your website’s branding.

What are the advantages of my NEW Mobile Site?

• Your AgentAdvantage search is featured front and center on your mobile site for maximum homebuyer conversion!
• Your Mobile Site is optimized for iPhone and is compatible with ALL major mobile phone providers including BlackBerry, Android and Palm.
• GPS mapping on iPhones and select other devices.
• You can customize your Mobile Site’s background and text colors to match your personal branding.

How do I customize my Mobile Site?

You can customize your Mobile Site by clicking on “Mobile Site Options” in the Listings tab of your Control Panel. Once in this area, you can select your color and other preferences according to the directions on the page.

 View of the “Mobile Site Options” feature in your AgentAdvantage Control Panel

Best of all, your mobile site has been automatically activated, with no need for action on your part! If you wish to deactivate your mobile site, you can choose this option in the “Mobile Site Options” area of the Control Panel.

We constantly work to improve your membership experience to include the newest and most in-demand features, so we are excited to provide this NEW Mobile Site upgrade as yet another FREE service included with your AgentAdvantage membership.

If you have questions about your Mobile Site or any other AgentAdvantage product or service, please contact us at 1-800-889-3726 or support@agentadvantage.com.

Top real estate blogging coach Mariana Wagner will be featured in the next Secrets of Top Selling Agents Webinar:
“Breaking Down the Barriers to Blogging” on Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 3 pm ET/12 pm PT.

About the Webinar:

Blogging may seem like a daunting task, but the refrain you hear from everyone these days is the same: “You have to blog to be successful in real estate.” But you got into real estate to help people find homes, not to write the next novel! Nationally–known trainer and top selling agent Mariana Wagner will show you why you need to do some form of blogging to build your real estate business – even if writing is not your favorite pastime or you think you have no time in your busy schedule!

You can read more about Mariana Wagner and register for this webinar at SecretsWebinars.com.

AND…this is just the first social media webinar this month from Secrets!  Laura Duggan and Patrick Birdsong will be presenting, “Boost Your Bottom Line with Social Media” on February 25th.  They will share their story of how a Baby Boomer and Gen Y team increased their business with social media.  Check out SecretsWebinars.com for more info on this Webinar!

While it seems every year we see the same vendors and the same players at NAR Expo, upon closer review it’s not the case this year. The real estate industry is changing with the real estate market, a paradigm shift is occurring along with the market and industry – consumer content provided in rich media and/or mobile will rule the coop in the next few years. Three years ago at NAR Expo in Las Vegas (when real estate was heading on a down turn) one of the strongest themes was the preponderance of International real estate companies showcasing their resort properties and the benefits of living in their fantastic country in their attempt to capitalize on the American real estate wealth and boom, this year it’s rich data/media mobile applications. While almost every company had a mobile app version of their full web presence, what was surprising was the number of companies willing to bank their entire business model on a mobile app. Mobile IDX, mobile mortgage info, mobile virtual tours, it goes on and on. Many of these companies and their investors seem to be following the data survey, as eMarketer.com is predicting, “Paid mobile search spend worldwide is forecast to grow from $260 Million in 2009 to $2.9 Billion in 2021.