25. April 2012 by Kristian Alekov.

STOP. ALTO!. Stoj!. Ferma!

Warning. Danger Will Robinson. Rant Ahead. . .
Google. YouTube. Magazines. Postcards. Emails, Seminars, pick one and you are likely to see, hear, read someone in the real estate space TELLING you what you absolutely need to do immediately to grow your real estate business. Sorry, I mean

“TELL YOU WHAT YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED TO DO IMMEDIATELY!”

Call more often, cold call, door knock, send personal notes, get this website, use this software or that one. Seems like everyone is an expert on what YOU need to do to grow your real estate business. Since there are SOOO many experts on what you need to do, I want to talk about what you shouldn’t, and believe me, the list is much longer. And unlike the things YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST DO, you will likely see results immediately if you simply STOP doing these things immediately.

5 Things Real Estate Agents Need To Stop Doing Immediately

1) Selling. I am a sales guy, always have been, I love sales. I love the process of bringing a real estate agent, lender, loan officer to the realization that I, MY COMPANY, MY PRODUCT is the best for their real estate business. This process is an art form. You know why GOOD sales people are paid so well? Because there are so many ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE ONES! Stop selling. Great, I get it, you are the best, yes, you sell more homes that anyone in your office, great, OK, you have these designations [that I have no clue what they mean] but please, for the love of puppies and unicorns – stop selling! Instead of selling, Ask questions, offer solutions but please stop offering something that is not tangible and is an expectation, [great service!] as a benefit – it’s not. Great service is as expectation. That’s why we consumers get so pissed when we don’t get it. Instead of selling, use the consultative sales approach. Focus on providing value and solving problems. No one cares that you were the Top Producer in 2006 by the way.

2) Spamming. Stop. Life is too short without being bombarded by real estate agents that literally, throw “everything and the kitchen sink” at consumers. It used to be just direct mail and billboards and taxi cabs, then it went hi – tech, to email and now my precious facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Stop Spamming! The definition of SPAM, mine anyway, is someone that sends me something that I did not ask for and do not care about. See # 1. Instead of spamming people, help them find you on the Internet when they actually have a need for your product or service.

3) Glamour Shot. Really? Look at your business card, your postcards, for sale signs, social media profile – is that really you? Yes, I am sure it was you AT SOME POINT IN TIME [for some of you it was a very small point in time] but what about now? Today? I have been in title for 11 years, I have met agents for lunch [with no other way to identify them than their business card] and not realized they were sitting next to me in the lobby. Come on now – that aint you! I took my picture off my business card a long time ago, not because of the way I looked [well, maybe partly because of that] but because it’s NOT ABOUT ME! Quick, name another occupation that has a picture on it other that car sales, or lending or appraising or title. Notice a trend here?

4) Talking about YOU. Stop. Have you ever had a friend that could not help but to tell you how awesome he/she was? You know, that person that can’t help but to point out how many people like them or love them or want to be them? If you did, you probably stopped hanging out with them a long time ago. Why? Because it’s annoying. Not only annoying, it’s a RED FLAG that screams INSECURITY. Talking about how great you are in your personal life is annoying but it is suicide in your professional life. If you are always talking about YOU, then you cannot be talking about ME. Stop focusing on you and start focusing on your ideal client. How can you help them? What are their problems and concerns? What is valuable to them? How can you HELP?

5) Designations. Hey did you know that I am GTU certified? Do you even know what that means? That same reaction you had to my designation, you know that “what the hell is GTU certified?” is the same reaction consumers have to that alphabet soup you have on the end of your business card. You know, the ABR, CRS, GRI, E-PRO, CDPE, CNE etc. I have been in the Real Estate business for a long time and I am amazed by the number of real estate agents that actually believe that a designation means something to the consumer. It does not. Don’t get me wrong, I will be the 1st to tell you that the information you learned while achieving that designation is valuable, possibly even priceless, but the designation means zip, nada, nothing to the consumer. Get rid of the designations and replace that valuable real estate with a strong call to action, tailor made for your ideal client.  I made up my GTU certification by the way.

BONUS!

6) Not communicating. We are coming out of an REO market that made some real estate agents rock stars and others paupers. Some made a lot of money and others made very little.  If you are a listing agent, please, start answering your phone. Respond to your email, text messages, tweets etc. Offers on your listings, excuse me - your sellers homes – are date and time stamped, you are holding the livelihood of many real estate agents in your hands, in your email I mean, would it kill you to communicate?  You put your pants on one leg at a time like I do and like other real estate agents do. Professional courtesy needs to come back to the real estate industry. There is a reason why Lack Of Communication is the #1 complaint in the real estate space. We can all change that. In the end, your not communicating is only hurting yourself. If there is one thing I have learned it is this: Real estate agents are like elephants – they never forget.

Takeaway

These are just 5 things, I bet I could come up with more if I took a day or so. Real estate marketing has changed. It is not so much about YOU anymore as it is the Property or the INFORMATION you can provide. If you are always talking about you are costing yourself business. Instead of talking about how awesome you are, be different, talk about your ideal client and the challenges they face.

Consumer behavior shifted to the Internet. This is where many consumers will find their next real estate agent. They will not find him/her by searching for an ABR or CRS real estate agent but by gathering information on a subdivision or area of interest, short sale process or investment strategy. Create the content that your ideal client would look for when they have a need and your business will grow. Focus your efforts on the needs of the consumer, not yourself.

