The BVAS Connection» Online Marketing

What is the ROI of Pinterest?

Megan E. Barber — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:17:42 +0000

Facepalm - Image via Wikipedia

“How do I leverage Pinterest for my real estate business?”

The title of this post, as well as the above question is starting to get asked a lot around the real estate marketing circles and social networks I follow. And I must tell you, it makes me cringe to hear it. Many agents are joining this relatively new network, looking increase their marketing reach and hoping it’s the holy grail of lead generation. Frankly I think they are missing the point and purpose of Pinterest, and may be sorely disappointed in the lack of “ROI”.

Just what is Pinterest, some of you may you be asking? Pinterest is an new-ish social network where users can Pin images, putting together a visual collection of things they love, their interests and inspiration, etc., on pin boards users create in their accounts. These pin boards can be related to anything from food to crafts, fashion to home decor. The possibilities are endless.

Personally, I LOVE Pinterest. For me it is a great source of creative inspiration, craft and DIY project ideas, home decor ideas, recipe ideas, and a place that I can daydream by pining images of my dream home or dream vacation spots. For me Pinterest is fun and and inspirational.

Where I believe that people are really going wrong, especially those that want to “leverage Pinterest for their business,” is that marketing and self promotion is not in the spirit of what Pinterest was designed for. Just simply look at #3 on their list of the Pinterest etiquette guidelines:

Avoid Self Promotion

Pinterest is designed to curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or project you’re proud of, pin away! However, try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion.

When embarking on any new social networks, Pinterest or otherwise, my advice is to first explore it and really observe. Get an idea of what this community really is about. Observe how other users are utilizing the network. Then go have fun with it. On Pinterest, you may find that you can create new connections and meet like minded people you never knew before. But don’t have high expectations that it will be a magical source of lead generation.

If you are looking into to Pinterest purely as a way to promote yourselves, your listings and generate your business, then frankly I think you should move along. Pinterest is not exactly the place for you, and I think you will find very little ROI, if that is your main goal. Your time may be best spent elsewhere.

There are certainly ways to use Pinterest and relate it to your real estate business, and you can do so without shameless self promotion. Coming up in a follow-up post, I will show you come creative ways to use Pinterest as it relates to real estate, and show you some examples of those in the real estate industry who are doing it right. Stay tuned!

And if you want to follow me on Pinterest, find me here. You will see that I am definitely not all business all the time.

The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Pinterest for Marketing (hubspot.com)
What Is Pinterest and Why Is Everyone Talking About It? (accesscomptech.wordpress.com)

Megan E. Barber is a Real Estate Virtual Assistant, and owner of Barber Virtual Assisting Solutions. With over 10 years of experience working within the real estate industry, Megan and her team Virtual Assistants provide top notch real estate support services such as marketing, lead follow-up, social media, WordPress websites, and more. Megan E Barber is also the creator and author of The BVAS Connection and VA Mommy.

Rich Real Estate Agent, Poor Real Estate Agent

Megan E. Barber — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:30:53 +0000

via activerain.com

What separates Rich Real Estate Agents from the Poor Real Estate Agents? Check out this awesome infographic and survey from Active Rain. Lots of striking information in this, definitely worth checking out.

Posted via email from megbarberva’s posterous

11 Weeks Left in 2011? Let’s Get Ready for 2012 NOW!

Megan E. Barber — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:05:32 +0000

Believe it or not, there are only 11 weeks left in 2011! We are firmly in the 4th quarter and have you examined your progress on your 2011 business plan? Are you flying blind without one? Well whatever your answer, there is no time to waste. The time to implement is now if you want 2012 to get off to a great start.

Some say that if you start your business January 1st 2012, you are already behind. Real estate is a lag industry and things can take 60-90 days of implementation to see any results. So if you don’t start until January, you may not see any results for several months (especially in this slow economy).

The best marketing advice I’ve ever received is to ramp up your marketing efforts and activities in the 4th quarter so you can see your results once the new year hits and get it off to a fabulous start. If you wait too long, you may find it harder to reach your business or revenue goals because you were waiting for leads to convert and get those marketing results to appear. Market for next year starting NOW!

