Keep scrolling to view some of our favorite real estate websites we launched this summer! Click the company name or image to view the full live website.

Are you interested in building an award-winning real estate website or giving your current site a refresh? Contact us today to discuss your goals!

Brian Boardman Group | Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman
Vermont

Phyllis Browning Co. Real Estate | The Rivers Team
Texas

Roxanne York Real Estate
Maine

Bahamas Realty | Erin Gay-Surujlal
Bahamas

Josiah Allen Real Estate
Vermont

Pernille Carter | Howard Hanna
Virginia

The Real Estate Firm
Tennessee

Wade I. Treadway Real Estate LLC
Vermont

The post Recent Launches: Summer 2024 appeared first on Union Street Media.

Middlebury College, which I love dearly, had a terrible website in 1999. You couldn’t easily find anything you were looking for, from dinner menus to course registration. I had heard of the concept of a “for students, by students,” website at another school and felt that Middlebury should have one, too. Naturally, it would be called middkid.com (if one has the incredible privilege of attending Middlebury College, they’re known as a “Middkid”). 

I spent the summer of ‘99 living on campus working for the Middlebury College Admissions Office, leading tours, and doing interviews of prospective students. At my father’s suggestion, I wrote up a five-page outline of what would appear on Middkid.com and why the college needed a website like it. I scheduled a meeting with the then Provost of the College. He read the first page of my printed write-up on Middkid.com, skimmed the second, and didn’t even look at pages three, four, and five. With a flick of the wrist, he threw the paper on his desk, reached back to grab the college handbook, and said, “Let me tell you why you can’t do this.” The Provost had received “coal” from the Middlebury Campus editorial board on multiple occasions in their annual Faculty Christmas List, so I can’t say I was entirely surprised by his reaction.  

I left the meeting dejected, thinking my idea was dead, and called my father to report the news.  Au contraire! “Now you know why you want to be a businessman, not a bureaucrat,” he told me.  

I received similar encouragement from Michael Claudon, my economics professor, who had launched the Middlebury Entrepreneurs Club the previous year. Michael hosted an event with Vermont entrepreneurs, Lawrence Miller, then of Otter Creek Brewing, and Fred & Judi Danforth of Danforth Pewter. I left that meeting thinking I could start a company. 

There was one very big problem, though. I knew absolutely nothing about websites and the internet. As just one example, I did not even understand the concept of hosting, i.e., how a website went from “someone’s computer” to being seen by anyone worldwide. Shot down by the college, my business was about to fail and I hadn’t even started it yet.  

Enter Okomboli, as he was known at Middlebury College. The Vice President of the student body and one of the best rugby players on campus; he has a magnetic personality that brings up everyone around him. He worked at the computer help desk in Voter Hall at Middlebury –  which was one of the few air-conditioned buildings. During the Vermont winter, students learned to walk across campus by going through as many heated buildings as possible. I took a similar approach later during a hot August week and found him at the help desk. I shared with him my five-page printout on Middkid.com. He read it word for word, looked up at me, and said in his charming Kenyan accent, “Ted, we’ll have some fun with this.”

Oh was he right! We had a lot of fun with it –  in no small part because Middlebury College didn’t know what to do with us. It was 1999 and the world hadn’t really figured out how to handle the Internet.

At one point, the Middlebury College administration went to Okomboli to say he was, “linking to the college’s website without their permission” (a college handbook violation). They threatened to shut us down. We got out of that one by asking, “If Yahoo! is allowed to do so, why can’t we do it?”

We launched a business directory to help connect Middlebury students with the town. I would sell local businesses a profile, which was essentially an enhanced listing on Middkid.com for $140. I promised the first place I walked into, Green Peppers Pizza, that we would put their menu online so all the students could see it. Mark Perrin, the owner, said, “I’ll take two profiles.  One for my pizza restaurant and one for my goat farm.”  A few months later we had over two dozen businesses that “kept this site alive,” and $3,000 in revenue.

While we were regularly getting 10% of the student body checking the site daily, we went viral (before the word had an internet meaning) with the launch of our course evaluations.  

Course evaluations were one of the primary factors in determining if a faculty member got tenure at Middlebury. Each semester, students would complete handwritten course evaluations on the last day of class. Two students would walk the evaluations to Old Chapel where they were handed to the Dean of Academics (who supposedly read all 8,000 of them). They were then distributed to each department chair (who supposedly read all of them for their department) and they were then distributed to the professor (who supposedly read all of them). Who didn’t get to read any of the reviews? The Middlebury College students.

One of my professors, who was the tenured Chair of the Department, regularly showed up to class 10 to 15 minutes late. While this was common knowledge amongst students, the only person who might also have read about this was the Dean of Academics (if they got through all 8000 reviews). What happened when we put the course catalog on Middkid.com, let students write reviews, and let other students read them? We codified what was already word of mouth on campus. We also got an “invitation” to the Dean of Academics office where we found out they were talking to the Middlebury College lawyer about us. 

During my final January at Middlebury College (a magical one-month semester known as “J-Term”), I completed my thesis between the hours of 9 pm and 2 am in the library. The French Role in the Iraqi Crisis (of the early 90’s) earned me an A-. One of my two thesis advisors that year was up for tenure and seemed to show more interest in his reviews on Middkid.com than the 120 pages I wrote. How could I blame him? One document was a compilation of “12 ten-page papers,” and the other would have a massive impact on his life.   

After graduating, I attempted to take my real thesis on the road. We tried creating “for students, by students” websites at college campuses throughout the northeast (plus Davidson College in North Carolina, which my brother attended). The sites were supposed to be “kept alive” by the local business communities in each college town. I looked for one student who could do it all (sell local businesses, manage the site, and market it on campus).  

I found out pretty quickly that lightning can’t be caught in a bottle twice. It turned out that Middlebury, Vermont was the perfect-sized market – just enough businesses that students had choices and a small enough town that the businesses needed student dollars. As a founder, I was way more motivated than the students we recruited. Most of all, it was the very early 2000s and businesses needed websites of their own, not a web page on a college site geared toward students. So, we did what most companies do in their early years; we pivoted to building websites for anyone.

The story of how we got from pizza restaurant websites to being real estate’s most trusted digital marketing company is a story unto itself, just with fewer college hijinks. I’ll spare you the narrative. If you’ve gotten this far, you must love How I Built It stories or are probably related to me. Suffice it to say that I took to heart Bo Peabody’s ethos that entrepreneurship is about “making serendipity happen.”  

Looking back, it seems incredible to me that it actually worked out. There were so many times it could have ended differently. And, like most entrepreneurial ventures, Union Street Media was much more likely to fail than succeed. According to the Pew Research Center, only 15% of businesses make it to their 25th birthday. If you look at our total employees and revenue, the number of companies that reach the hattrick we have achieved is less than 1% (and I’ll share in future posts a few reasons why we did. Spoiler alert: the people). 

Still, it’s hard to believe that my “corporate child” is now 25. If Union Street Media was a human, it could now rent a car without paying an underage driver premium and this time next year, it would no longer be covered under my health insurance. After 26, there aren’t too many milestones where you get something that was previously inaccessible.

So, it’s worth taking a moment to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been part of the ride. Happy Birthday, Union Street Media!

The post Celebrating 25 Years of Union Street Media! appeared first on Union Street Media.

All of our websites are built leveraging powerful technology including our industry-leading Map Search, advanced technical SEO, real estate website best practices, and so much more so you can stand out online where it matters the most.

Keep scrolling to take a look at some of our favorite real estate websites we’ve launched this spring from longtime clients to new! You can click the company name or image to view the full site.

Interested in building an award-winning real estate website or giving yours a refresh? Contact us today to discuss your goals!

Harbor | Sotheby’s International Realty
Michigan

The Real McCoy Group
Delaware & Maryland

Jesse Allison Real Estate LTD. | Howard Hanna
Ohio

Matt Tate Properties
Colorado

Dwelling in Maine
Maine

Montebello Marketing, Inc. 
Virginia

Sandpiper Realty, Inc
Massachusetts

Are you interested in building a real estate website that’s designed to help your business grow? Connect with us today!

The post Recent Website Launches: Spring 2024 appeared first on Union Street Media.

One key benefit of Agent Sites is its seamless integration with the brokerage website. This means that the data on Agent Sites like contact information, photos, social media, and more is automatically updated whenever changes are made in the Agent Roster Manager. The same applies to specific content set up in the broker agent site template, ensuring that the consumer always sees the most up-to-date and accurate information. Plus, Agent Sites are fully integrated with our new Lead Management System, meaning that leads generated from Agent Sites are managed at the brokerage level and can be assigned directly to agents. 

More Agent Sites features include:

• Lead activity reporting including saved searches, viewed properties, and more from the parent site
• Consistent branding and UI/UX
• Includes IDX feeds
• Easy to activate & deactivate on an individual basis
• Agent leads are protected (if someone signs up on the agent site they are that agent’s lead)

On an Agent Site, the consumer experience has a consistent look and feel with the brokerage brand. And, agents can also personalize their pages and recommended searches on their sites, creating a unique and engaging experience for their clients. 

More benefits for agents include:

• Easily add more of their own pages and edit existing pages with Page Builder
• Testimonials automatically pull in from the Broker Dashboard
• Exclusive or Non-MLS listings automatically pull in directly from the Broker Dashboard
• Listing enhancements automatically pull in from the Broker Dashboard 

With Agent Sites, everyone benefits. Agents gain access to technology that boosts their business, and, when agents are happy and productive, it brings success to the brokerage. When brokerages are happy because they’re successful, Union Street Media wins, as we thrive on our client’s success.

I’m excited to see this solution our teams created together in the wild, in the hands of brokers and agents, so we can continue to iterate and improve as needs change. 

Interested in agent sites or looking to grow your business? Contact us today to discuss your goals.

The post Union Street Media’s New & Improved Agent Sites! appeared first on Union Street Media.

The judges – MAXA Designs, Benchmetrics, ListTrac, and Liveby – alongside T3 Sixty based their rankings on 28 different factors in usability, performance, and design. And, while one of the goals for these rankings was to name and recognize the best brokerage websites and their providers in the country, they were also an opportunity to provide insights gleaned from reviewing over 500 brokerage websites. 

Let’s dive into some insights from the T3 Sitxty Fusion Website Rankings: 

Simpler websites perform better

One of the most important factors in website performance is speed. Search engines, like Google, have always looked for sites with fast page speeds and a clear path to the most pertinent information. Real estate sites can quickly become bogged down with tons of features like real-time manipulation of the MLS, high-resolution photos, and overly designed widgets; while important, they tend to use up lots of processing power and bandwidth. At the same time, though, you need to create a memorable website with essential features so that people continue to return and recognize your brand (more on that later). Simpler websites often strike the perfect balance between art and science, with a well-thought-out design and engaging features that load quickly so users can easily find the information they’re looking for. The faster and easier it is to use a website, the better it will perform in search engines.

The real estate industry continues to design websites desktop-first

We all know most people will view your site on mobile. This might sound like no duh, but the overly ambitious widgets, maps, and visuals are usually viewed in the production process by developers and clients on a desktop. We spend a lot of time perfecting these widgets on the desktop only to have them minimized, mitigated, or simply left off on the mobile version of the site.

Designing for mobile-first also means using shared and learned language of how to interact with our sites. People are often on their phones in their day to day, so there is a lot of learned interaction we can pull on with how we layout a website and layout our widgets. An easier and faster experience is easy to craft when we look at what is already working on mobile. For example, instead of having arrows to navigate slideshows on mobile, we’ll just allow users to swipe through the images. This lets them have a fast and quick positive interaction that eventually is associated with the site and the brand. At Union Street Media, 60% of all our client traffic comes from mobile devices, and we continue to make improvements that take into consideration a user’s mobile experience.

A positive correlation exists between the engagement time and engagement rate

To increase time on site (engagement time) we need to provide meaningful content to users. Meaningful content and properly curated listings give users an insider look at the different options in your specific market. At Union Street Media, we found that recommended searches with links to community information, stats, demographics, and blog posts are relevant information and will increase time on site. And the more time they’re spending on site, the higher the chance they will engage. It’s not just the communities that they’re looking for either!

A recent study by 1000 Watt and T3Sixty, found that there’s a difference in perception between what agents and brokers think buyers value and what they actually value. The study showed that while agents feel their job is to find a house, buyers value an agent’s ability to navigate the transaction, provide advisement, and make sure the transaction is ultimately successful. Focusing on education about the buyer journey with content on your website is a great way to increase session time and, as a result, engagement.

63% of the sites received four or fewer points in the T3 Fusion Ranking for their memorability

More than half of the sites lacked differentiation to help with brand recall. This speaks to how strong your design effectively presents your brand. Are you using the colors, themes, content, and messaging that conjure your brand? Is it consistent with all other marketing efforts? Are you designing your site to keep the brand top of mind and easy to identify throughout the site? Branding is all about building trust; visitors want to understand who they’re getting this information from.

And, here’s the ugly honest truth about our industry: it’s easier to make sites that look the same. It allows for scalability and quick turnaround – those are good things! We want sites to be ready quickly to capitalize on current market conditions and be informed by insights gained from hundreds of sites and millions of visitors. At the end of the day, though, it’s important to understand that scalability can limit design, which impacts your memorability. Though 90% of buyers surveyed said they would use their past agent, only 13% did. Your site should indicate your brand, differentiate your value proposition, and get people to recall and return to your site as that trusted source.

Accessibility is still lacking on many real estate websites

Accessibility continues to be an important concentration for us at Union Street Media. When building our award-winning real estate websites, we pay close attention to ADA guidelines and ensure your site is scannable and readable by a screen reader. This involves ensuring your website is navigable by keyboard, descriptive text is included for all images, colors are high contrast, and fonts are of legible size and weight. This allows any users with disabilities to access the same information and data on our websites as well as any users without impairments. 

Year after year, our Union Street Media websites are recognized for striking the balance between art and science. We continue to collaborate with our clients to showcase their brand and keep visitors engaged. 

Looking for an award-winning website that helps you stand out online? Reach out so we can help sculpt your vision into a site that drives value for you and your clients. Who knows – you might just be in the T3 Fusion Website Rankings next year!

Take a look at all of our T3 Fusion finalists here! 

The post What Makes an Award-Winning Real Estate Website? appeared first on Union Street Media.

Travis Saxton, Michael Phelan, and Stephanie Reid-Simons of T3 Sixty hosted the segment, first setting the stage by talking through the 28 factors that went into deciding the finalists for the awards. These weren’t simply design awards – the rankings recognized website design, functionality, and performance across the residential real estate sector with 500 websites evaluated on these criteria.

Here’s what each criteria entails: 

• Usability (55%) – Evaluates several universal usability and engagement analytics while confirming content building blocks, including neighborhood, property detail, and agent profile.
• Design (30%) –  Assesses the website across six design criteria, including its general aesthetic appeal, readability, and ability to differentiate itself. 
• Performance (15%) – Uses several website characteristics to assess technical performance across desktop and mobile environments.

During the presentation, T3 Sixty pointed out a few things that stood out to them among all the websites they reviewed: 

1. The industry still isn’t designing for mobile first 
2. Longer engagement means higher engagement
3. Overly designed sites don’t perform as well for overall usability and performance

Union Street Media took home 7 of the 16 awards – the most of any vendor by far! Here’s the breakdown of our finalists: 

Northeast

Century 21 Farm & Forest

Hammond Residential Real Estate

Sunset Lakes Real Estate

Southeast

Cashiers Valley Real Estate

Midwest

Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty

Phyllis Browning Company

West Coast

Century 21 North Homes Realty

Congratulations to all the finalists! 

Year after year, Union Street Media has proven itself as an award-winning, best-in-class real estate website developer. We’ve now won numerous awards in the last few years with RealTrends and now T3 Sixty’s Fusion Awards. Union Street Media was also recently awarded Best Design by Leading Real Estate Companies of the World for Wallace Real Estate’s website and Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty through Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate. 

If you’re looking to build an award-winning real estate website that not only looks beautiful but performs great, too, reach out! 

Learn more about what makes an award-winning real estate website!

The post Union Street Media Wins the Most T3 Fusion Awards! appeared first on Union Street Media.

The real estate industry has seen its fair share of changes throughout history and we’ve always had the best interest of our clients in mind. For the past 25 years, Union Street Media has given brokerages, teams, and agents a powerful platform that’s designed with their business’s specific goals; we’re looking forward to continuing to serve all of our clients with thoughtfulness and responsiveness. 

Like so many others in the industry, we’re interested to see the settlement’s impact. As it stands, the new ways of doing business in real estate will probably enter into a more consumer-centric style of serving the community. This will require you to create a stronger value proposition for buyer representations, showing value in the representation that buyers receive for the largest purchase of their lives. 

Buyers will – more than ever – need your agent’s help navigating the transaction to make sure they’re getting the best possible outcome. Buyer representation agreements will be important going forward. Positioning yourselves as a valuable resource and expert in the home buying and selling process with content on your website will be key. Doing so will help ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve in whatever form that takes in the future. 

We look forward to navigating these changes together – please reach out and give us your thoughts and ideas so we can better understand the unique challenges and opportunities that these changes will bring to your specific area. Our developers, engineers, support, and customer success teams are listening and will continue to help you achieve your business goals.

The post Navigating the NAR Settlement appeared first on Union Street Media.

All of our websites include integrated IDX, our industry-leading Map Search, leverage advanced technical SEO, and are mobile responsive, ensuring that each site looks and functions its best, no matter how someone chooses to view it. From brokerages to agents, new clients to current ones, we’ve loved getting to work together to launch these beautiful websites for real estate. Scroll down to discover some of our favorite websites that we launched this past winter.

Looking for a new website, a refreshed design, or a digital marketing strategy for real estate tailored to help you grow your business? Connect with us today!

Tracy Marx | Howard Hanna
Ohio

Coldwell Banker Mason Morse
Colorado

Benchmark Realty, LLC
Tennessee & Kentucky

Selling Bahamas Team | Realty ONE Group
Bahamas

Paragon REALTORS
Texas

WH Realty Company
Colorado

TBT Homes
Florida

CJ Valley Living | Ashton Realty Group
Massachusetts

The post Recent Website Launches: Winter 2024 appeared first on Union Street Media.

Union Street Media has once again joined forces with Follow Up Boss, a leader in customer relationship management (CRM) systems, to bring a more powerful, feature-rich integration to the real estate industry. Building on the success of our previous integration, this latest version is meticulously crafted to bridge USM websites and the FUB CRM system even more seamlessly, ensuring unparalleled efficiency in lead management from the initial contact to the successful closing of deals.

And, we wanted to share some highlights with you! 

Key Features of our Follow Up Boss integration:

• Enhanced Activity Logging: Capture comprehensive data on buyer and seller lead activities, automatically sending this valuable information directly to FUB.
• Two-Way Integration: Effortlessly sync lead contact information, agent assignments, and more between USM and FUB for cohesive data management.
• Automated Tagging: Enable trigger-based automations in FUB with strategically sent tags, optimizing your follow-up strategies.
• Embedded App in FUB: Directly create USM saved searches within FUB, enhancing the efficiency of your lead targeting process.
• Event-Based Lead Data Transfer: Including essential interactions like lead creation, property favorites, search criteria, inquiries, and more.

Benefits of Integrating with Follow Up Boss:

• Streamlined Lead Management: Say goodbye to manual data entry and the risk of errors. The automatic transfer and updating of lead data ensure a smooth and reliable lead management process.
• Enhanced Lead Nurturing: Leverage detailed lead activity and preferences for targeted follow-up strategies, significantly improving lead engagement and conversion.
• Increased ROI: Maximize the value of leads generated through USM websites with more effective conversion strategies, directly impacting your bottom line.
• Customizability: Tailor the integration to meet your unique business needs, ensuring a perfect fit for every client.
• Comprehensive Data Capture: Track every interaction from initial website engagement to ongoing CRM activities, utilizing this data for strategic follow-ups and lead nurturing.

In the highly competitive and digital-centric real estate market, effectively capturing and nurturing online leads is more crucial than ever. Prospective buyers and sellers often start their journey online, and it’s essential for real estate professionals to not only capture these leads but to nurture them effectively until they are ready to convert. 

Our new Follow Up Boss integration meets this market need head-on, offering a seamless connection between your real estate company’s website and your CRM system! This ensures no lead is lost and every opportunity is maximized for engagement and conversion.

The post New & Improved Integration with Follow Up Boss! appeared first on Union Street Media.

Can you tell based on your website and digital marketing spend, how many leads came in from your website or from online marketing campaigns that ended up at a closing table as either a buyer or a seller?

We recently calculated this for a large client that we’ve worked with for a number of years, and they gave us permission to share the data anonymously.

We connected all of the people that signed up on their website at some point in time who eventually ended up buying or selling a home with them in 2023 by matching email addresses.

And, as my cross country coach in high school liked to say, “the clock doesn’t lie,” so… here are the results:

• They had $116,000,000 in total transactions in 2023 from leads that had signed up on their website at some point in the past!
• 6.2% of the leads in Accelerator, our website platform, bought or sold a home with them in 2023.
• The average duration from lead to close was 355 days.

What was most interesting to us was the duration from lead inception to close.

One of the smarter people I’ve met in the real estate industry likes to say, “People don’t go on the Internet and do things with no intention of ever taking action.” At some point in time, they take action. 

This client has invested in SEO with us over the years and, as a result, the site is now a search engine piranha regularly ranking for long-tail SEO phrases in their market. Organic presence brings visitors to their website. Visitors become leads. Leads become clients. In the end, the math looks really good.

Often, we’re asked about the ROI of SEO. And we always say that it’s a long game. 

A well-optimized real estate website is the gift that keeps on giving. It’s a valuable digital asset that generates leads when you own the asset and then is highly marketable when you are looking to sell your business.

If you’re looking to be a real estate agent for a year or two and then move on to something else, SEO might not be right for you. However, if you’re building a career in real estate and want to develop something that will have a huge impact on your lead generation strategy over time, reach out!

The post Playing The Long Game appeared first on Union Street Media.

While the explicit impact on the real estate industry remains to be seen (stay tuned for more updates!), this new ruling got us thinking about the benefits of generating your own real estate leads and prioritizing consumer consent.

Lead Generation

With these FCC changes, selling consumer information to multiple places will be against the rules –  meaning that a lead can’t be shared amongst multiple agencies. 

At Union Street Media, we’ve always believed in the importance of owning your own leads. When a lead is generated for one of our clients, whether that’s through paid advertising or organically, the lead can only be viewed in the backend of our platform or from within the client’s integrated CRM. 

How We Help Our Client’s Generate Their Own Leads

• Facebook Lead Generation
• Forced Registration
• Call Ads
• Optimized Content
• Local Services Ads
• and more!

Consumer Consent

The FCC’s new rules also stress the importance of explicit one-to-one consent. Companies will need to get explicit consent from every user on their website on whether they are allowed to contact them via phone call or text message, as opposed to using general consent forms.  Moreover, consent only applies to the originally expressed interest, meaning that the purpose of contacting a user must align with the reason they reached out in the first place. 

Our Union Street Media websites make it easy and clear for users to opt-in to communications. We also regularly update our privacy policies to ensure we are transparent with users on how their data is used and shared. 

Any of our classic paid advertising campaigns bring the user to our client’s site where they can review a privacy policy. For example, with Facebook lead generation, a user submits a series of answers and is presented with links to both our client’s privacy policy and the Facebook privacy policy before they give final consent to submit. 

Real and genuine relationships are a cornerstone of real estate and these changes to the FCC rules solidify the importance of that more than ever. In 2024 we’ll continue to see protections being rolled out for consumer privacy. We’re making changes to our platform regularly to ensure we are staying ahead of the curve when it comes to tracking user data so that our clients don’t need to stress when rules change in the real estate industry. 

Looking to elevate your real estate digital marketing strategy? Contact us today! 

The post How New FCC Order Impacts Lead Generation appeared first on Union Street Media.

Check out some of the real estate websites we launched over this past fall below! Click the company name to view the full site.

Are you interested in building a new website or want specific recommendations to grow your business online? Reach out to us today!

Corcoran CA Christie Bahamas
The Bahamas

Jordan Real Estate
Massachusetts

CENTURY 21 AllPoints | CENTURY 21 Blue Marlin Pelican
Connecticut & Florida

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate | The Masiello Group
Northern New England

Equine Homes Real Estate
New England & Florida

Locations Real Estate Group
Maine

City Central Realty LLC
Massachusetts

Valley Fine Homes at Berkshire Hathaway
New England Properties
Connecticut & Vermont

The post Recent Website Launches: Fall 2023 appeared first on Union Street Media.

When things get slow, there are essentially two schools of thought: first is to shut down the factory and send everyone home. Often, that’s the economically prudent choice. No one wants to be producing widgets if people are not out there to buy them.

The second is that the slowdown is an opportunity. You use the time to re-tool the factory. Upgrade your assembly line and your process. Make your widgets even better so that you can step ahead of the pack when things do come back.

I’ve always looked at slowdowns as the corner of the racetrack. It’s the time to accelerate and pull ahead. I’m proud to say that that’s the approach the Union Street Media took this past year.

Over the past 12 months, our team has deployed more new software than in many previous years. A combination of an excellent team of veteran engineers, phenomenal product leadership, digital marketing experts, and a great group of beta testers has brought forth upgrades to Accelerator — our platform — that we’ve wanted to do for a long time and deployed new digital strategies to help our client’s businesses grow.

A few of our highlights include:

• Call Ads
• Local Services Ads
• Our new Map Search
• Forced registration strategies that produced a 425% increase in leads
• A total overhaul of the user interface of Accelerator. It looks a lot better in blue!
• Deep integrations with several CRMs including Follow Up Boss, Cloze, and more.
• A new page builder (coming soon to a website near you) that will empower clients to modify the vast majority of the content deep within a website
• Real-time New Listing Notifications
• Our new Lead Management System
• An integration with Local Logic

And lots of simple yet impactful additions, such as

• Google single sign-on for user registrations
• “Guess who’s back” lead activity notifications
• The ability to create custom ads on your real estate website to promote mortgage brokers, lawyers, and other members of your sphere of influence

As an entrepreneur, you have to be an optimist. Part of what I love about working with real estate brokers is that you’re all entrepreneurs. To paraphrase Neil Young, although the meaning of the song was much different, we are looking forward to “24 and so much more”!

Most of all, we are looking forward to doing it together.

Have a wonderful holiday break and Happy New Year!