Are you a Florida Real Estate Agent? Presenting a valuable message is only part of the equation, you still need to put it where consumers would look for it, so it can be “found” that means the Internet – where over 94% of consumers start their home search. From WordPress to Video I help real estate professionals get found online. I can help you too.

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9. April 2012 by Kristian Alekov.

Equipment Needed

Real estate marketing with video is the future. I have said it before. There are two kinds of real estate agents: those using video in their real estate business now and those that will be. Sure video is cool and fun but that is not why you will be using it in your real estate business, no, you will be using it because consumers prefer video.

Not only do they prefer it, they are demanding it. Video says so much more than a picture or text ever could. Video is not only visual, it is also emotional. Would you rather see 25 pictures of a home or a short video on it? Exactly.

People do all kinds of video, From screen capture videos with software like Camtasia mac to subdivision videos and time lapse videos using the Go PRO HD Hero 2 to full HD DSLR videos with a Canon 60D, Visual Stories to just talking into the webcam of the Macbook Pro. There are many types of video and there is even more types of video equipment.  Real estate agents ask all kinds of questions related to the video equipment to use and why.

“Do I need a full HD DSLR camera or can I use the Flip Mino HD or Kodak Zi8?”

Real Estate Marketing With Video

There is a lot of noise out there about “must have” equipment, is it really a must have? I doubt it. In my experience the camera equipment you currently have is the best equipment for you. But for many looking at getting into real estate marketing with video, it is important that you start with the absolute necessities and save the bucks until you know for sure you are “in there like swimwear” as I like to say. So let’s take a look at what equipment every real estate agent really should have as they start the journey towards real estate marketing videos.

Real Estate Marketing With Video: Camera Equipment

Makes sense that if you are shooting video you would need a video camera. But what kind? Some of the camera’s I recommend are the Kodak Zi8 [discontinued but still available on Ebay] , Kodak Zi10 [AKA Playtouch] or anything else that has an internal hard drive or SD card AND allows for an external microphone. As I teach in my real estate marketing classes, AUDIO is actually more important than VIDEO so it does not matter how awesome your video quality is if your audio is full of echo’s or wind or the volume is too low. Other camera’s I recommend that I own and use myself include DSLR cameras like the Canon T3i, T2i, Canon 60D

Real Estate Marketing With Video: Tripods

For the love of Puppies, Get one. Not the kind you find for $25 either, I am talking a about a video tripod, a tripod that was created with video in mind. Any old tripod can stand straight up and balance your camera but a video trip is specifically designed to pan and tilt using a fluid head for smooth shots. A video tripod will also likely have lever locks for height adjustment and a level for balance. Video tripods range in cost from $128 for the Cowboy Studio FT all the way to {$1800 and beyond} for a Manfrotto kit.

Real Estate Marketing With Video: Microphones

Please, please, Get one. As I said earlier, audio is incredibly important. Your target audience needs to be able to hear you deliver your message in a professional and concise way. A microphone will help you do that. Depending on what kind of video you are making will determine the kind of microphone you need. You can use a USB Shure Condenser Mic {$300} for Skype Interviews, screen capture and visual story videos. Or use an Azden SMX 10 shotgun mic {$85} on th 60D and T3i when trying to capture the audio of a room or a group and use a Sennheiser EW112PG-3A Wireless Lavalier mic and receiver {$600} when doing an interview or making a video of yourself. How about a cheap wired mic {$5} when you don’t want to fuss and distance from the camera is not an issue.  All of these microphones have different uses for different purposes.

Real Estate Marketing With Video:  Editing Software

You need some. Nothing will spice up your video like music, text, annotations and transitions. To do this you will need editing software. Some are free and some are paid. In my experience, you get what you pay for. If you are a PC and you have Vista or later you likely have Windows Live Movie Maker on your machine and it is FREE! If you are a mac you have iMovie included on your machine. iMove is an amazing program that anyone can learn to use. You can start on iMovie before you move up to Final Cut Pro X. Other options for PC include SONY Vegas and Avid Studio by Pinnacle to name a few.

SD Cards

You will need them. And good ones too. Make sure you go with a reputable card like Transcend or Sandisk. Follow your camera’s recommendations here. DSLR camera’s will typically require a speed class 6 or higher card while smaller cameras like the Kodak Zi8 and Zi10 may accept a class 2 card.

Extra Batteries

You would be amazed how fast video, especially HD video can drain your DSLR Camera, Flip Mino, Kodak Zi8 or Zi10. While no extra batteries are available le for the Kodak Zi8, Zi10, or Flip Mino HD they are available for DSLR camera’s. If you can count on anything, you can count on running out of juice at the wrong time. You can avoid this by carrying extra batteries. [I do].

Takeaway

In my opinion, these are some of the tools you need to start your journey into real estate marketing with video. In addition to the cameras listed above, you can also use your webcam on your PC or Mac. Whatever camera and equipment you have right now is the equipment you should use. Once you get the video bug [like I did, 50% of my leads come from my videos] you can run out and get  a DSLR Camera, Teleprompter, GlideCam, Green Screen, Lights, X-shot, Delkin Fat Gecko Grips etc.

