blog.propertiesonline.com » Social Media

Why Use Video to Sell Real Estate

Jess Maria — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:21:24 +0000

The NAR tells us that 73% of home sellers would choose a real estate agent who uses video to sell their property over one who does not. That means the small 3% of agents who are actually using video have a major advantage. Are you one of them? Why use video to sell real estate? Well, if getting a leg up on some 97% of your competition to attract nearly ¾ of sellers isn’t reason enough, read on. People like video, and the statistics back it up. While the average web user spends 48 seconds on a website, the same user spends close to 6 minutes (5 minutes, 50 seconds) on a website that has video. It’s simple, really. If your real estate website and individual property websites include video, your visitors are likely to stay longer. And the longer a user stays on your website, the more likely they are to translate into a lead. Video is said to be a whopping 53 times more effective at drawing people in than text alone! Since 2009, video traffic from mobile devices has increased 5000%. Every day, YouTube receives 4 billion video views, and the site has predicted that this year (2013), 90% of web traffic will be video. And websites that include relevant, optimized video are 57% more likely to be on page one of Google than those that do not. Single property websites allow real estate agents and brokers to market each property to its fullest, instilling a sense of trust and competency with both sellers and buyers. Filled with images, rich text, floor plans, neighborhood information and mortgage tools, single property websites convey a strong message of professionalism. Video is today a critically important piece of the puzzle. Video gives potential home buyers a much richer online experience than video alone. The movement created by video brings still shots to life, giving viewers a feeling of walking through the home themselves. Adding video to your property websites sells more real estate by inviting more interest, more attraction and more leads. Are you ready? Visit www.virtuets.com to get started using video to sell real estate now. Why Use Video to Sell Real Estate is a post from: Properties Online Blog

Why Use Video to Sell Real Estate is a post from: Properties Online Blog

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Real Estate and Facebook

Jess Maria — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:52:45 +0000

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 90.5% of real estate agents and brokers use social media to some extent. Media Examiner tells us that 83% of marketers indicate that social media is important to the success of their business. And the 2012 State of Inbound Marketing report revealed that the number of businesses that say Facebook is critical or important to their business has increased by a massive 75%. Real estate professionals are in a great position to leverage the benefits of social media, and Facebook is a great place to start. Services like RE Business Pages can assist agents and brokers in creating custom and functional facebook business pages that are attractive and highly functional. RE Business Pages will create your business page setup, a custom home page graphic and a custom welcome page. They can also install your IDX Property Search, your Twitter feed, and your Pinterest tab. While you can outsource the creation and design of your Facebook business page, it’s important that it maintains your stamp, and that you are actively engaged with your Facebook followers, because auto-posting to Facebook decreases likes and comments by 70% [source: Digital Buzz Blog 2012]. 80% of social network users in the United States choose Facebook as their preferred social network through which to connect with businesses and brands. Your real estate brand needs to be on Facebook. And when I say brand, I mean it. Your Facebook Business Page isn’t about you, really. It’s about what you can provide to clients and homebuyers/sellers. Providing your followers with valuable and interesting information they can use is what’s important. Target the right audience. Facebook is vast. If you try to vast yourself you’ll simply succeed in losing everyone’s interest. Know who it is you want to interact with and focus your attention on that group, whether it’s a local area, a type of buyer or a type of property. Make sure you integrate your Facebook Business Page with any other social media, websites or blogs you have (this is part of the package if you use RE Business Pages services). And don’t sit back and wait. Update regularly, keep it current, and don’t hide behind your screen presence. At the end of the day, selling homes is about the people who move into them, and people want need real contact. Real Estate and Facebook is a post from: Properties Online Blog

Real Estate and Facebook is a post from: Properties Online Blog

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LinkedIn Redesigned Company Pages

Jess Maria — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 18:51:17 +0000

Did you know Linkedin has redesigned their Company Pages? In early October, LinkedIn’s company pages redesign initiative became available to all LinkedIn users. Sample of the new company pages designs can be seen in this slideshare: 6 Newly Redesigned LinkedIn Company Pages from LinkedIn LinkedIn says the new designs “make it easier than ever to build relationships with your target audience.” New features allow you to: Better express your brand Showcase what you have to offer Highlight what’s important and keep followers engaged Reach members everywhere See more at LinkedIn LinkedIn Redesigned Company Pages LinkedIn Redesigned Company Pages is a post from: Properties Online Blog

LinkedIn Redesigned Company Pages is a post from: Properties Online Blog

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What on Earth is a QR Code?

