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Instagram for Real Estate – The Basics For Newbies

July 9, 2012 By Megan E. Barber

In a space where images are becoming the most important items on social networks, Instagram is InstaGod. You may have heard of this app frequently in recent months. You know, they’re the ones that back in April, were bought by Facebook for $1 BILLION. And like all things tech and social, Instagram is another thing that I am a huge fan of. It’s fun to use and makes my smartphone photos look fabulous. Never used it and want to know more? Here are some basics.

What is Instagram?

Instagram is is a free photo sharing program where users can take a photo, edit and make it beautiful by adding filters and then instantly sharing on their social networks. Instagram photos have a signature square shape similar to that of the Intamatic and Polaroid photos. It was started back in 2010 and widly used by iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch owners. Then in April 2012, Instagram released thier Andriod version and popularity has only soared from there.

What is the big deal?

150x102 Instagram for Real Estate The Basics For Newbies

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 09: In this photo illustration, the photo-sharing app Instagram fan page is seen on the Facebook website on the Apple Safari web browser on April 9, 2012 in New York City. Facebook Inc. is acquiring photo-sharing app Instagram for approx. $1 billion. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Aside from the billion dollar acquisition by Facebook, Instagram is immensely popular in the smartphone world. The day that it was released on the Android market, it has 1 million downloads in the first 12 hours! The user experience is fun, and many people enjoy the fact that they can take really great pictures with their smartphone devices and then broadcast them to their Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr with the click of a button.

What else makes it important?

Like I mentioned in a previous post, photos are the kings of content now. Images get more engagement on Facebook (likes and comments), especially if they are well done and visually interesting. So Instagram can make you almost look like a pro by helping you take really good photos, improving them with filters and then sharing them easily.

How do I get started on Instagram?

Step 1 - Go to the App Store/iTunes for iPhone, or Google Play for Android and download and install the free app to your smartphone

Step 2 - Launch the app and tap on Sign Up, then set up your username, password and add your profile photo.

Step 3 - Import contacts or find friends from your various social networks, or look at your recommended people to follow

Step 4 - Take your first photo, apply a filter (optional) and upload to Instagram and your chosen social networks.

Instagram is a growing network and a very useful app. It can make the most amateur photographer look like a pro. And it’s just plain fun to use. Are there ways to use it for you real estate business? Absolutely. In a follow-up post, I will outline some ideas you can utilize in your business with Instagram.

What are your thoughts Instagram? What kind of photos do you like to take with it? Leave a comment below!

Instagram’s rapid user growth visualized(techi.com)

Instagram for Real Estate The Basics For Newbies

Megan Barber is a Real Estate Virtual Assistant, and owner of Barber Virtual Assisting Solutions. With over 12 years of experience working within the real estate industry, Megan provides top notch real estate support services such as marketing, lead follow-up, social media, WordPress websites, and more. She is also author of VA Mommy and Co-Founder of REVA Academy, a Real Estate VA Training program.

Filed Under: Getting Down To Basics, Instagram, Photos, Real Estate Technology, Social Networking Tagged With: Android, Facebook, image sharing, instagram, iPhone, marketing tools, Photo sharing, photos, pictures, Real Estate Marketing, Real Estate Technology, Smartphone, social engagement, Social network, tech tools, Technology, twitter

Photo Content is King Now

July 5, 2012 By Megan E. Barber

Photos are the kings of web content now. I’m not just talking about the importance of having photos on your listings. I am talking about the skyrocketing popularity of visual based social networks like Pinterest and Instagram and how much more attention getting and engaging images are.

There has been an explosion of photo sharing on the web. You may have heard , “Facebook is the Photo Economy“. More than 90 billion photos have been uploaded since Facebook launched. 6 billion pictures are being uploaded monthly. I am sure that you have noticed in your news feeds that a large chunk of the content you see are images now. So it may come to you as no surprise that photos tend to grab more attention in your news feeds. The engagement rate on photos versus status updates is about 2:1. What does that mean? People are more likely to “like” and comment on photos as opposed to status updates.

But it is not just Facebook where images are important. The visually based social network, Pinterest (which I’ve talked a lot about recently) continues to soar in popularity. People are using it to curate information they like, that inspire them, and brands have found a way connect with customers in an authentic way. In the first quarter of 2012, Pinterest had 11.7 unique visitors. This image reliant social network is a force not to be ignored. And of course, there are some great ways to make good use of it and apply to your business.