If you are a Fort Myers Real Estate agent that would like help growing your real estate business with video, WordPress, SEO, CraigsList etc please contact me. I have all the tools you will need to start your journey on the right foot and I will help you grow your real estate business.

Brought to you by Affinity Title, Fort Myers, FL - Your Short Sale Expert!  239.300.7030

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6. April 2012 by Kristian Alekov.

2011 saw a lot of action in the social media stratosphere, especially when it came to Facebook marketing tactics. Each year social media will continue to change at a faster pace and marketers will need to continue to stay ahead of the curve. Here’s a list of some of the most important tips & tricks for marketing on Facebook from 2011.

1. Use the improved menu for Facebook Page Administrators with more than one Page.Detailed in this article on AllFacebook, the recently added feature eliminates a few clicks to view the notifications to your various Facebook Pages. In a nutshell, it makes the whole process of monitoring your various communities on Facebook a lot quicker.

2. Enable subscribers on your Facebook profile. Are you actively sharing content about a particular topic? Is one of your clients a well known personality? Are you a journalist? This year Facebook made it so people, who couldn’t view your activity before, can now follow your personal profile and follow information you choose to make public. Here’s how to enable subscribers to your profile.

Take a look at following people and how they have a massed a huge following to their personal profiles for a variety of purposes:

Kristian Alekov - https://www.facebook.com/alekov

Josh Constine - https://www.facebook.com/JoshConstine

Arianna Huffington - https://www.facebook.com/AriannaHuffington

Craig Kanalley - https://www.facebook.com/ckanalley

Sean Parker - https://www.facebook.com/Sean

3. Add the Subscribe button to your website, especially if you have multiple contributors. Of course, you’ve got to enable the Subscribe feature to your personal Facebook Profile first. Here’s where to find the code to add the plugin to your website.

4. Posting on your Facebook Page between 8PM & 7AM receives 20% more user engagement.Buddy Media produced a white paper on strategies for effective wall posts, sharing a variety of insights on marketing for Facebook based on the analysis of 100′s of Facebook Pages.

5. When posting on your Page’s wall, tell your audience to Click “LIKE” in your posts. Calls to action work wonders for driving engagement to your content in the newsfeed. Here on CVS’s Facebook Page they’ve used this technique at the end of their post to increase the amount of like’s this video received.

6. Use fill in the blank’s style posts for high levels of engagement from your Facebook audience. 7. Optimize your Facebook Page’s photo banner to give a branded experience to your fan base.ECKO UNLTD’s Facebook Photo Banner:

Mad Mex’s Facebook Photo Banner:

8. Have your Page favorite/like other Facebook Pages of related product lines, other store locations or any other relevant subject matters to feature on your Page. These featured likes will rotate between 5 different pages each time your browser refreshes, although you can add more than 5 pages to the list. It’s mainly a chance to express what your brand like’s, giving it a voice it didn’t have prior to the February Page redesign.

9. Ask open ended questions in your Facebook posts to help increase the amount of comments that post receives.10. Use Sponsored Stories to increase brand lift and utilize this new social aspect of Facebook ads. When people hear about a brand from their friends, they’re twice as likely to engage.

11. Switch between uploading the video content you share from your YouTube channel and from Facebook videos. Uploading your videos on YouTube will get the video greater exposure in the search engines, but uploading your videos in Facebook will get the video added exposure in the newsfeed and the ability for someone to like your page and video from within the video itself.

12. Optimize your Profile photo to highlight your brand, product lines, promotions, fans and more.

       13. Choose to set your wall to either display posts by everyone or just from your Page. For some brands, it might be best to hide posts from fans on the everyone tab and only show the Page’s marketing messages as the default views. This depends on many factors, one of which is audience size.14. Use the vertical link menu on the left hand side of your Page to display applications and destinations that serve as resources for fans about your brand and offerings.

15. Engage with other Pages as your Page, to help drive engagement between Pages and between the related audiences of those Pages. With the Facebook Page redesign in February, Page admins have been able to log in as their Facebook Page and act as if they’re a regular user that’s able to comment, like and interact on Facebook.

16. When creating tabs for your Facebook Page, use the Static Tab 2.0 application. It’s free, easy to use, gives you many options for customization, helps you move away from soon to be deprecated FBML to iFrames and allows you to add up to 7 tabs to an unlimited amount of Facebook Pages. Here’s how to setup your Facebook tabs using Static Tab 2.0.

17. Don’t rely on Facebook’s link function alone, leave the link at the end of the text in your post as well. By giving your fan base more opportunities to click a link in your post, the more clicks you’ll get to the content you’re sharing.

18. Schedule your posts for when you’re away from the computer, but want to reach audiences at times of the day that have the highest levels of engagement and less competitions from other Facebook Pages. Previously, Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm, EdgeRank, would give less visibility to a Page’s content when posted through a third party tool like HootSuite or TweetDeck. Now, Facebook’s newsfeed has been altered to not negatively affect posts of this nature, allowing for the same visibility as if it was posted from Facebook. I recommend switching between posting from Facebook and the third party tools.19. Target the posts on your Page by either location or language to help increase the relevancy to the various segments of your audience. Here’s a few ways to maximize your relevance with the post targeting feature.

20. Mentioning your fans by name in the comments on your Facebook posts is one of most beneficial ways to give a personal touch to your brand’s Facebook presence. In some cases you’ll be able to use an @ sign and tag a user in your comments to them, in other cases you’ll just have to type out their name. Either way, this gives a personal feeling that social media is all about, connecting with your advocates one on one.