Jess Maria — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 18:05:08 +0000

So, what exactly is a QR code? If you’re like many, you’re probably wondering what on Earth is a QR Code, and what’s it good for? “QR Code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) first designed for the automotive industry. More recently, the system has become popular outside the industry due to its fast readability and large storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes. The code consists of black modules (square dots) arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be made up of four standardized kinds (“modes”) of data (numeric, alphanumeric, byte/binary, Kanji), or through supported extensions, virtually any kind of data.” Got that? Yeah, me neither. Check out this fantastic video from ScanChannel to get up to speed: QR Codes are growing in popularity as advertising tools due to ever increasing smartphone usage. A QR Code allows potential buyers to use their own smartphone as a barcode reader, providing quick and effortless access to your website. Why is this awesome? It has been proven to increase conversion rates, by moving qualified prospects further down the sale/conversion funnel, seamlessly and in a way they’ve chosen to interact. What on Earth is a QR Code? is a post from: Properties Online Blog

What on Earth is a QR Code? is a post from: Properties Online Blog

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Facebook Best Practices for Real Estate Agents and Brokers

Properties Online — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:58:00 +0000

When best practices are followed, Facebook can be a valuable real estate tool, producing a substantial return on your investment in the form of likes, shares and comments -- the currency of influence on Facebook.

Facebook Best Practices for Real Estate Agents and Brokers is a post from: Properties Online Blog

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Social Media Stats You Should Care About: LinkedIn (Part 3)

Jess Maria — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 01:02:39 +0000

Welcome to Part 3 of a 3-part series on social media statistics. We’ve already noted some very impressive statistics on Facebook and Twitter. Today, we’ll look at LinkedIn – that more ‘professional’ social media cousin – and see what the numbers show. LinkedIn is often referred to as “Facebook for professionals.” Less of a friend and photo sharing site, it is a networking site for professionals the world over to share they careers, skills, job opportunities and more. As of November 2011, LinkedIn boasted 135 users across 200 countries, 57 million of them in the United States. What’s more, professionals are signing up to join LinkedIn at a rate of more than two new members per second. LinkedIn can provide an outstanding platform to build your brand, detail your professional achievements and receive accolades and recommendations from your clients, colleagues and business associates. The site also provides a unique way to collaborate and resolve business challenges with other professionals in your line of business. Join relevant real estate groups, ask questions, share challenges and solutions, network, find similarities, ask for help, offer and seek for jobs, and explore opportunities. You see, LinkedIn members are sharing insights and knowledge in more than 1 million groups, and 75 of the Fortune 100 companies now use LinkedIn as part of their corporate hiring solution. LinkedIn is an incredible supplement to your online social media presence. It allows you to paint an extremely detailed picture of yourself and your business, to better showcase your website, your properties for sale, your activities, and more. It’s time to get involved. Also see: Social Media Stats You Should Care About: Facebook (Part 1) Social Media Stats You Should Care About: Twitter (Part 2) Social Media Stats You Should Care About: LinkedIn (Part 3) is a post from: Properties Online Blog

Social Media Stats You Should Care About: LinkedIn (Part 3) is a post from: Properties Online Blog

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How to Maximize Facebook Response

Properties Online — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:00:07 +0000

Facebook can be a useful tool for real estate professionals. When smartly used, Facebook can act like a supercharged digital equivalent of word-of-mouth recommendations. Each like, share or comment starts your name (and a link back to your Facebook page) circulating among an ever-widening circle of Facebook friends. Facebook’s popularity offers real estate agents and brokers tremendous exposure potential, but only if your Facebook page generates likes, shares and comments. To accomplish that you have to understand what motivates people to respond to Facebook. Creating and maintaining a Facebook business page that attracts a lot of visitors is the first step. Because Facebook is a social platform it requires a different approach than standard marketing products. A visually appealing mix of photos, videos, graphics and value-driven content will attract visitors; but it is critical that you post new entries on a regular basis, preferably daily. As you develop a fan base, you need to give Facebook friends a reason to keep returning to your page. Facebook fans are notoriously fickle. If you fail to post new material, they’ll go elsewhere. Tip: Facebook traffic is heaviest from 5-8 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday. Time new posts to take advantage of peak traffic. The greatest challenge in turning your Facebook page into a marketing asset is posting visuals and content that will generate likes, shares and comments. In an analysis of more than 1.3 million posts published to the top 10,000 Facebook pages, social media data cruncher Dan Zarrella was able to identify the qualities of a Facebook post that generate the greatest number of likes, shares and comments. According to Zarrella’s data analysis, photos generate the most Facebook activity. Photos produce about a third more likes than texts and twice as many likes as videos with links producing only negligible response. Photos also produce the greatest number of shares. However, photos and texts generate nearly the same number of comments with texts having a slight edge. Next time: Facebook best practices How to Maximize Facebook Response is a post from: Properties Online Blog

How to Maximize Facebook Response is a post from: Properties Online Blog

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Social Media Stats You Should Care About: Twitter (Part 2)