The post A Year in Review: 2023 appeared first on Union Street Media.

Why This System Is a Game-Changer

Imagine a tool that simplifies lead distribution and offers real-time activity tracking and seamless CRM integration. Our Lead Management System is tailored specifically for real estate and is designed to elevate your business to new heights. Here’s how:

1. Boosted Agent Efficiency

No more manual sorting or guesswork. The system’s intuitive design and powerful functionalities ensure that your agents spend less time on administrative tasks and more on what they do best – selling homes.

2. Enhanced Lead Quality

By leveraging advanced sorting and filtering capabilities, agents receive leads that align perfectly with their expertise and location, improving the chances of conversion.

3. Simplified Lead Management

From a mobile-friendly Accelerator+ Lead Dashboard to real-time alerts, managing leads has never been more straightforward and effective.

Key Features That Stand Out

Accelerator+ Lead Dashboard

Access your leads on the go with a mobile-friendly interface. The dashboard allows for comprehensive lead management, including tagging, archiving, and updating status.

Lead Activity Alerts

Stay ahead of the game with real-time notifications. Whether it’s a lead revisiting your site or taking significant actions, you’re instantly informed via email or SMS.

Real-Time Progress Tracking

Monitor lead progression in real time. Keep an eye on lead nurturing and movement toward sales, with detailed reports and updates directly in your inbox.

Seamless CRM Integration – Enhanced for 2024 and Beyond

Our system takes CRM integration to the next level. We offer two-way integrations with popular platforms like Follow Up Boss and Cloze, as well as support for any CRM that accommodates Email Parsing. This means your leads flow smoothly between your website and your CRM, ensuring a cohesive and efficient management process. And there’s more on the horizon – we’re committed to developing additional robust CRM integrations throughout 2024, further enhancing the versatility and effectiveness of our system. Are you excited to integrate? Let us know what CRM you’d like us to add next! 

Customizable Lead Routing

Tailor lead distribution based on your company’s unique needs. Route leads based on agent expertise, location, and availability, ensuring the right match every time.

Our Lead Management System isn’t just a tool; it’s a strategic partner in your real estate journey. By improving agent efficiency, enhancing lead quality, and simplifying management processes, this system is set to revolutionize the way you handle real estate leads. Get ready to close more deals, grow your business, and manage leads like a pro!

Watch the video below by Lally Boright, our Product Manager and see what our new Lead Management System can do.

The post Revolutionizing Lead Management for Real Estate appeared first on Union Street Media.

Keep reading to discover which 2023 trends will continue in 2024 and what new trends will gain momentum next year.

7 Digital Marketing Trends for Real Estate in 2024

1. Chatbots
2. Artificial Intelligence
3. Personalization
4. Social Media as a Search Engine
5. Backlinking
6. Local SEO
7. Mobile-First

Chatbots 

By now, you’ve probably heard all about chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI). Since debuting in the 1960s, chatbots experienced a major uptick in popularity thanks to more developments in AI over the past few years. These new chatbots emerged as powerful tools, revolutionizing how businesses, brands, and people engage with their audience through having real-time conversations with website users.

In the real estate industry, more chatbots are appearing on websites since this tool can stand in for you or your team during off hours and answer questions, get lead information, enhance user experience, book appointments, and more. Plus, with 68% of users enjoying the speed at which chatbots can answer their questions, real estate professionals can spend more time in other areas of their business while the chatbot works for them.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Other forms of AI have also been making news in the past couple of years, not just chatbots. Thanks to advancements in AI, you can now enhance your marketing automation like never before. AI for real estate can streamline your customer management, content creation, email marketing, lead nurturing, social media, and more with a variety of platforms and tools available. With countless possibilities, AI gives you the opportunity to leverage it how you need specifically for your business.

Personalization

Although this trend isn’t necessarily new, it keeps emerging repeatedly, particularly due to the widespread use of automation in digital strategies with AI. By incorporating personalization in your digital marketing strategy for real estate, you can deliver targeted content, recommendations, and messages, creating more meaningful and relevant interactions between you and your audience. Because the real estate industry is so relationship-focused, this strategy enhances user engagement but also fosters a sense of connection and loyalty.

Not only can you leverage personalization with your current and former clients, but with potential customers as well. The ability to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time increases conversion rates and establishes your business as client-focused, attuned to the unique tastes and preferences of your audience.

Social media as a search engine

Over the years, social media has transcended its role as a mere platform for connecting with friends and sharing personal updates with the public – it’s evolved into a powerful search engine in its own right with 31% of people preferring to use social media platforms to search instead of a regular search engine. As people explore information, services, and properties on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, real estate companies have begun to optimize their profiles on social media. This includes things like ensuring brand consistency across all platforms, leveraging relevant hashtags, incorporating chapters in YouTube videos, linking back to your real estate website, and more.

Backlinking

Backlinking has been a fundamental pillar for enhancing a website’s visibility and credibility for years. Simply put, backlinks are incoming links from external websites (including social media sites like LinkedIn) to your own, where one website “vouches” for your website’s quality and relevance. As a result, a well-curated backlink strategy can significantly impact your real estate website’s search engine rankings, driving organic traffic, and boosting your overall online reputation.

Backlinking for real estate can take several forms – sharing listings, blog posts, and similar content on your other agent/brokerage websites or social media. If you work with vendors, ask them to link to your website (like having a logo on site that shows you work together and links back to your website). Or, find some local online newspaper or blog that you can do a guest post on and link back to your site.

Local SEO 

At Union Street Media, we’re champions of local content, and for good reason – as prospective homebuyers and sellers turn to the internet to explore property options and market data, the significance of appearing in local search results with relevant content cannot be overstated. Implementing local SEO strategies ensures that your real estate business appears when potential clients search for properties, services, or data in specific regions, neighborhoods, or cities.

Optimizing for local search involves crafting your website content (blogs, landing pages, etc.), leveraging location-based keywords, and maintaining consistent business information across online platforms to enhance your online presence and build trust as a local expert.

One of the most prominent tools to help build your local SEO for real estate is your Google Business Profile. With an optimized Google Business Profile for real estate, your business will appear higher on the search engine results pages (SERPs) for those who are looking for real estate services in their desired area. Plus, with reviews, business hours, contact information, images, and more, prospective clients can easily get to know you and reach out.

Mobile-first 

Prioritizing mobile user experience has continued to grow in popularity, as more and more people are connecting, engaging, and searching on the go. With an ever-growing number of users accessing the internet through smartphones and tablets, a mobile-friendly website isn’t just a feature—it’s a necessity.

Mobile responsiveness caters to the preferences of an on-the-go audience but is also a crucial factor in search engine rankings. Search engines like Google prioritize mobile-friendly websites, making them more likely to appear in search results and higher up on the page, too.

Beyond SEO, a mobile-friendly user experience enhances overall accessibility, ensuring that visitors can easily navigate and engage with your content on screens of all sizes. Whether it’s content consumption or lead generation, a seamless mobile experience is key to boosting your real estate website’s SEO and driving more leads.

Looking for a partner who understands digital marketing for real estate? Connect with us today for tailored recommendations to help grow your business!

The post Real Estate Digital Marketing Trends in 2024 appeared first on Union Street Media.

I remember walking across campus blanketed under a fresh coat of snow, looking up at the moonlit sky, and thinking, “I live here.”

Sitting in a shell on Lake Dunmore and watching the steam come off of the water on a crisp fall morning, was another “I live here” moment. They became frequent enough – which is what happens when you row at 5am – that we started to call them John Denver mornings.

And then there are times that I got out of the lake after a beautiful swim, and looked across at the Adirondacks and thought wow, “I live here.”

The “I live here moment” is a momentary pause. A recognition of thanks and appreciation for being in a special place or participating in an activity with family or friends that is especially meaningful.

At this time of year, people often stop to reflect and give thanks. It’s so important to do so. When you look across the world and you see some of the challenges we collectively face, you realize how much there is for us to be thankful for.

Thinking back on this year, I am thankful for the micro-moments. The client who gave us the opportunity to grow their business in a very challenging market. The teammate that went above and beyond to help a colleague. The recognition we have received from our work, whether it was a thank you phone call that only one of us heard or industry-wide recognition that was celebrated broadly. As Union Street Media approaches our 25th year there are more “I (work) here” moments than one can count.

While we are always thankful for the big things that are often cited, this year I am grateful for the small ones as well. Collectively they are wonderful too.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

The post Giving Thanks for Moments Big and Small appeared first on Union Street Media.

Over the years, we spent time at Union Street Media ensuring we can integrate with the best products and services in our industry. And, when it comes to a flexible CRM, Cloze is at the top – which is why we’re so excited to announce our new partnership and integration with them!

Whether you need a better solution for contact management, marketing automation, or lead management and want to uplevel your current tools with powerful AI, they’ve got you covered. 

We met Alex Coté, Dan Foody, and the team from Cloze years ago through T3 Sixty who raved about Cloze. Why? Cloze is mobile-first; it was designed with a mobile UX in mind! It also works with most other apps you use today to automatically track and organize all your client communication, files, and notes from social media, email, and more. 

Cloze tracks your calls and texts with your existing number, working with most email and calendar platforms so you don’t need to change your workflow to accommodate Cloze, which we love. Just like at Union Street Media, this system works around you so you don’t have to work around the software – no more endless data entry; they’re already bringing in all communication into the CRM automatically.

Another area Cloze shines in is helping to nurture the relationships you already have. They know that your business depends on your sphere of influence. In a recent study by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), only one in four agents pointed to customer relationship management (CRM) as being a top source of quality leads, despite more than 80% of buyers and sellers coming from repeat clients and referrals. 

“Cloze excels in empowering real estate relationships.” – Inman

With our new partnership with Cloze, we now offer an integration that sends all the necessary information right from your Union Street Media website to your Cloze account. Through the integration, buyer and seller leads (and their activity) are automatically sent to Cloze for nurturing and routing, increasing the value of a lead generated by our beautiful real estate websites and increasing your ROI.

Are you ready for a smarter way to manage your leads or looking for a beautifully designed and powerfully built real estate website? Connect with us today! 

The post Union Street Media Partners with Cloze! appeared first on Union Street Media.

I first got into digital marketing in my early 20s; I found it fascinating how the “offline world,” was impacted by the online world – which now almost sounds quaint to say. We were able to communicate this crazy thing called the Internet to real estate brokers who knew that it was going to impact their business. Many of those brokers are still clients today. 

Fast forward almost 25 years later and we’re still testing, experimenting, and tinkering with what we do every day to try to make it more successful for you, our clients. And, we’re excited to share the results of an experiment we ran this past summer deploying forced registration on our real estate websites with our new Map Search.  

We tested a number of different ways in which we could require site visitors to provide their name, email address, and/or phone number in order to see more information about listings. When creating this test, we had to balance not alienating site visitors (so they left too soon) and also asking for their contact information soon enough so that we were able to get it before they moved off of our client’s websites.

The results were fascinating!

Let’s start with the baseline: our new Map Search is industry-leading and provides a really solid user experience. It keeps buyers and sellers on our client’s sites longer and helps them conduct more searches. (See our new Map Search in action!)

With the new Map Search, we can use both encouraged and forced registration. Encouraged registration is a pop-up that suggests to the user they register with our client’s website while forced registration requires a user to register with our client’s website in order to see more information.

What we found was that encouraged registration didn’t generate enough leads. Website visitors could simply X out of the encouraged registration request and continue to look at more properties.

With forced registration, we experimented with the best time to deploy the pop-up. Our testing helped us determine that it was best to let website visitors run a search. We put a lot of effort into getting visitors to our clients’ sites and the last thing we wanted to do was to send them away too quickly.

We began placing forced registration pop-ups when a user wanted to see the property detail view page about a specific home for sale. At that point, they had engaged with a site, ran a search, and wanted to get more information about a home. Because we felt like we were handing over something of value to the users, we thought they might be willing to hand over something of value to our clients, i.e. their name, email address, and/or phone number.

During the testing period, we put websites into three groups. We tried popping up the forced registration after the 1st, 3rd, and 5th property detail view requests and ran these experiments across a statistically significant number of websites in different markets.

Here are the results:

• 425% increase in user registrations on websites with forced registration popping up after the user tried to click on the 1st property detail view 
• 213% increase in user registrations on websites with forced registration popping up after the user tried to click on the 3rd property detail view 
• 159% increase in user registrations on websites with forced registration popping up after the user tried to click on the 5th property detail view

As my cross-country coach said in high school “The clock doesn’t lie.” We believe in data. Forced registration works and has the biggest net impact on our total number of conversions by placing it after the user tries to click on the first property detail view and is now our recommended setting for our websites with the new Map Search.

Do you want 425% more leads? Please contact us using the form below and we’ll make it happen!

The post 425% More Leads: How We Did It appeared first on Union Street Media.

Here at Union Street Media, we strive to provide our clients with the hyper-local content that people want when searching for their new home or community. By highlighting hyper-local content on our websites, we help our clients stand out online with in-depth details that most big brokerage online storefronts don’t have.  

We’re so thrilled to share that we’ve partnered with Local Logic! Now, you can enhance your local knowledge on your website with neighborhood data and detailed insights with an intuitive interface. Plus, you can create cohesive branding by adjusting the colors to match the rest of your website. 

Using the Local Demographics tool, you can view several different location scores such as a neighborhood’s population age, commute time, income stats, and more. 

With the Local Content tool, you can display an overview of the characteristics that matter most to the buyers or renters so they can get a detailed picture of what the lifestyle of an area encompasses.

If you’re looking to take your local knowledge to the next level, contact us today to learn more about adding Local Logic’s powerful insights on a Union Street Media website!

The post Union Street Media Partners with Local Logic! appeared first on Union Street Media.

Call ads are a unique marketing tool with powerful benefits, one being an immediate connection to your prospects. Google’s Call Ads allow your business to show up in valuable searches on mobile devices with ads that encourage potential clients to click and call you with a single tap.

How do Call Ads Work?

What are the Benefits of Using Call Ads for Real Estate?

While it’s ideal to engage with customers through their entire purchase funnel, sometimes your budget can only stretch so far with advertising. Pay-per-click ads can get expensive, but when the click is a call, you’re putting your money in the right place! 

Call ads strategically focus budget on generating calls by placing ads at the right time in front of the right people on their mobile devices – when they’re most likely to act. With call ads, you’ll get connected with potential customers with higher intent quickly.

Even though phone calls are pretty far down the funnel; they give key insights into where the potential customer falls in the purchase funnel. Think about it… when was the last time you made a phone call for something you were not really interested in purchasing? Now compare that to the last time you did a general search or sent an email to “get more information.” If you’re picking up the phone, it’s a higher intent engagement.

What the data shows

Let’s face it, you’re busy. You’re probably not going to be able to take every phone call that comes in from an ad. However, once you have someone’s phone number, you can always call them back!

Want to learn more about call ads for your real estate business? Reach out to us today!

The post How to Use Google’s Call Ads for Real Estate appeared first on Union Street Media.

Take a look at some of the real estate websites we launched over the summer below! You can click the company name or image to view the full site.

Are you interested in getting a new real estate website? Reach out to us today!

Funkhouser Real Estate Group
Virginia

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices | Warren Residential
Massachusetts

Mosaic Community Lifestyle Realty
North Carolina

Meservier & Associates
Maine

Active Adults Realty®
Delaware

Keller Williams Evolution Realty
Maine, New Hampshire, & Massachusetts

RF Properties
Alabama

Coldwell Banker Community Realtors | Wanda Mooney
Massachusetts

The post Recent Website Launches: Summer 2023 appeared first on Union Street Media.

And, with competition so high online (and offline) finding ways to stand out is essential for attracting more business. Over the past several years, local services ads have become quite popular in many industries – real estate included. 

Keep reading to learn more about local services ads and how you can leverage them to create an effective digital marketing strategy for real estate.

So, what are local services ads?

Local services ads work with a budget that you set for your business; you can adjust how much you spend or pause the ads whenever you need to. They also put your face and company at the top of local searches (even higher than traditional PPC ads!), can target specific towns and counties, and you can choose when to run your ads so you don’t let hot leads go cold in your voicemail inbox!

What are the benefits of local services ads for real estate?

1. More Visibility Online
2. Stand Out as a Local Expert
3. Attract Quality Leads
4. Get Connected with Leads Fast
5. Only Pay Per Lead

More visibility online

Because local services ads appear higher up on search engine results pages (SERPs) than pay-per-click (PPC) ads, people searching for services in your area will see you/your company first. 

Stand out as a local expert

With these ads, you can also stand out online with the Google Screened badge which tells people searching that Google has verified your background and backs your real estate expertise. 

Attract quality leads

Local services ads allow you to target specific towns and counties so you can hyper-focus on your priority markets and get in front of more people in specific areas. You can also choose your job types to ensure you’re only bidding on relevant real estate-related searches to find your ideal customers. 

Get connected with leads fast

Once your local services ads are live, your business will show up with a call or message button on the ad, allowing searches to get connected to you with just the click of a button. 

Only pay per lead

One of the biggest differences and benefits of local services ads compared to PPC ads is the fact that you only pay per lead. And, instead of paying for clicks that might not turn out to be good leads, you’re paying for high-quality leads and can dispute any that aren’t quality.  

If you’re curious to learn more about local services ads or are interested in how Union Street Media can help you get started, you can find more information here. Or, if you’re interested in how Union Street Media can help you get started, reach out!

The post What are Local Services Ads for Real Estate? appeared first on Union Street Media.

Our websites are backed by powerful technology, have customizable IDX, feature our industry-leading Map Search, and advanced technical SEO. Our award-winning websites help you stand out online where it matters the most so you can sell more homes. Check out some of our favorite real estate websites we launched this past spring below! You can click the company name to view the full site.

Interested in getting a new real estate website? Contact us today to get specific recommendations to help grow your business!

Phyllis Browning Company
Texas

Stephen Oates | Duston Leddy Real Estate
New Hampshire

StoneCrest Properties
Vermont

RE/MAX Consultant Group | Apple Valley Lake Real Estate
Ohio

Paul Poquette Realty Group, LLC
Vermont

The post Recent Website Launches: Spring 2023 appeared first on Union Street Media.

We’re so honored to have been able to work with them to create a real estate website that tells Phyllis Browning Company’s story through stunning design and a best-in-class experience.

Phyllis Browning Company’s website design helps not only to highlight listings but the communities as well, allowing them to position themselves as a high-quality source of knowledge for buyers and sellers. Their website also provides users with a seamless experience on both desktop and mobile to connect them with one of Phyllis Browning Company’s incredible agents.

We’re so proud of the outcome of what we were able to achieve together. Please take a look at the stunning website below or click here to see the live website!

The post New Website Launch: Phyllis Browning Company! appeared first on Union Street Media.

Curious to know a little more about how our mapping tool works? Lally Boright, our Product Owner extraordinaire, does a deep dive into the features and functionality offered in our Map Search. Check it out in the video below!

What are the three most important things in real estate? Say it with us: location, location, location! Maybe that’s the most overused real estate saying out there, however, that doesn’t stop it from being true.   

We believe the ability to see a property on a map and interact with it in the most dynamic of ways is fundamental to the process a buyer goes through when determining whether or not to purchase a home. Our Map Search empowers our clients to have a search experience on par with the world’s leading real estate portals at a fraction of the cost!

Want to add Map Search to your site?  Contact us today!

The post Union Street Media’s Industry-leading Map Search in Action! appeared first on Union Street Media.

Do I ask it to write emails for me? Maybe follow up with prospects? Or market reports!? Yeah, market reports will do it. It will create a bunch of emails that I can hammer away at my contacts with. Wait! I didn’t like the sound of that last idea. How about blog posts? Yeah, blog posts about interest rates – where they are now and how that measures up historically. Ugh, these ideas start to sound as derivative as the content created by A.I. itself! 

So let’s get to the title of this blog. Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence is an amazing tool but tools don’t build things unless someone wields them. The key to making the most out of A.I.’s abilities is to be direct and specific about what you want it to write. By coming up with a general topic, A.I. can take it to the next level and fill in the gaps, provide inspiration, or supplement something you’ve already written. A.I. gives those who might struggle with writing the opportunity to create unique content that’s engaging. 

Specifically in the real estate industry, one of the hardest – but most important – things to write about is your location. Sometimes trying to come up with fresh ideas to write about your community becomes a monotonous slog of description after description of your community, only to accumulate a bunch of generic information that anyone could get through Wikipedia. 

Enter Artificial Intelligence.

Now, A.I. can write a thorough and unique description of your community (from schools to events to neighborhoods). This type of content, commonly called hyper-local content, is essential in the real estate industry.  

Hyper-local content continues to be the prevailing strategy for domain authority and first-page rankings on search engines. Almost everyone will tell you that highly relevant, and unique content is one of the most valuable tactics you can use to increase your real estate website’s domain authority. Increasing your domain authority increases its visibility. And, visibility online is precious. 

Now, how should you incorporate the hyperlocal content you (or A.I. creates)? It’s simple really. Create an internal linking structure that ties the listings in the areas you serve, linked to community pages describing the area, and finally linked to blog posts (more on them later) that drill down on specifics about your community. Together, this creates a rich vision of a life worth living in your community. To take it to the next level, link each community to other surrounding communities using the same basic building blocks. 

When you’re finished, you created what the industry calls a topic cluster. Google loves topic clusters and social media loves blog posts about your area. The more engaging and relevant your content is, the more likely you are to show up higher on search engine results pages. That’s a solid strategy for finding QUALITY leads.

But we’re not finished just yet!

Next, you need to create pages that contain both descriptions and active listings. At Union Street Media, we call these recommended search pages (or rec search pages for short). These pages are vital to the optimization of your real estate website and, of course, these rec search pages have the properties connecting the visitor to their home.

Finally, the blog post. As mentioned previously, blogs that are linked to listings and community pages are great for creating the oh-so-important topic cluster. But let’s dive a little deeper. Every day agents and offices come to Union Street Media asking for consistent blogging. Often, they purchased products from all types of companies promising consistent blogging, but those blogs turn out to be mostly recycled articles about the business of selling or buying a home. These posts – necessary in moderation – frequently lack originality. You may even be thinking “Hey at least I’m posting!” 

How about writing a blog post that deepens someone’s understanding of the activities that make life in your area special? Start pushing that out. And, as long as that blog links back to the community page which links to your rec search page, you’ve provided a customer journey that puts your location front and center with you as the storyteller. If prospective clients like the story, chances are they will like the storyteller and continue to look at the posts and information you provide as an oasis in a sea of sameness. 

Over the next few posts, I will dive into each facet of what makes hyperlocal content such a key piece to your real estate digital marketing strategy. It’s a strategy that the best in the business use to create organic results that free them of the co-dependence on Zillow and the like that are essentially selling you back your clients. I hope you’ll join me as we endeavor to provide real content that will position you as the source of info for your market!

The post Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence for Real Estate appeared first on Union Street Media.

Keep reading to meet Lally!

How did you end up in the tech world?

Growing up, I was always more of an ‘arts’ person: digital media, photography, and theater. My first job out of high school was in graphic design. But when I went to university, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be when I grew up, so I decided to choose a flexible major that would allow me to get a job easily – math. At the end of my sophomore year, I took a computer science class as an elective and was hooked. I remember thinking: I can solve puzzles as a major?! And quickly tacked on a second Computer Science (CS) major.

Throughout university, I did a lot of freelance graphic design work. As I learned more about computer science, I was able to merge my creative and technical skills and started doing web development projects, and that brought me to my first role at Union Street Media as a production designer/web developer! 

What has it been like for you being a woman in the tech industry?

In university, I was outnumbered in the classroom as the only female CS major in my graduating class. I got the sense that my classmates, who happened to be mostly male, were more comfortable and confident with CS concepts than I was in many of my classes, which sometimes made me wonder if I was smart enough for the major. 

I now understand that this experience is not uncommon for women in the United States. Many men are exposed to computer science early in life here, whereas women are not, which makes the concepts that were brand new to me as a woman naturally more approachable to many men in my university classes, rather than a reflection of my intelligence or ability to be a good programmer. 

In many cases, this can be a catalyst for women not pursuing the major long-term, which I can definitely sympathize with. This am I smart enough? feeling wasn’t new to me. I am dyslexic, which didn’t impact my day-to-day much after 8th grade, but meant I had spent years putting in a lot of extra work (with the encouragement and guidance of wonderful mentors and family!) to achieve a reading level that came easily to a lot of my peers. So by the time, I felt a similiar feeling in university, it was nothing new, and thanks to those who helped me succeed in my early school career, I knew that with a bit of extra time and work, I could learn what was coming easily to my peers.

I have always had wonderful co-workers in my professional career, and I’ve never felt my gender was relevant to my day-to-day work or career trajectory, which I am so thankful for. 

Where does your love of data come from/why do you love it? 

As a math major, I learned to love numbers early. In 2018, I saw a data journalist Mona Chalabi speak in Pittsburgh, PA, about how she uses data and data visualizations to help her readers better understand the world around them. Her work sparked my interest and passion for using data and visualization techniques to clarify marketing optimization and performance analysis at Union Street Media. You shouldn’t have to be a data scientist to understand data; intentional visuals and messaging based on data help us achieve that. 

Now that my work is focused on product management and development, my love of data continues as I use it every day to understand how people use our products and consequently make decisions about the future of our products. 

How important is looking at data when building or improving products? 

When creating a new product or evaluating ways to improve an existing product, it’s helpful to think carefully about the data that will help you understand how people interact with your product (think: users, page views, clicks, scrolls, etc). Measuring and experimenting with the right data points can help you determine the success of certain functionality and/or potential opportunities for improvement. It can never replace the feedback from the people using your product but is an essential tool to supplement user feedback.  

For the real estate industry specifically, where do you see technology going? What opportunities are there? 

There is so much amazing technology available to real estate professionals right now. Rather than trying to create one-size-fits-all solutions, I see a lot of companies focusing on a niche where they can excel and produce software that solves specific needs for a specific type of user. I think the options are amazing, as each agent/broker/staff member has unique needs. 

The limiting factor here is that it takes time to onboard and manage all of these different platforms. To me, the big opportunity we have as tech companies in the real estate industry is to support ease of integration between different products so that our clients can seamlessly mix and match technology solutions that work best for their business rather than trying to squeeze into a one-size-fits-most solution. 

What drew you to Union Street Media? 