21. When engaging with your Facebook audience, sign your name when directly interacting with users. By signing your name after a comment, you’re removing the mystery behind who your audience is actually chatting with and again, adding your personal voice to your brand’s page.22. A handy tip for measuring successful engagement per post, look for 1% of your audience to interact with each post that is shared on your Page. Just take your existing audience size, divide it by 100 and the result will be the number of people who should be engaging with your post via shares, comments & likes.

23. Enable users to tag your Facebook Page in their photos to help organically grow your audience and impressions. Go to Edit Page, then Manage Permissions and be sure to check off the box that says People can add tags to photos by [Your Page Name].

24. To improve the SEO of your Facebook Page, set three keyword rich sub-categories for your Place Page. Go to Edit Page, then Basic Information and then define these sub-categories keeping Facebook search and the search engines in mind.

25. Draw your audience from your YouTube videos and channel to your Facebook Page by including annotations throughout your video with a URL to your Page.

Here’s a wonderful example of using YouTube annotations to grow your Facebook fan base:

26. Use the Talking About This metric to get a true sense of the engagement on your Facebook Page. This public metric give you a better sense of your interactions with your audience, outside of the number of people that just like your page.27. Add a Facebook Like Box to your website to easily allow your web visitors to become a fan of your Facebook Page.

28. Incorporate photos in line with your other posting strategies, to get higher visibility in the newsfeed. Photos have a higher weight with Facebook’s EdgeRank (plus people love them), so utilize them when you can with other strategies to help get your content get more traction.

Here’s an example of Sephora doing just this:

29. Repost the same article on your Facebook Page for added engagement, but be sure to alter the text/title of the post to give the appearance of different content. Utilize this reposting technique over a short period of time so there’s a gap between when you post the first and second time, while also not waiting to long and risk losing the relevancy of the content you’re sharing.30. Keep the narrative short to maximize the number of shares of your content, preferable 80 characters or less. Learn some of the many other ways to get your Facebook content shared.

31. Don’t automate connections to your other social networks on your Facebook Page. Having your Twitter feed or YouTube videos as a tab on your Facebook Page is a wonderful way to give your audience as much content about your brand as possible. However, it’s important that your tweets, YouTube videos or content from other platforms aren’t being automatically added to your Facebook Page’s wall. This could lead to too many posts on your Page, repetitive content being shared or irrelevant platform specific messaging, all of which could being to irritate your fan base.

32. Use the updated Facebook mobile app to engage with your fans on the go. There’s a few different versions of the application depending on what phone you have, here’s a deeper look at how to manage your Facebook Pages from the iPhone.

33. Browse Facebook Studio for insights on how others are marketing on Facebook, especially when it comes to creative and innovative ideas that Facebook themselves thought were one of a kind.

34. Occasionally drive traffic to your website from the content you post, being clever or mysterious will often lead to higher click through rates. By clever or mysterious, I mean be vague about the destination of your link but enticing with the copy you use in the post. Basically, teaser content so people are interested to visit your link.Target’s Facebook Page utilized this exact tip not too long ago, which seemed to get high levels of engagement:

35. Use Facebook Questions to add some variety to the content you share and as a way of polling your audience to see what aspects of your brand they truly enjoy.Here’s how Tumi’s Facebook Page took this technique into practice:

36. When offering coupons, don’t make fans do the math. Buddy Media’s study incidcates that “$ off” offers generate twice the engagement of “% off” offers for the retail industry on Facebook.37. Share milestones you’ve reached on Facebook or as a brand with your audience. Whether you’ve finished a volunteer project as a company or reached 300,000 fans on Facebook, tell your fans, so they can help celebrate and spread the word.

38. Encourage check-ins on your Page and at your physical location. Although Facebook Deals was a flop, getting traction from check-ins on Facebook is still a useful way to grow organic impressions of your brand, especially when it comes local & small businesses.

39. Share the testimonials, positive feedback and recommendations about your brand. If your fans love your brand and are vocal about it, share this sentiment with the rest of your audience, making sure to mention the original feedback. The addition of the recommendations feature on a Facebook Page, specifically when you first like a Page, gives marketers an opportunity to promote their praise and feature one of their most active and happy fans.

40. Measure your return on investment with Facebook’s updated Page Insights. The new version of Page insights has shifted the focus of these internal analytics around engagement as opposed to audience size. Understanding how each post has affected your Page’s virality overall is a wonderful way to see what worked and didn’t work and how you can continue to strategize for the future.

Did you find any of these tips applicable to your own Facebook marketing strategy? Share what Facebook marketing tips and tricks you live by in the comment section below.
Brought to you by Affinity Title, Fort Myers, FL - Your Short Sale Expert!  239.300.7030 If you need help with your marketing, please don’t hesitate to contact us, we provide classes and one on one help!

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6. April 2012 by Kristian Alekov.

Prices of Facebook advertising have risen 40% in cost-per-click, according to a marketing report on the first quarter of 2011. This clearly shows that the rise in the cost of Facebook advertising is attributed to the growth of the popularity of using Facebook advertising overall. With the introduction of sponsored stories, it appears Facebook truly feels it has the room to raise the cost of its social ads. Since the prices are rising, it’s important to get the most bang for your buck. Begin by understanding what the best practices are for a Facebook ad campaign. What’s better than seeing examples from who’s doing it right?

