Author: The Ibis Network Published: December 2nd, 2010
To prevent your social-media profiles, posts, and online efforts from retreating into the forgotten corners of Internet obscurity, you’ll have to give them a push into the real world. Sure you can garner some search-engine attention for having consistent content and a presence on all the major networking sites, but, unless you’re delivering your information to the people most able to take advantage of it, you may have fans and followers in Finland but you won’t have clients in your own community.
Here are a few ideas for getting your business blog and online info into the right hands …
Email-Ready Newsletters: Okay, sending out a monthly email-ready newsletter isn’t exactly something you can do offline. But, if you’re already keeping a business blog, you’ve got content you can use to build a newsletter and your address book is likely filled with past clients, referral partners, and other local contacts to send it to. Compile your best posts and include your blog’s address with your other contact information, then hit send and repeat regularly.
Business Cards: Identify a few of your more successful social-media sites and incorporate them into your business card. You don’t want to go overboard with Facebook, Twitter, email, and blog addresses but adding an address or two to your business card is a great way to turn real-world contacts into part of your online community.
Everywhere else: Creativity is key when looking to garner attention online or anywhere else. Try this list of 39 offline places to promote your online efforts and think of some interesting ways to incorporate your Internet activity on fax sheets, letterhead, envelopes, ads, and more.
To learn more about the Ibis Network’s Professional Networking Suite for Realtors and Mortgage Professionals which features these valuable marketing tools:
* Your own Real-Estate or Mortgage blog updated daily with original content
* Monthly e-newsletter ready to send to your contact list
* Social Media set-up on the 8 major networking sites
* Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of your business website
Author: The Ibis Network Published: October 26th, 2010
Imagine the Internet is a never-ending cocktail party and the guest list includes nearly every prospective client and possible referral partner in your region. Now imagine it’s well known that this cocktail party is where nearly 90 percent of all real-estate transactions begin. Now imagine that this cocktail party is taking place right across the street and welcomes you to attend in your most comfortable pair of pajamas. Now imagine not making the effort to show up and make some new contacts, all while complaining that business ain’t what it used to be.
Selling anything requires getting in front of potential clients. And social-media sites offer a relatively simple means of accessing thousands of prospects unattainable through traditional efforts.
A few things to think about …
1st-Time Homebuyers: Younger buyers are even more likely to rely on the advice and opinions of their online network of friends, family, followers, and connections when making a big decision. And there’s few bigger than buying a home. Having a social-media strategy means you’re more likely to have made a connection with someone’s aunt, uncle, cousin, mother, or brother along the way. And that aunt or uncle, mother or brother is then more likely to recommend your services.
Previous Clients: Inviting your previous clients to become part of your social network means building a larger online community. And every contact you make online means more exposure, as you also become part of their community of friends, family, and neighbors. After you’ve setup your online profiles, invite your previous clients to join your network and don’t be surprised if they end up doing some of your marketing for you.
Above and Beyond: Once you’ve invited your friends, family, previous clients, and the rest of your personal network, it’s time to reach out beyond the people you regularly contact. Luckily, social media sites make it easier than ever to get back in touch with old friends, former co-workers, and anyone else in your community that might be interested in buying or selling a home. Sending a friend request on Facebook is a lot less awkward than making a phone call out of the blue. And after you’ve established a network online, some of those old acquaintances may lead to new business.
To learn more about the Ibis Network’s Professional Networking Suite for Realtors and Mortgage Professionals which features these valuable marketing tools:
* Your own Real-Estate or Mortgage blog updated daily with original content
* Monthly e-newsletter ready to send to your contact list
* Social Media set-up on the 8 major networking sites
* Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of your business website
Author: The Ibis Network Published: October 5th, 2010
The Internet is an incredible resource for real-estate and mortgage professionals but keeping up with an always-evolving online world can be a challenge. Sometimes the lingo alone can stand between successfully implementing a social-media strategy and being overwhelmed by widgets, avatars, and hashtags.
Here are some basic terms to familiarize yourself with …
Active Rain – The largest social network for real-estate professionals. Launched in 2006, Active Rain has nearly 200,000 members.
Avatar – The image, picture, or username a person uses to identify themselves on social-networking sites.
Badge – A linked image displayed on a blog that promotes a person’s profiles or participation on other social-media sites, such as Facebook or Twitter.
Blog – A regularly updated website or “web log” that allows a company or individual to post content and interact with readers through commentary, subscriptions, widgets, and syndicated RSS feeds.
Content – Content on any website, including text, pictures, video, and audio materials.
Dashboard – The administrative area on blogs and social-media sites that allows you to edit your information, manage comments, monitor traffic, upload files, etc.
Facebook – The largest social-networking site for individuals and businesses. Facebook has more than 500 million users.
Feeds (RSS Feed) – A program used by a website that allows the user to syndicate their content and provide subscribers with new blog posts and articles without requiring them to visit the site.
Forums – Online forums allow members of social-media sites to interact with other members by posting messages or questions on particular topics.
Groups – Communities within social-media sites that allow users interested in particular topics or activities to share information, posts, and messages with other members.
Hashtag – Used on Twitter, a hashtag is a keyword or phrase preceded by a “#” that helps organize posts, making them easier to find in Twitter searches.
Hyperlink – A navigational reference that embeds a link to a document or page on the Internet.
LinkedIn – A business-oriented social-media site for professional networking. Launched in 2002, LinkedIn now has more than 70 million registered users.
Micro-Blogging – A form of blogging that limits the amount of characters or words per post, such as Twitter.
Profiles and Pages – The pages on social-networking sites where a person or business displays their contact information, pictures, posts, and files.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – The process of improving and increasing traffic to a website from search engines.
Sidebar – A column or columns along either or both sides of a blog’s main content area that includes widgets, contact and biographical information, links to previous posts and favorite sites, archives, badges, subscription information, RSS feeds, and more.
Social Media – Websites that provide communities with common interests to communicate and engage with one another online.
Subscribing – Signing up for a site’s feed, which automatically sends you new content from that site.
Threads – Messages or posts under a single forum topic or the comments and trackbacks of a particular blog post.
Trulia – A real-estate search engine and networking site that allows professionals to create business profiles and allows consumers to find listings, blogs, and real-estate information.
Twitter – A micro-blogging site where members post “tweets” or messages of 140 characters or less.
Widget – An application offered on social-media sites and blogs that performs a specific function allowing users to customize their profiles or blog.
To learn more about the Ibis Network’s Professional Networking Suite for Realtors and Mortgage Professionals which features these valuable marketing tools:
* Your own Real-Estate or Mortgage blog updated daily with original content
* Monthly e-newsletter ready to send to your contact list
* Social Media set-up on the 8 major networking sites
* Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of your business website
In only a few years, social media has gone from online curiosity to a viable network for businesses looking to attract attention, generate conversation, and spread their message through an easily accessible platform. Still think social media is a fad? Watch the video below for some astonishing facts and figures about the growth of social media …
To learn more about the Ibis Network’s Professional Networking Suite for Realtors and Mortgage Professionals which features these valuable marketing tools:
* Your own Real-Estate or Mortgage blog updated daily with original content
* Monthly e-newsletter ready to send to your contact list
* Social Media set-up on the 8 major networking sites
* Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of your business website
To learn more about the Ibis Network’s Professional Networking Suite for Realtors and Mortgage Professionals which features these valuable marketing tools:
* Your own Real-Estate or Mortgage blog updated daily with original content
* Monthly e-newsletter ready to send to your contact list
* Social Media set-up on the 8 major networking sites
* Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of your business website