I’ve been at USM for 9 years, so I’ve seen many team members come and go, but it has always been the people from the start. Our company culture attracts employees who are passionate, skilled, and accountable for their work, authentically themselves, and respect their work-life balance. Most weekdays, I spend more time talking to my co-workers than my family, so I value the awesome personalities at USM.

What’s the best part about being the Product Manager here? 

First, I love collaborating with so many different people: teams within the company, clients, and vendors. It is a lot of fun. Second, I have always had a passion for efficiency. Building tools to make our client’s businesses more efficient and effective so they can focus on relationships with clients is truly satisfying to me. 

Do you have any advice for people looking to get into or grow in a leadership/product manager role? 

For me, I never focused specifically on being a leader. I have always focused on what I liked doing and looked for opportunities to do more of those things within the company. Over time, slowly narrowing my focus allowed me to have a lot of passion for the work I had chosen and that helped me become a product leader here naturally. 

I was able to do this in large part because of feedback and guidance from teammates and leadership within the company over the years. So whether your goal is leadership, product management, or just evolving your career I’d encourage everyone to explicitly express interest in things that excite you to others at the company, reach out to co-workers for advice and feedback on your work, and share your goals with your manager so they can help you grow in your career (or even share confusion about your goals, if you’re not sure what they are yet!).

The post Meet Lally Boright, Product Manager! appeared first on Union Street Media.

Below is the same trend graph for “AI Marketing.”

But what even is AI?! And how are marketers and especially those in the real estate industry, utilizing AI? While AI technology is ever-evolving, below are some of the basic things you need to know if you are curious about AI in real estate, how it’s currently being utilized, and where real estate is headed using AI. 

What is AI?

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is a field of computer science focused on creating machines involving algorithms designed to learn from data inputs, adapt to new situations, and make predictions based on patterns in the data. AI technologies include machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, robotics, and human-like cognitive systems. 

How is AI Used in Marketing?

• Personalization 
• Chatbots
• Ad Optimization
• Content Creation
• Predictive Analytics
• Sales Forecasting
  

As the world becomes more digital and data-driven, marketers are increasingly turning to AI to help them harness the power of data and improve their marketing efforts. Markets use AI to automate repetitive tasks, gain insights from customer data, and optimize their marketing efforts for maximum impact. As AI technology continues to advance, we can expect to see even more innovative uses for lead nurturing, content automation, and predictive analytics for years to come. 

How can Realtors use AI?

Some popular areas in which real estate agents and professionals are utilizing AI today include lead generation, lead nurturing, and search engine optimization. 

Lead Generation

Identify potential leads by analyzing site user behavior to find potential buyers and sellers who are more likely to be interested in your services. 

Lead Nurturing

In real estate, AI can be used to increase the lead experience by recognizing the best time to reach out to prospects, putting together personalized messaging, directly communicating with site users effectively and efficiently, directing prospects to the appropriate resources when needed (including your agents), and automating campaigns for both long-term lead nurturing and short-term sales tracking. 

Search Engine Optimization

AI-powered solutions are becoming increasingly popular to help real estate agents be more effective in their marketing by creating templated listing descriptions, streamlining the technical optimization process, producing more personalized and impactful content, automating advertising processes to identify peak times and target audiences more efficiently, and creating virtual tours that offer an immersive experience for out-of-state buyers. 

How will AI be used in Real Estate Moving Forward?

In the coming months and years, AI technology will become increasingly popular and important for real estate. AI will help to streamline processes and improve buyer, seller, and agent experiences which will lead to a more efficient real estate market where AI helps to connect buyers and sellers with agents.

The post What is AI and How is it Used in Real Estate? appeared first on Union Street Media.

Tracking events and conversions becomes much more flexible

Think of events as any important interaction that you want to be aware of on your website. For example: clicking on a button or scrolling down a page. In the case of a real estate website, maybe it’s using a mortgage calculator, sharing a listing with a friend, or saving a home as a favorite. 

GA4 makes it easier to set up custom event tracking, and also to designate select events as conversions. We can generate reports that show broader event activity among your site visitors, even while dialing in conversion reports to focus more narrowly on higher-value events like submitting a “contact us” form or phoning your brokerage. 

GA4 offers more insight into how channels work together

GA4 is far superior to UA when it comes to knowing when a visitor has interacted with your business through multiple devices and multiple channels. For instance, someone might see an ad while on their phone and click through to your site. Later, they go on their laptop, search for your business name in Google, and fill out a form on your site. GA4 can more easily tell that this was a single user, and then report back to you how the ad and the organic search listing contributed to this visitor becoming a lead. 

 Reporting Example: Conversion Paths 

Enhance your advertising with GA4 data

GA4 includes updates that improve the integration of data reported in Google’s Ads and Analytics platforms. This admittedly gets a little technical, but we think you’ll love the end result: better flow of actionable data, both into and out of your Google Ads campaigns. 

Consider this: 

• GA4 makes it easier to define audience segments based on site engagement – which can then be easily shared into a linked Ads account. For example, you can create an audience based on users visiting a certain page, and target that audience in an ad campaign highlighting the content they were interested in. That’s not new, but it’s certainly easier. 
• GA4 and Google Ads will now reflect the same conversion window settings on imported goals. Conversion window is the number of days following an ad click in which a conversion is tracked. These were previously set independently, causing some apparent discrepancies in conversion data on each platform. Not anymore!

Few would dispute that the greatest benefit of Google Analytics 4 is the opportunity to gain much more insight into users and site performance. Sure, taking full advantage of GA4’s flexibility takes some knowledge, time, and effort. But we think the ability to customize your reporting to be even more insightful and more actionable is incredibly exciting.   

This is the third article in our series on Google Analytics 4. Take a look at Part 1 and Part 2. 

The post Excited About Google Analytics 4? We Think You Should Be! appeared first on Union Street Media.

A Good User Is an Engaged User

One important thing to understand about GA4 is that the new platform provides much more insight into who uses your site, and how they use it. While UA data is centered around sessions and the actions that happened during a visit, GA4 focuses on users. The new platform can more easily connect user activity across devices, platforms, and sessions.  

Users

Both versions of Google Analytics collect data about Users, or essentially, unique visitors to your site. However, “Users” means something different in each platform.

• In UA, the primary user metric is Total Users. Knowing how many users visited your site is undoubtedly a useful metric, especially when comparing results over time or against other sites. GA4 includes Total Users, too, though the data will be slightly different (more on how numbers may differ in an upcoming article).
• In GA4, the primary user metric is Active Users. Google defines the Active Users metric as the number of distinct users who visited your website or application. Active users are website visitors or app users who have engaged sessions.

And while we’re sharing GA4 vocabulary, an Engaged Session is a session that lasts longer than 10 seconds, has a conversion event, or has at least 2 pageviews or screen views. While it’s good to know the total number of people visiting your site, it’s even more valuable to understand the number of people who came to your site and actively used it.

Bounce Rate

How the user engages with the landing page has become more important than simply knowing that they left it.

In UA, Bounce Rate is perhaps the best metric to look at if you’re trying to understand user engagement. It measures the percentage of single-page sessions that included no interaction with the page. Put simply, it’s the percentage of people who came to your site and quickly exited. 

Initially, it seemed Google was planning to drop Bounce Rate as a metric in favor of data points related to engaged sessions. As the internet has evolved, single-page visits are a less meaningful measure of disengaged users. Well-designed landing pages (or apps) may provide users with a more meaningful experience, regardless of where they enter and whether they click through to another page. It may be, too, that users who ‘bounce’ come back as engaged visitors. Our relationship with technology is more complex than ever. 

While Google does intend to keep Bounce Rate in GA4, the way it’s defined has changed. The new calculation is based on the percentage of sessions that were not considered Engaged Sessions.  

While the new focus on engagement is a shift in how many of us think about website performance, it also provides powerful new insights. It will be easier than ever to identify our best users, enhance their web experience, and create audiences to use in marketing campaigns, to name a couple of examples.

At Union Street Media, our marketing strategists are especially looking forward to bringing deeper insights to our real estate clients and having more actionable data to work with. 

This is the second in a series of articles in which we’re sharing our knowledge about the 7/1/23 switch from Universal Analytics to GA4. Next up, we’ll discuss conversion and event tracking, and share some of the things we’re most excited about in the new platform!

This is the second article in our series on Google Analytics 4. If you missed the first, you can read it here. 

The post Google Analytics 4: It’s All About Engagement appeared first on Union Street Media.

All of our real estate websites feature customizable IDX, are supported by our industry-leading map search, and also leverage advanced technical SEO so you can stand out online where it matters the most. Take a look at some of our favorite new real estate websites we’ve launched this winter below! You can click the company name to view the full site.

Interested in getting a new real estate website? Contact us today to get tailored recommendations to help grow your business!

Rambaud & Guardia | Compass
Massachusetts

Hammond Residential Real Estate

Massachusetts
Joan Herlong & Associates | Sotheby’s International Realty
South Carolina
Giving Tree Realty
North & South Carolina
Kerry Realty Group
Florida & Massachusetts
The O’Brien O’Connell Team
Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty
Vermont
Signature Real Estate
Greater Las Vegas, Nevada & Utah

The post Recent Website Launches: Winter 2023 appeared first on Union Street Media.

Previously, you would look at real estate listings online and just see a house with no idea where it was actually located. Now you could actually search by map.

A few months later at the Vermont Real Estate Law Day, which brought together REALTORS and lawyers from across northern New England, we presented the first Google map showing properties for sale in the state of Vermont. There was an audible “wow” in the room.

Part of what drew me to the Internet was seeing the impact that the online world had on the offline world. Twenty-some years later the concept seems quaint (especially if you have a teenager in your house… I’m not sure they live at all in the offline world). Everything is now ubiquitous and online. For a late Gen X’er like me (also known as a Xennial), I remember when that was not always the case. 

The way we use maps in our daily life has changed well beyond real estate. When was the last time you drove somewhere you hadn’t been before without your phone telling you where to go? One of the best vacation decisions I ever made was in 2010 when my girlfriend (and now wife) and I took a trip to France. When we got to the car rental desk, we chose to spend the extra €10 today for a GPS that told us in the finest British English how to navigate the small roads of southern France. Despite having spent time living in France, I’m quite sure we would have gotten incredibly lost traveling from the Bordeaux airport to our final destination. When she asked me “how did people navigate before GPS?” I responded, “with a lot of arguing.”

Flash forward to 2023. Union Street Media has now deployed the best real estate mapping tool in the industry. We have spent many months and many dollars on our new map search. Why? In an industry where what matters most is “location, location location” the ability to see a property on a map and interact with it in the most dynamic of ways is fundamental to the process a buyer goes through when determining whether or not to purchase a home. Take a look at our map search on Tate & Foss Sotheby’s International Realty’s award-winning website below!

A quick highlight of the map search features includes: 

• SEO first. No one gets to your website, what does it matter? Like everything we do here at Union Street Media, SEO best practices was the north star of our map search development.
• A Swiss Army knife approach. Like everything we build here, our map search has the ability to adhere to the needs of our individual clients and how they choose to display information. We can “slice, dice, and roll” the maps to filter and display listings that fit our client’s objectives. Our map filtering and display works around our client’s needs as opposed to our clients working around our map search’s limitations.
• Modern user experience. Nothing is a coincidence in how we display listings on our map search. We have tested and placed calls to action in ways that increase user engagement and lead generation, including adding Map Search banner ads. It looks great and works well. The “tastes great and less filing” of map search.

You might have seen many of our websites roll out with this feature since 2021. We are now bringing it forward to our existing clients who have not redeveloped their websites since before the pandemic. Please reach out to us if you are interested in upgrading to the best map search experience in the real estate industry.

Thank you and happy searching!

The post The Evolution of Online Maps for Real Estate appeared first on Union Street Media.

So, what does this mean for real estate websites and websites in general? For one thing, we’ll have access to more robust data and reporting. But before we dig into that, let’s back up a step and answer some questions that have been popping up about this major change.

What is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics or GA is a free analytics program provided by Google that helps us understand how people interact with websites. It’s easily installed with a snippet of code, and it’s widely used by web providers and digital marketers, who gain access to a large collection of website performance data. GA has been an industry standard for many years.

Why is the switch to GA4 a big deal?

While Google has made updates to GA before, this one’s especially big. The differences will be noticeable, and Google would argue that they’re necessary to catch the platform up to how our online world has evolved. 

For example: 

• GA4 is better able to track the customer journey across different devices and platforms.
• GA4 prioritizes the privacy of visitors (for example, IP addresses are not logged). 
• GA4 primarily focuses on events and engagement, rather than individual sessions.

What will this mean for analytics reporting in the real estate industry?

GA4 presents an abundance of new opportunities. From new tracking methods to the design of the platform, we’ll have an even better insight into how people find and interact with real estate websites. And, the even better news is that the Union Street Media team has been learning about and preparing for the change since it was announced in October 2020!

Here are a few takeaways we want to share:

• While some metrics – Sessions, for example – will carry over, the way that UA and GA4 define and collect info about a Session are different. Comparing data before and after the Analytics switch will generally not be apples to apples.
• Because of this change in metrics, having both UA and GA4 running at the same time as soon as possible is essential to have as much historical data as possible ahead of the switch.

How is Union Street Media using Google Analytics?

We’ve been implementing GA on our client’s sites for years. It not only gives us great insight into website performance through Google’s reports, but we also use it to import data into our own, proprietary data warehouse. We’re then able to repurpose the data into our own custom reporting. That won’t change with the switch to GA4, and in fact, we’re planning to expand our own reporting in the months ahead!

GA4 provides an exciting opportunity to share more (and more useful!) data across platforms. Be sure to keep an eye out for updates, info, and training opportunities from Union Street Media in the weeks ahead.

Looking for a real estate website that not only looks great but leverages powerful analytics so it performs great as well? Reach out to us today to discuss your website needs!

The post Are You Ready for Google Analytics 4? appeared first on Union Street Media.

Maddux has been known not just as a great pitcher but also as a great thinker. Nicknamed “The Professor,” he was a student of the game. The Atlantic article talks about how he would focus on “stealing strikes.” He was always looking to throw a pitch that would get him ahead in the count which has huge implications on what actually happens in the at-bat. By his estimation, if you could steal 4 to 5 strikes a game, it could be the difference between walking off the field a winner or a loser.

It was the level of thought that he put into his craft that made him so unique. In an article with Esquire Magazine, he summed it up as this, “Sometimes magic is just spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect.”

I would like to think that at Union Street Media, we bring a little bit of magic to our craft. There are probably few people out there who have thought as much about real estate digital marketing and the ways by which we can “steal a strike” to put our clients ahead of their competitors.

In 2023, as we head into a contracting market, it will take a lot more passion, curiosity, and ambition, three of our adjectives to make magic happen again as we have, year in and year out, since 1999.

The intersection between baseball and my entrepreneurial career is very much connected. My first business, a lemonade stand at the corner of Lake Avenue and Burying Hill Road, was a direct result of my passion for baseball cards (and my parent’s unwillingness to give me any money to buy them).

One of the values that I feel my parents fostered in raising the six of us was resilience. As an example, in order to not go to school, we had to have a fever or be vomiting to such an extent that we would rather go to school than be that sick. Now, as a father, I try to convey the importance of resilience to my kids. You show up for every practice, and you participate in every game, even if it’s cold, raining or you just don’t feel like it. As long as you try your hardest and leave it on the field, the outcome doesn’t matter. 

As we head into 2023, that level of resilience will be called upon as we navigate through what is a much more complicated market than the past two years. The reality of it was the pandemic was phenomenal for the real estate industry. As I heard Rich Barton say on the “How I Built This” podcast, “Being in the shelter industry during a pandemic” was a pretty good place to be.

We are resilient as a company because we have no other choice. Union Street Media is independent, with no outside investors, which is incredibly unique within the proptech space. I believe this actually positions us really well as we are able to make decisions based on what is best for our clients and our business, not for a return on investment seven-year payback model led by someone else who is not involved in the day-to-day operations of the business.

We didn’t go into 2020 knowing that a global pandemic was on its way and that we would need to be resilient. However, coming to 2023 feels different. We know that this year will be different and challenging. It’s times like this where if you put a little more thought than one would reasonably expect – you have an opportunity to create magic.

Happy New Year!

The post Ringing in 2023: The Year of Magic and Resilience appeared first on Union Street Media.

And, just as the real estate industry is experiencing significant shifts, many digital marketing strategies for real estate are, too. In 2022, we’ve seen some major Google Core updates (as per usual) –  the Page Experience Update and the Helpful Content Update are just a couple. This indicates that there are big shifts in how search engines are crawling and displaying content — they are prioritizing the user experience and focusing on displaying the most relevant content. 

Read on to learn more about what digital marketing trends for real estate we think will continue or ramp up in 2023. 

1. Highlighting Local Content
2. Increase Need for Automation Tools
3. Rise of Vertical Videos
4. Exploring Other Digital Channel Options
5. Quick Response Times

Highlighting Local Content

You might think that we sound like a broken record with this, but it’s a tune we won’t stop singing any time soon! More and more each year we see the need for hyperlocal content and how much real estate websites can benefit from creating and sharing that content. 

Potential buyers want to know all the details of what it’s like to live in a specific area (whether it’s a city, town, neighborhood, or even a street). Also, people are leveraging online tools to do more in-depth research into their potential homes, agents, and community to gather as much information as possible in order to make a well-informed decision if they want to live or work in a certain area. And, whether it’s in a photo or video format, potential buyers want to see high-quality visuals of not only the property but the community and surrounding area as well so they can truly feel immersed in it. Including photos or videos is an easy way to highlight a listing or community on several channels such as social media, emails, and on your website. 

One of the most popular ways to demonstrate your local expertise is through blogging. By blogging, you can get into all the details, and, by performing keyword research and optimizing your post, you can build your authority online. Implementing an interactive and robust map on your real estate website is also one of the best ways to demonstrate that you have in-depth hyperlocal knowledge. (Our new Map Search not only looks great but functions great as well!)

Increase Need for Automation Tools

Having a social media presence is pretty much a must-have in the real estate industry. By leveraging social media and automation tools, you can build your brand, attract leads, engage your audience, and more. Because there are so many platforms out there, streamlining your social media workflow is key to zeroing in on what’s working and what’s not working. With automation platforms, you can discover the optimal time to post, dive into engagement and traffic data, and more. And, you’ll be able to plan your social media content calendar in advance and leverage scheduling features so you can save time and still grow your business. 

Rise of Vertical Videos

Determining the right type of content is another key factor for an effective social media strategy for real estate and is something that we’ll continue to see in 2023. Specifically, vertical videos have increased in popularity over the past few years, as several platforms are built to only accommodate this format or are incorporating this format more. The three most popular platforms that leverage vertical videos are TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.TikTok is a video platform with over one billion active monthly users and is used by people, brands, and companies to grow their businesses. Users can apply filters, use trending audio, and show their take on popular trends. 

Though Instagram has been around for a little while now, it remains one of the most popular social media platforms. And, recently, it introduced a new feature called “Reels.” With Reels, users can post vertical videos, and incorporate tags, audio, and filter features. What makes Reels unique is that you can post them on a separate tab on your profile or add them to your regular feed, giving you the option to customize what kind of content shows up where. Another platform that’s been around for a while and is still extremely popular is YouTube. YouTube also recently rolled out its vertical video feature called “Shorts.” Similar to TikToks and Reels, users can leverage tags to get in front of more people and create digestible bits of content.

Exploring Other Digital Channel Options

More and more we’re seeing real estate companies shifting their strategies to incorporate multiple channels, or omnichannel marketing. By doing so, you’re extending your reach to get in front of more people on the channels where they’re the most engaged (or if you want to test out a new platform). Just because your audience is engaged on one channel doesn’t mean that’s the only channel – people have different preferences on how they want to view or interact with brands, companies, or people. On the other hand, you’ll also be able to measure what type of content on which channels are not working and adjust your strategy from there. 

Quick Response Times

Whether people are using social media, chat software, texting, calling, or emailing, one thing that’s remained consistent is that people are looking for quick response times so they’re not waiting hours or days for a response. They want to know you’re easy to reach and will help them with their needs easily, especially as the popularity of conversational marketing increases. In fact, many consumers expect brands to reply within the first hour of reaching out on social media. Therefore, developing an effective strategy that places importance on connecting with customers (in real-time or in a timely manner) is essential. 

What trends are you expecting to see next year? If you’re looking to stay on-trend in 2023 and stand out online, reach out! 

The post 2023 Trend Predictions: Digital Marketing for Real Estate appeared first on Union Street Media.

Keep reading to meet Smaranda!

What drew you to work in the engineering field? Was there a specific moment that sparked your interest? 

My dad practiced software engineering for a few years when I was little, at a time when this profession couldn’t support a family in Romania. He ended up switching careers and becoming an entrepreneur, but his love for algorithms and logical thinking stuck with me. Both he and my mom went to the Informatics High School and I used to draw on old punch cards of theirs growing up. 

I followed in their footsteps and started programming early in high school and knew this was my favorite thing to do. My initial plan was to go into this field thinking that working with computers would be easier than working with humans – I quickly learned that one cannot avoid working with humans and in fact – it is essential to making computers do what we want them to do. 

Did you ever experience any uncertainty that this was the path for you? How did you overcome it? 

Right before I started college, I had to decide which college to go to and had to grapple with the question – is this a suitable profession for a woman? I remember asking myself that question and thinking that this is what I love doing and it’s gotta be enough. Later in my career, I oscillated between management and highly technical roles.  

What has your experience been like as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field? 

Starting my career in Romania, I was privileged to grow in a more even split environment. While not 50/50, the landscape is more balanced than I found it to be in the US, where being a female in tech was more of a novelty. 

What opportunities do you see to make that split a little more even in the US and other parts of the world? 

I started learning computer science in high school and being exposed so early was so beneficial. Everyone got to learn the basics all together and it was obvious that this field was accessible to everyone. I think early exposure and trying computer science out is the key [to making that split more even] and also, being able to see yourself [as a woman represented] in another technology leader. We need to make space for other women. 

“I’m just going to be myself. If it’s not good enough it’s fine. I’m going to do it my own way –  it doesn’t have to look like others.” 

What drew you to Union Street Media?

I knew of Union Street Media through my network and I was interviewing with a few local companies in 2018, soon after moving to the United States from my hometown Cluj in Romania. I remember the first interview I had and coming into the office and receiving a warm welcome from Francis [Gravel, one of our most experienced engineers]. I quickly learned how incredible the people are and also found that my work here can have an impact. 

Working with a small team with a core belief in independence was new to me and I was ready for the challenge. Union Street Media offered the right mix of flexibility, a team to collaborate with, and challenging business problems to solve through technology. There was room to learn and grow in an environment that felt safe to try things out. This is why I’m still here.

 What’s your favorite part about being on the engineering team at Union Street Media? 

The people – I truly work with an amazing team. We’ve grown a lot over the past few years and I’m really proud of the engineering culture we’ve built. I might be biased when I say that we have a world-class engineering team. We have a diverse team, with people coming from different backgrounds and having wide-ranging interests. It’s such a delight to watch the magic happen when teams come together and collaborate on a shared goal. We’re still fairly small and with our belief in independence, we’ve created an environment where teams are empowered to make decisions and try things out. At an individual level, I feel that my work has an impact.

Where do you see the future of real estate technology going or are there any opportunities that would significantly impact the industry?

I think the future of real estate technology needs to serve local communities. Real estate has always been a local affair, and while companies in this space now cover much larger geographical areas, the user experience needs to be localized in order to stay relevant. Local communities also need fair access to affordable housing and I think there’s an opportunity to design technology solutions with this in mind.

 Any advice for women looking to get into the engineering field or make the next move in their career? 

Do it! Women are just as capable to do engineering jobs. It doesn’t have to look like the traditional nerd – it can be anything you want. The highest-performing teams in my experience are the most diverse. 

Start small and have fun with it as you go – the technology landscape today can feel overwhelming because there are lots of options and things are changing constantly. Give yourself space to explore and imagine what you want to do and then go and find that. 

The post Meet Smaranda Fournier, Director of Engineering appeared first on Union Street Media.

All of our real estate websites feature customizable IDX and are supported by our industry-leading map search so you can redefine what it means to be a hyperlocal expert in your community. And, these websites also leverage advanced technical SEO so you can stand out online and get found by your ideal clients. This year, we won 6 awards for Best Mobile because we understand the importance of having a mobile-responsive website, ensuring that it always looks its best, no matter the device. Keep scrolling to check out some of our favorite new real estate websites we’ve launched below! Click the company name to view the full site.

Interested in a new real estate website? Contact us today to get personalized recommendations to help grow your business.

Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty
Texas

Deerfield Valley Real Estate
Vermont

Next Step Realty
Maryland

Big Island Real Estate
New Hampshire

Bryce Lingo & Shaun Tull Team
Delaware

Ingvild Brown KW Chestnut Hill
Massachusetts

The post Recent Website Launches: Fall 2022 appeared first on Union Street Media.

And the results are in! Union Street Media wins big in the RealTrends Awards, again! 10 of our amazing clients were recognized by RealTrends for having industry-leading websites and earning awards in multiple categories. And, we won the most awards in Best Design, Best Mobile, and Best Overall! 

In this highly intense, unpredictable market, we’ve been so grateful and honored to have helped elevate our clients’ businesses to not only achieve their goals but exceed them as well. We’re so incredibly proud to be recognized by RealTrends as being the industry leader in high-performing, beautifully-designed websites year after year. Scroll down to take a tour of each award-winning website that earned a spot in the top ten rankings this year.

Our client, Tate & Foss Sotheby’s International Realty in New Hampshire ranked in several categories again this year, including Best Mobile, Best Design, and Best Overall for the second year in a row. Our other winners in this category with their captivating designs and user-friendly features certainly stand out online. A big congratulations to CENTURY 21 Atwood, Coldwell Banker Hedges Realty, and Silver Creek Real Estate Group!

When creating real estate websites, there’s a balance between having incredible visuals and also having a website that works to help you stand out in search engine results. We’re so proud of Barrett Sotheby’s International Realty from the Greater Boston area for winning for Best Design. We’re also so thrilled to see CENTURY 21 Atwood, Tate & Foss Sotheby’s International Realty, and Coldwell Banker Hedges Realty win in this category. Plus, Silver Creek Real Estate Group wins again in this category for the fourth year in a row!! 

Here at Union Street Media, we understand the importance of having a mobile-first design. Our high-performing, mobile responsive websites look beautiful no matter where people are searching. A big congratulations to 6 of our clients who ranked in Best Mobile this year: Coldwell Banker Hedges Realty, Tate & Foss Sotheby’s International Realty, Silver Creek Real Estate Group, CENTURY 21 Farm & Forest, Mosaic Community Lifestyle Realty, and Real Estate of Winter Park. 