7 Best Practices for Facebook Ad’s Campaign

1. Social ads work 3x better than traditional Facebook ads. With the addition of Sponsored Stories, many advertisers have seen higher click-through-rates, brand lift, ad recall and increased likeliness to recommend due to the social aspect of these new ads. Users can Like the content of the ad directly on the ad, comment, share, see which of their friend’s already likes the ad’s content and more. In the end, these ads make it easier for word of mouth to spread via the recommendation of friends and for users to interact with and share their content.

Example: Express

2. Re-targeting existing fans helps increase acquisition and engagement. If you’ve already gotten an existing fan base that’s the size you’re looking for, but wish for more engagement, then using ads to re-engage your audience is a wonderful way to help raise the overall visibility of your Page. By increasing your engagements with fans, you will naturally increase the number of fans that like your Page. It’s also helpful to target your existing fans with ads that sent them to your website or product pages because they’ve already indicated they like your Page. 70% of the time when people like a Page, they truly like your brand and sending traffic to your website in this instance will work much more effectively.

Example: Kreayshawn

3. Simple no brainer copy is the best way to go. Facebook users love to browse through their profile and don’t have time to stop and read extensive content with a confusing message. Keep the copy of the ad short, sweet and relevant for the best CTR.

Example: James Hardie

4. Start wide with your demographic targeting, than alter the focus based on the resulting interest the ad receives. Many advertisers make the mistake of using very specific targeting in the beginning of their Facebook ad campaign. Starting much broader, then focusing the targeting as you proceed has shown to be much more successful overall. In this example, RadioShack has added people’s interest in cycling to the ad’s copy. They are running a different campaign involving cycling right now, so they focused their ad campaign to include the right age range and interest groups for ads involving cycling.

Example: RadioShack

5. Avoid ad blindness by rotating ad images and copy often. This is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that Facebook users continue to see your ads among the plethora of other information thrown at them on every page. Different combinations of copy and eye catching imagery will work to help your ads standout from the crowd and continue to spur engagement.

Example: FIAT USA

6. Promote Facebook contests and campaigns with ads to help encourage increased engagement.This technique can help bring more Facebook users to enter your contents or interact with your other promotional campaigns on the network. This will increase the conversions you’re looking to achieve with this original campaign or promotion (like email sign-ups or more Fans) by echoing it through Facebook ads.

Example: Wicked Lasers

7. Similar to the suggestion to use social ads vs. traditional ads, use Like buttons on ads often. It’s super simple for someone to like something and why make them visit your Page to do so, when it can be done with the same effect on the ad they saw first.

Example: HTC Sensation 4G

Brought to you by Affinity Title, Fort Myers, FL - Your Short Sale Expert!  If you need help with your marketing, please don’t hesitate to contact us, we provide classes and one on one help!

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2. April 2012 by Kristian Alekov.

It happened again. Another email with absolutely no value for me [or any consumer really] from a real estate agent I don’t know and [judging from his marketing] no one else will either. His message of value? “Search The MLS Like A REALTOR®!”. Did you get the exclamation point? If not, here is another for you [!]. I shook my head – thinking WHHHHHY?. Here is why.

[inhale] Most consumers do not see any real benefit is searching this thing called “the MLS”, nor do they see any benefit of searching it like a REALTOR, or what it would be like to do so. Most have absolutely NO CLUE what an MLS is nor why they should see any value in one or its benefit to them. And best of all, most simply DON’T CARE [exhale]

So why do real estate agents [like the one that spammed me today] routinely talk about searching this mysterious thing called “the MLS”? I’m not knocking this agent, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of real estate people that include this little gem “Search the MLS like a REALTOR!” in their marketing. They obviously find value in saying it. My question is: WHY? Could they think it is a good Unique Selling Proposition? It’s NOT.

The Unique Selling Proposition

We [humans] often operate from a position of value. “What’s In It For Me?” Almost everything we do is tied to it – Value. This is what consumers want as well. Which means YOU need to come up with a STRONG Unique Selling Proposition. What makes you different? What is so special about you? What do you do different, better than any of your competitors? Why should a buyer, seller, investor, builder, FSBO choose you? This statement should speak to your value, why they would want to work with you. My Unique Selling Proposition Is: “I Help Real Estate Professionals Get Found On The Internet”. What is yours?

When you see my Unique Selling Proposition in an email, on a website, business card, on a postcard, billboard, shopping cart of flier you will likely make an instant determination, what is it? Do I need it or not? Is it of value? How is it different? How Is It Better? If you are a real estate professional and you want to attract more consumers from the Internet, that answer may be YES. If not, you will likely keep on your merry way.

Search the MLS like a REALTOR! is not a good Unique Selling Proposition, Value Proposition, Slogan, Tagline, hell, its just plain old bad marketing. Why? Well, first of all, what is “the MLS”? Second, what does it do? Third, What is its value to the consumer? Not to mention the fact that every REALTOR® and their mother [really, sometimes their mother too] has the same ability to allow a consumer to search the MLS like a REALTOR. There is certainly nothing purple cow about that now is there? [google it].