Jess Maria — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 02:42:28 +0000

Welcome to Part 2 of a 3-part series on social media statistics. In our first post, we looked at some recent Facebook statistics. Today, we’ll explore Twitter and some numbers that might make you stop and think, “Wow!” Twitter is the reigning king of microblogging sites. When it launched six years ago, it left a lot of people shaking their heads. But today, the site has more than 465 million account holders who send more than 175 million tweets a day into the twittersphere. These numbers will soon be obsolete, considering that 11 new Twitter accounts are created every second, and the site grows by approximately 1 million accounts every day. A year after its launch, Twitter was valued at $5 million. That year it raised $1 million. Two billion tweets were posted in 2009, and the site raised $35 million – a massive jump in just two years. In 2010, the site was revalued at an astounding $3.7 billion, and it raised $200 million. The United States is home to the largest proportion of Twitter users, with 170.7 million account holders. While the web remains the most popular access point for users (64%), 16% access Twitter from their mobile phones, and 10% primarily use a Twitter client. Interesting content is cited as the #1 reason to re-tweet. Sounds simple, right? Give your followers something they want to see, read or hear, and they’ll probably pass it on. Make it funny, and you’ve got 66% of followers willing to share. Incentives attract some 32% of re-tweets. Here’s how tweeters decide who to follow: • 69% follow other tweeters who have been suggested by friends • 47% follow tweeters they found in an online search • 44% follow tweeters suggested by Twitter • 31% follow promotions Your friend network can be very powerful here – ask them to follow and recommend you, locally and otherwise. Marketing your real estate business online can be expensive. But tools like Twitter provide you with free opportunities to reach hundreds or thousands of people, quickly and easily. Properties Online can help you to simply integrate your web property sites with social media platforms like Twitter. The time is now. Join us next time for the final installment of this 3-part series, when we’ll explore some fascinating LinkedIn statistics. Social Media Stats You Should Care About: Twitter (Part 2) is a post from: Properties Online Blog

Social Media Stats You Should Care About: Twitter (Part 2) is a post from: Properties Online Blog

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Social Media Stats You Should Care About: Facebook (Part 1)

Jess Maria — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 01:14:45 +0000

Welcome to Part 1 of a 3-part series on social media statistics. As we’ve discussed in previous posts, your online presence, such as your property website, is important. Social media is a critical tie in. Check out some of these stats and you’ll soon see why not participating means you’ll be left behind. Facebook’s rise never ceases to amaze us – it went from a net income of $229 million in 2009 to a cool $1 billion last year. It is the world’s most popular social network, currently with some 845 million active monthly users, making some 100 billion connections. 425 million users globally access Facebook from their mobile phones. North America has the second highest percentage of active Facebook users (after Asia), with more than 50% of its population on the site. More than 174,500,000 Facebook users live in North America! Facebook users are 57% female and 43% male. They upload 250 million photos every day, and spend an average of 20 minutes at a time on the site. That Facebook thumps up ‘Like’ button? It’s clicked 2.7 billion times a day (make sure some of those ‘Likes’ belong to your business page!). Facebook is much more than a fad. It provides a fantastic, FREE opportunity to connect with potential clients, buyers and sellers, to promote your brand, business and listings, and to share knowledge with a network that grows all the time. We’ll see you again soon for Parts 2 & 3 of this series, where we’ll look at Twitter and LinkedIn. Social Media Stats You Should Care About: Facebook (Part 1) is a post from: Properties Online Blog

Social Media Stats You Should Care About: Facebook (Part 1) is a post from: Properties Online Blog

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How to Maximize the Effectiveness of Your Online Marketing Tools

Properties Online — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 18:03:44 +0000

The internet has become an essential marketing tool for real estate agents and brokers. As a marketing tool, the web offers a tremendous variety of real estate marketing options, including real estate websites, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, mobile websites, and a growing list of new internet platforms, software, and apps. In recent posts we’ve discussed the importance of choosing online real estate tools that go beyond gadgetry and provide real value. But it’s not enough to surround yourself with the best tools; you have to use them effectively to reap the significant benefits internet marketing has to offer. If you want to increase leads and grow your real estate business, follow these tips to maximize the effectiveness of your online marketing tools: Maximize social media: Be professional and keep your personal and business lives separate. If you don’t already, you should create a separate business account on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and any other social medial site you join to promote your real estate business. To be valuable, social media sites must be regularly maintained. To keep yourself current with search engines, at minimum you must post new material to your blog once a week; to Facebook and Google+, 2 to 3 times a week; and to Twitter, once a day. On other sites like Pinterest, post new items weekly. These are the minimums; posting more frequently will enhance search engine placement and increase visitor interest; however, don’t go overboard. Posting too often, particularly on Twitter, annoys people and can actually drive potential clients away. Maximum posting guidelines are 3 per week for blogs, 1 to 2 a day for Facebook and Google+, and 2 to 3 Tweets per day for Twitter. Two to 3 new posts per week is adequate for most other social sites. Provide your social media followers with value in every post. Inane posts that offer no useful, instructive or reflective content can alienate followers. Even if you’re not posting, make sure you respond to Facebook, Google+, and Twitter comments the same day. More tips next time How to Maximize the Effectiveness of Your Online Marketing Tools is a post from: Properties Online Blog

How to Maximize the Effectiveness of Your Online Marketing Tools is a post from: Properties Online Blog

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