News You Can Use – 09/25/2012

September 25, 2012 by · Comments

Controlling a TV with Samsung Galaxy S3

Home Sales Rose 20% in August; Prices up 2.9%

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has good news for Wisconsin homeowners and sellers.

“Wisconsin’s housing market continued recovering in August as sales of existing homes rose more than 20% and the median sale price inched up for the sixth consecutive month.”

“Real estate professionals said Tuesday that multiple offers on move-in ready properties are increasingly common, and that some communities actually could use more quality properties for sale.”

LeadStreet: Adding Marketing Source Codes

This video on LeadStreet covers how you can use one of the new features on LeadStreet in 2012: Marketing Source Codes. If you enjoy this one, there are plenty more to check out in the series.

Effective Facebook Marketing in 15 Minutes

This May we premiered a class on Facebook for Busy Realtors and suggested how you could spend ten minute increments of your day to increase your Facebook engagement. I specifically referenced Chris Smith’s 5-5-5 plan for increasing Facebook engagement. This week on http://thedownload.remax.com (STOP! Add that to your bookmarks now – good information coming out almost daily), Chris walks you through how you can implement the plan in just 15 minutes.

Agents and Twitter: Where You’re Going Wrong and How to Fix It

Since we’re referencing Inman again this week, let’s review their recent suggestion that “most agents are still using Twitter as a megaphone instead of a smartphone.” Want to know what they think you might be doing wrong?

The Social Era Is More Than Social Media

Fast Company has built a series called “The Social Media Road Map” aimed at guiding you through the highways and the buh-bye-ways of the social media landscape. This article looks at some of the salient points that are being made in “The Social Era” which advance us beyond just social media.

“Things we once considered opposing forces–doing right by people and delivering results, collaborating and keeping focus, having a social purpose and making money–are really not in opposition. They never have been.”

Aligning SEO Strategy & Social Media Activity to Build Links

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Social Media both have a role in helping you to generate exposure and leads. Here’s a taste of what Search Engine Watch has to say about combining them:

“One of the most underappreciated aspects of SEO is the necessary alignment of SEO strategy with social media activity. …It’s extremely important that SEO is integrated into social media activity. What follows are some specific tactics that can be used to increase the impact that your social media activities have on SEO performance.”

Fun Post: A Gadget That Turns Food Into Clouds, Using Ultrasonic Waves

Over the last few years you’ve probably been bombarded with appeals to take your business into “the cloud,” but has anyone suggested that you take your meal there? This is a whole different breed of killer app that lets you enjoy the flavor of a fabulous meal, but without all of the calories.

SamsungTomorrow via Compfight

Filed Under: RE/MAX In The News · Tagged: , , ,

Social Media News – 06/27/2012

June 27, 2012 by · Comments

facebookI suppose I should subtitle this social media news segment “The Facebook Edition” as there’s a lot of valuable blogging going on out there about Facebook.

Free Webinar – Recent Facebook Changes - by Inman News

Inman news will be covering why you need to change your Facebook profile e-mail address now (full story), the new Facebook apps, and promoted/scheduled posts.

6 Easy Ways to Boost Site Traffic with Facebook

While this article is targeted for Business to Business (B2B) marketers, there are still some nuggets of wisdom on how Facebook boosts lead generation that you can pull from it.

Infographic: How to Get More Likes, Comments, and Shares on Facebook

Ok, so I am a total sucker for infographics. These charts make data cool and this one is definitely worth a peek as it has some very insightful stats on what people like, share, or comment on.

Guide to Facebook Plugin for WordPress

If you’re using WordPress for your office or personal blog, you might want to check out this story as it goes through how to set up the Facebook plugin for WordPress which bundles functionality like you will see on this blog with the ability to comment directly on a post using your Facebook ID or recent shares/likes on Facebook. Agent Steve Huhta of RE/MAX Shambeau & Lyons warns “watch out – this plug in is not for kids. Ended up paying a WP guru consultant to fix it and try to get the whole thing working. The idea for this plug in is perfect but we still do not have it all working properly.”

How to Build and Keep an Engaged Audience

Yes, another infographic. This one has some valuable data about what keeps your audience’s attention, which is valuable both for lead generation and relationship maintenance.

pshab via Compfight

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News You Can Use – 06/25/2012

June 25, 2012 by · Comments

News You Can Use

Home Starts, Permits Hint at Housing Revival

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has reported news that: “U.S. builders started work on more single-family homes in May and requested the most permits to build homes and apartments in 3 1/2 years. The increase suggests the housing market is slowly recovering even as other areas of the economy have weakened. …And builders are more optimistic about the next 12 months. They requested more permits to build homes, a gauge of future construction. Permits increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 780,000 – the most since September 2008.”