No More REALTOR® Jargon

MLS, CMA, Comps, LSR, LSU, SPDS, SQFT, REO, FSBO, Broker, ABR, CRS, GRI, IDX, E-PRO, HUD, HUD-1, CDPE, and others should be wiped from your real estate marketing vocabulary. Most consumers simply do not know what most of these abbreviations are, what they mean nor do they care. HUD is for Housing and Urban Development but when refernced in a real estate conversation it’s a Government Owned Foreclosure property. Could be confusing right?

So, to make a long story short, YES, consumers want to search for homes for sale on your real estate website, yes they will be using an IDX to do it. Yes, the property they find could be an REO, have the right SQFT, listed with the right BROKER, or with a sales agent that happens to be an ABR, CRS, GRI, E-PRO or CDPE and YES, at closing they will get a HUD-1 from their Florida Title Company.  While all of this may be true, most simply don’t care. They just want to search for homes for sale, not listings, they want to do it on a real estate website but not necessarily like a REALTOR does and they want lots of pictures and videos.

What Should You Do?

Sit down, and think. Get in the shoes of your ideal client, that one person or group of people you want to do business with. What would they find value in? Then come up with a good Unique Selling Proposition, one your competitors are not using, something that makes you stand out from the pack and speaks to your ability in a way a consumer in need of your product or service would understand, then – speak about it – in the consumers terms. Not yours. Want help?

Oh, and if you happen to come up with a good Unique Selling Proposition, be prepared to have it copied by your ompetitors. I know all about that one too…

Brought to you by Affinity Title, Fort Myers, FL - Your Short Sale Expert!  If you need help with your marketing, please don’t hesitate to contact us, we provide classes and one on one help!

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2. April 2012 by Kristian Alekov.

What is soooooo special about you?  This is a question even seasoned real estate professionals struggle to answer.   I work with real estate professionals day in and day out, helping them with their marketing.  Recently I have started asking agents I meet with this question, “what is so special about you?” “Why would I-the consumer-choose to work with you over one of the other 10,000 licensed real estate agents in the SW Florida area?”

It’s not a trick question, although you would think it was based on the body language that is displayed when the question is first posed.  Immediately, the arms get crossed, (defensive) and the “well” and “uh” comments start as they search for an answer.  These are the answers I typically get:

• I am a great real estate agent

• I keep my clients updated

• My clients love me

• I love my clients

• I provide great service
• I produce results

• I work for X broker

• I am one of the top agents in my office

• I have the top team in my company

• I’m an area expert

• Iv’e been in the business for X years

• I’m a Multi-Million Dollar Producer

• I have X and Y designations

The above answers may be true, but they are not tangible and in most cases not even measurable.  So, I take all the above away and I ask again, “What is so special about you, why would I choose to work with you?” Silence.  Crickets.

I ask this question not to stump or embarrass anyone but to discover an agents Unique Selling Proposition or USP.  USP is a term invented in the 1940′s by Rosser Reeves of Ted Bates & Company.  Wikipedia: “Rosser Reeves was a hugely successful American advertising executive and pioneer of television advertising. He believed the purpose of advertising is to sell”.  It was initially used for products but works for a service as well.  “Reeves believed

1. Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer. Not just words, not just product puffery, not just show-window advertising. Each advertisement must say to each reader: “Buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit.”
2. The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not, offer. It must be unique—either a uniqueness of the brand or a claim not otherwise made in that particular field of advertising.
3. The proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass millions, i.e., pull over new customers to your product.

From Wikipedia, Some good current examples of products with a clear USP are:

• Head & Shoulders: “You get rid of dandruff”
• Olay: “You get younger-looking skin”

Some unique propositions that were pioneers when they were introduced:

• Domino’s Pizza: “You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less — or it’s free.”
• FedEx: “When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight”
• M&M’s: “Melts in your mouth, not in your hand”
• Wonder Bread: “Wonder Bread Helps Build Strong Bodies 12 Ways”

That is essentially what I am asking. What do you think a potential client wants?  Yes, they may want a real estate agent that has the above qualities but I would submit to you that these are not benefits at all.  They are expectations.  If I was a client I would expect an agent to communicate regularly, I would expect my agent to produce a result, I would expect you to provide great service, I would expect market knowledge, I would expect you to work for a reputable company/broker.

So many agents lose a client because they sell expectations.  I expect my car to get me to work. Is that why I bought it? NO. I bought it because of its performance, safety record, amenities, Brand.  These are benefits.   Agents should sell BENEFITS, not EXPECTATIONS.  You want my business, and the thousands, maybe even millions of consumers just like me?  Tell me how you will make my life DRAMATICALLY better by working with you instead of someone else.

Will you:

1. LISTEN?
2. Discover my motivation?
3. identify my goals?
4. help prioritize and meet my needs?
5. find the right, home for me and my  family?
6. explain the best financing options?
7. educate me about the homebuying/selling process so I make good choices?
8. present ALL the choices, that meet my needs?
9. make me  the most money when selling?
10. save me time, money and aggravation when selling?

Once you develop a USP, tell the world! Put it everywhere.  Email, website, any consumer facing correspondence.  You will be surprised how developing a clear, concise and precise Unique Selling Proposition will differentiate you in your market.

Caution: It’s actually counter-productive and self destructive to adopt and use a USP if you cannot fulfill the promise you make.

So, what do you bring to the table?  What will set you apart from the masses? Why should a consumer choose you?