What’s better than a beautiful property detail page that’s user-friendly? A property detail page that’s also designed to drive leads! A big congrats to Silver Creek Real Estate Group for ranking in this category.

At the heart of the real estate industry is community. By highlighting your community and demonstrating your local knowledge, you can not only stand out online but also become a go-to resource. Our client’s communities where they live, work, and have fun should be celebrated, which is why we’re so proud of Portside Real Estate Group and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers for ranking in this category!

Finally, we are exceptionally proud to have CENTURY 21 Atwood rank in the seller’s page category this year! This year, in particular, we saw the need to adjust our strategies to attract more sellers than ever before, and we couldn’t do it without having a high-performing seller’s page on a stunning website.

In addition to these amazing companies, a couple other of our clients earned Honorable Mentions this year including CENTURY 21 North Homes Realty and East Egg Realty for Best Mobile!

Finally, we want to give a huge shoutout to every single employee at Union Street Media who worked long days (and even some long nights) to make this possible. And, of course, to our amazing clients without whom we truly couldn’t have done any of this without! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!  

Want to know more about our industry-leading website and digital marketing solutions? Connect with us today — we’d love to see your website rank in 2023! Looking forward to another great year. 

The post Union Street Media Wins Big in the RealTrends Website Rankings Awards, Again! appeared first on Union Street Media.

Plus, another unique challenge is that many buyers who are interested in ski area real estate are often looking at ski homes to be as second homes/vacation homes, or investment properties and come from out of state. Owning a second home has gained in popularity in recent years –  according to a report from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), vacation home sales made up 8% of existing home sales, while in 2022, about 22% of home sales were to investors. 

Interest in ski area real estate as second homes or investment properties has opened up new opportunities for you to expand your real estate business or grow further into this unique market. 

Keep reading to learn more about creating a digital marketing strategy for ski home listings to attract the right buyers and sell more homes. 

5 Ways to Market Ski Homes Online

1. Focus on imagery
2. Create a designated landing page
3. Paint a picture of the lifestyle
4. Demonstrate local knowledge
5. Showcase year-round activities in the area

Focus on imagery

One of the biggest draws for potential buyers looking to buy real estate in a ski town is how naturally beautiful it is and how close to nature they can get. By taking high-quality photos or videos of the surrounding area you can show off the scenery and what it’s like to live there (don’t forget to include imagery from other seasons, too!)

High-quality visuals are a key staple in effectively marketing your real estate listings. It’s one of the best ways to attract potential buyers, highlight the property, and also demonstrate to sellers how you would market their property. Specifically, in the winter home real estate industry, many real estate companies have started to turn to drones to capture breathtaking images and videos of not only the properties but the mountains as well.

Create a designated landing page

When creating digital marketing strategies for ski homes, it’s never too early to start creating content! By building and continuously updating a designated landing page, you can build up your authority throughout the year, so you can stand out when it matters the most. Because listings in ski areas aren’t just about the property, having a landing page dedicated to the community on your real estate website allows you to expand on what the area is like, what potential buyers could experience while living there, and demonstrate the value to potential investors. 

On the landing page, be sure to include your contact information, images, videos, and insights into the local community, among others. Also, by having a designated landing page solely for ski homes, you can create online ads that specifically target those looking to buy a winter second home or investment property in your area. When creating these ads, don’t forget to include a call-to-action (CTA) that drives them to contact you, call you, send them to the landing page, or view a specific property. 

Finally, with a designated ski area real estate landing page, you can also link to it in your main navigation when people are most interested in these properties (or all year long!) to make it easy for users to find the specific listings and information about the area.

Paint a picture of the lifestyle

As mentioned previously, marketing ski home listings also means marketing the specific lifestyle that comes with them. One of the most effective ways to showcase what it’s like to live, rent or vacation in the area is to craft a detailed video. In the video, you can give tours of the properties, feature the surrounding mountains and community, and describe what makes the listings so special. Videos aren’t only an effective way to show off properties and your community, but they also are very effective in giving our website a boost in SEO and increasing engagement if shared on social media. Also, you can upload your videos to YouTube and create designated playlists for the properties and community highlights to get in front of people searching for similar properties. 

In the listing description of properties or on the designated winter homes landing page, it also might be beneficial to include information about what cell service and internet connection are like in the area, to appeal to buyers looking to stay permanently or for months at a time. Plus, this also helps potential investors interested in the properties to rent out and show the value of the listings for those looking for a specific lifestyle.

Demonstrate local knowledge 

As mentioned previously, ski home real estate buyers are looking for more than just what the listing can offer. One of the main reasons why a buyer might be interested in winter home real estate in a ski area is – of course – to enjoy the outdoors! On your real estate website, you can create a guide on the mountains nearby, including a description of each mountain, the slopes, trails, location, amenities, and local market statistics.   

When deciding on what kind of content to create and showcase, consider what second home/vacation home buyers or investors might look for in a property and highlight the specific features of each listing depending on what it has and what it’s around. Is the property a secluded oasis in the mountains? Is it in the middle of the charming downtown area? Or is it close enough to be able to ski in and ski out of? By writing and posting blogs that capture all that your listings have to offer in the area, you can get in front of more people who are looking for that winter-sport lifestyle and show the value of the properties. 

Showcase year-round activities in the area

Though homes in ski areas are often used seasonally, there are still opportunities for potential investors to buy and rent out homes during the rest of the year. Showcasing what activities happen all year round is a great way to attract renters or vacationers during the off-season. Highlight the restaurants, shops, entertainment, other local attractions, etc. in blog posts, on your website, and on social media to reach a wider audience. 

Plus, according to a report, the number of local skiers climbed to 27% indicating that people are wanting to stay closer to home or where they have a ski home. Again, highlighting what the community offers in the other seasons is a great way to tap into these potential buyers and appeal to their desire to live closer to the mountains.

Because winter home real estate is so unique, it can be challenging to create an effective digital marketing strategy that works all year long. By creating content in the form of landing pages, blogs, guides, etc, you can boost your SEO all year. And, by already having a lot of content and a designated landing page, it’s easy to transform your website to feature ski homes for sale at the right time by updating your home page imagery and navigation. 

Need help creating a digital marketing strategy for real estate? Connect with one of our strategists today.

The post Marketing 101: How to Market Ski Area Real Estate Online appeared first on Union Street Media.

Each one of our real estate websites features customizable IDX and are supported by powerful technology like industry-leading map search. Plus, these websites leverage advanced technical SEO so your ideal clients can find you online when it matters most. And, our websites are mobile responsive, ensuring that each website always looks its best, no matter where or on what someone chooses to view it. Take a look at some of our favorite new real estate websites we’ve launched below! Select the company name to view the full site.

Interested in a new real estate website? Contact us today to get personalized recommendations to help grow your business.

Real Estate of Winter Park
Colorado

Carter Braxton Preferred Properties
Virginia

Flom Property Group
North Dakota

Lions Realty Group
Washington

Charles Cherney Team | Compass
Massachusetts

The post Recent Website Launches: Summer 2022 appeared first on Union Street Media.

Keep reading to discover how real estate SEO has changed in 2022 and find our tips for creating an effective digital marketing strategy.

Real Estate SEO Trends in 2022

So far, 2022 has brought us several Google algorithm updates – the most recent and largest being the May 2022 core update. Google’s core updates are rolled out to improve search and stay up-to-date on how people are using search to find what they’re looking for. As core updates are rolling out, we tend to experience fluctuations in data and changes on the SERPs. And, though these core updates don’t specifically target any one kind of website, they give a good indication that your content needs a refresh if you see you’ve been impacted by a core update.

Another big update called the Page Experience Update finished rolling out in March 2022. This update was meant to elevate user experience by prioritizing search result rankings for websites and pages that offer fast load times, are secure, mobile-friendly, and have stable pages.

The Page Experience Update had an impact on some of the real estate websites that didn’t have a well-thought-out foundation. Real estate websites are very image heavy, meaning that load times have a tendency to be longer than on other types of websites. Additionally, because listings are constantly being added and removed from the MLS, the number of redirects tends to add up over time, also impacting the load time of a site in the long term. In other words, a lot of intentional thought needs to go into the building blocks of a real estate website to ensure that these issues are not compounding over time.

We’ve been thinking about page experience for many years at Union Street Media, even long before this update was rolled out. We continuously iterate on the foundational code of our platform to ensure that every single website is as strong as possible. And, because we’ve been hard at work ensuring that our sites are built as strong as possible, we saw little to no impact from Google’s Page Experience Update on our websites.

Building a real estate website with a strong foundation should incorporate SEO ranking factors. Below we break down some of the key SEO ranking factors to consider when creating a website for real estate. If you’re interested in building a new website, reach out!

Top Search Engine Ranking Factors to Consider in 2022

• Page Speed & Mobile Friendliness. Websites with fast loading times deliver a better user experience. Google prioritizes mobile-optimized sites which is why it’s important for websites to be well-optimized on a variety of screen sizes.
• Security & Accessibility. Ensuring a website is up-to-date with the latest security measures (such as HTTPS) and making it accessible will help your website show up higher in search results.
• Technical SEO. This refers to the technical elements of websites to help them rank better. Some examples include header tags to show content hierarchy, optimized metadata, alternative text for images, schema markup, and canonical URLs.
• Optimized Content. Providing users with useful, high-quality, and local content is a great way to optimize your website. Keyword-rich, well-optimized, and original content is ranked higher in search.
• Domain Authority. The longer a site is live and is being refreshed with new content, the better it’ll rank on SERPs.

By taking into consideration SEO ranking factors, you can create a digital strategy that’s prepared for algorithm updates well before they start rolling out. Constantly testing approaches to SEO and coding, staying on top of SEO and website trends, and reviewing performance on a site-by-site basis and a global perspective ensures you have a site that performs well in search engines and that users want to use.

And, since Google is, well, Google, there’s another update called the Helpful Content Update that started rolling out last week. Though not much is known about it and how (or if!) it will impact SEO for real estate, we do know that we’ll be keeping an eye on it. Stay tuned as we look ahead to more SEO changes!

Looking to elevate your SEO strategy for real estate? Connect with one of our strategists today to discuss your goals!

The post How Real Estate SEO Has Changed in 2022 appeared first on Union Street Media.

What is Duplicate Content?

According to Google, duplicate content is “substantive blocks of content within or across domains that either completely match other content in the same language or are appreciably similar.” More simply, when a significant portion of text can be found elsewhere on the web (including your own website), has been copied word-for-word, or if the content has had only superficial changes such as changing a handful of words for their synonyms or minor changes to sentence structure search engines consider that to be duplicate content. 

Example of Exact and Near Duplicate Content for Real Estate

• Original: Houses in this area tend to be single-family dwellings on plots averaging 1.5 acres.
• Exact Duplicate: Houses in this area tend to be single-family dwellings on plots averaging 1.5 acres.
• Near Duplicate: Most homes in this area are single-family homes on 1.5-acre lots. 

Why is Duplicate Content Bad?

Outside of the moral implications of stealing content from other creators, duplicate content essentially forces search engines to determine which version of the content is the original source and which page should receive a better ranking in search results, which isn’t always the original publisher of the content. The biggest concern with duplicate content is that it is not adding any value to your website and, therefore, won’t receive any boosts to search result rankings. 

While the biggest concern with duplicate content is its lack of value, there are instances when search engines may choose to explicitly penalize a website through a warning message about future penalties, de-ranking in search results, or in extreme cases, deindexation of content. Search engines determine if something is duplicated maliciously or not by looking at the domain authority for the other instances of content and the quantity of the duplicate content on your website. Below we’ve included the most common instances of malicious and non-malicious content on real estate websites. 

Maliciously Duplicated Content

Content is considered maliciously duplicated when a significant amount of the content (such as an entire landing page or blog post) has been stolen intentionally in an attempt to out-perform the original publisher of the content with the explicit intent to better the performance of the offending source in search results. Maliciously duplicated content may incur serious penalizations and is always something to avoid. Examples of malicious duplication commonly found in real estate:

• Copying content that originated on a competitor’s site
  • Ex: Zillow, Redfin, the brokerage across the street
• Copying content from an Industry’s educational sources 
  • Ex: The National Association of Realtors, your franchise’s website
• Copying content from local resources
  • Ex: Wikipedia, town websites, Chamber of Commerce websites

Non-Malicious Duplicate Content

SEO is complicated, and sometimes duplicate content happens unintentionally. Typically, non-malicious duplicate content occurs when technical SEO best practices are not being followed, such as when:

• A site is accessible under multiple subdomains 
  • Ex: not redirecting the www. version of a website to the non-www. version
• A separate mobile version or printer-friendly version exists for a website
• A website isn’t utilizing proper canonicalization
  • Ex: Resharing a blog post with permission from a different website but not including schema that indicates syndication
  • Ex: Paginated lists (such as map search results or blog pages) are not properly tagged, so search engines view each page of results as a new page instead of part of a group of pages

How to Avoid Duplicate Content

The easiest way to avoid the most severe instances of duplicate content is to avoid copying and pasting content from other websites altogether and include proper citations via outbound links when creating content such as blogs. That also means refraining from posting blogs that were published on another site first, even if it’s from your franchise’s website. 

To avoid non-malicious duplicate content, incorporate current SEO best practices, including implementing canonical URLs, so that search engines better understand the website’s structure and can quickly identify the original source of content, especially when it’s your own website. 

Writing original content and implementing backend SEO such as canonical tags can be time-consuming and requires technical knowledge from both an optimization and coding standpoint. Brokerages need to focus on attracting qualified buyers and sellers, providing exceptional service during the transaction, and recruiting top-performing agents — which is why working with a digital marketing agency (like us!) is the best, most efficient way to ensure you’re avoiding duplicate content. 

Contact our experts to start a technical audit that can identify exact and near duplicate content appearing on your website and customize a digital marketing solution to fit your brokerage’s unique goals and needs.

At Union Street Media, we pride ourselves on providing every Digital Marketing client with a personalized solution that goes beyond high-level strategy to every piece of content published on a site. From landing pages and recommended searches to blog posts, anything written by the Content Team has been written on a client-by-client basis and is 100% original. Additionally, our industry-leading websites have technical SEO baked in, ensuring proper implementation of schema tagging from day one. 

I’m Ready to Take my Business to the Next Level

The post Understanding Duplicate Content on Real Estate Websites appeared first on Union Street Media.

One of our amazing clients, Lionel Sanchez, the Director of Marketing at McColly Real Estate is running the Chicago Marathon on October 9th in honor and in memory of his father-in-law, who battled Parkinson’s Disease. Sanchez is running with the Parkinson’s Champions to support and raise awareness for the Parkinson’s Foundation.

Given there’s still much to learn about Parkinson’s Disease, and given Sanchez’s dedication, we are hoping to help him in his efforts to support those battling or caring for loves ones with Parkinson’s Disease. The Parkinson’s Foundation is an organization that’s dedicated to improving the quality of life for those with Parkinson’s through care and research. It also offers support and resources for family members and loved ones of those with Parkinson’s Disease.

Read more about Lionel Sanchez’s journey and help him get to his goal here.

Do you have a charitable organization you’d like us to spotlight? Let us know!

The post Charity Spotlight: Parkinson’s Foundation appeared first on Union Street Media.

Typically, real estate marketing strategies draw attention to a property’s features such as amenities, bedrooms, and outdoor space, among other things, as well as the area’s lifestyle. For seller strategies, emphasizing specific services and highlighting results, such as through client success stories and recently sold properties, can be effective. But how do you market a property that doesn’t have most (if any) of those features or get sellers to trust you can sell their property when many land owners’ properties are as unique as them?

Digital marketing strategies for land present a unique challenge in the real estate industry. When trying to attract land buyers online, you have to get a little more creative in how you show off a property and demonstrate its value. Read on to learn more about how digital marketing for land differs from selling homes and how to create a digital strategy to target and attract land buyers and sellers. 

7 Tips for the Best Land Marketing Strategies

1. Understand and highlight what the land is zoned for
2. Highlight the potential
3. Provide specific details
4. Include aerial images and videos
5. Optimize your website for land listings
6. Create and share land-specific content
7. Leverage targeted ad campaigns

Understand and highlight what the land is zoned for

One of the most important elements in creating a land marketing strategy is knowing what the land is zoned for. Land buyers often look for land for specific uses such as hunting, recreation, logging, ranching, building, etc. Crafting a detailed listing description with this information not only provides buyers with the information to make an informed decision, but also boosts your SEO (more on this later) and helps set the foundation for a more targeted strategy. With the zoning information, you can also create blog posts about changing land classifications and zoning exemptions, which can also be shared on your social media. Pay particular attention to up-and-coming areas and craft content around land classifications and zoning regulations specific to each region, city, town, and even neighborhood you serve.

Highlight the potential 

A piece of land is sort of like a blank canvas. There are seemingly infinite ways to fill up the space and create something unique. By highlighting and elaborating on the land’s potential, you can help buyers picture themselves using the land. Does the property have space for outdoor recreation? Can the land support animals or crops? Or, is it an ideal space for building a home? Use the listing description, a video, a blog post, email campaign, or social media to create interest in what’s possible. And make sure to research the most popular keywords and relevant search trends so you can tap into what people are already interested in as you craft your land listing’s SEO strategy. Take into consideration the type of land and its surrounding area, as well as the property itself, when looking for trending topics you can use in your land marketing. 

Provide specific details 

Providing a lot of details is essential for marketing all property types in real estate, but especially so when marketing land. And, the information land buyers are looking for differs widely from home buyers. Details such as zoning, buildable areas, restrictions, the status of utilities, lot dimensions, site maps, soil health, and more can help potential buyers understand the property better. Use the listing description on your real estate website to provide users with all the details about the property. Or, you can feature the property in a blog post on your site and share it on your social media platforms to extend its reach. Lastly, create one-click searches to make it easy for people to browse available land by type, and make sure these pre-populated searches are specific to the types of land and uses so people can most easily find the ideal land listing for them. If your website visitors have to click more than three pages deep to find what they’re looking for, they’re much more likely to lose interest and leave.

Include aerial images and videos

Visuals are essential in real estate and marketing land is no exception. However, taking images of a piece of land is much different than a home. In order to capture what it offers and the feeling of the land, take high-quality pictures of some of the key features throughout the property, such as bodies of water, views, trails, fields, etc. Even better, take a video of the property. Drone photography is a popular way to capture an aerial view of a property, especially when there are many acres. You can buy a drone yourself or enlist the help of an experienced photographer. An aerial view of your land listing allows interested buyers to not only see the land in its entirety, but also the surrounding area, which is especially important for those looking to develop the land. You can also upload the video onto your YouTube channel and share it across multiple platforms, giving you the opportunity to get in front of more people. Many land brokers overlook the advantages and opportunities of video, especially developing a YouTube following, so this can be a great way to stand out and show how you’re different to land owners who may list with you in the future, as well as to attract and establish trust with potential buyers.

Optimize your website for land listings

Having a real estate website that’s user-friendly and optimized is essential for attracting leads. By incorporating relevant keywords for land buyers specifically, you can give your real estate website or land website’s SEO a boost and show up when potential buyers are searching. Incorporate important keywords into landing pages and one-click searches, or recommended searches, such as “ranches for sale in [your area]” or “land for hunting in [your area]”. Keep in mind what’s most appealing about the land in order to create searches that are most relevant to potential buyers. Often, the more specific the search, the higher the person’s intent in actually reaching out to a land broker and finding the right land for sale for them.

Create and share land-specific content

Another way to attract land buyers is to create and share land-specific content that’s relevant to these buyers. You can create a landing page with frequently asked questions about buying and/or owning land, links to area information if you’re in a more developed area, local laws and regulations, such as hunting laws and seasonality, and reports on the soil. You can also share any zoning changes or updates, environmental studies on the area, tips for taking care of the soil, and more. 

Leverage targeted ad campaigns

Online advertising continues to be a staple in digital marketing for real estate. Creating ads allows you to reach potential leads with visuals and copy that are most relevant to them. And as mentioned previously, understanding what the land can be used for and your buyer’s motivation will set the foundation for an effective strategy. For example, if you live in an area with lots of ranches and farms, you could create ads that showcase the quality of the land and how it can be used for animals and crops. Or, if you live in a more residential area, create ads that give insight into what it would be like to live in that community and the advantages of building vs. buying an existing property. 

Plus, if you use omnichannel marketing to target potential leads wherever they are online, including on search engines, social media, and other websites, you can extend your reach even further and drive the frequency necessary to establish trust (people are more likely to click on ads when they’ve heard of the company before). Don’t forget to review your website and advertising campaign analytics to better understand current visitors and opportunities for growth. As one example, you can discover what and from where people are searching and serve ads in those areas reflecting their areas of interest, reaching those who are most likely interested in buying land for sale online with content that they’ll notice. 

The key to marketing land online is understanding what the land is or can be used for, and telling that story to your ideal audience where and when it’ll get noticed by them. By keeping in mind what appeals to your ideal land buyers and sellers, you can create a tailored and more effective digital strategy to reach and engage them, as well as get them talking about and sharing information you provide with others.

Need help creating a land marketing strategy that’s as unique as you are? Connect with one of our strategists today to get personalized recommendations on how to stand out and sell more land online. 

The post How Land Marketing Differs from Marketing Homes appeared first on Union Street Media.

At Union Street Media, we believe in independence, in real and genuine relationships, and that real estate brokers are the future. So, besides being part of the artichoke heart of summer, and a truly beautiful time of the year, a day to celebrate independence is very much in line with who we are and how we operate.

Many of our clients are independently owned and operated real estate brokerages. All of our clients are independent-minded. We, too, are independent. Unlike other companies in the PropTech space, there are no outside investors calling the shots at Union Street Media. The alignment of these two cultures has been the backbone of what has helped us grow over the past 22 years –  from a concept in my dorm room to a company of over 65 people and more than 600 clients working together from all over the world.

The last few years have been a tumultuous time for our country. On both the right and the left, there’s way more despair than hope about our future. This past month, I had the opportunity to go with my eight-year-old, Jack, to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was a really inspiring visit that helped me see why being an American is such a blessing.

Almost all of my family came to America through Ellis Island. To see what their experience was like, and understand what they walked away from in the Old World, was powerful. They couldn’t pick up their iPhone and FaceTime with their family back in Europe; they made a decision, a very independent one, to come to this country for a better life and I am a direct beneficiary of it.

It was also interesting to see how the immigrants that came through Ellis Island saw America.  A country of opportunity, a life away from persecution, a place to start new, and to give their children a better life. The pride that they took in becoming Americans was moving. If you haven’t had the opportunity to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, I highly recommend it. It gives you hope and inspiration!

So this Independence Day, I’m thankful for what it means to be American and all of the opportunities and privileges that come with it.

The post Why We Believe in Independence appeared first on Union Street Media.

All of our real estate websites feature customizable IDX, are supported by powerful technology like industry-leading map search, and leverage advanced technical SEO so your ideal clients can find you online when it matters most. Plus, our mobile responsive designs ensure every website always looks good, regardless of where and on what someone chooses to view it. Check out some of our favorite new real estate websites below! Select the company name to view the full site.

Interested in a new real estate website? Connect with us today to get personalized recommendations for your goals.

Coldwell Banker Hedges Realty
Iowa

UnIimited Sotheby’s International Realty
Massachusetts

Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty | Diane B. Tien Group
Washington

East Egg Realty
New York

Legacy Home Group | Keller Williams Coastal And Lakes & Mountains Realty
New Hampshire

Brenda van der Merwe | Hammond Residential Real Estate, LLC
Massachusetts

Blowing Rock Properties, Inc.
North Carolina

Franklin Real Estate
Massachusetts

The post Recent Website Launches: Spring 2022 appeared first on Union Street Media.

According to a report from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), the percentage of vacation home sales accounted for was 8% of existing home sales, up from an average of about 5% from previous years. Not only are vacation home sales more popular than before, but real estate investing is as well –  about 22% of home sales in 2022 were to investors, up from about 15% in 2021. 

Keep reading to learn more about the new types of second home buyers and discover some of our digital marketing strategies to target second home buyers. 

Who are the new types of second home buyers?

As mentioned previously, the second home buying market has expanded in recent years to include a wider variety of buyers. Some second home buyers include:

• People looking for distance from major cities.
• International buyers who are able to view and tour properties virtually. 
• People who are nearing retirement and want to buy a property in advance.
• Investors looking to rent out the property full-time or rent it out seasonally. 
• People with children who are about to be in college or in college, as well as people who are looking to house other family members such as parents or grandparents. 
• Those looking for a permanent vacation home or second home to split their time. 
• People who want to have “commuter properties.” These properties are for those who want to have a second home in an area in which they work but don’t want to live there full time.

It’s important to note that because second home buyers vary so widely, one strategy might not speak to all second home buyers – honing in on each type will help you create the most effective strategy. 

7 digital strategies to attract second home buyers

1. Advertise a variety of property types
2. Utilize email marketing to stay top of mind 
3. Create detailed listing descriptions
4. Highlight ancillary services 
5. Incorporate images and videos
6. Showcase local knowledge
7. Optimize your website for second home buyers

Advertise a variety of property types

Online advertising continues to be one of the most effective ways to attract prospective leads. And, advertising allows you to dial in on your goals and reach your customers with copy and imagery that speaks to them best. Also, leveraging omnichannel marketing extends your reach even further to target prospective leads on social media, search engines, and other websites. 

For second home buyers, knowing their motivation is key for an effective strategy – are they looking to invest in a property and rent it out? Or are they looking for a permanent vacation home? By utilizing advertising for second home buyers, you can target several different types of buyers with messaging that resonates with them the most. For example, if you live in an area with waterfront homes for sale, you could create ads that demonstrate what it would be like to vacation there. Or, if you service an area that has properties with a lot of land, hightlight how spacious and peaceful the area is for those looking to get out of major cities. 

Plus, if you have access to analytics (or work with someone who can help!) you can determine exactly where people are searching from and serve ads to people in specific places who are more likely to be interested in your area. Finally, you can advertise specific property types for second home buyers like townhomes, apartments, rental properties, condos, waterfront homes, single-family homes, or anything else your customers are searching for.