Now is a good time to seriously consider infusing your marketing with more visual content. This is especially great if you struggle with coming up with new thing to write about for your real estate blog. These images can then be easily be shared across social networks and can be a potential traffic driver.

Images have a way of communicating ideas, emotions and more, in ways that words sometimes cannot. They capture more attention and have a higher engagement factor on your social networks. Examine ways to improve your use of images on your website and social media. Then get involved with visually based social networks like Pinterest and Instagram. This “photo economy” is about more than just your listing photos.

What are your favorite ways to use images in your marketing? Are you an avid Pinterest or Instagram user? Let us know in the comments below! We would love to hear about it.

Top Trends of 2012: The Visual Web(readwriteweb.com)
How to Breathe New Life Into Your Marketing With Visual Content(hubspot.com)

Filed Under: Facebook, Photos, Real Estate Technology, Recent Posts Tagged With: content marketing, Facebook, images, Information graphics, instagram, marketing ideas, Online Marketing, photo economy, Photo sharing, Pinterest, Real Estate Marketing, Real Estate Technology, real estate tools, Social media, Social network, Technology, twitter, visual content, web content

Pinterest for Real Estate – Pinterest Etiquette

May 22, 2012 By Megan E. Barber

In this edition of Pinterest for Real Estate, I wanted to cover the subject of Pinterest Etiquette. Pinterest has outlined their own etiquette guidelines of course, including some recent changes. But there are some items that need to be stressed, especially if you are new to Pinterest.

Be Authentic

You’re not all business all the time, are you? Pinterest can be a true representation of who you are, especially if you spend the time to curate boards of things you like, things you want to make, things that inspire you, and things that you have made. Include a great mix of yourself and your business by making boards that represent your personal life, and then creatively making boards related to your business. (Need some ideas? Read this post here). And for the boards you have that ARE business related, go ahead and pin images used in your blog posts or your website, since it is great for driving traffic to your sites.

Still Avoid Shamless Self Promotion

In the beginning of April Pinterest removed the “avoid self promotion” rule in their terms, which opened up more possibilities for business use. There are some great benefits that Pinterest can bring to businesses, like increasing traffic to your website/blog, but one needs to strike a delicate balance. A majority of Pinterest users are on there for personal use and are not necessarily there to shop for real estate or other products. And nothing will turn off your followers more (and Pinterest users ignore your boards completely) if they see nothing but shameless self promotion. So doing nothing but promoting your listings with it (unless they have some awesome and inspiring photos), putting a photo of yourself up as “Worlds Best Realtor” or constantly promoting some other product you sell just won’t garner much attention and you could lose followers.

Pin Images From Their Original Sources

We must work to keep Pinterest from being dilluted with images that are not pointing to where they originally came from. For example, I find it incredibly frustrating when I find an image of a recipe I really want to try, but I cant get to it because it’s not linked to the source. So be sure when you pinning something, that you are getting it from the original source. I also recommend that wheneer you repin something, first click on it to check to make sure it came from the original source. Don’t use Google Images for pinning, because you run into the same problem. Go to the site the images actually came from to give proper credit to the source. And if you find images on Pinterest not sourced correctly, leave them a comment to let them know.

Be Sure to Write Descriptions and Tags

When pins have descriptions and are tagged right, they are so much easier to find. So don’t be stingy and write a description for your pins, or change them on your repins. You’re helping the Pinterest community to find them and letting them know why they should click or pin them too. Also, tag it back to the creator if possible. It helps the creators a bit in tracking where their pins are coming from. And if you are pinning images that came from your own site/blog, be sure to have a good description and tag so your items can be easily found too.

Pinterest for Real Estate Pinterest Etiquette

Filed Under: Pinterest, Recent Posts, Social Networking Tagged With: Business, etiquette, Facebook, Google Images, images, Pin, pin boards, Pinterest, Pinterest etiquette, Pinterest for real estate, Pinterest Tip, Real Estate - General, Social media, Social network, twitter

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

October 19, 2011 By Megan E. Barber

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!

