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Balancing Your Social Capital, One Interaction at a Time!

Have you’ve embraced social media as a means of marketing your real estate business, but have experienced little in terms of “pay off”? If your answer to this is “yes”….then I ask you to consider the way in which you’ve implemented your social media marketing strategies. [Read more...]

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Real Estate Marketing: Carving Your Niche

Targeting your marketing efforts is easier said than done. A lot of agents are finding themselves in scramble mode right now. Just trying to get “it” done. For many, that “it” is just maintaining the basics like client interactions and daily administrative tasks.  But if you’re not prospecting then what happens when the “keeping up” with your current business ends, and you’re left without new listings or buyers? Ummm, I think you know the answer to that!

If hiring an assistant or marketing coordinator is not in the cards for you right now, you need to find a way to organize your marketing efforts and concentrate on sharing your expertise with the right network. One simple way to elevate your expertise above the competition is by obtaining a designation or specializing in certain types of real estate transactions. Do you have several green builders in your area, as well as knowledge of sustainable home features?  You may want to consider becoming an EcoBroker, a special designation for environmentally concerned real estate professionals.

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MyMarketWare Unleashes Even More Market Power!

We don’t do much in the way of self promotion here on MTO. But we do think you should be aware of an extremely affordable marketing tool that has our stamp of approval. MyMarketWare is product offering from Effektive Solutions. It’s a single property Website solution that offers a myriad of features that can assist you in attaining maximum online exposure for your listings. And at only $39 a pop ($32 with coupon code: mtoagent), MarketSites are an obvious choice to increase your online listing visibility, impress your sellers, and market real estate more effectively! We are happy to announce a significant upgrade, bringing you even more market power for the same low price!

New features include:

(1) MarketSites to go! Download any single property Website created by MyMarketWare for offline use.  Showcase your online listings during a listing presentation or copy any of your MarketSites to a CD for a thoughtful closing gift.

(2) Enhanced sign riders made from corrugated plastic provide increased durability for all type of weather conditions.  Sign riders cost $22 with reduced shipping time at no extra cost!

(3) FREE SMS texting service! I’m not naming names….but some SPS solutions will charge you as much as $25 per listing per month for this service.  But MyMarketWare will provide you with unlimited SMS texting service free to go hand and hand with each and every sign rider! Incoming leads are circulated in real time to the listing agent’s mobile phone as well as via the “Activity Center”. [Read more...]

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12 Facebook Marketing Strategies Webinar

As we’ve become increasingly social online, new opportunities to interact and grow our sphere have emerged. Once such opportunity is Facebook-the largest social network in the world.  Neilson recently reported that 3 out of every 10 people online in the world were using Facebook.  And Facebook themselves stated that over 100 million users login to the site at least once a day, further positioning the social networking giant as a trusted communication channel.

Those real estate agents that authentically engage with their network will succeed in creating new and flourishing relationships across the Internet. Some members of your network may help your business in terms of promotion, referrals or even through a transaction. I can’t tell you which, that depends on you and your actions. Although we can help you by sharing strategies you can implement into your business immediately!

If you’re interested in learning more about marketing your business in Facebook, and you’re free tomorrow (April 21st, 2009) at 10am (pacific) please join us for a free webinar hosted by Cyberhomes.com.  The session will be led by @Nik_Nik and me @Cyberhomes.

Resources:

  1. RSVP Here
  2. Facebook Event Page

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ZingDing: A Fresh New Spin on Real Estate Marketing

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting August Giles, founder of ZingDing.com.  After reviewing his new approach to real estate email marketing, I couldn’t help but share it with the MTO audience!  When you think of ZingDing, think of a cross between your favorite virtual tour and eCard software all mixed into one…with viral share tools!

After previewing the site, I found many great ideas of how real estate agents have used ZingDing to promote their listings and rentals. Many have elected to include additional design elements like holiday themes-sure to get your sphere excited by your creativeness!

What does it take to build a ZingDing eCard?

Start by gathering all necessary photos and logos, then choose your desired music from the ZingDing library, add any desired effects (i.e. burning fireplace, snowfall, etc.), then input your properties details!

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New Choice for Social Media Signature: Hyplet.com

I’ve always been a fan of the email signature. If done properly, your contacts will know exactly how to get in touch with you. But they don’t exactly have a web 2.0 flare. Sure you could list out each social network with text links, but that’s looks boring and spammy. All those links my even trigger a spam filter. Check out Hyplet.com. They’ve created a free service to help you quickly create a signature or “personal ID” for your emails, website or blog. The service is similar concept to Retaggr but Hyplet offers much more customization.

Hyplet’s personal ID’s come in a variety of shapes and colors. Easily make modifications with drag and drop tools, even rearrange all contact information including phone, email, Skype, IM, Facebook, Flickr, Delicious, Twitter, your blog and others with the text editor. I did run into a small issue when using Firefox to customize my personal ID. In Firefox I was not able to apply formatting like bold or increase font size. I tried the same tasks in Internet Explorer and it worked fine.

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Confucius Say: You will inherit some money or a small piece of land

Well, that’s what I was hoping for when I read my fortune after eating take-out recently.  Actually, I tried switching with Reggie but he held fast to his fortune:  “A member of your family will do something to make you proud.” And apparently I did just that this week! In fact, when good things happen, they seem to come in 3′s, so without further ado:

Good fortune #1: I was named as one of the 25 Most Influential Bloggers in Real Estate by Inman News. Can you believe it! I thought @LaniAR (also named on the list) was pulling my leg, but it’s true! I will say, this is obviously a subjective list, but nonetheless, I share this achievement with 24 other rockin’ bloggers, and of course with my MTO co-authors Reggie Nicolay and Chad Johnson. According to Inman News, “This annual list of most influential real estate bloggers recognizes those bloggers who are well-known, well-read and have a knack for stirring up discussion and debate on important, timely and relevant topics for the industry.”  I was included in the “Marketing & How-to” section along with Dustin Luther and Jim Cronin.  Check out Jim’s blog for the complete list of bloggers.

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Free Seminar Tomorrow: Top Ten Money Making Tech Tools of Today’s Top Real Estate Agents

I have another free opportunity to improve your technology skills in a webinar coming up tomorrow. The event is sponsored by Cyberhomes and presented by Allen Hainge of CyberStars. If you are an MTO fan, you may remember that Allen has recently become a guest contributor here at MTO. He has lots of industry knowledge and is a techno-fan too! See more on Allen here.

For those of you attending the webinar, you’ll leave this session with concrete, proven steps to increase your business today!  Here are a few of the topics Allen will cover:

+ Why old tools & strategies don’t work in today’s market
+ The Top 10 tools top agents use to build their businesses
+ 3 types of agents Web sites…and why only one really makes you money
+ 5 “must have” elements of a money making Web site
+ 5 things listings on your site must have

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now!

Join us for a Webinar on October 30th, from 10 am to 11 am PST
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/938348453

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