Utilize email marketing to stay top of mind 

Email marketing in the real estate industry continues to be an effective method of staying top of mind for potential leads and past clients. By tapping into your sphere of influence through email marketing, you can earn repeat business for those looking to buy a second home. Some content marketing ideas for real estate emails include guides, how-to’s, investment strategies, events happening not only in your area but your entire state, how to prep your home if you’re going to be gone for long periods of time, and more. 

Create detailed listing descriptions 

In the real estate industry, the more details the better for buyers looking at properties. By crafting detailed descriptions of the properties available, you can highlight why it makes a great second home. In the description, you can also provide details about the surrounding area such as ski resorts close by, country clubs, lakes, and more. The listing description can be used to highlight the many uses for the property, such as having multiple units, pool house, mother-in-law-suit, etc. Use the descriptions to paint the picture of what it would be like to own that property, beyond what is on the MLS.

Highlight ancillary services

With second home buyers, they might want to invest and rent out their property. As a result, they might be looking for property management companies, landscaping, maintenance, etc. By highlighting your ancillary services, you can position yourself as a go-to resource for everything real estate and beyond from start to finish. Or, for those looking for a vacation home, they might be located further away –  even internationally –  and could need moving or relocation services. 

However, if you don’t offer any ancillary services, create a landing page with your connections and recommendations to drive traffic to your website and you might even get linked from that company’s website, too.

Incorporate images and videos

Often, the second home buyers who are looking for a vacation home or place to get away are looking for a specific lifestyle. Including not only high-quality images and videos of the property is essential, but also of the lifestyle that comes with the property. Have a property near a ski resort? Create a video that shows the slopes or the best restaurant to grab a meal after a long day on the mountain. You can upload the video to your YouTube channel and share it across your other social media channels for real estate. 

Showcase local knowledge

Similarly, demonstrating that you’re an expert in the area is a major draw for potential second home buyers. Create content that highlights the things to do in the area like golfing, skiing, swimming in the ocean, hiking, restaurants, breweries, etc. Depending on your properties available, consider what a second home buyer would want from the property – do they want a private getaway in nature? Or do they want to be downtown and close to the action? By blogging and sharing on social media, you can get in front of more second home buyers who are looking for a specific lifestyle.

Or, for second home buyers looking to invest and rent out, sharing local market reports or statistics can help them make an informed decision on whether there are income opportunities available with the property.

Optimize your website for second home buyers 

A real estate website that’s optimized, user-friendly, and mobile-friendly is key to attracting a variety of leads. For second home buyers specifically, create landing pages that demonstrate your expertise in helping people buy a second home with case studies or testimonials. And, you can also incorporate relevant keywords and recommended searches that appeal to second home buyers such as “investment property in [your area]” or “waterfront homes for sale in [your area]” or “properties with in-law suites in [your area]” and more. Furthermore, create pages with high quality content such as second home buying frequently asked questions, area information links, and property management resources, to drive more traffic to your site by giving your SEO a boost.

With the rise in new second home buyers, there are plenty of opportunities to grow your real estate business. By keeping in mind what a second home buyer’s needs are and your goals, you can craft an effective digital marketing strategy for second home buyers.

Want to elevate your digital marketing for real estate? Connect with us today for specific recommendations to grow your business.

The post How New Types of Second Home Buyers Have Changed Marketing Strategies appeared first on Union Street Media.

Solidify Infrastructure

The real estate industry learned a lot from the last two years including the importance of having a solid infrastructure in place that allows business to continue seamlessly regardless of what is happening outside of the real estate space.  

Having clearly defined processes for onboarding, day-to-day office management, and lead tracking and nurturing allows you to navigate uncertain times focused on the important issues at hand like higher interest rates, low inventory, and even a full-on market crash, rather than having to figure out who is responsible for what. You don’t want to have to focus your energies on the minute details of day-to-day operations when you-know-what hits the fan or when transactions pick up significantly. 

Invest in Digital

We live in a digital-first world and your brokerage should be too. Find technology that helps your brokerage achieve your unique goals and start training your agents on how to use it so that you don’t have to focus energy on implementing tools last minute — a great example from the last two years on why investing in digital tools now is so important is 3D home tours and how important that was when some markets weren’t allowed to host open-houses. From technology that drives and manages leads to software that allows agents to be flexible and versatile, there’s no better time than now to make sure you’re set up for the future. 

Ensuring you have a reliable CRM that agents can access from anywhere is a great place to start. This can mean making updates to what you’re already using or finding a CRM that meets your needs. Going one step farther and investing in digital solutions that will nurture your leads through qualification screenings or text follow-up ensures that no one is falling through the cracks and saves agents time. It also means that when your agents are super busy with a current buyer or seller, they aren’t missing out on their next opportunity. These types of digital solutions can also provide you with better tracking insights. 

With more and more people working remotely the pool of potential buyers has grown significantly. Gone are the days when you’re limited to just those within your service area. Getting in front of buyers all over the country, and potentially the world is the new normal for brokerages looking to grow and maintain their market share. Starting with a data-backed, beautiful website is only the first step in a strategy that will drive results. The most successful brokerages understand the importance of an omnichannel digital marketing strategy, but they also understand that success doesn’t happen overnight. While paid media can help you drive traffic and leads in the short term, a thorough and impactful organic strategy can take months to build traction. Union Street Media’s team of experts is here to help you find a tailored solution that aligns with your goals. 

Focus on People

Relationships matter in real estate. Building relationships with buyers and sellers is the hallmark of any successful brokerage — we all know the importance of referrals and repeat clients. How are you delivering exceptional service buyers, sellers, builders, and investors won’t find elsewhere? When inventory falls, having loyal sellers and builders can mean the difference between making a transaction that month and not. Buyers and investors who know they can count on you will be ready to take the next step regardless of how interest rates are performing. Nurturing these relationships consistently means that when it’s crunch time you don’t come off as predatory or sales-y because the foundation of trust and knowledge is already there.   

It’s no secret that agent retention is difficult. Building a culture of loyalty takes transparency, a consistent feedback loop, support in and out of the office, and of course showing the value you are bringing to agents. Having a way to collect and follow up on the feedback you’re receiving from agents is a good first step in ensuring they feel like their voice is heard and that they can help make changes and correct pain points. Hiring a marketing manager, photographer, or other office-related staff to help reduce some of the pressure on your agents so they can focus on what matters to them: transacting real estate.

Of course, showing your value through leads and marketing is a huge factor in retaining agents. Do you have internal communication systems in place to have transparency on how leads are distributed and also show tangible results that the work agents or your brokerage as a whole are doing outside of meeting with clients is having an impact on their commissions? An example would be sharing how being active on social media, contributing blog posts, or investing in paid search tactics has helped to drive website traffic and leads that month. If you are on one of our Digital Marketing Packages and would like to discuss how you can better show value to your agents, reach out to your Digital Success Specialist, or let us know via our contact page. 

Diversify Service Offerings

Buyers and sellers expect more from their brokerage experience and as margins continue to tighten for many agencies – it’s more advantageous than ever to diversify. According to a study conducted by the National Association of REALTORS (NAR), the most popular ancillary businesses for real estate include mortgage lending, relocation services, home warranty, home improvement services, title, and escrow. Regardless of whether you started your own, acquired, invested in, or partnered with an existing business, dedicating time and resources to marketing your ancillary businesses (or partners) can be incredibly worthwhile. 

You may already have the groundwork in place for a lot of the strategies we discussed above. Union Street Media can help you think beyond buyers and sellers and make the most out of what you’re already doing or help guide you as you make decisions. Give us a call today to speak to one of our experts on how you can be prepared for whatever the market throws at you. 

The post Are you Prepared for the Shifting Real Estate Market? appeared first on Union Street Media.

Whether you already have an established presence in the real estate investor segment or want to learn more about strategies that can help expand your business in this group, keep reading for our top tips to market to real estate investors online. 

7 Digital Marketing Strategies to Attract Real Estate Investors

1. Advertise a mix of areas and property types
2. Demonstrate local knowledge
3. Optimize your website for real estate investors
4. Elevate listing descriptions
5. Share local market reports and statistics
6. Stay top of mind for repeat business and referrals
7. Market ancillary services

Advertise a mix of areas and property types

Advertising is one of the most effective ways to attract potential leads. And it’s not a one size fits all approach. Where, when, and how much to advertise depends on your specific goals and leveraging an omnichannel approach, which integrates ads in search engines, on popular websites, and on social media gives you the flexibility to reach your ideal customers in the most effective way. For real estate investors specifically, knowing who you want to reach and what their motivations are is key – are investors looking to flip properties, keep them as a source of passive income, manage several properties, or something else altogether?

With online advertising for real estate investors, you can tailor your targeting and messaging to very specific types of buyers. For example, if you have a service area that has a higher vacancy rate, you could consider creating ads that highlight the great opportunities in the area and any properties available. Or, alternatively, hone in on hot rental markets and share helpful information like how to know where to buy a rental property. If you have access to analytics, finding out where people are searching from is also a great way to create a strategy and serve ads to people who are most likely to be interested in your area, whether local investors or out-of-state buyers. And, you can also advertise specific properties that investors are most interested in such as apartment buildings, condos, single-family homes, and multifamily properties, depending on your area and ideal customers’ needs. 

Demonstrate local knowledge

Demonstrating that you have expert knowledge in your service area on the community, neighborhood, and even street level is key to attracting real estate investors, just as it is for all buyers. Investors often look for more guidance from real estate agents, even if they’ve been investing for awhile. They want to know you’ll have answers to their questions and advise them on the best way to achieve their goals. By showcasing your knowledge of the area, such as reasons people live there, school information, commute times, popular restaurants, shops, and things to do, local laws and regulations like zoning, building regulations, and tax information, and more, you can provide investors with the information they need to make an informed decision. And, you’ll position yourself as a go-to resource and build trust and credibility.  

You can showcase your area knowledge by leveraging social media for real estate. Highlight businesses by interviewing owners or write a spotlight on your blog about local events so you can share it on your social platforms. Or, create video tours of listings you have and share them on social media by uploading them to the platform or linking to your YouTube channel and website. On Instagram, you can incorporate hashtags such as #investmentproperty or #justlisted that can help get your listings in front of more investors. 

Optimize your website for real estate investors

Having a search-engine optimized, user-friendly real estate website is essential for increasing awareness and generating leads of all kinds. Specifically, though, for targeting real estate investors, building a landing page or pages that are focused on how you can help them and what resources you provide is key. And, it’s just the start. Be sure to include relevant keywords such as “investment property in [your area]” or “investment opportunity in [your area]”, as well as answer questions investors may have. Google loves short answer questions as people have increasingly searched long phrases and questions, using voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google. In addition to keyword optimization, ensure pages have relevant, optimized metadata, and technical SEO in place, such as the right URL structure and optimized images. Further, build out valuable content by creating and prominently featuring pre-populated listings pages with properties that investors might be interested in (like properties looking for cash offers) and adding helpful links to area information, investor frequently asked questions (FAQs), property management resources and more. Having strong real estate investor tailored SEO and content is a great way to ensure you stand out to investors and make it easier for them to confidently explore their options with you. 

Elevate listing descriptions

Another area of your marketing that can be optimized for real estate investors is your listing descriptions. Because investors are searching for as much information as possible about a property and the area in order to make an informed decision, listing descriptions are a great place to start when considering what to highlight and why. Use the listing description to tell the story of the property on the listing page and the other places it appears (for example, in a MLS search performed on a website that’s not your own). Describe what features it has so potential buyers can find the basic information and also detail what’s in the surrounding area and why people love living there, as well as income opportunities, so investors understand the property and how much value they can get from it in the future. 

Share local market reports and statistics

One of the most effective ways of showcasing your area knowledge is through area statistics and local market reports. Create market reports or provide updates based on what you’re seeing in your local market and have them accessible for others to download from your website. Make sure to add your own spin to statistics, as it’s the story the data tells (i.e. this is an up and coming area) more so than the actual numbers that will resonate with others and get them to follow, and trust, you. You can also write a blog post highlighting real estate trends and market information including statistics like average sales price, time on the market, etc. and email them out or share them on social media. People regularly search for and follow people who talk about and share real estate trends, so this is an opportunity for you to both get in front of potential clients and become known as a resource for real estate and investment properties in your area.

Stay top of mind for repeat business and referrals

Staying top of mind is key across the board in the real estate industry and for any marketing strategy to be effective. And, for those interested in marketing to real estate investors, staying top of mind is essential. Investors are typically looking to buy and sell properties much faster than typical buyers and sellers. By staying top of mind to real estate investors, you can earn repeat business and referrals to other potential investors. To do this, create a content marketing strategy that demonstrates your value even after closing, such as sharing guides, how-to’s, and relevant information about the community and even more so, different investment strategies (i.e. you’ve bought your first investment property, now what?). Stay top of mind with your sphere by sharing investor-targeted content in an email newsletter, blog, and on social media (start with the blog and link back to it for maximum SEO value). 

Market ancillary services

Often real estate investors have their hands full with multiple properties. By marketing your ancillary services, you can position your business as a one-stop-shop for real estate investors. You’ll strengthen your value with your potential customers and potentially earn more revenue from the same transaction. Plus, marketing your ancillary businesses keeps your company top of mind for anything real estate-related and can result in both repeat business from people with whom you’ve worked in the past and new business from non-real estate sales sources (i.e. an investor who works with a different agent, but wants to explore new financing options might decide to work with you for real estate sales and mortgage financing after starting out talking to you about financing only). If you don’t offer ancillary services, create a landing page on your website with your local connections and recommended companies for related services. You’ll drive traffic to your website, get other businesses and connections talking about you as well, and position yourself as a resource investors can go to with any question and need.

Real estate investors are a prominent segment of the real estate industry and provide lots of opportunities for growth despite comprising a smaller portion of total real estate sales. And creating a digital marketing strategy tailored specifically for them is one of the most effective ways to get their business.

Want to learn more about the best digital marketing strategies to attract real estate investors? Connect with us today and we’ll discuss personalized recommendations for your business.

The post Marketing 101: How to Market to Real Estate Investors appeared first on Union Street Media.

Keep reading to learn more about creating a digital marketing strategy for luxury real estate listings to attract the right buyers and sell more homes. 

7 Ways to Market Luxury Listings Online

1. Designated landing page
2. Highlight appealing amenities
3. Include high-quality visuals 
4. Create a lifestyle video
5. 3D renderings & Virtual staging
6. Advertise listings online
7. Share on social media

Designated landing page 

Having a robust real estate website is a must in this digital-heavy world. Not only are real estate websites one of the best ways to market your listings, but so is also creating a designated landing page for luxury listings. Because these listings often include many amenities, building a landing page for a specific property will allow you to provide as much detail about the listing as possible, making it the sole focus. On the landing page, be sure to include your contact information, plenty of images, videos, and a detailed description of the property and the surrounding areas, among other things.

Highlight appealing amenities 

Similar to providing great descriptions for other listings and writing about what makes the property so special, highlighting all the amenities offered is a great way to paint the picture of the property and what living there would look like. Be sure to include amenities that are appealing specifically to luxury real estate buyers, such as security, gyms or fitness areas, outdoor amenities, entertainment options on the property, etc. 

Sharing some of these highlights on other channels such as social media or in ads (more on those later) in order to reach and entice the target audience is a great way to increase engagement and interest in the property. 

Include high-quality visuals 

Time and time again, we hear about including high-quality visuals in order to effectively market your real estate listenings, and that’s because incorporating visuals is one of the best ways to highlight and attract potential buyers. Specifically, in the luxury real estate industry, companies have started to turn to drones to capture images and videos of properties. By utilizing drones, you can capture the entire property and show off the surrounding area as well. 

Create a lifestyle video

As mentioned previously, marketing luxury listings also means marketing a specific lifestyle that comes with the property. One of the most effective ways to do this is through a comprehensive video. In the video, give a tour of the property, making sure to highlight any special features, the surrounding area, and why this property is so special. Not only are videos extremely popular but also help give your website a boost and increase engagement on social media. Be sure to upload your videos to YouTube, as YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, and allows you to get in front of people who are browsing similar videos. 

3D renderings & Virtual staging

Sometimes, luxury properties are new construction. In order to market new construction properties to potential buyers, you might need to start before it’s completely finished. By creating 3D renderings, or 3D models, of what the property is set to look like, you can begin creating your digital marketing strategy early. Similar to 3D renderings, virtual staging has gained popularity during the shift to a more digital world. With virtual staging, you can show off the property that’s still being built or has been built but not furnished with the best lighting, furniture, and decorations that make the property highly desirable. 

Advertise listings online

One of the best ways to market luxury real estate listings is to create ads for the properties. Creating ads, allows you to reach a specific audience of buyers who are interested in luxury properties. Be sure to include a click-to-call CTA (call-to-action) on the ad and link to your real estate website, a contact page, or the specific property’s landing page. You can also use some of the content mentioned previously like videos, images, 3D renderings, and virtual staging for your ads to show off the property. Plus, including a click-to-call phone number, makes it easy for potential buyers to get in touch with you after seeing your ad. 

Share on social media

The power of social media for real estate is undeniable. Dedicating a post to highlighting your luxury listings is a great way to showcase the property because social media continues to be an effective way of attracting and engaging potential buyers. By sharing on your social channels with visual assets like a video or images, you can create the story of the listing and get in front of more people. Specifically, real estate agents are posting video tours of luxury listings on TikTok and gaining thousands of views, which then places them in front of more people and keeps them top of mind. To create the best social media strategy, think about your goals and what platforms make sense for you and your business.

Creating a digital marketing strategy for luxury real estate is one of the most effective ways to get in front of more potential buyers to sell the property and the lifestyle. As always, keeping track of what’s working and what’s not is key to adapting your strategy to make the most out of your efforts.

Need help creating a digital marketing strategy for real estate? Connect with one of our strategists today.

The post Marketing 101: How to Market Luxury Real Estate Listings Online appeared first on Union Street Media.

And, Facebook has continued to evolve and add new features as consumer behavior and technology have changed. Users can now use Facebook stories, integrate with Instagram and Messenger, utilize the Facebook Live feature, and so much more. Because of the constant pace of change and myriad options, we put together a guide to Facebook best practices for real estate below. Keep reading to learn more about the difference between posting, boosting, and advertising on Facebook and how to leverage Facebook to help grow your real estate business. 

Facebook Posts

Regular posts published to Facebook’s newsfeed appear on your follower’s feeds and are influenced by the algorithm, meaning Facebook decides which content is shown, when it shows, to whom it shows, and how often it shows. Posts that have videos or image carousels (multiple images) get more likes and comments and are shown more often. Even a single image in a post is better than no image. Regular posts are great for sharing blogs, team events, resources, success stories, personal anecdotes, asking questions, and more. In order to make the most out of your Facebook posts, consider:

• What’s your goal – Think about what you want to accomplish by publishing a post. Do you want to highlight a property to attract buyers? Showcase a recent sale to appeal to potential sellers? Share area information to showcase your expertise? Ask a question to engage your followers? Have a conversation to develop relationships? Share a story to inspire others? Whatever it is, having a goal in mind and being intentional not only makes it easier to write the post, but can help you determine any calls to action to add, the type of engagement to expect, and ultimately, whether it’s successful. For example, “just listed” and “just sold” posts (paired with a photo of the property, unique and catchy text, and a link to more information on the listing page) don’t get as much engagement, such as likes, shares, and comments, as personal anecdotes and success stories, but they could be just as successful if they attract the right people and drive traffic to and leads from the listing page on your website.
• How it looks – Visual posts tend to perform really well on Facebook — especially videos. They’re shared more often and can help increase your reach on the platform as algorithms push them out more. Videos of listings, events, and your communities are great for sharing as a post. If images are all that’s available, post them instead of video, but make sure they’re carefully chosen to represent the property, area, or you in the best way.
• Where it goes – Include links to relevant information like a specific listing, a blog post, your website, or contact information. And, include language that prompts readers to click the links like “Get in touch” or “View this listing” to help drive traffic to your real estate website. 

Facebook Advertising for Real Estate

There are two main types of Facebook advertising – boosted posts and ads. Advertising on Facebook – like on many other social media platforms – involves understanding and specifying the best ad budget to maximum your reach and get you in front of the right people. We’ve found that it’s not necessary to follow Facebook’s recommendations exactly; you can often get away with spending less and being strategic about how you advertise, but it is necessary to commit to a minimum spend level to ensure you stand out and get noticed. 

Boosting Posts on Facebook 

Boosting a post is when you take a post that you’ve posted on your newsfeed and push it out to more people on Facebook by assigning it an ad budget and specifying some targeting criteria. To boost a post, you’ll choose your target audience, determine how much you want to spend on the post, and select a timeline for how many days you want the post to be boosted. Boosted posts are a more simple form of advertising because you don’t use Ads Manager to create the posts, though we recommend always using Ads Manager to handle targeting criteria such as creating and managing audiences, and you’re more limited in how much you can customize your targeting. Boosted posts are a great option to promote time sensitive content such as events like classes and open houses, as well as content you want to showcase more than standard posts, without dedicating a long term ad budget and strategy to it, such as awards and recognition for your top agents. In summary, boosted posts are a relatively simple and often more affordable way for your content to reach more people and a good way to test out Facebook advertising if you’re not sure what will work best for your needs.  

Facebook Ads

Facebook ads are created and managed in Ads Manager where you have more control over customizations such as the look of the ad and who it’s targeting. In Ads Manager, you can choose from several options where your ad will show up, such as the newsfeed, Instagram, Messenger, across the Audience Network, which is a collection of popular websites on which Facebook places ads, and more. 

With Facebook ads, you create campaigns based on a specific goal, such as driving traffic, which allows you to better align the ad with your overarching social media marketing strategy and goals. You also have more options for ad features and designs, including adding in call-to-action buttons or additional images and video. One of the biggest advantages Facebook ads have are the ability to identify and customize your audience – you can choose from location, interests, contact lists, and more to create audiences for your ads to target.

How to know which method to use and when

Each option for Facebook advertising for real estate has its own place in a social media strategy. We like using boosted posts to experiment with new messaging and content in a low-cost, lower-effort way. Typically, boosting posts for 3-5 days, up to a week most, and spending $10-$15 a day is enough to get a sense of what your audience engages with most, though best practices vary based on goals and audience size. Because social media algorithms are constantly changing, it’s important to leverage a combination of organic and paid methods to attract and engage your audience. If you’re ready to commit the time to posting regularly, 3-5 times a week, and supporting organic social media posts with paid advertising when it makes sense, Facebook could be a valuable platform for you to grow and engage your audience, and connect with your future customers. In summary:

Use regular posts when:

• You want to share relevant information with the people who follow you, such as a local business or community spotlight
• You want to provide resources (blogs, guides, etc.) to your audience 
• You want to share personal stories and anecdotes

Use boosted posts when:

• You want to increase brand awareness, such as when you’re just starting out
• You want to increase engagement through visibility on your posts, especially for timely events and recognition

Use Facebook ads when:

• You want to drive traffic to your website, including to listing pages
• You want to generate leads
• You want to reach a wider audience, such as out-of-state buyers

There are so many ways you can leverage Facebook and all of its features to help grow your real estate business online. At the end of the day, it’s important to monitor performance of your Facebook page and advertising campaigns to ensure you’re informed on what’s working best and where additional testing or adjustments are needed. Facebook advertising, like all online advertising for real estate, can be a great way to discover what resonates with the people with whom you most want to work, so you can then scale those insights across the other places in which you interact with your potential customers, such as your website, your in person conversations, your signage, and more.

Want more information about creating an effective social media strategy for your real estate business? Connect with our team today!

The post Facebook Best Practices: Posting vs. Boosting vs. Advertising appeared first on Union Street Media.

Takeaways from the 2022 T3 Summit

1. Technology Enables Efficiency
2. Consumers Want a Seamless Experience
3. The Power of a Brand
4. Opportunity and Luck Both Matter
5. The Most Successful Companies Have Fanatic Discipline
6. Growing the Value of Each Transaction
7. Creating More Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Companies
8. Real Estate is Still a Lifestyle, Relationship, and Hyperlocal Business
9. The Growth of Private Equity, Investment, and New Ownership Models
10. Changes in How We Market
11. The Second Home Ownership Opportunity
12. Technology Partners Are Important
13. It’s Time for Succession Planning and Exit Strategies
14. Rapid Experimentation is Key
15. The Need to be Market Proof

Technology Enables Efficiency

It’s likely no surprise that technology was a theme of this year’s T3 Summit. What may be surprising is the consistency with which leaders underscored the importance of technology in making companies more efficient and profitable. Technology can and should be used to accomplish more high value, people focused work, such as client and team relationship building, recruiting, coaching and development. A huge theme of the two-day summit was the importance of emphatically eliminating anything from agents’ and teams’ day to day work that can be automated, as well as how. By automating the basics, you have more time and attention to spend on strategic work and your team can focus more on what they do best.

To start your automation journey, first identify functional areas in your business that can be more efficient. Then map out the ideal process for that area, such as what you’d like your company’s lead follow up to look like or how invoicing should ideally work. Secondly, develop standards, such as a standard way data should be entered. Lastly, seek technology resources and/or partners to help you build the automations.

Technology plays a pivotal role in all of our lives, and there were other themes discussed for which technology was or will be an accelerant, such as changes in how consumers want to see homes and the importance of technology like 3D touring. On the financing side, cryptocurrency and decentralized finance, DeFi for short, were the buzz words of the summit. Due to regulatory hurdles and the likelihood municipalities will be slow to adopt the technology, blockchain seemed to be the trend most thought would take time to affect real estate. That said, alternative financing models and companies like Knock offering consumers both flexibility and a seamless experience are likely here to stay as the housing affordability gap widens and consumers look beyond traditional mortgages. The bottom line is that if you’re not using technology to make your, your agents’, and your consumers’ lives easier, you’re missing out. And you need time and attention to focus on the future, because we’re entering a new phase of real estate and consumer needs.

Consumers Want a Seamless Experience

Only a few months into the pandemic, it was clear that the brokers and agents who stepped up to the challenges faced by shifting consumer and societal needs would come out ahead, then and in the long run. This certainly seems to be true with the industry’s Cinderella, eXp Realty. eXp calls itself The Real Estate Cloud Brokerage™ and has from day one defied tradition in order to provide a superior digital experience for agents, buyers, and sellers. While eXp isn’t for everyone, and there was a lot of talk about how one-size-does-not-fit-all when it comes to brokerage models, eXp’s growth is phenomenal. eXp is adding 80,000 real estate agents a month now and continues to operate largely without any brick and mortar presence.