Young Homebuyers are Entering the Housing Market with a Mixture of Optimism and Realism

The Star Tribune recently wrote a case study piece about the current state of young adults in the process of purchasing homes. Among their notes: “Buoyed by record low interest rates and affordable home prices, many young buyers have excitedly snapped up starter homes with big yards, garages and tons of storage space for sometimes nearly the same monthly mortgage payment as their apartment rent.”

25 Awesome Email Marketing Tips [Webinar Recording + Slides]

When we originally brought this one to your attention a couple weeks back, we noted that the webinar was scheduled for last Thursday. If you missed it, you can now watch it online or just click through the slides if you don’t have the time.

5 Power uses of Evernote for Real Estate

If you attended the April Tech Tour, you heard about what a great app Evernote is, synchronizing notes on all of your devices. Last week, Inman posted an article by a Phoenix agent/business development VP who admits that it has revolutionized how he does business. The agent describes Evernote as “my one go to tool to handle my complete transaction management, task management and productivity center.”

5 Ways Small Businesses Get Social Media Wrong

While the article is written generically about business, there are solid warnings for real estate agents who are just starting out in social media and don’t want to risk offending current clients and potential leads.

Creative Commons License Johan Larsson via Compfight

Filed Under: RE/MAX In The News · Tagged: , , ,

Social Media Review – 06/18/2012

June 18, 2012 by · Comments

Social MediaTrying to keep up with what’s happening in Social Media? Here are a few stories that you might want to check out.

Using Facebook to Promote Your Listings — the Right Way

Great article from Inman News on strategies you can use to maximize the effectiveness of your Facebook listings.

Excerpt: “Promoting your product (houses) and positioning yourself as someone to know, like and trust on Facebook requires a new type of marketing skill. When you understand the culture of Facebook and the marketing tool set that Facebook offers, there is most certainly a place for listings on Facebook. Agents just need to market their listings on Facebook correctly.”

The Pros and Cons of 4 Personal Branding Sites

If you’re looking to etch your personal brand onto the Internet, these 4 sites provide you with digital tools to get the job done. As the article states: “With so many social networks, online portfolios, digital resumes, and video channels to showcase your work, the traditional business card has basically become obsolete. As a result, many people are turning to personal branding websites to have one place where they can build their online professional persona.”

Is Social Media Making Us Socially Awkward?

This infographic examines the time we spend online and how we use social media to the benefit or detriment of real world friendships. The big finding of course being that social media benefits shy people the most as well as allowing us to connect with long lost friends.

Does Social Media Actually Work?

This brief post looks at the importance of context in driving engagement with your consumers.

Follow Us on LinkedIn

Want to network with other agents in RE/MAX North Central? We’ve officially launched a LinkedIn company page that you can follow.

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What to Avoid When Making a Pitch – Chris Westfall

May 29, 2012 by · Comments

Today I will be out job shadowing a Twin Cities metro agent to better understand the challenges of being a real estate agent and how technology can be implemented to assist.

So as not to leave you devoid of reading material, I’d like to refer you to a post from another blog guest written by Christ Westfall, our guest speaker from February and March on Lead Generation with Social Media and The New Elevator Pitch. In addition to 12 things to avoid when making a pitch, there’s a video to go with it.

“Getting ready to give a pitch, whether elevator, investor, or otherwise? An effective pitch can help you to get a job, get a raise, get a date and more. An effective pitch can improve your career, your finances, your relationships and your community. But, if you include one of these twelve show-stoppers, your elevator will always be stuck on the ground floor. Take note, and be sure to leave these out of your pitch, if you want to persuade and influence your listener!”

» Read Full Article

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So What Do You Do?

March 13, 2012 by · Comments

Chris WestfallWhether someone asks you in an elevator or a cocktail party, you should be ready to sell them on your unique services. Chris Westfall can help.

Chris is the National Elevator Pitch Champion, a published author, and a business coach. In his webinar, “The New Elevator Pitch,” he will teach to make your story powerful, concise, and compelling.

In this special webinar on Wednesday, March 14th at 11am CDT, you will learn:

1. Why you need an elevator speech
2. The importance of a personal brand message to Facebook, Twitter and social media
3. How to differentiate yourself as a realtor, via social media
4. NEW sales strategies, based on the platform of Web 2.0
5. Tips and tricks direct from Chris Westfall’s book, “The NEW Elevator Pitch” (Marie Street Press, Spring 2012)

There’s still room if you haven’t already signed up, so get in on it now!