11 Weeks Left in 2011? Lets Get Ready for 2012 NOW!

Filed Under: Blogging, Facebook, Online Marketing, Real Estate - General, Real Estate Marketing, Recent Posts, Social Networking, Twitter, Websites Tagged With: Blogging, Business, Business plan, Facebook, facebook business page, internet leads, Marketing, Real Estate Marketing, Social media, Social Networking, twitter, video

When Technology Lets You Down

June 21, 2011 By Megan E. Barber

What have we been up to lately at the BVAS office? Things have been buzzing along here while running my real estate virtual assistant team and marketing projects galore. Then around the first of the month, an all out techno meltdown happened. My poor 3 year old laptop had been limping along lately, but I knew it was not long for this world. It finally overheated and went kaput.

Let us hold a moment of silence for the good old HP dv6700 laptop…

There was just a minor slowdown while waiting for my new computer to arrive, but thanks to my husband’s a backup laptop and Dropbox I was able to keep things going close to “business as usual”. Dropbox especially was a lifesaver as I was able to store the files I needed in the cloud to get them whenever the project called for it.

Now, I am a proud new owner of a MacBook Pro. I will spare you all the details on how I came to the decision to ditch PCs and go for the Mac, but I am super happy with my choice and I won’t be looking back. While I have a bit of a learning curve since I am a total Mac virgin, it helps that I have been able to keep my lifeline to Windows (via VM Ware Fusion). Because of that, I didn’t have to buy new software for absolutely everything and can still access all my same Windows based files for clients.

Having the right backup systems in place really saves a lot of stress and anxiety, and a computer crash or transition to a new machine is always a great reminder of that. I always stress that you MUST backup your computers files often because a PC crash or virus can happen at any time . Here at the BVAS office, we backup our computers to a external hard drive here, and also via the web with Carbonite. You can never have too many backup systems in place.

In other BVAS news, sew systems and service packages are in the works, so stay tuned for some upcoming announcements. As always, please join the conversation on our Facebook page, and feel free to leave a comment with your questions and request for upcoming how-to’s.

Filed Under: Blogging, BVAS News, Real Estate Technology, VA News, Virtual Assistant Tagged With: Backup, bvas, BVAS News, Dropbox, Laptop, MacBook, Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, real estate virtual assistant, tech tools, Technology, twitter, VA News

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

May 25, 2011 By Megan E. Barber

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!

Social Media vs. Traditional Marketing There Is No Magic Bullet

Filed Under: Direct Marketing, Facebook, Online Marketing, Real Estate Marketing, Real Estate Mistakes, Real Estate Technology, Recent Posts, Social Networking, Twitter, Websites Tagged With: Cold calling, Facebook, Generation Y, internet leads, internet marketing, Marketing, real estate video, Social media, social media marketing, Social network, twitter

The Power of Information – New video from RISMedia

March 28, 2011 By Megan E. Barber

RISMedia just released this fantastic new video today about the impact of social media and mobile internet on the future of real estate. It is evident that they worked hard on this. This video has some good stuff to get you thinking in case you are on the fence.

This is a great video that illustrates what is coming in the future. But I don’t think social media is THE magic bullet. I have a post upcoming that talks about this more, so stay tuned!

Let me know your thoughts on the video. Leave me a comment below!

The Power of Information New video from RISMedia

Filed Under: Facebook, Real Estate Marketing, Real Estate Technology, Recommended Reading, Social Networking, Twitter, video Tagged With: Facebook, facebook business pages, facebook pages, Faceboook for real estate, internet marketing, mobile, mobile for real estate, mobile marketing, Mobile Web, Online Marketing, Real Estate - General, Real Estate Marketing, real estate video, RISMedia, Social media, social media marketing, Social Networking, twitter, twitter for real estate, video, video blogging, web 2.0

Happy 5th Birthday Twitter – 5 Things You Should Be Doing on Twitter

March 21, 2011 By Megan E. Barber

Today is Twitter’s 5th birthday! I am an obvious lover of Twitter. I have been using it for over 3 years , or 3 years, 120 days and some change to be exact. It’s been fascinating to watch over these years how it has transformed the cultural landscape and how it has become the major source for breaking news on events and disaster updates.