This is one reminder of the importance of adapting to what many consumers want now, a seamless, highly personalized online experience, to work from anywhere, and to still have a deep connection with a company and a brand.

As McKinsey advised companies in the early days of the pandemic, “to renew and refresh their connections to the people they serve, companies need to recognize what’s happening, and respond in three ways: digital excellence, safe and contactless engagement, and dynamic customer insights.” Research by Capgemini Research Institute echoed that sentiment, highlighting three main factors for how consumers choose brands now: 1) convenience, 2) health and safety, and 3) purpose. These trends have persisted as pandemic protocols have not and for real estate professionals, prioritizing the customers’ experience is as important as ever.

Everything from marketing to communication to paperwork needs to be digital first, mobile first, and work with the other tools needed to manage the lead through to a customer and a transaction. Integrations will continue to be key for real estate technology providers. For real estate brokerages, teams, and agents, relentlessly focusing on and prioritizing the customer’s needs also means using analytics to develop and maintain deep customer understanding before your customers are your customers, while your customers are working with you, and well beyond the close.

The Power of a Brand

Know who you are and what you do. That was the message repeated multiple times from the T3 Summit stage. And it was clear from the stories they shared which companies had taken it to heart. A lot of people believe strong brands sell themselves, that’s part of why franchises succeed. The truth is there’s a lot behind building a successful brand and communicating your brand identity with the world. Check out these tips for more on how to build your brand online.

Opportunity and Luck Both Matter

This year’s T3 Summit opened with UC Berkeley professor Morten Hansen, co-author of Great by Choice, award-winning researcher, and former Harvard Business school professor guiding the room of real estate leaders through the trials and tribulations of great leaders of the past. Morten has studied great companies over time to find out what separates them from the good companies and though there are a few things, one of the most interesting was how companies, and people, react to the lucky moments in their lives. According to Morten and his co-author Jim Collins, we all experience lucky events in our lives, good and bad. Lucky events are those that are outside of our control and are unpredictable. When you chart the differences in company performance over time, one trend emerges as it relates to luck: great companies prepare for, recognize, and take advantage of luck. Great companies prepare for bad luck events, knowing they will come, just not when. Great companies are also able to spot good luck events when they happen and, once they see them, execute brilliantly in the moment and avoid squandering them.

The Most Successful Companies Have Fanatic Discipline

Fanatic discipline is the first lesson from Jim Collins’ and Morten Hansen’s book Great By Choice and was a consistent theme as leader after leader got up on stage to share their top trends and advice. Fanatic discipline means acting consistently against core values, goals, and performance standards. It’s setting a target for reliable growth over excessive or non-existent growth, and then being maniacally focused on achieving it. What separates great companies from good companies is following through and ensuring your actions match your words, as well as having the vision to follow. Great leaders, visions, and execution are also concrete. Instead of setting “great customer service” as a goal, for example, setting a target of “solve problems in 24 hours” is much better, and then staying focused on and working hard to achieve it is essential.

Growing the Value of Each Transaction 

There are primarily three paths companies have chosen in terms of how to handle ancillary services, i.e. to provide buyers and sellers with the other products and services they need as part of a home sale transaction outside of the real estate agent’s services, such as insurance, title, mortgage, moving services, and more. Companies have typically chosen to take these services in house, buying or building teams to provide things like mortgages, partner with others providing these services, or refrain from providing ancillary services and instead focus solely on being as good at the real estate sales aspect as possible. A fourth option is a hybrid approach where a company invests in and becomes a partial owner of a partner providing these services. Regardless of the approach, the trend toward consumers wanting a much more seamless experience has continued and is an area in which companies need to know how and what they want to provide, whether a one-stop-shop approach where consumers can work with them throughout the process for all their needs, a more holistic advising approach and seamless technology solution, a best-in-class partner network solution, or something else altogether. The big opportunity here is in the ability to build and cultivate a relationship with a potential or current homeowner wherever they are in their life and then use that relationship and data to market solutions when they need them, as opposed to fighting over transaction ready customers only. The more products and services your company provides to the same person, the bigger the piece of pie, so profitability grows, and the better the understanding of who they are and what they need, so you can use technology to understand when they need something else and reach them well before anyone else does.

Creating More Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Companies

This year’s conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion centered on two themes. The first, how it’s imperative for companies to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion for economic reasons. Depending on where you are, the level of diversity in your service area will differ and there’s no doubt that the United States is becoming more diverse. People are increasingly looking to work with companies they think understand them and their experiences and it’s difficult to do that if everyone has the same background. The second theme mirrors a theme described previously and that is the importance of following through and acting on what you say. Examples included creating a program to help finance mortgages for low income buyers, offering incentives for diverse franchisees, offering different and additional training and development programs, and changing hiring practices, including setting specific goals for diverse talent. Speakers encouraged leaders to think about what they’re saying and what they’re doing, and the enormous upside to embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Real Estate is Still a Lifestyle, Relationship, and Hyperlocal Business

With all the talk about change, there was a good bit of talk about what’s the same, mainly the nature of real estate as a relationship based business and process. As Nick Bailey said, “We sell the connection of buyer and seller and the service to get it done” and that hasn’t changed. Others spoke about the importance of knowing your market, knowing your customer, knowing the lifestyle, and knowing the differences between them, for example, how selling luxury real estate is unique. Because of the incredible growth in the last couple of years, there may be agents who have become complacent with the level of local expertise and service needed to succeed, as well as how to effectively market and differentiate themselves. Similarly, brokerages may not be consistently adding value to and strengthening relationships with their agents, especially if they’re bigger and also if they haven’t figured out how to successfully connect with each other digitally. As one speaker said, we’re all looking for deeper connections. It’s not just consumers; it’s peers, employees, partners…everyone.

The Growth of Private Equity, Investment, and New Ownership Models

Coming off of two years of unprecedented growth, it would have been odd not to hear talk of growth, what’s fueling it, and whether, or when, it will stop. Of course, the pandemic led to a very successful run for most real estate companies, especially those poised to adapt and take advantage of the changes it brought forth. There are also demographic shifts fueling market dynamics – the U.S. (and many other parts of the world) has an aging population, and is seeing the greatest generational transfer of wealth just start, from baby boomers to millennials, among other things. And yet, other factors have also accelerated growth, including an increase in private equity support and involvement in the real estate industry, new investment strategies and multiple owner operator models, and more companies leveraging networks to grow. The individual owner is becoming more and more rare and most seem to think this trend will continue, though not necessarily at the same pace.

Part of why joint ownership, private equity investment, mergers and acquisitions, and networks are appealing is because economies of scale can help alleviate upward pressure on profit margins. Because of this, a standard merger or acquisition (commonly referred to under one umbrella of M&A) is also a popular method for increasing resources. In June, @properties acquired Suburban Jungle, a pre-search consultation service. For @properties, the acquisition gives them access to referrals and lead generation sources, while Suburban Jungle will gain access to more resources to help expand their platform capabilities; a win-win relationship for both. Another path to accelerate growth is through private equity investment like When Permira invested in Engel & Völkers, both companies described the investment as necessary to enable the company’s “digital transformation journey” and fuel international growth. It’s not impossible for smaller brokerages to grow, and some very well known independent brokerages have successfully made the case that bigger is not always better, and the consolidation we’ve seen in the industry, on both the brokerage side and the technology company side, seems almost certain to continue.

Changes in How We Market

Another trend about which some speakers seemed quite bullish is the opportunity and need to change how real estate companies market themselves, which as Nick Bailey put it, “is fundamentally how we do business.” Most agents will say the majority of their business comes from past customers and that may be true, but data shows that agents miss a ton of business from their sphere. On closing day 94% of buyers say they would use their agent again. Only 13% do. The industry as a whole has yet to put the right strategies and systems in place to effectively get more business from the people with whom they’ve already worked. And this is where both technology and data come in. In the next few years, the companies who are using data and technology to reach the 25 people who matter most at any given moment, as opposed to the 2,500 people in an area, will be most successful. Some companies are already doing this. What if as a brokerage and agent, recognizing people already have your data frees you up to use it to your advantage to grow your business? Whether it’s knowing what’s going on with your past customers and whether they’ve had, or are considering, any changes, or using it to personalize content so not everyone sees the same monthly newsletter, data is the key to unlocking efficiency and growth. It’s also the key to a better experience as data can help you understand what your customers need. One example mentioned is that cash buyers have always been around, but the cash offers now are different. There are more cash buyers looking to keep their property and rent long term now vs. previously most buyers offering cash were looking to flip a property. What if you had signals to alert you to someone in your sphere considering an investment property and could tailor how you reach out to them to educate them on different options for passive income? This is just one example of the many applications for which marketing technology and data are currently being used, and could be used much more, to keep people engaged in a meaningful way until they’re conversation-ready, and then to get them transaction-ready.

The Second Home Ownership Opportunity

One theme of this year’s T3 Summit was change and uncertainty. Multiple speakers shared stories of taking advantage of good luck situations, and in some cases, the perils of not being prepared for and adapting quickly enough to bad luck situations. While speakers emphasized different trends, several opportunities were highlighted as unintended by products of the pandemic. One of these is the opportunity to focus on second home ownership as being more accessible and appealing to younger professionals working from home and looking to have options. Especially without the option to travel to as many places and as a continuation of the trend toward lifestyle as a key factor in where, and what, people buy, if you’re in a destination area that’s even remotely popular, you really could sell to anyone, anywhere. To take advantage of this opportunity, be ready to reach potential buyers wherever they are and focus on the lifestyle of the area, among other things.

Technology Partners Are Important

As Carl Leibert of kwx put it, “Once you’re behind, you can’t catch up.” Whether you agree or not, a lot of the advice to real estate leaders was to leverage partners for as much as possible, especially technology and marketing, because if you haven’t already built it, it will take too long and be too expensive to build it now just to provide a similar experience as everyone else. Always stay looking at least six months ahead and invest in what makes your company stand out. Then trust partners with the rest.

It’s Time for Succession Planning and Exit Strategies

Business leaders are thinking about their 5-10 year exit strategy and advising others to do the same. The key is, it’s not enough to have a succession plan or exit strategy, leaders need to be constantly thinking about, planning for, and executing against strategies to maximize the value of their asset, which is their business. A good question to ask is how are you growing the value of your business. Your business should be resilient and hold its value regardless of whether your top agents are affiliated with you. Considering what that value is and how you can strengthen it is a worthy exercise for all, even if you don’t have plans to exit.

Rapid Experimentation is Key

The ability to experiment quickly is essential to innovating and thriving during any market. Test ideas on a small scale, make sure each experiment has a clear hypothesis, controlled test, and data to evaluate its impact, and recognize not every test will succeed. If you’re not a huge brokerage like Realogy, who can test new programs with one brand before rolling it out to all of them, you can test new ideas with a few agents or in one market. The upside to developing the ability to rapidly test, learn, iterate, and scale is that you can innovate without risking a ton of time and money on a big bet that may not pan out. There may very well be a time and a place for big bets and integrating rapid experimentation into your decision making process and your culture will almost certainly lead to better performance down the road.

The Need to be Market Proof

Above all, this year’s T3 Summit focused on resilience. Whether we are facing more uncertainty in our lives and the world, or less, we will always face some unknowns. There’s tremendous value in preparing for the unknowns so we are in a better position to thrive regardless of what’s going on around us.

Did you attend this year’s T3 Summit? What would you add to this list that stood out to you? We’d love to hear from you!

The post What Real Estate Leaders Think About the Future appeared first on Union Street Media.

10 Tips to Get Listings When Inventory is Low

1. Engage your sphere of influence, including previous clients 
2. Speak to seller pain points through advertising
3. Look for expired listings 
4. Position yourself as a go-to resource 
5. Continue to attract buyers
6. Get organized with a good CRM 
7. Promote testimonials 
8. Demonstrate how you help sell homes 
9. Market your ancillary services 
10. Advertise for “the next listing”

Engage your sphere of influence, including previous clients

Your previous clients can be your biggest champions. And, staying top of mind after a successful closing increases your chances of getting a referral from them when people in their circle, or sphere of influence, are ready to sell. There are several ways you can stay top of mind online, including but not limited to: blogging, emailing, and posting on social media. By blogging, you can continue to be a resource for your clients even after they close, helping ensure they have what they need to set up their home and get to know the area. Consider writing about local businesses that can help them, fun things to do, seasonal events in the community, and how to prepare their home for weather events they might experience. You can also use your blogs as content to post on social media (always add one or two sentences to posts as opposed to just sharing links!) and send out via email as part of a monthly newsletter or “Welcome to the Neighborhood” targeted drip campaign. 

Speak to seller pain points through advertising

There are many reasons why someone might want to sell their house – needing to downsize, wanting to relocate, outgrowing their space, and more. By highlighting homeowners’ needs and pain points in your advertising, you’re more likely to get noticed. They might not even know they’re experiencing a certain pain point. And, people are more likely to search for a company, or a real estate agent, if they’ve heard of you before, so your online ads not only get noticed, but they can trigger a follow up action when the homeowner is ready to do more research or speak with a professional.

Look for expired listings

One of the easiest ways to get listings in a low inventory market is to look for expired listings. You can demonstrate your expertise with the homeowners by advising them on strategies to sell their home, whether it’s changing the pricing strategy, listing marketing strategy, or something else altogether. By searching online and reaching out for homeowners in this situation, you can also create a database of potential leads. 

Position yourself as a go-to resource

Because the market is so active right now, people want to know what’s happening, how they can navigate the market, real estate market trends that are popping up, and how much their home is worth. By creating high-quality content on your real estate website, you can be a resource for those who are beginning the process of selling their home. 

Continue to attract buyers

Even in a low inventory market, you’ll still want to attract buyers because chances are, they’re also going to be selling. According to a recent survey conducted by OJO Labs, 75% of would-be buyers are searching for homes within 50 miles of their current home. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to capture seller leads by ignoring buyers who are looking for a new home before deciding what to do with their current one.

Get organized with a good CRM

Having a good CRM is a great way to organize leads –  both cold and hot. During low inventory time periods, going through your CRM and finding leads that went cold opens up the opportunity to get in touch again and see how they’re doing and if they’re considering selling. You can also put them on an email list and send out emails with content to keep your business top of mind. 

Promote testimonials 

As mentioned previously, your former clients are often your biggest champions. And, many of them might be willing to give a testimonial that you can put on your website. By having testimonials displayed on your website, visitors will see how you helped previous clients and how you might be able to help them sell their homes. You can also post these on social media to get in front of even more people (video testimonials perform great on social media and are especially geared toward mobile users!)

Demonstrate how you help sell homes

One of the best ways you can get listings in a low inventory market is to demonstrate how your listing marketing strategies help sell homes. Present your current listings in the best light, keeping in mind these are live examples of how you’ll market future listings, and also build out sellers content on your real estate website detailing your listing marketing strategies.

Market your ancillary services 

Sometimes, people are hesitant to sell because they don’t know what the process looks like, all of the moving parts involved, or even where to begin. If you offer ancillary services for real estate, consider advertising them to attract and get in front of potential sellers. By marketing your ancillary services, you’re also keeping your real estate business top of mind and building trust with your clients which goes a long way in the home selling process. 

Advertise for the “next listing”

Even though you might be low on listings, advertising the ones that you do have, even when they’re actively under contract, could open up opportunities for you to get more listings. Consider hyperlocal strategies that would grab the attention of people living in properties like or living near the homeowner with whom you’re working. Just like you’d farm for real estate leads in a specific neighborhood, use digital marketing to get the most out of each listing by serving targeted ads to homeowners in that area, creating a compelling landing page that demonstrates you know the area or their home, such as how much their home is worth, why factors like future development plans, schools, etc. could help them maximize the value of their home, and how you’ve helped sellers like them (this is where testimonials are key!).

As with any digital marketing strategy for real estate, it’s important to monitor and analyze performance so you can adjust your strategy as needed. And, keep in mind that all businesses are unique so every strategy should be tailored to fit your needs. If you’re not sure what that looks like, give us a call.

Interested in learning more about the best digital marketing strategies to get more listings? Contact us today for personalized recommendations to grow your business. 

The post How to Get Listings When Inventory is Low appeared first on Union Street Media.

Similarly, a trend that started during the pandemic has continued in many places – people leaving bigger cities for more space and fewer people. According to a study conducted by United Van Lines, more population-dense states like Illinois, New York, Connecticut, and California have experienced an increase in people moving out-of-state, opening up the opportunity for real estate companies in other states (near and far!) to target and attract these buyers as they’re often highly motivated to buy quickly once they find what they want. 

If attracting more out-of-state buyers is part of your sales strategy, continue reading for our top tips to stand out online and get in front of these oh-so-valuable leads.

7 Tips to Attract Out of State Buyers Online

1. Demonstrate Local Knowledge 
2. Create a Relocation Guide 
3. Use Targeted Keywords 
4. High-quality Images and Videos
5. Highlight Virtual Capabilities 
6. Advertise Using Geotargeting 
7. Establish a Social Media Presence 

Demonstrate Local Knowledge 

People are seeking out more hyper-local content to gain a better insight into the communities they’re searching for homes in. Types of information that are valuable to buyers include entertainment, food, schools, laws, taxes, points of interest, and more. These topics can take the form of blog posts, video tours or interviews, infographics, or maps. 

Specifically for out-of-state buyers, they might be looking for truly hyperlocal information, meaning on the neighborhood, development, or street level.

Create a Relocation Guide 

Similarly, creating a relocation guide is a great way to become a resource for out-of-state buyers. Often, buyers are looking for information and answers on what not only the buying process is like, but also what it’s like to move a significant distance. They want to know what to expect, what they can do themselves, and how you can help them. And, if you have a relocation ancillary business, you can point them to that business and keep them engaged throughout the entire process.

Use Targeted Keywords 

With this content and on your website, you have an opportunity to incorporate specific keywords that will show up when buyers are searching for a home, resources, or information about an area. To start, brainstorm what makes your state appealing to live in (like points of interest, jobs, schools), the types of homes in your communities, local market trends, etc. Then, be sure to include area-specific real estate keywords as well. Using a keyword tool like Google’s Keyword Planner will give you more keywords that you could include in your content and also how much they’re being searched.

High-quality Images and Videos

For buyers, having high-quality images and videos are some of the best ways they can get a feeling of the home and can help picture themselves living there, especially if they’re unable to make an in-person showing. And, having images and videos can even elevate your content and improve your SEO by including alt-text and links.

Highlight Virtual Capabilities 

As mentioned previously, people are turning toward the internet to do research and get as much information as possible about a property. And, over the past few years, real estate technology has evolved to accommodate showings that can’t take place in person. Highlighting your virtual capabilities demonstrates to out-of-state buyers that they can have a similar experience buying a home as if they were in person. If you have virtual tours, 3D images, virtual services, etc., showcase them in blogs, emails, and on social media so buyers will know how you can accommodate them.

Advertise Using Geotargeting 

If you have access to analytics, you can get great insight into where your website visitors and leads are coming from when they’re searching for real estate services in your area. Finding out where people are when they’re searching for you and are browsing your website is a great way to inform your online advertising strategy for real estate. Consider targeting these areas by location to get in front of those buyers. 

Establish a Social Media Presence 

Social media has been a staple in digital marketing strategies for real estate. And, using it to share the content you’ve created is a great way to engage, inform, and even learn about out-of-state buyers interested in moving to your state. You can share your blog content, listings, interviews, videos, and more. The posts with images and videos tend to perform better and be sure to include any relevant links and calls to action when possible. 

These are just some of the digital strategies you can use to attract out-of-state buyers. As always, turning to analytics is a great way to inform your strategy and see where — if at all — you need to adjust and pivot your strategy.

Want to learn more about digital marketing strategies for real estate? Connect with us today!

The post How to Attract Out of State Buyers Online appeared first on Union Street Media.

Read on to learn more about the current trends that are expected to continue for the rest of 2022 and how they might change as we get further into the year. 

5 Real Estate Trends to Watch in 2022

1. Limited Inventory Continues
2. Properties Moving Fast Fueled by Cash Buyers
3. Ancillary Services are Growing
4. Mortgage Rates Rising
5. Home Values Increase at a Slightly Slower Pace

Limited Inventory Continues 

According to the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) Double Trouble of the Housing Market Report, the shortage began in 2019 and has continued throughout the pandemic. And, the combination of low-interest rates and new construction halting during the height of the pandemic has also fueled the inventory shortage. Now, there are only about one million units for sale on the market. 

However, demand hasn’t slowed down. There’s been an uptick in people investing in real estate and changing their lifestyles, resulting in the need for more properties, especially more affordable ones. Plus, homebuyers don’t have as many options as before, increasing competition and driving up home prices, making room for people with a bigger budget or a more appealing offer, such as waving inspections.

Properties Moving Fast Fueled by Cash Buyers

Also, as a result of high buyer demand surpassing inventory, properties are continuing to stay on the market for fewer days. According to the NAR’s February 2022 Confidence Index, properties are staying on the market for an average of 19 days in the first quarter of 2022. And, 84% of properties are staying on the market for less than a month. 

Competition has continued to heat up as well with an average of 4.8 offers on every home, as reported by the Confidence Index. And, 48% of respondents to the report said that offers were above the listing price. In order to compete with other buyers, people are turning to cash offers, relying on the seller’s wish for a fast close and waving of inspections. 

Ancillary Services are Growing

With the real estate industry so active, many real estate companies are pivoting to offering more services to increase their value and stand out to leads. According to a survey conducted by the National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 21% of real estate companies offer some ancillary services currently and they’re expected to keep growing. Some companies want to be a one-stop shop for their clients while also reducing their own costs by combining and broadening targeting efforts — marketing ancillary services for real estate gets in front of people who aren’t sure of what they need in the home buying or selling process.

Mortgage Rates Rising

Mortgage interest rates are rising at a fast pace –  faster than they have in years. And, recently, the Federal Reserve announced that it will be increasing interest rates for the first time since 2018 in order to try and combat inflation. This increase, also combined with soaring home prices is set to rise mortgage rates, though it isn’t clear exactly how much interest rates will rise. As a result, many people who are searching for more affordable homes will have an even more difficult time, especially with the low inventory.  

Home Values Increase at a Slightly Slower Pace

Because of the increase in mortgage rates, home values –  which have skyrocketed in the past few years – are expected to grow at a slightly slower pace, but still remain high. Appreciation rates were around 20% last year, and Fannie Mae predicts that values will rise to 7%. Though values will still remain high, they won’t be as high as it was in the middle of the pandemic, giving slight hope to those who’ve been waiting to buy a home. 

Many of the trends we’ve seen start in 2021 and carry over to the first quarter of 2022 are expected to continue and even grow throughout the rest of the year. Staying up to date on these trends and the state of the market is essential for informing your digital marketing strategy for real estate.

Want to learn more about how to adapt your digital marketing strategies? Connect with us today!

The post Real Estate Trends to Watch in 2022 appeared first on Union Street Media.

About Google Business Profile 

Just like with Google My Business, the new Business Profile is one of the best tools to elevate your SEO for real estate. By having a Business Profile, your business will show up higher in searches when people search for real estate services in their area. And, you can display a variety of information about your business, such as business hours, reviews, contact information, images, and more! 

Google Business Profile Updates for Real Estate

1. Claim your business on Search and Maps
2. Manage your business through Search and Maps
3. Message your customers through Search
4. Display the products or services you offer

Claim your business on Search and Maps

With this update, Google has made it easier to verify your Business Profile, as well as address issues or inconsistencies with your Profile. To verify your profile, if you haven’t already, simply search for your business on Google or in the Google Maps app and you’ll see the text to verify your Profile —  be sure you’re logged into the Google account associated with your business. Right from there, you can input and edit the information that comes up when people search for your business, like hours, address, images, and more. Keep in mind that the information you put on your Business Profile should match the information that’s found on your website and accompanying social media platforms, especially your company name, address, and phone number (NAP). Inconsistencies negatively affect search engine performance. 

Manage your business through Search and Maps

With Business Profile, you won’t have to use the Google My Business website or app to access your profile and make updates. And, eventually, Google hopes to roll out the ability to link to your Business Profile from your email and notifications. 

For businesses with multiple locations and Profiles, you can still manage each Profile on the Google My Business website, now named “Business Profile Manager.” For larger companies, the Google My Business profile will become a hub to manage multiple profiles, while smaller businesses can manage their profiles on Search and Maps. In 2022, Google plans to retire the app so smaller businesses can utilize all the new features of Business Profile. 

Message your customers through Search

Further building on a previous update where you can message customers, the Business Profile update includes the ability to respond to someone right from your Profile on Search. And, you can also respond to reviews left on your Profile. Another update includes the ability to view which calls came from your Business Profile. You’ll be able to dive deeper into your analytics to understand how people interact with your profile and create a better connection with your customers. 

Display the products or services you offer

With your Business Profile, you can now highlight the services you offer right on your Profile. If your services don’t appear when you’re building out or editing your Profile, you can create custom services and add them so they display on your Profile. And, you can even add credentials like how long your company has been in business, building trust with potential customers. Plus, you can include a scheduling element to your Business Profile where customers can book online or in-person meetings with you right from Search. 

Because Google is, well, Google, we can expect lots more changes to its Business Profile in the future. Stay tuned to learn more about these updates and how to leverage them to help your business stand out online.

What do you think about these changes? If you want to learn more about Google Business Profile, how it can elevate your real estate business, or other digital marketing strategies for real estate, reach out!

The post Google My Business Becomes Google Business Profile appeared first on Union Street Media.

The beautiful, mobile-friendly real estate websites below were all built with customizable IDX that ensures your listings get online fast and are highly searchable. Websites are also supported by advanced technical SEO for real estate that ensures they get found and stand out online. And, mobile responsive designs attract and engage mobile users wherever they are, on-the-go or on their couch. The bottom line: each website looks great and works, no matter how and on what device somebody chooses to access it.

Click on the company name below to view their website or connect with us today to discuss your goals and get personalized recommendations to grow your business.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate
Metro Brokers
Georgia

Fair Trade Real Estate
California

Housing Solutions Real Estate, LLC
New Hampshire

Luxury Equestrian Group
Florida

SecondBid
Connecticut

Waypoint Brokers Collective
Maine

Gooch-Beasley Realtors
Tennessee

Brad Brown Real Estate
Texas

Interested in a new real estate website? Connect with one of our strategists today to learn more about our award-winning website solutions for sellers, video, property detail, mobile, and industry-leading map search.

The post Recent Website Launches: Winter 2022 appeared first on Union Street Media.