Starting now, there are probably a few things you can be doing differently, or at least get started on, that can get your 2012 started off right. For example, you can:

Start a blog or dust off that blog you have been neglecting and post regularly (at least 2-3 times a week to start)
Give your website a makeover and make sure the focus is on the consumer, and not what a great REALTOR you are.
Create or find deliverables that your prospects would actually want to sign up for and get those leads starting to come into your pipeline
Increase your visibility on Facebook and make a business pages focusing on the neighborhoods and communities you serve.
Start up on Twitter and be visible, engage, and share with your followers.
Start using video! Promote your properties, your expertise, and your market area
Be sure to keep your social media activities ongoing and never let anything get stale or make people wonder if you are still in business.

It is the perfect time to examine your current business plan (if you have one) refine it, in start implementing NOW so you can have a fabulous 2012. So take some action! I want you to start it off with a bang!

Have some marketing ideas you can implement now to get next year off to a great start? I would love to hear them! Please leave me a comment below!

Social Media vs. Traditional Marketing – There Is No Magic Bullet

Megan E. Barber — Wed, 25 May 2011 19:00:17 +0000

Old school vs. the new school. Traditional marketing methods vs. Social media marketing. Ways of the past vs. the wave of the future. Around the online real estate world, a small debate was going on about the different schools of thought on real estate marketing methods such as social media and online marketing, and the more traditional routes such as cold calling, door knocking, and direct mail.

Some have quickly taken one side over the other, dismissing the validity of the other point. The “old school” folks cheer on the statement that social media is a total waste of time. The “new school” people think the ones who deny the potential of social media are dinosaurs of the industry that should step aside. I think the the bigger picture here in this debate is that a balanced approach using both old and new methods is necessary to succeed in this market.

Is social media a complete waste of time? I don’t certainly think so. If you know me, you know that I am a big social media fan, and use things like Facebook and Twitter quite often personally and for my business. I have even signed new clients that I’ve met via social media.

Social networking can certainly have potential to be a time waster, with the virtual farms, virtual mafia, and the penchant to announce what one had for breakfast. Certainly if you spend too much of your time living on Facebook and Twitter, you are not going to get much done in general, or be able to effectively work with your clients. But if you handle your social networking activities correctly (strategically), you can get potentially attract new business through your social media engagement.

It is also necessary to have the right mindset and expectation about the potential business social media marketing can bring you. Connections that you attract through social media can take a long time for them to convert to actual business, much like other internet leads. But if you look at the bigger picture, social networks are a great tool to foster new relationships with prospects by engaging with them and repeatedly be out in front of them.

Through some of the more traditional methods of cold calling, and door knocking, most of the “old school” gurus direct agents to go through their database, sphere or lists looking for buyers and sellers that are ready to make their move RIGHT NOW. And then they’ll instruct them to cross the prospect off the list and move on the the next if the are not ready to do business in the immediate. Where this differs from social media marketing is that you are spending little time incubating those warm or cold leads, and going directly for the hot ones. While this approach may be successful for some, it is not for everyone, and even some prospects find this type of communication a total turn off (Hello Gen Y?).

Both social media marketing and more traditional prospecting methods both have their place in today’s marketing plans. Cold calling for hot leads can help you generate business that is ready to move right now, while social media marketing can help fill that pipeline of incoming leads that can eventually warm up to actual business too. I believe a balanced approach in your marketing plan is best.

There is no one marketing method that is the magic bullet. But use any combination of them with the right approach and mindset, and they will bring you new business.

What side of the debate do you stand on? Or what marketing methods have yielded the best results for you? I want to hear from you, so please comment below!

Online Biz Insiders Podcast – Real Estate Virtual Assistant – Megan E Barber

Megan E. Barber — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 22:02:17 +0000

The Online Biz Insiders Podcast

via onlinebizinsiders.com

Recently I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the creators of Online Biz Insiders, Carla Wilson and Mary Motz, for their potcast. It was much fun, and we talked about the tasks that we typically handle for REALTORS, the value of our services, and much more. Click on the link above and check it out!