I love it and have found it to be a source for business and a great place to market to potential clients. But I do see that Twitter is not for everyone. Many real estate pros still ask, why should they bother with Twitter. Well in the spirit of Twitter’s 5th Birthday, here are 5 ways you should use twitter.

5 Things You Should Be Doing on Twitter

Use Twitter to listen and interact to your clients and your sphere of influence. You can monitor what is going on in their lives, see what anyone is saying about you, and help them get to know the real you.
Make sure your tweets are something relevant and newsworthy. Nobody much cares about what you’re having for breakfast. So tell them about a deal you just closed, a fabulous new home that listed, or breaking news in your neighborhood.
Drive traffic to your blog and website with Twitter. Just wrote a great post about a hot button real estate issue or new listing? Post the link on Twitter, or better yet, have your most recent blog post get populated on your Twitter feed automatically through apps suck as HootSuite and TwitterFeed.

Image via Wikipedia
Make good use of Twitter lists, to help segment and organize those you are following on Twitter.
Use an app that will make your tweeting life easier. My all-time favorite that I use is HootSuite. You can schedule tweets, organize your twitter streams by lists into different columns, as well as analytics and tracking of links you broadcast. Not only that but you can use HootSuite to manage multiple networks. TweetDeck is another app that has similar capabilites, but not browser based.

Filed Under: Direct Marketing, Twitter Tagged With: 5th birthday, blog post, hootsuite, Online Marketing, Real Estate Technology, real estate tools, Social network, twitter

My Rules For Twitter Engagement

September 8, 2010 By Megan E. Barber

If you couldn’t tell, I Love Twitter. For 3 years it has been my source of much breaking news, the source of shared ideas and articles with my colleagues, and I discovered who this Justin Beiber kid is (and still don’t care). Twitter can be a fantastic resource and marketing engine if you use it right, or a total time suck if you don’t. It is all about who you engage with and how you go about doing it.

My time is limited enough as a small business owner/work-at-home mom. I have to keep my Twitter stream clean and not full of cluttered nonsense, so I am relatively selective when following other Twitter users. Inspired by Janie Coffee and her post on her rules of who she does and does not follow, I decided to come up with my own rules of engagement when it comes to my Twitter followers.

Do’s and Don’ts If you Want Me to Follow You Back on Twitter

Don’t

Don’t have nothing in your profile description, or no image uploaded. Besides seeing what is in your stream, how would I know who and what you are and know any reason to follow you.
Don’t post links to porn, look like a pornbot, post links to your private video show, etc. Not interested in engaging.
Don’t post nothing but quotes. The occasional quote is nice, but if that is all you’ve got and nothing else interesting to say, you are not worth my time.
Don’t put in your description the words MLM, marketing expert, ninja, guru, jedi master(yes, I’ve really seen that), MLM, wealth, “make money on Twitter”, etc. I really don’t believe you and you probably can’t back it up.
Don’t have endless tweets in your stream that look like “spammy” marketing and are nothing but links back to your crappy marketing website.
Don’t tell me how you made 6 figures on Twitter, Facebook, etc by using your “proven” system that you want to sell to me.
Don’t have a blank twitter stream. If you have nothing to day, why would I follow you.
Don’t follow me, then unfollow, then follow, then unfollow, then follow again. That is so annoying.

Do

Do tweet about things that are interesting and engaging. Such things that interest me are: real estate, real estate marketing, virtual assistant industry, entrepreneurs, small business issues, motherhood, new jersey, wine, coffee, chocolate, jokes, and Simpsons trivia.
Do have a picture uploaded. The picture doesn’t necessarily have to be of you, but at least I know that you took the time to personalize your profile.
Do have @ replies to other people. That lets me know that you interact and engage with others. You’re not just a shameless self promoter or totally self involved.
Do have a somewhat balanced Following/Follower ratio. If you follow thousands more than those following you, is looks fishy to me.
Do follow others that I know and respect.
Do reach out to me by DM with an actual personal message. Auto-DMs with links to your site turn me off.

Not following me yet on Twitter? Well go ahead and find me there - @MegBarberVA

Filed Under: Online Marketing, Real Estate Technology, Social Networking Tagged With: Marketing, Real Estate Technology, Social network, Social Networking, twitter, Website

When Technology Lets You Down

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