Today, many companies are looking to extend their services and add even more value to what they offer. As a strategy to stand out and attract more clients, adding ancillary services can be incredibly effective, and there are opportunities to rethink the most effective digital marketing strategies for real estate that take advantage of new lead sources and broader customer interest. The result is more new customers and more business from each customer.

What are ancillary businesses for real estate?

Whether you started your own, acquired, invested in, or partnered with an existing business, ancillary businesses are a great way to provide a one-stop shopping experience for your clients, to market your real estate business to people at different stages in their buying and selling journey, to diversify your revenue sources, and to make more money from each transaction. According to that same study conducted by NAR, the most popular ancillary businesses for real estate include mortgage lending, relocation services, home warranty, home improvement services, title, and escrow.

Just as you put effort into marketing your real estate company, dedicating time and resources to marketing your ancillary businesses can be incredibly worthwhile. You can use marketing to target people in-market for one service and then sell them additional services. You can sell the value of your one-stop-shop service to people unsure of what they need to ensure they reach out to you first, a key indicator that they’ll eventually work with you. And because competition and ad costs vary, looking at potential customers holistically allows you to find the best, and most cost effective, strategies to reach and engage them without being beholden to one specific targeting strategy. 

All that said, keep in mind that although some strategies can and should be used to market all businesses providing products and services your customers might need, each business should have its own strategy as well. Looking at your business units’ digital marketing holistically and individually will ensure you can maximize the benefits of online advertising and leverage the most effective messaging to drive action for those who know what they want when they want it, which isn’t always the same for different services.

Keep reading to discover some of the ways you can market your real estate and ancillary businesses, and get more from each of your relationships. 

8 ways to market your real estate and ancillary businesses

1. Create a landing page 
2. Incorporate into blog posts
3. Feature on social media
4. Use advertising to find the path of least resistance
5. Leverage forms that funnel leads
6. Include testimonials
7. Showcase case studies
8. Host a webinar 

Create a landing page with high-quality content

Landing pages are some of the ways to market your ancillary businesses. When creating these landing pages, make sure that you have a link in your main navigation that clearly points users to that page. Make it easy for people on your site to find information about the business by also including links to that landing page elsewhere on your site. For example, at the end of a blog post (more on them later) that incorporates the services your ancillary businesses offer, place a call to action that links to the landing page. 

And, content on your landing page should showcase why your ancillary businesses are great to work with, a little bit about who/what they are, and links to their website as well. You can also include testimonials and case studies as well (keep reading for more details on those!) 

Incorporate into blog posts

Blog posts offer an insight into your company and give you plenty of opportunities to highlight your ancillary businesses. Consider creating blog posts that incorporate your ancillary services. Consider writing a post on tips for a smooth move-in, and include information on how your ancillary businesses can help clients move in. And, as mentioned previously, you should add a call to action at the bottom to get in touch with you and/or learn more about your ancillary business. 

Feature on social media

Dedicating a post to shouting out your ancillary businesses and highlighting their services is a great way to not only raise brand awareness for those services, but also your real estate company. Social media continues to be a highly valuable way of attracting and engaging your audience and prospective leads. Select a platform that makes sense for you and your content and be sure to tag or link to your ancillary businesses to maximize exposure. Often, you can get a share in return which boosts your real estate company’s visibility. 

Use advertising to find the path of least resistance

Online advertising is an effective way to create interest in your company, and increase buyer and seller leads. Imagine though that you don’t have to compete with everyone looking to find sellers immediately before they decide to list. Instead, you target people looking for home improvement services, financing, or relocation services, as signals they are getting ready to move. Using advertising to test different audience targeting and messaging strategies, to ultimately find the right person, at the right time, with a message that resonates, is a lot more effective when you can understand all the products and services they’re looking for and then identify the path of least resistance to create a relationship with them. Is everyone bidding on mortgage search terms? What about home improvement loans? While everyone competes for seller leads, what about looking at relocation services and audiences and keywords like “what are the best places to retire in the U.S.?” With options comes power, and the beauty of online advertising is your ability to quickly create and test many different strategies to hone in on what works best to grow your business, in all the ways possible.

Leverage forms that funnel leads

By incorporating forms on your website for your ancillary businesses, you can get more information on potential leads and connect them to the right people to answer their questions. Consider adding a form on the landing page dedicated to your ancillary businesses, on a blog post, or part of your email marketing efforts. Add fields to ask about other services in which they may be interested and then route those leads differently to ensure they get a fast and thorough response.

Include testimonials

The power of testimonials can’t be understated. Including testimonials on your website is a great way for potential clients to see how you and your ancillary businesses can help them in their buying or selling process. Consider featuring testimonials on your real estate and ancillary businesses’ homepage or dedicated landing page. Use video whenever possible and have your customers go into the specific pain points and challenges they had, as well as how you helped them overcome them.

Showcase case studies

Similarly, including case studies on your website is a great way for potential clients to see why your ancillary businesses are a great resource. Case studies allow you to go more in-depth on how you helped your clients achieve their goals and provide more detailed examples. 

Host a webinar 

Webinars are a great way to get in front of your audience and interact with them live. Hosting a webinar with your partner or partners at your ancillary businesses showcases all the services you offer and how you can help your clients. Consider webinars that are in a Q&A format or are educational and explain a specific pain point clients typically have, such as how to simplify the home financing process.

As always, implementing thorough tracking for your marketing efforts is one of the best ways to be able to see what’s working and not, and know when you need to pivot your strategy (as well as where you get the highest return and make the most money). Track click-throughs to and conversions (forms filled out) on ancillary service provider websites, as well as calls from ads and web pages, engagement on social media, the most popular blog posts and service based content, and email marketing click-through rates.

Want to learn more about the most effective digital marketing strategies for real estate and your ancillary businesses? Connect with us today to get personalized recommendations to grow your business. 

The post Best Practices: How to Market Your Real Estate and Ancillary Businesses appeared first on Union Street Media.

Sharing a listing goes beyond simply putting it on your website through an IDX feed and making it accessible by searching. It’s about enhancing your listings, adding fresh messaging, tapping into your sphere, and meeting your audience where they’re at online.

There are multiple ways you can share your listings online, from classic strategies to showcase listings on your real estate website to newer ones like sharing listings on social media and using listing videos to improve SEO for address searches. What’s important to mention is that these tips below are meant to work in conjunction with your real estate website and advertising strategy. Before diving in, make sure you have a good understanding of who your audience is currently, who you want to target, and where they spend their time online.

Keep reading to learn some of the ways you can share your listings online and get them in front of more people.

How to Share Your Real Estate Listings Online

1. Leverage captivating images and videos 
2. Feature listings on the front page of your website
3. Blog about featured listings 
4. Highlight listings in emails
5. Share listings on social media 

Leverage captivating images and videos 

By now, you probably know the importance of including images and video with your listings. Visual media is an integral part of the real estate industry and captures the attention of people in the market and can make or break whether they reach out for more information or to schedule a showing. And, images and videos are great for everyone no matter where they are in the home buying or selling process. Buyers love visual media because it’s the best way to get a feeling of what the property is like, especially when they begin their search online. On the other hand, for sellers, showing that you have high-quality images and videos that highlight the best parts of their home shows them how you’ll be able to help their property stand out in the best way and get more offers.

Feature listings on the front page of your website

Sometimes the best place to put your listings is in front of existing traffic, such as the homepage of your real estate website. Often, your homepage is the first page many users see when they visit your website. You can create a specific section on the front page where you feature new or the most popular listings, like a featured listings carousel.  When adding listings to your featured carousel, be sure to pick a handful or two, so as to not overwhelm users scrolling through.

And, creating recommended searches on your home page is also a great way to leverage the traffic your homepage gets. For example, if you want to feature your luxury homes, create a recommended search that uses relevant keywords, like “Luxury Homes for Sale in [Town].” When users land on your homepage and start looking around, they’ll come across this recommended search and be served all the luxury homes you have to offer. Doing so can feature properties that don’t usually get a lot of traffic or people might not know are on the market.

Incorporate listings into blog posts 

Blogging is not only a great way to boost your website on search engine pages but also a great way to feature listings. You can tie listings you want to highlight in blog posts in an unlimited number of ways. If you write a post about the local schools, incorporate a listing or two in that post by using a call-to-action like “Browse homes for sale near [school] district.” Or, if you’re providing tips for sellers on how to stage their home for a showing, including a new listing that’s just been staged to use as an example. As listings continue to sell, make sure to update your blog posts and pick different properties to feature. Doing so also gives those listings a boost as they leverage the built-up SEO from previous versions of the blog post. 

And, you can even dedicate an entire blog post to a new or featured listing if you want to dive into it in a lot of detail. Write about what it’s like to live there that’s more than just what’s included in the listing description. Spotlights like this let users and blog subscribers know that you have a wide variety of listings available and more information than what’s found on the MLS. 

Highlight listings in emails

Emails have been a tried and true staple in digital marketing and in the real estate industry. Emails can be used for several reasons like sharing news, services offered, and new or featured listings available. You can incorporate new listings updates in the regular emails you send out by including images or an embedded video of properties with a call-to-action to view more on your website. Or, you can create regular emails to go out to subscribers when you get a new batch of listings with short blurbs about the properties. Keep in mind that finding the best frequency of sending emails is key, as people don’t like to be overwhelmed with tons of emails constantly.

Share listings on social media 

Another digital strategy that’s essential is social media for real estate. The most popular and commonly used channels — Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram — offer another way to share your listings and get in front of more people. Include visual media like an image or video in your post to boost visibility, along with a sentence or two about the property and any unique features or what type of lifestyle it offers. Be sure to create messages that are unique for the listing on each platform, so you can leverage the specific features each platform has. For example, Facebook loves when videos you take are posted by uploading compared to simply sharing a link from YouTube. Or, use hashtags on Instagram like “new listing” to help get your post found when users search that topic. Also, people are more likely to share your social posts with a like, retweet, or share, so your listings reach even farther! Don’t forget to respond to comments and mentions and thank users for sharing your content. 

There are tons of great ways to share your listings online and get them in front of more people and a wider audience. One key step, like in so many other digital strategies, is to take a look at your analytics from time to time. Doing so lets you know what’s working and to create more similar content or continue a certain strategy, or what needs to be adjusted to make the most out of your efforts.

Want to learn more about digital marketing strategies for real estate? Connect with us today for more information on how you can extend your reach and stand out online.

The post Listing Marketing 101: How to Share Your Listings Online appeared first on Union Street Media.

To help #BreakTheBias, we want to take a moment to recognize and celebrate some of our incredible Union Street Media team members who have continued to inspire us over the years, as well as some of the amazing women in the real estate industry who’ve led the way to a better future for us all. This list is by no means all encompassing as there are many other talented women at Union Street Media (we’re looking at you Nicole C., Kim, Shannon, Liv, Kate, Megan G., and Van!), in real estate, and in leadership roles to whom we look up and are grateful for their hard work and support. 

• Elissa Giroux is our Digital Media and Analytics Manager and is a leader in all things digital and Google Analytics. With decades of experience, Elissa enriches our team with her expertise, encouragement, and positivity. 
• Pam Bouffard is our Office Manager and has been working with us longer than any other team member! For years, Pam has been an integral part of supporting the team and our clients – she can do it all and we’re eternally grateful. 
• Heather Hinman is our Director of Operations and wears many hats at Union Street Media. She ensures that everything runs smoothly across all departments and also works in the role of HR. Heather is one of the hardest workers around!
• Emily Coble is our Content and SEO Manager and helps elevate our clients’ online presences. She is one of the best go-to resources for everything content, SEO, and digital marketing. We admire her dedication to making sure our clients meet and surpass their goals and couldn’t do it without her.
• Megan Milano is one of our amazing designers, bringing our clients’ brand visions to life and creating high-performing, stunning real estate websites.
• Hālee Bernier is one of our dedicated Digital Success Specialists, ensuring our clients have the proactive advising and ongoing support needed to grow their businesses and achieve their goals.
• Brook Martenis is a Technical Support Specialist, ensuring our platform functions as expected and serving as an invaluable resource to our hundreds of clients.
• Katie Spaeder is our Production and Support Manager, building our teams, processes, and internal tooling to ensure we provide the best customer experience possible.
• Lally Boright is our Product Manager, learning, analyzing, and acting on client and market feedback to guide our product development and deliver the best real estate technology solutions.
• Nicole Thomas is one of our Software Engineers and an API expert. Nicole’s unique sense of humor, commitment to the team, and passion for continuous improvement are just some of the many reasons we love working with her.
• Smara Fournier is our Software Architect, working hard to design and build a cloud native ecosystem that powers our clients’ technology.
• Michael Saunders is the Founder and CEO of Michael Saunders & Company, one of Florida’s top real estate companies. She’s been a legendary leader in the real estate industry for decades, overcoming some tough obstacles to become an international inspiration, with over 700 worldwide partners. Read more about Michael in our interview as part of our Female Founders Series. 
• Georgia Perez, Maddie Heye, and Krista Thomsen of MoxiWorks are amazing partners, friends, leaders, and innovators in the PropTech world. So many other Moxians work hard behind the scenes and we appreciate you all!
• Sara Sutachan, Leslie Appleton-Young, and Debra Trappen of WomanUp! An organization dedicated to uplifting women and helping them reach and surpass their career goals in real estate. Learn more about WomanUp! here.
• Our clients, many of whom are women. You are a constant source of inspiration and we’re so lucky to be able to work with you every day. 

If you want to learn more about some of the amazing women in the industry, take a look at our Female Founders Series or catch the video interviews on our YouTube channel. 

Thank you to all the women in our lives –  from family members, friends, peers, and leaders all around the world! Though we still have a long way to go, today, tomorrow, and everyday is an opportunity to #BreakTheBias and create a more equal and inclusive world. 

The post Happy International Women’s Day! #BreakTheBias appeared first on Union Street Media.

Our new website and branding represent several things: 

1. Vision – our vision is to be real estate’s most trusted digital marketing company. The only kind of success to us is mutual success. From providing full service digital marketing and website solutions to advising on all aspects of our clients’ businesses, we believe in supporting real estate brokerages, teams, and agents however they need. The result is they can focus on what they do best and have peace of mind knowing we’ll take care of the rest.
2. Mission – our mission is to connect real estate professionals to their clients through remarkable online experiences that ensure they stand out. Our new branding was tailored to be unique, just as we tailor our clients’ brand identity and user experiences, and informed by analytics to ensure it meets our users’ needs. Because it’s not enough to simply get people to a website; great design and user experience are what closes the deal.
3. Values – in a world of all-in-one real estate platforms, we believe in best-in-class solutions and being better, together. Because trying to be good at everything too often results in being good at nothing. We are trusted, long term advisors to our clients, like the best real estate agents are for theirs. Our new website reflects this emphasis on learning and support for all, as well as the seven qualities that make us who we are: Ambition, Passion, Authenticity, Quality, Collaboration, Accountability, and Curiosity.

Whether you want to handle all of your digital marketing in house and simply want to stay informed of the latest trends, algorithm updates, and ideas to level up, or you need a partner to take care of everything from real estate lead generation to agent recruiting, we can help. True collaboration means creating something better together, and what that looks like is different for everyone.

From rounded edges to a new color palette to expanded learning resources (check out our new Knowledge Center!) and client success stories, we hope you feel welcome when you visit our new website. Thank you to the entire team that brought this vision to life. For everyone checking it out for the first time (or the dozenth time!), send us a message below to let us know what you think!

The post Introducing the New Union Street Media appeared first on Union Street Media.

By enhancing your listings with more information, you’ll give buyers the information they need to make a life-changing decision a bit easier. And, aside from the requirements and staying within the MLS guidelines, you can still make the real estate listings more attractive and accessible to buyers with a few more features. Moving beyond only including the address, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, and the list price is one of the best ways to drive more leads.

Read on to discover how you can create listings on the MLS that stand out so you can sell more homes.

How to Create Listings on the MLS that Stand Out

1. Highlight property details 
2. Write an engaging description
3. Utilize clear photos 
4. Include the floor plan if available
5. Feature what makes the property unique

Highlight property details

Typical property details include things like what type of heating or cooling system comes with the house, the parking availability, how many acres of land it’s on, and more. In order to help make a listing more appealing to buyers — and to show to sellers that you’re willing to go above and beyond when getting buyers for them — try to include as much information as possible. This means including the quality of the outdoor space, how far the property is from main roads, town or city centers, shopping, what school district it’s in, and more. 

Write an engaging description

Aside from the property details, the listing description is the place where you can paint a picture of what it would be like to live in the home. Include information that’s not already available on the page; talk about what kind of lifestyle fits this property, like vibrant and energetic if it’s in the downtown of a city, or quaint and charming if it’s surrounded by nature in the suburbs. Don’t be afraid to use more creative language and tell the story of the property, while also detailing what makes it so special.

Descriptions should be short and concise, but detailed enough to give buyers insight into the property, feel of the neighborhood, town, or city, and attractions nearby.

Utilize clear photos 

High-quality images are real estate agents’ best friends. Have at least images of the outside of the building, the bedrooms, and living spaces to help people visualize what it would be like to live there, especially if they can’t make an in-person showing. Often, the more images the better. Additionally, when taking photos of the property or hiring someone to do so, make sure that the photos are taken with good lighting and capture the real feeling of the space.

And, if you have the time, add a label to each picture to help buyers identify which rooms are which. You can use a tool like Canva and insert text into each photo on the bottom or lower half of the image.

Include the floor plan if available

As more and more people are buying sight unseen and relying on images and videos of the properties, they want as much information they can get as possible. In fact, according to the National Association of REALTORS Generational Trends Report, 67% of all buyers find that listings that include the floor plan of a property are highly valuable. Floor plans help supplement the usual images and videos by giving a more black and white view of the layout of the house. They can find the dimensions of each room which is great for determining if furniture they already have will fit and the flow of the whole home. 

Feature what makes the property unique

As mentioned previously, people want to know as much about the property as possible. Whether it’s including special elements like office spaces or bonus rooms, in the pictures or writing how the property’s charm mirrors that of a fairytale in the description, be sure to find what makes the property special and highlight it. Especially now with inventory so low and competition still high, people want to be able to easily see what matches their wish list. 

Spending a little more time enhancing your listings on the MLS to give buyers all the information they need about a property before asking for a showing or buying, is a great way to set expectations and establish trust. Plus, sellers will see that you go the extra mile in helping market listings to sell fast.

Want to learn more about the digital marketing strategies for real estate that make your listings stand out? Connect with us today for more specific recommendations to help grow your business.

The post Listing Marketing 101: Listing Best Practices on the MLS appeared first on Union Street Media.

Specifically for real estate, social media is essential for attracting leads, building name recognition, driving visitors to your website, and so much more. The most popular social media platforms used in the real estate industry are Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for uploading videos. And, just as your real estate website needs to be optimized to rank well on search engine results pages — having a good foundation of technical SEO, user experience, mobile-friendliness, etc. — your social media profiles also need to be optimized to get the most from them.

Keep reading to learn how you can optimize your social media profiles for real estate to drive more traffic and stand out online.

What is social media optimization?

Just as optimizing your website takes time and effort, so does optimizing your social profiles. The process of optimizing your social media involves creating a specific strategy or strategies that utilize the best practices on each channel, keyword research, and extending your website’s reach.

When you optimize your profiles, you can strengthen your social strategy and connect with your audience better, extend your reach, drive more leads, build trust, and more. It’s important to note that while these strategies below can be applied to many of your social channels, each one has its own set of best practices and features.

5 Ways to Optimize Your Social Media Profiles for Real Estate

1. Create consistent brand recognition 
2. Size images appropriately 
3. Update your bios
4. Cross-promote other channels and your website
5. Leverage hashtags

Create consistent brand recognition

One of the most key pieces to having a social media presence is being an extension of your website or yourself. Having a clear brand name that matches all your profiles and consistent handle names (or as close as you can get) will make it easier for your audience to find and recognize your brand online. This often means choosing the same profile picture for all your channels, the same colors as your website, and a similar tone of voice. However, because social media can be a way you show off your company’s personality, you can have a little more fun with what you post and how you deliver messages, as long as you remain in the scope of your company’s vision and mission. 

Size images appropriately

Each platform has its own set of best practices, how users engage with it, and what types of content make sense. And, each platform has its own set of image-sizing best practices. To best feature each image, make sure it follows the platform guidelines to avoid getting cut off or being cropped. For example, Facebook image sizing for a posted photo on the News Feed is 479 x 246 pixels and Twitter 1200 x 675 pixels. Though a Twitter image might be able to fit on Facebook as Facebook has more flexibility in sizing and scaling for each photo, a Facebook image might not be able to fit on Twitter properly. 

Update your bios

Your bio is a great place to let audiences know who you are, what you do, and how you could help them. Update your social bios to include a little bit about your company, your website, hashtags, and other social media channels (more on this later). Bios should be short and sweet, but descriptive enough so people know what you do. And, your bios should be consistent on each platform so you can keep up with your brand recognition. Keep in mind that many platforms have specific word counts for bios and it may take a little finessing to figure out what you want to say in each one. 

Cross-promote other channels and your website

Similarly, your bios can also offer a place to link to your other social profiles, your website, and even your email. Doing so helps drive traffic to your other channels when people can engage with your content in their preferred format — like images or video on Instagram — but also can drive traffic to your website. Linking your website also tells the search engines that your website has value, and will give it a boost in rank. Also, some social platforms have specific places where you can link your other platforms and your website, making it easy to link and view everything. 

Leverage hashtags

Hashtags have become an integral part of social media. Starting on Twitter and then integrated into other platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, hashtags are another way in which your content can be easily searched. For example, on LinkedIn, you can search, follow, and engage with posts that include a specific hashtag like “real estate” or “realty.” Any user or company that uses that specific hashtag in their posts can be found, increasing their visibility. Performing hashtag research to discover the hashtags that people in your industry are using is a great way to join in on the conversations and extend your reach. 

At the end of the day, just like other digital marketing strategies for real estate, it’s important to continually leverage each channel’s analytics and check-in with how you’re performing and if you need to adjust your strategy.

Are you ready to level up your digital marketing for your real estate website? Connect with us today for specific website recommendations to help your real estate company stand out online.

The post How to Optimize Your Social Media Profiles for Real Estate appeared first on Union Street Media.

Generation Z is typically defined as the 72 million people born between 1997 and 2012, but some, like Pew Research, define Gen Z as anyone born after 1996. Either way, there’s already another named generation after Gen Z, Generation Alpha, and as the children of Gen X, many Gen Z’ers are already adults! However you think of this important generation, the fact that millennials have surpassed all other generations as the largest segment of home buyers, who are also about to inherit the greatest transfer of wealth any generation has ever seen, and that Gen Z has entered the real estate market (and in some cases, started their real estate careers!), is cause for reflection. If you haven’t already, now’s the time to ask yourself whether the online experience you’re providing is what this new cohort of homebuyers wants and expects.

Keep reading to discover some of the ways younger generations are searching for real estate, what website features they want, and how to attract this new wave of homebuyers. 

7 Ways to Attract the Next Generation of Real Estate Homebuyers

1. High-quality images and videos 
2. Detailed information about properties
3. Hyper-local insight into neighborhoods 
4. Ability to view floor plans
5. 3D tour feature and virtual tours
6. Mobile-friendly websites and content
7. Real estate agent contact information

High-quality images and videos

Even before the pandemic, the real estate industry relied heavily on visual media to highlight properties and attract buyers. Now, with a rise in people buying sight unseen and even more people using the internet to search for homes, high-quality images and video are essential. Images and video are so essential, in fact, that according to the National Association of REALTORS’s 2021 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report, 92% of people age 40 and younger said that having photos on a real estate website is highly valuable. This may seem obvious and we still recommend real estate companies invest in unique, high quality photos that ensure you stand out and create a strong first impression. Visual media allows potential buyers the opportunity to picture themselves living in the space and get to know the property better, especially if they can’t travel to come to an in-person showing. And using stock photos isn’t sufficient, especially for area and property photos.

Not only will having high-quality images and videos on your website attract younger generations, well optimized images and videos will give your site a boost in search engine rankings. Curious how to optimize your images and videos for SEO? Contact us today to learn more. 

Detailed information about properties

Providing detailed information about properties is an easy way for buyers to determine if a listing is right for them. Though most real estate listings include the basics: address, property type, square footage, etc., including even more information will help your listings stand out. Use the listing description, images, or video to highlight unique features of the properties like bonus rooms, fireplaces or wood-burning stoves, walk-in closets, office spaces, and more. Paint a picture of what it’s like to call that property home. Too often do we see generic listing descriptions being entered into the MLS that miss the opportunity to focus on lifestyle elements.

Hyper-local insight into neighborhoods 

Similarly, as Millennials and Gen Z are turning to the internet to do research on their potential home, they’re also searching for more information about the community. And, getting hyperlocal can mean having a neighborhood, community, or development focus. Young buyers want insight into the features and attractions that make the neighborhood and surrounding areas special. For example, some features and attractions could include places to eat, entertainment options, and recent home values (and growth potential) to name a few. You can incorporate this information on your website by blogging, in videos, on your social media channels, and more. 

Creating hyperlocal content can also position you as an expert in your area and help gain and build trust with buyers of any generation.  

Ability to view floor plans

Continuing on with the thread of the more information the better, younger generations say that being able to see the floor plan of a house is highly valuable to them. In fact, 73% of people ages 31 to 40 and 69% of people ages 22 to 30 cited viewing floor plans as important in their home buying process, according to NAR’s 2021 Generational Trends Report. Supplemented by images and video, seeing the floor plan and how everything is laid out –  and with measurements –  can help potential buyers see themselves living there even more; especially being able to determine if the furniture they already have will fit and if they like the flow of the house, important when a house doubles as an office, a gym, and more.

3D tour feature and virtual tours

3D tour features and virtual tours offer another more immersive experience for young buyers who can’t visit in person. Virtual tours allow buyers to “walk through” a property room by room and see the layout and any unique features. Virtual tours include utilizing 3D capability or a 360-degree virtual tour. 3D features provide the height, width, and depth dimensions of a home as you move through, while 360-degree tours are similar to panoramas, where you can view the space or singular room all around. 

Mobile-friendly websites and content

Because we live in a mobile-driven world, having websites and content that are mobile-friendly is a must. NAR reports that 87% of homebuyers ages 22 to 30 used a tablet or mobile device in searching for a home. That being said, it’s essential for your website to have mobile responsive capabilities to make it easy to navigate, find information, and show off your listings. And, visual content like images and videos has a higher chance of being clicked on, shared, and viewed on mobile devices, so ensuring that your visual media is sized correctly is key. Having a mobile-friendly website and content means taking into consideration not only what type of information is available, but how it’s available.