Be sure to check out all the other episodes of their fabulous Online Biz Insiders podcast as well, where you will find great tips and tools for online marketing, productivity and more!

Posted via email from megbarberva’s posterous

Funny Real Estate Video – Old Spice Parody

Megan E. Barber — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:50:04 +0000

Real estate videos don’t have to be boring. In my search of some entertainment in the real estate world, I have seen that there are a lot of Old Spice parodies popping up lately. But this one has to be my favorite:

My favorite part: “I have balloons tied to my ankles.” Well done Landmark Realty.

You can view a few more real estate related Old Spice parody videos at the Agency Logic blog here.

Have you tried your hand at comedy in your videos? Found any recent real estate videos that have made you laugh lately? Leave me a comment below and let me know about them.

Have You Updated Your About Page Lately

Megan E. Barber — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:45:38 +0000

Take a look at the “About Me” page on your website. Have you not updated your bio within the last several years on there? Or worse, do you have canned content from your template website provider? Or worse yet, you have the phrase “This is where you put in information about yourself” in that spot?

The About page on any given website is about the first or second place a visitor clicks on when visiting a new site (on a real estate site, it’s probably 2nd to property searches). People want to know the person or people that are behind the business and what that business is really about. It is important to show who you are and still give people a reason to stay on your site and want more from you.

I recently decided to take a new approach to my own About page on my website. Before, my page was just like any professional profile or resume, stating my certifications, my past work experience and so on. It was a snooze fest. And I really didn’t think it conveyed who I was or represented me authentically. So I changed it up, re-wrote it in my own voice and added some more personal information about me outside of my business. I still kept at the end bullet points with my professional certifications and such, but now I gave a little more insight to the REAL me.

Now, I’m not saying that my new about page is the most compelling thing ever written on the planet. But I feel it is more authentic. I wrote it in my own voice, telling more of the story on how I got to be in the business I’m in, and showing the REAL person behind the business (who is a busy mommy as well as a wine lover).

Now I have mentioned before, that real estate consumers don’t really care about the agent at first, and that mostly is true. They mostly want property info and market conditions. But once they ARE ready to care about the agent they want to use, you’re about page can help to convince them that YOU are the one they can be comfortable working with.

About pages don’t have to be boring and resume like. Check out this blog with 12 of the best about pages from around the web. You can also check out this site About.me and create your own profile on there as well as get your creative wheels turning. You can check out my own About.me page here with a slightly shortened version of my bio.

I recommend you examine your own About page right now. Does it authentically represent you? Does it say who you are and give people a reason to stay and find out more. Does it tell of all of your professional experience and most updated certifications? Does it have an updated photo of you, or glamor shot of you from 25 years ago? Go look at it, re-work it and make sure it makes a great first impression.

Have a great About.me page or an about page on your site to be proud of? Leave me a comment and share it below!

You’re Doing it Wrong

Megan E. Barber — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 13:27:20 +0000

Are you frustrated with not getting a steady stream of quality prospects from your real estate website? Suffering from too many visitors leaving your website and never coming back? If you are having a tough time getting new leads and visitors to sign up for your list and contact you, take a long hard look at your site. Chances are, you are probably doing it wrong.

You Are Doing It Wrong if…

1. Your site is a stale static site that does not have regularly updated content like a blog.

If you are not updating your site regularly with new content, like blogging, your site stays stale, uninteresting and totally irrelevant. And blogging doesn’t have to be strictly written articles. You can regularly post videos and pictures relevant to your market area that will provide content that people will come back to see.

2. You have pictures of palm trees and beaches all over your header and pages, but your local market is in Denver Colorado.

If your site does not reflect you and your local market, what is the point? How would anyone know if you are the local market expert when your site displays a complete disconnect?

3. You have a forced sign-up immediately just to be able to start a property search or to view IDX listings.

I know this is a common tactic to garner leads, so some may disagree with me here. But from my own experience as a consumer… when I am looking for homes and you make me sign up just to search or view them, I will bounce out of there and go where I can view homes unimpeded. It’s a personal annoyance of mine, but I know many consumers share the same experience.