Brought to you by Affinity Title, Fort Myers, FL - Your Short Sale Expert!  If you need help with your marketing, please don’t hesitate to contact us, we provide classes and one on one help!

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29. March 2012 by Kristian Alekov.

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A challenge that is faced by most of the online marketers is – finding the right keywords. Since there are so many keyword research tools out there, both free and paid, the search for the right one can get overwhelming.

However, most of the aspiring web marketers fail to realize that there is a tool that can help them discover profitable keywords at no cost. That’s right – we’re talking about the Google AdWords Keyword Tool.

Even though this tool wasn’t specifically created to cater SEO marketers, it can be really be helpful in creating a strong keyword list. Here are five useful tips to help you get the most out of the Google AdWords Keyword Tool in terms of SEO.

#1: Start with Broad Search: If you want to get good results with the AdWords Tool, then make sure you begin your research with a ‘broad search’. Many commit the common mistake of using highly specific keywords for researching.

The smart way to use this tool is to drill down the broad results that you get for a keyword phrase. This can be done by using the synonym tool that gives you variations and suggestions for the keyword.

#2: Use the Filters Effectively: One of things that you need to focus on when doing keyword research is filtering out what you are interested in. You can do this by sorting the keywords in a descending order with the “Global Monthly Searches” filter.

This puts the keyword with the highest search volume at the top. Besides that, make sure you check “only show ideas closely related to search terms” – or else you will end up with an irrelevant list of keywords that don’t apply to your website.

#3: Analyze Frequently Targeted Keywords: People use various keywords to search online, so always keep in mind that your target audience will use other keywords to search for your site, besides your primary keyword.

The Google AdWords Keyword Tool allows you to search for keywords by entering your site’s URL as well. You can use this feature to find keywords that people are using to land on your website. Doing this you may come across keyword phrases that you didn’t consider before.

#4: Create Three Sets of Keyword Searches: Creating a keyword list that makes sense is important if you want to uncover golden nuggets from your research. By dividing your keywords into different groups, you will be able to add:

• The most competitive terms in the first group
• Keywords with mediocre competition in the second group
• The least competitive terms in the third group

This regrouping helps prioritize your keyword research goals and lets you focus on the best ones.

#5: Use Your Judgment: The search data that you gather using the AdWords Keyword Tool has its own flaws and isn’t very accurate. This is why you should use your own judgment and not completely depend on it. The tool gives you great clues about the keywords that you can target, but that’s about it.

So don’t just blindly follow the data that you get, use your common sense to understand what works and what doesn’t. Also, don’t just stick to one tool when doing keyword research. Go beyond and experiment with various tools in the market to get optimum results.

How often do you use the Google AdWords Keyword Tool for research? And how has it helped you research the right keywords? Do comment below and let us know your thoughts.

Brought to you by Affinity Title, Fort Myers, FL - Your Short Sale Expert!  We provide Marketing classes for Real Estate Agents, if you need to setup one for your office, please call our office at 239.300.7030

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27. March 2012 by Kristian Alekov.

If I was a REALTOR®, I would write this post. . . . to them, my competition.  

Pretty ballsy headline right? Never the less it is true. I am going to steal their business. I am a REALTOR® and “they” are my competition. I realize they are probably shaking their heads right now thinking “who the hell does this guy think he is saying he is going to steal my business!, He doesn’t even know me!” Well, let me say that I do – know them. Here is what I know about MOST real estate people and how I am going to –  steal their business.

My name is not important although it will soon be on the tip of your tongue. Not because we have met or even spoken face to face before but because I am not just stealing their business  ya know, I am an equal opportunity thief, I’m stealing business from every real estate agent in the Fort Myers area that insists on marketing themselves, the old way.

What I Know About Them

• They have a database of past clients
• They have not contacted them in some time
• They have a CMS program like WiseAgent, Top Producer, ACT
• They use it to send the same “canned” info their competitors do
• They market themselves
• That’s part of their problem
• They have a facebook page
• Their  ”friends” ignore them
• They believe designations are important
• They mean very little to the consumer
• They have a website
• They get NO leads from it, they don’t even know their your own keywords

How I am going to steal their business

While they are sitting open houses, calling expired listings, sending glossy sport schedules, dropping off pumpkins on Halloween, baking cookies on Christmas, writing personal notes, I am going to be:

Making videos that consumers not only will watch, but actively seek out in Google and YouTube when they need to gather information or solve a problem. Video’s on topics like

• The short sale process in Fort Myers
• The foreclosure process in Florida
• Buying a short sale in Florida
• Selling a short sale in Florida
• Do I qualify for a short sale in Florida
• Short Sale myths in Florida
• Buying an REO in Florida
• Avoiding the “F” word – Foreclosure
• Things to do in Florida
• Qualities of a good REALTOR
• Who pays real estate agents commission in Florida
• Market trends in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres, Naples, Bonita, Estero
• Neighborhood profile
• Subdivision profile
• City Profile: Fort Myers, Naples, Cape Coral, Estero
• State of Florida profile
• Employers in Fort Myers, Naples, Lehigh Acres, Cape Coral, Estero [starting to see a trend here?]
• Is now a good time to buy a home in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Lehigh Acres, Estero
• Stephen’s 5 best deals for investors [and why!]
• Stephen’s 5 best deals in  Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Lehigh Acres, Estero
• How to buy a home in the United States [For Canadiens]
• Canadien financing options
• Interviews with Real Estate Attorneys, Home Inspectors, Lenders etc
• Why you need title insurance
• What is title insurance anyway?
• What is an FHA Loan?
• HOA Profile
• My listings
• 10 things to consider when buying your first home
• 10 questions to ask before you hire your next REALTOR®, Lender etc..
• Client testimonials {Why say how GREAT I am when my past clients can right?}
• and in case you haven’t noticed yet, much much more