Register here: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/204116038

About the Trainer: Chris Westfall is the national elevator pitch champion, and author and sought after keynote speaker who has appeared on CNN and ABC NEWS. He is an award-winning MBA instructor at the #12-rated program in the USA, and a founding editor of one of the fastest-growing blogs in the country. With over 7500 followers on twitter, he provides sales and marketing guidance to a wide array of clients, including Hewlett Packard, Lutron and the YMCA. As a social media strategist, he helps companies and individuals to create messages that stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Elevator image provided by flickr user tatejohnson

Filed Under: Events and Training, Technology · Tagged: , ,

Snow Day Training

February 29, 2012 by · Comments

Snow DayThe weather outside is frightful, so why not download a webinar to help make 2012 your best year ever?

We’ve recorded some of the February webinars and we’ll be making these available to you for a limited time so download and enjoy:

March Training Calendar

We’ve got plenty of training coming up in March.

We hope you will have a safe and warm Leap Day and look forward to helping you have a great March!

Image courtesy of  *_filippo_*

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60 Minutes to Success

February 5, 2012 by · Comments

Chris Westfall with social networking pic by Flickr user seekingthomasDo you have enough leads to make 2012 a banner year? If your answer is no, this webinar is for you. “Lead Generation! The Social Media Webinar” was designed for agents and brokers looking to capitalize on new sources of leads.

Chris Westfall, the National Elevator Pitch Champion, author, and business coach is going to be providing training on what it takes to start converting social media into a lead generation tool. We can only handle 500 connections to the webinar at once and we’re expecting a large influx this week from Day of Distinction audiences, so now’s your chance to sign up before we fill up.

Some of the key learnings you will take away from this training:
1. Why Twitter matters: How does Twitter apply to real estate marketing?
2. How to build a Twitter following
3. What is LinkedIn, and how can a realtor take advantage of its capabilities?
4. Using LinkedIn as a search engine and messaging tool
5. Facebook: Rules of engagement, and how to start the conversation

If you’re a tech-savvy agent or broker, I heartily suggest considering attending the Tech Forum beforehand, from 10-10:30am. This month’s topic: Productivity apps for smart phones and tablets. If you live in the Twin Cities metro, we’ve got a few seats open in our 2nd floor conference room (with free chili and bagels) for the event.

Chris will be back again in March to discuss how to deliver a sales pitch. If you’re looking for an opportunity to fine tune a delivery of your value statement to customers, you don’t want to miss this one.

Date & Time: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 – 11:00am-Noon CST
» Sign Up for Lead Generation!
» Read More about Lead Generation!

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Tech Top 5: Thanksgiving 2011 Edition

November 26, 2011 by · Comments

Tech TipsIn a given day I scan/read through about 300 blog posts and newspaper articles via Google Reader to try and keep up to date on what’s going on in technology, social media, and real estate. I bookmark the ones that I might use in a future training.

Rather than just holding onto that information, I thought I would start passing it on to you. This week’s list is heavy on the social media, but I threw in a guide for those of you who haven’t yet picked up a smart phone and are weighing your options.

Filed Under: RE/MAX In The News, Technology · Tagged: , , , , ,

Greetings from Your New eBusiness Trainer

August 1, 2011 by · Comments

Greetings! I’m your new eBusiness Trainer and look forward to helping you maximize the benefits you can get from LeadStreet and our other systems.

Before coming to RE/MAX, I spent 14 years working in the web design/development industry. In that time I have helped design a number of business systems and subsequently trained employees on their use. In my free time I have worked with educational programs like Upward Bound and Junior Achievement as well as volunteering in the Minnesota Junior Chamber at the local and state levels.

I spend a lot of my free time surfing the Web for news and trends. Here are my Top 5 Cool Web Sites You May Not Have Heard Of:

  1. Mashable.com: If you are interested in Social Media, this is a go to site.
  2. Klout.com: Klout lets me pair my competitive nature with my addiction to Facebook. High Klout scores can now be leveraged for real world perks so I’m incentivized to be witty and insightful.
  3. Slacker.com: I tried Pandora (2006-2007) but Slacker allowed me to create custom stations featuring only the artists I wanted to listen to – I’ve been hooked ever since.
  4. Plus.Google.com: I really like the way Google has improved on Facebook’s interface and the “circles” feature is better managed than Facebook’s friend groups. It still needs some work.
  5. 12Most.com: This is a multi-user blog put together by a former co-worker.  They post daily entries related to business, social media, and general interest.
p.s. It also looks like I may be bringing in more than my experience to RE/MAX. On Sunday night, my parents informed me that they are in the process of getting their house listed with a RE/MAX agent in their area as they want to move closer to my nieces and nephews.
Filed Under: RE/MAX In The News, Technology · Tagged: , ,
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