4. It is too hard to find the top THREE things visitors to your site want most: Home Search, “What is my home worth”, “How is the Market”

If those top three things are not above the fold or in a most obvious place on your site for buyers and sellers to find, you are missing the mark. Your site will lose credibility with visitors right away if they have to search too hard to find the information they want the most. So they will bounce out and find it elsewhere.

5. Your website is all about you and nothing much about your local market and what your visitors want (see the top 3 items above).

Truth is, consumers don’t much care about the agents when they start their home search. When you go car shopping, do you first start by searching for the best car salesman you can find? My guess is that you don’t. The same goes for home buyers. They start searching for HOMES not for Realtors. So drop the ego and make sure your site is geared towards the consumer. Answer the question, “What’s in it for them?”.

6. You’re not offering buyers and sellers something of actual value to them for signing up for your list or updates.

Those cheesy, canned “free reports” provided by template sites don’t count. (does anybody really sign up for those?) Try something like the Market Snapshot system, a special buyers guide, offer IDX listings to their inbox, or free foreclosure lists.

7. Your site has no links or way to connect with you on social media.

Social media gives web visitors the opportunity to observe your activity, a bit of your personality, and build up that trust factor over time. And since many visitors are not usually ready right then to make contact with you, provide them links to your Facebook business page or Twitter feed for them to get to know you from a distance. This is especially appealing to Gen Y’ers since they are way more likely to reach out via Facebook than pick up the phone or send an email.

8. There’s no clear call to action on your site.

If you don’t have clear consistent calls to action to tell your users what you want them to do with the information you provide them, you’re doing it wrong. Tell them to call or email you for more info. Tell them to leave you a comment about their own experiences or questions. Tell them to sign up on your form to receive market reports on recent solds in the area.

9. You have no contact forms on your site for visitors to actually contact you when they are ready.

Only having your phone number or links to email you may be hurting your site’s ability to capture leads. Having no (or very few) contact forms on your site, you’re not making it easy for visitors. It can be especially difficult for those who primarily use a web based email client like gmail or they happen to be at work. In fact, it is important to have some sort of contact form on every page. Make it easy on your users to contact you!

10. You say you are different from the rest, yet you are using a templated website that looks identical to 50,000 other agents’ sites.

Using a template site that is provided to you by your broker or from from some other web vendor, does you no favors. Those template sites hardly reflect your local market or your own brand and you can get easily lost in the shuffle. How can you stand out from the rest if your site looks exactly the same as the next guy and does nothing to set you apart.

If you took a good look at your site and saw that your are doing one, all or any combination of the above, it is probably time for a new approach. Your website should be your hub, your engine for delivering exactly what consumers want when they search for real estate info. If you are not making it easy, not making it all about them, you are losing them. Stop doing it wrong.

Consider utilizing a Real Estate Virtual Assistant to help you do it right.

Seen other ways people are doing it wrong? Have any questions on how to do it right? We want to hear from you! Leave us a comment below and let us know.

Tools You Need to Build Your Business with Video

Megan E. Barber — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:28:19 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Building your real estate business with video is nothing new. Last year, real estate coaches and consultants had merely introduced video as a great option that you should consider to start incorporating into your real estate business. Now in 2011, video has become a NECESSARY tool for building your real estate business online. With YouTube being the 2nd most popular search engine in the world (2nd to Google), people are consuming video content online day in and day out. And let’s face it, pictures and video capture attention a little better as most people would rather watch a video than read big long articles and posts.

So as part of my Getting Down to Basics series, if you have yet to get started with video and want to know how, here I will share with you the tools you need to get started with creating videos.