You see, while they are doing – what ever it is they do – I will be creating content that consumers actually seek out when they have a need. I will be creating this content in a medium most consumers enjoy and actually prefer – VIDEO. Even better, unlike Facebook Ads and Google Pay Per Click which costs money, video is FREE and can last forever. My videos will be delivering a steady flow of consumers that will find me at the exact moment they are in need of my services. Imagine that! I won’t be spamming people that barely know me with info they could care less about!

Another added benefit of my videos, that consumers want to see, that can deliver qualified traffic to my website forever – Google LOVES Video. While it may take days to get my latest blog post indexed in Google, my videos will be indexed almost immediately – because Google owns YouTube and judging from the 55% marketshare YouTube has over other video hosting sites, the 25 hours of video uploaded every minute, the 18 million hours of video that will be uploaded in 2011, the 3 BILLION video views per day, or that the average visitor spends over 15 minutes a day on YouTube, – I would say consumers love it too.

You see, buying or selling real estate is not only emotional, it’s VISUAL, while they are working hard to rank on the 1st page of a search engine for some obscure keyword no one would search for anyway “4 bedroom, 2 bath home for sale, Fort Myers dog included” I will be all over the 1st page of YouTube. Just waiting to be “Found” by their past and future clients.

So, if you are one of THEM, please continue doing – what ever it is you do and I will be over here – Stealing Your Business.

If you like to learn more about Marketing, please contact us for our FREE marketing classes at Affinity Title, Fort Myers, FL - Your Short Sale Expert!

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26. March 2012 by Kristian Alekov.

AFFINITY TITLE, Fort Myers, FL - Your Short Sale Expert!

NOW HIRING MARKETING REPS!

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26. March 2012 by Kristian Alekov.

Create Better Content

I love WordPress. I cannot say that enough. WordPress has changed my business in so many ways. Let’s see, uh – I get found online now, I can create content easily and efficiently, I can easily incorporate calls to action, I get more leads than I can often handle, I can manage my own website without the need of a designer, plugins make it possible to add functions to my website and there is so much more. One of my favorite plugins is called Statpress, a plugin for WordPress.

Consumer Behavior Has Changed

I help real estate agents get found online. This is where consumers are today. Sure, you can still door knock, mail postcards, print and distribute flyers, personalized magnets, bake homemade apple pies for your sphere of influence, advertise on billboards and grocery carts but these activities are becoming less and less effective while becoming more expensive. Did you know the cost of a First Class Stamp went up to .45 ? Yes sir, consumer behavior has changed.

Today over 94% of consumers start their home search online, it makes sense that this is where forward thinking REALTORS need to be. When it comes to getting found online by my ideal client [REALTORS, and CONSUMERS], content is king. Content = Information and Information = VALUE. Content is what consumers are looking for when they ask Google, Yahoo or Bing a question. “How long can I stay in my home after a foreclosure in Florida” is a search that shows up on my website quite a bit. The consumers that are finding me are coming from Google for that search. I know the exact term and where they are coming from because of the Statpress plugin for WordPress.

Statpress Plugin For WordPress

The Statpress plugin for WordPress allows me to create better content for my ideal client because I know the exact terms they are using to find me. For instance, if I see more searches for short sale in Florida or cold calling scripts for REALTORS on my website then I know I should probably create more content about these topics and link them to the article that is being read. Creating more content allows me to increase the likelihood that I will get found online. Creating the right content increases the likelyhood of conversions.

The Statpress plugin for WordPress has an easy to read overview section where I can easily see the activity on my website.

Statpress Plugin For WordPress Dashboard

Hello!

The Statpress for WordPress plugin also tells me:

• The Search Term [the exact term used]
• Visitors, Pageviews, Spiders and RSS feeds
• The Search Engine Used [Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask]
• The Page Viewed
• The Operating System Used [OS, Windows, Linux etc]
• The Browser Used [IE, Safari, Firefox etc]
• The Last Pages Viewed
• Spiders [I can see my website being crawled by Google’s Spiders!]
• Last Hits [I can tell if my readers are coming from Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Email, StumbleUpon etc]

Last Referrers

Facebook, YouTube, StumbleUpon and more

Browser and Operating System Used

Browser Used

Spiders

Spiders!

Visits

Visits

WordPress is awesome, the Statpress Plugin For WordPress makes it better. I find that the Statpress plugin helps me to create better content for my ideal client to help them find me online. Better content means more specific visitors, more specific visitors means visitors that are ready to make a decision. That decision? “I need a title person that can help me grow my real estate business”.

Are you a Florida Real Estate professional that would like help with your real estate marketing? I can help.

Brought to you by Affinity Title, Fort Myers, FL - your Short Sale Expert!  We provide training and tips for Real Estate agents in SW Florida, call for more info: 239.300.7030

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