Tools You Need to Get Started

Camera – First you need a camera to capture your videos. A hand-held camcorder can do the trick, or even your smartphone with video camera can work. You can find great deals for them on Amazon, or on Kodak. My recommendations:
- Flip Video – Offers 3 different HD handheld camcorders, with fun colors and design options. I personally use the HD Ultra.
- Kodak Playtouch – A new version of Kodak’s handheld camera came out (formerly the Zi8) and has gained much popularity since it came out. Unlike the flip, it has the option to use an external microphone, which allows you to capture video in slightly noisy places and still be heard clearly.
- iPhone, Motorola DroidX, etc. – Most all of the latest smartphones include decent cameras that can be enhanced with some simple accessories.
Tripod- The Tripod is your friend! Even if you have the most steady hand, the tripod will really help improve the quality of your videos while helping you create them from a steady, level surface. You can find very simple, portable tripods to ones with fancy features. Start your search at Amazon.
- Another option is a Stabilizer Bar. If you are touring a home with your camera, these really help with the quality of your videos by helping reduce the side to side twist in your videos. Check out the one on HDhat.com.
Wide Angle Lens – A wide angle lens is especially important when you are filming home tours with your camera. The regular view of a camcorder can be limited and can be hard to show a room, especiall from a doorway. A wide angle lens gives you a much better view of the entire room. You can find some great wide angle lens options that can magnetically attach to your camera model (or phone) via Amazon, or check out these awesome snap-on cases from HDhat.com that are made for the Kodak PlayTouch or the iPhone4.
Editing Software – You might not get every video perfect in one take. So most likely, your raw video footage will need some editing, some title additions, etc. There are many editing options out there and you don’t need to be a total pro to use most of them.
- Most computers will come with easy-to-use video and movie creation software installed right on, like Windows Movie Maker for PCs and iMovie for Macs.
- For more robust video editing options, you can try something like Camtasia or what I personally use, Pinnacle Studio.
YouTube Channel – Not only is it valuable to put your videos on your blog or website, it is absolutely necessary that you have a YouTube channel. As mentioned above, YouTube is the 2nd most popular search engine and uploading them to YouTube will help gain exposure for them as well as add additional promotion and embedding opportunities on your social networks and blogs. Your YouTube channel background can also be customized to go with your personal branding. (And if you don’t know how, your Virtual Assistant can definitely help with this)

So there are the essential tools you need to get started with using video for your real estate marketing. If you have any questions tools you need for real estate videos, or have some favorite tools of your own, we would love to hear about it. Please leave us a comment below and let us know about it!

Next up, I will be going over some tips and and best practices for creating and using video to build your business.

Best Uses of QR Codes on Your Yard Signs

Megan E. Barber — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:20:35 +0000

Clickbrix Screenshot

QR codes are a very cool little piece of tech that agents are starting to use all over the place. I’ve previously gone over what exactly QR codes are and how to use QR codes to market your listings. Today I want to touch on the best uses of QR codes on your real estate yard signs.

Mobile Enabled Single Property Site - The QR code on the yard sign can take mobile users to a comprehensive listing info site that is formatted just for mobile phones. Super simple way to deliver all the property info to prospective buyers right in there hands.
Video or Video Tour - Put a QR code on your sign that sends them right the the YouTube video of the virtual tour. Prospective buyers can scan the code from the sign and instantly see the home tour video. YouTube is already mobile friendly, so it can be a great fit.
Contact Form - Send prospective buyers to a place that not only gives them some home info, but send them to a contact form you to capture their contact info for them to request more info or personal contact with you.

A few recommended resources:

I mentioned in my previous post about listing marketing that vyoo.it is a great source for creating mobile enabled single property sites. Sign riders from them are also in the works (as of this date they’re “coming soon”).

A company called Clickbrix is taking the real estate QR code world by storm and they have solution that creates fantastic looking mobile property sites that include pictures, maps and more. They also provide great looking mobile agent profile sites. I think the best feature is that they provide realtime tracking and reporting for your QR code traffic, which is awesome. Agent plans run $25/month.

If you need stickers or yard signs printed with your QR codes, you should try a company called StickerScan.com. They give you the ability to print 3″x4″ stickers for several of your you listings at once with them. You can take a code you generated from elsewhere or have them generate it for you. Their pricing starts at $19 for 20 stickers (2 for each sign).

The BVAS Connection, Megan Barber and Barber Virtual Assisting Solutions are in no way affiliated with the above companies and have not received any compensation for recommending them. We just simply like their product/services.