Real estate agent contact information

Though many Millennials and Gen Z buyers are searching for homes online and educating themselves on the home buying process, the role of the real estate agent is still essential. Now, people are looking for agents that can help answer their questions, negotiate on their behalf, and be a support system for this life-changing process. Having an agent’s contact information displayed clearly on your website and with a call-to-action is important for driving leads. As basic as this seems, ensure your website header features an easy to click phone icon with your phone number so people can contact you with one click. And, look to redefine the agent bio, as in addition to being able to easily contact you with questions, Millennial and Gen Z homebuyers are increasingly looking for life advisors who can help them navigate where and in what to live. A lot of Millennials have waited to buy homes so they have more money to spend now; and, at the same time, others are looking to earn passive income from their property and/or invest in a fixer upper. Whatever their need, showing up for the next generations of homebuyers ready to provide your expertise to help them with whatever they need will go a long way to create relationships, and repeat and referral business, for life.

Curious to learn more about how younger generations are finding their homes and how you can create a great first impression with them online? Let’s connect to discuss your specific needs and craft the best digital strategy for real estate for you.

The post Tips to Attract and Engage the Next Generation of Homebuyers appeared first on Union Street Media.

Read on for the top five ways to attract and retain new agents online. Keep in mind that since the best agent recruiting and retention strategies involve growing your team’s bottom line, this is just the beginning.

1. Leverage social media
2. Have high-quality content on your careers page
3. Invest in good technology 
4. Utilize testimonials and case studies 
5. Build your brand online 

It’s important to note that, though some strategies overlap, agent recruiting and retention marketing can and should have a dedicated set of strategies in flight to ensure that you get the most out of your marketing efforts. Keep reading to learn about the digital strategies you can use to recruit new agents and retain agents already working for you. 

1. Leverage social media

Social media for real estate plays a key role in the industry — from attracting leads to building a brand.  And, because a social strategy offers a ton of opportunity for visibility, connection, and engagement, recruiting and retaining agents is also a possibility! Sharing posts that spotlight an agent, feature their accomplishments, welcome them to the team, or celebrate an anniversary is a great way to demonstrate that you’re agent-focused and invested in them. Plus, it could inspire the rest of your team with goals to work toward.

Posting on social media can also be an effective recruiting strategy, as you’re sharing a lot about who you are and what your company cares about — things that people value when choosing a place to work. By posting behind the scenes looks at team-bonding activities, awards, and success stories, not only are you building credibility, but you’re also conveying your company’s culture.

2. Have high-quality content on your careers page

Having a real estate website with clear and engaging content that’s optimized for search engines and people is a must. By doing so you’ll gain visibility online for people searching for real estate careers and information and stand out better. You can also post an “about us” video, showcasing who you are, what your team is like, what you value, and more, so people can better determine if your company is right for them. 

Plus, your current team can use any video or creative media on your careers or about us page to post on their social channels. Doing so will encourage engagement with their sphere and help you get in front of more people who might want to work with you — especially if it’s a video.

3. Invest in good technology

It’s no secret that managing the recruiting process takes a lot of effort. From keeping track of applications, interviews, offers, paperwork, and more, having a good CRM can alleviate some of that stress. Plus, when you can spend less time organizing and performing administrative recruiting tasks, you can be available to grow your company in other areas.

Similarly, managing leads takes a lot of time and energy for real estate agents. Implementing a lead management system will help you and your agents focus their time to keep in touch with contacts and leads, resulting in more time to generate even more leads and be available for current clients.

4. Utilize testimonials and case studies 

As mentioned previously, sharing out testimonials or case studies is are a great way to build credibility and demonstrate your company culture. For recruiting purposes, it gives potential team members an insight into what people are saying about you and your company, how you do business, and what working at your company would be like. 

And for team members, providing them with a testimonial or case study of a client’s success they had not only gives them collateral to share on their website or social channels, but can encourage, inspire, and remind them why they do what they do.

5. Build your brand online

People spend a lot of time online and take into consideration how companies and brands are represented. Creating a well-rounded brand identity online includes demonstrating how you communicate, your company’s personality and mission, what your company values, and expectations between you and your customers. When building your brand online, keep in mind that potential team members will come across you in their searches online. Specifically, think about your company’s personality, logo, look and feel of your website, and high-quality content.

Also, building your brand and creating a good reputation online can strengthen your team member’s credibility and help attract leads.

Though agent retention and recruiting isn’t a one strategy fits all, figuring out what works best for you and your company is key. At the end of the day, gaining more visibility online, clearly showing your company’s culture, and how you will continue to support your agents is a key way to attract agents. As for retaining your team, continuously providing them with the support they need to attract, manage their leads, and grow as agents will go a long way.

Curious about digital strategies to recruit and retain top real estate agents? Connect with us today to discuss your recruiting goals.

The post 5 Digital Strategies to Attract (and Keep!) the People Who Want to Work for You appeared first on Union Street Media.

Because social media for real estate can be used in a variety of ways like generating seller leads, promoting your listing videos, and building your brand, you might be wondering if you should bring TikTok into your social media marketing strategy. 

Read on to learn more about TikTok for real estate to help you decide if it’s right for you and your business. 

So, What is TikTok?

TikTok is a video-based platform where users can create videos between fifteen seconds and three minutes long. Users can also use the app’s selection of sounds, special effects, filters, and song snippets to create videos or simply upload videos from their phones. People post a wide variety of videos on TikTok, ranging from life hacks to trending challenges to entertainment.

One of the biggest draws to TikTok is the fact that the app has a strong personal algorithm where each user has tailored content on their “For You” page, based on their interests, what videos they’ve watched on the platform, and what’s trending on the app. Plus, on the “Discover” page you can browse trending hashtags and find new trending videos and creators to follow.

TikTok for Real Estate

Some real estate agents and companies have started to leverage TikTok to connect with a different (and oftentimes, new) audience, get their listings in front of more people, and attract sellers in a more engaging way. A benefit of posting about real estate on TikTok is that — though the platform is extremely popular — not all agents or companies have a profile, as you would usually see with the other social media big platforms like Instagram or Facebook. You may have an easier time standing out online in this more unsaturated space.

The demographics on TikTok tend to skew on the younger side, with 50% of users being between the ages of 18 and 34, which means that many millennials (who are the largest generation in the housing market) and Gen Z (who are the next generation entering the market) are using it. Leveraging TikTok for real estate is one way to market to millennials, who have different consumer behavior than the generations before them. Plus, you’ll also start getting in front of Gen Z and can position yourself as a resource for when they’re ready to start the buying process or maybe consider a career in real estate.  

Similar to blogging for real estate, TikTok also offers the opportunity for your company to showcase its personality a bit more. Users on the app expect people and brands to be less formal and embrace some of the trends and entertainment factors for which TikTok is known.

The key to performing well on TikTok is finding your audience and creating quick, entertaining, and relevant videos. Here’s how real estate agents on TikTok are leveraging the platform:

• Home tours or property highlights. Give a quick property tour and feature some of the best elements of a house. Edit the video with interesting transitions or include a trending song that best reflects the property.
• Go viral with TikTok trends. Trends are constantly changing on TikTok, and they give users the opportunity to make the trend their own and get in front of more people at the same time. You don’t have to jump onto every trend, but wait and see which trends you can make your own that still relate to real estate. To what do you relate personally?
• Gain exposure by including hashtags. Just like on Instagram, hashtags are a way you can identify or categorize your posts so that people who are interested in the topic you’re posting about can easily find your content. On TikTok’s Discover page, you can see what hashtags are trending, meaning what kind of content people are searching for right now. Include that hashtag in your next post or create a new video around that hashtag or trend.
• Go live and interact with your audience. Going live on TikTok is another way to include your audience in the conversation, and let them get to know you and your company better. Host a Q&A or interview an industry expert. This can also be really effective for agent recruiting where you may interview someone on your team or show what “a day in the life” of a successful real estate agent is like.

Why TikTok Might Not Be the Platform for You

Any digital strategy or social media platform takes time and effort to truly leverage all its features and make it work best for you and your business. By taking on another platform, especially one that is fast-paced, you could be cutting into time spent creating other content and growing your business in other ways. Plus, because TikTok is so fast-paced, you need to stay up-to-date about what’s trending in order to remain relevant and potentially go viral. Though there are plenty of opportunities for you to post evergreen videos, videos that include a trending song or filter tend to perform the best, which leaves little time to actually plan out your content.

As with any new digital marketing channel, it’s important to continuously test and evaluate whether it’s right for you and your business. Understanding TikTok insights and social media analytics will help you identify your best-performing content so you can adjust your strategy accordingly. Depending on your needs, it may be best to wait to start using TikTok for real estate until you can commit the time to trying a lot of different things, learning what works best, and then iterating.

What do you think about TikTok? Do you have personal experience with the app? We’d love to hear what you’ve found useful. If you’re wondering which social media platforms make sense for your real estate business, connect with us to chat about social media best practices and get personalized recommendations.

The post Is TikTok for Real Estate Worth It? appeared first on Union Street Media.

Fast-forward to today, millions of people, companies, and brands have an online presence in the form of a blog. Blogging helps you attract leads, keep your audience engaged, stay top of mind, and tell your story as each post continues to drive traffic over time. Because of the introduction of SEO for real estate and how searching online has changed over the years, blogging best practices have also shifted. 

The Basics: Blogging for Real Estate

With so many great benefits, you might be wondering what you should put on your blog so it can be an effective channel in your content marketing strategy for real estate. The answer largely depends on who you are as a real estate agent or company. Just as your clients and the areas you service are unique to you, what you write for your blog should also be unique.

That being said, there are a few real estate SEO best practices that should be applied across the board to best optimize your blogs, like doing keyword research beforehand, writing a well optimized, branded, and relevant title tag and meta description, and adding alt text to images. 

Keep reading to learn more about how to blog, what topics to cover, and how to extend a blog’s lifecycle. 

7 Tips to Have the Best Real Estate Blog 

1. Share your expertise about an area. With the major shift toward hyperlocal content, blogs are the perfect channel to detail favorite restaurants, hidden gems, popular attractions, what the schools are like, and more, so that buyers looking to move to an area know what it’s really like to live there, especially if they can’t visit before they buy or they’re buying sight unseen. Including posts on the county, city, town, and even neighborhood level gives readers the insight they need to determine if the area is right for them. 
2. Highlight your company’s personality. When blogging first became popular on the Internet, it was mostly seen as an online diary where people could share more about themselves and share their thoughts about a certain topic. In a way, this is still true for real estate blogging. Blogs are a less formal way of communicating with your audience and give you the opportunity to have a little fun with the topics you share. Consider writing a blog showing a team-building adventure you had or featuring an agent spotlight, detailing what they do to help buyers and sellers, but also what they like to do in their free time. Demonstrating a balance between being knowledgeable and being relatable can increase trust between you and your audience. 
3. Be a resource for buyers and sellers. Blogs are a great way to give answers to common buyer and seller questions. Buyers are looking for information about a market, area knowledge, and the home buying process, while sellers are looking for agents to help them sell their homes and anything they can do themselves to increase their chances of their home selling fast and for the best price. Use your blog to give your audience the resources they need to get started, but remember to place a call to action in your blog to encourage them to reach out (more on CTAs later). You can also serve as a resource for people who aren’t necessarily buyers or sellers and stay top of mind well before and after someone becomes a lead and closes on their home by blogging about events happening in your area. In this way, blogging is a great way to effectively nurture your sphere of influence and feed content into other channels, like email newsletters and social media posts.
4. Create community connections. Blogging about local businesses helps establish you as the go-to resource for anything and everything about your area. Highlight local businesses for Small Business Saturday or create a list of your team’s favorite restaurants with links to their website. Doing so builds community connections and also strong authority for your own website. Also, the local businesses you blog about might give you a shout-out, a recommendation on social media, or recommend you with word-of-mouth referrals. When other businesses link back to your website, it’s called backlinking and it’s one of the most effective SEO tactics.
5. Include a call to action. Becoming a resource and sharing information is great, but you also want to encourage leads to reach out if they have questions. Adding CTAs in the introduction or end of a blog post points readers toward contacting you with questions, strengthening your relationship with them. 
6. Set a schedule.  The importance of a content calendar cannot be understated. With a content calendar, you can easily keep track of topics you want to blog about, highlight important events, and be able to keep your blog active all year long. It’s also important to determine your blogging frequency — some companies prefer to blog once or more a week, while others prefer once or twice a month. What matters most is being able to stick to your schedule and continue to drive traffic to your website, while starting to earn trust and drive return visitors to your website.
7. Share on relevant social media channels. If you have a blog, linking the blog posts on your social media channels will help drive traffic to the posts and get them in front of people who might not usually find your website. Plus, sharing on social media is a great way to extend your blog’s life cycle and boost SEO, especially if you only post a blog a couple of times a month. 

Blogging can be one of the best assets for your business. Taking the time to write a few blogs each month will drive traffic to your website right away and potentially for years to come, working for you while you’re busy with showings and clients. One key thing to note is to be sure take a look at your website analytics from time to time (or partner with someone who can help!) and make sure you’re keeping your audience’s interests in mind when you choose what to write about and where to share your blog content.

Want more information about leveraging blogging to improve real estate SEO and establish yourself as a local expert? Contact us today for specific recommendations to help you stand out and sell more homes.

The post Real Estate Best Practices: Blogging appeared first on Union Street Media.

A content calendar works as a guide for planning, creating, scheduling, and measuring the content you create for your real estate website and paired channels like Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and others. And, similar to how each real estate company is unique, content calendars are, too. For some companies, planning out an entire year’s worth of content is the best path to take, while others might prefer limiting planning to a few months at a time. 

When it comes to content planning, like the best recipes, the most important thing is preparation. The best content calendars are those you stick to, so we’ve compiled our top tips below on how to create a content calendar you stick to and the best content for both real estate websites and social media channels. For a more in depth summary of how to leverage social media for real estate, check out this guide.

9 Tips to Create a Content Calendar for Real Estate (and Stick to It!)

1. Set goals
2. Identify your channels
3. Note relevant events
4. Brainstorm new ideas
5. Incorporate evergreen content
6. Update old content 
7. Get organized
8. Set a schedule 
9. Revisit as needed

Set goals

Trying to plan content for a whole year can seem overwhelming, especially when you have multiple channels like an email newsletter, social media platforms, and a blog. By asking yourself what your goal is for the year in terms of content, and how it connects to your overall business goals, you can get a clearer picture of the type of content that best suits your and your target audience’s needs, and have a guiding path to success. The more specific the goals, the better, such as “be known as an expert in energy efficient homes in Asheville, North Carolina”. When possible, it’s also good to include measurables. Think of stating your goal as “I will accomplish ______________ by ______________. One example could be, “I will be known as an expert in energy efficient homes in Asheville, North Carolina by creating two new blogs every month that get 1,000 total views.”

Identify your channels

Once you have a clear picture of what your goals are, consider your channels and choose where you’re going to deliver your content. The most common channels include a blog, Facebook page, Instagram account, LinkedIn profile, Twitter account, YouTube channel, and email. Identifying the best place to connect with your potential customers requires a bit of digging into your analytics and some research, as you want to find out where your audience is and how much they engage with your content on each channel before determining where to invest your time. For example, you might have a Twitter account with a large following, but little engagement or a Facebook page with not a lot of likes, but high engagement via other methods like sharing and comments. It would be more effective to post most of your content on your Facebook page because that’s where your audience is most active. That being said, in this example, you should continue to post content on Twitter, but in a more tailored way for how your audience interacts with you on that platform. Stated differently, stick with what’s working and change what’s not. If you need help understanding what’s working for you currently, contact us to discuss our website audit process and get actionable insights delivered to you.

Note relevant events

One way to figure out what content you need is to look at what you already do to engage your customers, community, agents, and others. You likely already have some outreach you do, and events are one of the often overlooked sources of content. For example, some companies like to share a celebration on their established anniversary or post something around holidays. And, if you have any events coming up like conferences, open houses, or team-building activities, these are great topics to build content for and start filling out your calendar. Also, because real estate can be a very seasonal business (hello spring market!) creating content around different times of the year and how the industry fluctuates is a great way to stay relevant and keep your audience engaged. Many real estate professionals provide market updates and they serve as valuable content that can be shared and re-purposed across channels.

Brainstorm new ideas

There’s nothing quite like the thrill of a good brainstorming session! There are several ways to collect ideas: if you have any ideas leftover from the previous year bring them over if they’re still relevant, research what your competitors and peers are talking about, ask your team what common questions or situations come up, or take a look at your analytics and see if you can expand upon any other content. Google can be a great tool for research, especially for question based searches, which are incredibly popular. Type a question like “when’s the best time to sell my home?” in Google and you’ll see a bunch of suggestions for related questions and topics people are searching. Use other tools like Google Trends, BuzzSumo, Canva, and more to get ideas for content topics and visuals.

Incorporate evergreen content

One of the best ways to build out a content calendar is to incorporate evergreen content. This type of content is either relevant no matter the day, time, or season, or relevant year after year during a particular time or season. Examples include “property management tips for vacation home owners” or “how to winterize your vacation home”, which both focus on topics that will stay relevant to readers well into the future. Evergreen content gives your website an SEO boost when it’s been on your site longer and is still being searched frequently, so less can truly be more when it comes to content creation. One article that gets viewed month after month or year after year is worth more than dozens of articles with a handful of views.

Update old content 

In the digital world, things can change yearly, monthly, or even daily. Some of your content, like content talking about it being a buyer’s market when the market has shifted to a seller’s market, might be a little outdated. However, you can save some of your old content by refreshing and recycling it. Historical optimization is the term for spending time going back through and updating your old content to be relevant to today’s environment. Adding new elements to already written blog posts leverages all the good traffic they’ve been getting and improves them, making posts more accurate and relevant, and drawing attention to them from users and search engines. Refreshing content is something Google expects and will look for, so ensuring the last modified date for individual web pages on your website is recent is key to getting more credit for the content you’ve had on your website for years. Plus, you can share updated content or blog posts on your channels as if they’re brand new, extending their lifecycle and often getting the same, or more, traction from them as you would brand new content. 

Get organized

Once you have all your ideas together, it’s time to get organized! Some people like to create an actual calendar template and fill it out, putting the content to be published on a specific day – and coordinating social posts, too. Or, a simple spreadsheet with the topics and dates is also common. What’s most important, though, is ensuring that you and your team can easily access and understand the calendar. You can also use scheduling software for blogs (Union Street Media’s content management system has a scheduling feature!) and social media posts to maximize your time. Imagine dedicating two or three days a month to creating all of your content for that month and scheduling it. It’s possible and a great way to focus on closing business the majority of the time while having peace of mind knowing you’re improving your online presence.

Set a schedule 

Consistency is key for content especially when posting on social media for real estate or sending an email. If you happen to know what day and time works best for your content, stick to it. If there aren’t definitive times that outperform others, take a look at your website analytics to see if there are any days or times with better engagement. You can always test what works best for a few weeks and then switch things up as needed. 

Revisit as needed

Like many digital marketing strategies for real estate, pivoting when things aren’t working out is essential. Every so often, take a look at your analytics if you have them set up (many email and social media platforms also have built-in analytics) or find a trusted partner to monitor your performance on your behalf and proactively make recommendations. Staying on top of what the data says also gives great insights into your audience’s behaviors that you can use in discussions with prospective sellers and buyers, other marketing collateral such as listing presentations, and to educate your team.  

At the end of the day, it’s important to note that even if a calendar is built out, that doesn’t mean it’s set in stone. In fact, revisiting and checking up on your content performance consistently is the best way to ensure that your content is the most effective to engage your audience and drive leads. 

Want to learn more about creating an effective content strategy for real estate? Connect with us today for specific recommendations to attract quality leads and grow your business.

The post How to Create (and Stick to!) a Content Calendar appeared first on Union Street Media.

Because buyers and sellers are spending so much time online, and with how far digital photography and editing software has come, photography trends are constantly changing. And, people have high expectations. How a home is visually represented matters greatly to both buyers and sellers.

For buyers, images are one of the best ways they can get a feeling of the property and imagine themselves living there, especially if they can’t travel to a showing. For sellers, having high-quality images that emphasize the best elements of their home demonstrates to them how you’ll help their property stand out and get more offers. Sellers expect real estate agents to use several visual tools to market their homes, including photography and video, and will look at past listing marketing, like listing videos, as indicators of what they can expect from you.

Before we get started, it’s important to note how to optimize images on your real estate website:

• Double-check Format
  Make sure all of the images you’ve uploaded are downsized and saved in a web-friendly format like JPG
• Fix Image Size
  Ensure the image file sizes are small enough and that image files are also properly named to represent what’s in the image
• Add Alt Text
  Don’t forget to add alt text to all images to help make your website more accessible and it helps boost your SEO

Read on to discover the top photography trends for real estate today and how to incorporate them into your digital strategy. 

Top 7 Photography Trends for Real Estate

1. Aerial shots
2. Mobile responsive websites
3. 3D capability and 3D virtual tours
4. Hiring a professional
5. The more images the better 
6. Virtual staging 
7. Sharing on social media 

Aerial shots

Just a few years ago, taking aerial shots of a property was nearly unheard of unless you had a big budget. Now with drones, you can get aerial images of listings in a much more cost-efficient way. Quality drones typically cost a few hundred dollars or can be rented out individually when you need them, and there are also more companies that specialize in taking real estate photos with drones now. Drones offer a bigger picture of a house, property, apartment building, and even the surrounding area. Drones can even produce 360-degree images and videos, which is perfect for immersing someone in an area if they aren’t able to visit before they buy. 

Mobile responsive websites

Having a mobile responsive website can’t be understated — in fact, over 90% of internet users use a mobile device to go online. Because mobile usage is so big, especially when searching for homes, first impressions of listings are also likely to be on mobile, too. It’s essential for your real estate website to have mobile responsive capabilities to make it easy for users to navigate and show off your listings in the best way possible, without unfriendly cropping. Visual content — images and videos — is more likely to be shared and clicked, remembered later, and viewed on mobile devices, all reasons why having a website designed for your mobile users and to make your visual content look great on mobile is key.

3D capability and 3D virtual tours

Along with drones, new advancements in technology have also been adopted by real estate companies. One of these, a 3D capability for photos, is more prominent than ever. 3D offers a more immersive experience for buyers who can’t make an in-person showing. 3D tours or virtual tours allow buyers to “walk through” a house room by room to get the layout and see any unique features in the home. When people talk about virtual tours, they usually mean either a 3D tour or a 360-degree virtual tour. 3D tours are newer and let potential real estate buyers remotely “walk through” a virtual model of a home. They are more immersive and the technology creates height, width, and depth dimensions. 360-degree tours are more like panoramas where you can view every space within a physical property and it feels like you’re viewing a photo and not actually walking within the space. Though static images are necessary, 3D images also give buyers a chance to understand the space a little bit better, especially when it comes to figuring out where their furniture could go. 

Hiring a professional

It’s no secret real estate agents are busy. Always on the go, jumping from showing to showing, meetings with clients, and answering emails, calls, and texts. For agents with multiple listings, taking all the photos and editing each image can take up a lot of precious time that could be spent in other ways. By outsourcing photography services, you’ll get high-quality images taken with best practices and exceptional editing to make each listing more appealing than snapping a picture with your phone. Professional real estate photographers understand how to best show off the house with framing, lighting, the type of camera and lens, and editing. Plus, reaching out to local photographers is a great way to build your network and get word-of-mouth referrals. Seasoned real estate agents are quick to hire others to help in their areas of speciality and to maximize their own time management. Photography is simply one area in which this makes sense for most.

The more images the better 

Digital photography became a catalyst for the growth of the real estate industry. Because of the ability to take images and review them immediately, photographers and agents don’t have to wait weeks for prints to see them and potentially have to go back to the house if the photos are off. Plus, you can take as many photos as you want of the home. With multiple photos, you can capture all the details that make each home unique, allowing buyers to get a better insight into each property. And, if 3D technology is unattainable, having a lot of photos of a listing can show the layout, especially for buyers who are further away. In addition, adding images to old content on your website, also known as historical optimization, can significantly improve performance. So, those pics of your new listing should be used to market that listing and also wherever you can — your About Us page, your sellers content, etc. — to strengthen your website performance and improve SEO.

Virtual staging 

Along with the increasing popularity of virtual tours, virtual staging has become more relevant over the past few years. Instead of swapping out furniture or rearranging a room and creating the right lighting physically, virtual staging is way less time-consuming. Photographers and even some agents are using virtual staging technology to “decorate” empty images of rooms into stylish areas to gain the attention of buyers. Staging rooms can often help buyers picture themselves living in the home by setting up rooms in the best way to show off how the space can be used. 

Sharing on social media

Social media is one of the best ways to directly engage with your audience. And according to the National Association of REALTORS, social media is the top way to generate leads. Using platforms like Facebook and Instagram, which are highly visual, provides an opportunity for sharing images of listings and getting in front of people who wouldn’t normally find or search for them. One thing to keep in mind when sharing photos on social media is that each platform has its own image size requirements. For example, Facebook uses images that are 1200 x 630 pixels, while Twitter uses images that are 1200 x 675 pixels. When sharing images, make sure to link to the listing page or blog post and use a hashtag to boost visibility. 

Photography and real estate go hand-in-hand and including multiple high resolution, unique images of your listings is a sure way to get them more attention online and attract leads. Plus, they’ll improve your real estate SEO simply by using them, and even more when they’re optimized to load super quickly, have ALT text, and good linking to and from them.

Are you interested in learning more about how to elevate your digital marketing strategy? Want more ideas on visual marketing strategies to stand out and sell more homes? Connect with us today for specific recommendations to grow your business.

The post Top 7 Photography Trends for Real Estate appeared first on Union Street Media.

These stunning, mobile-first real estate websites were all built with customizable IDX that ensures listings get online fast and are highly searchable. And, they’re supported by advanced technical SEO for real estate that ensures they get found online. With mobile responsive design features tailored to attract and engage busy, on-the-go users, each website always looks great and works, no matter what device somebody chooses to access your site. Select the company name below to view their website or connect with us today to discuss your real estate website goals.

Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty
Massachusetts

Maxfield Real Estate
New Hampshire

CENTURY 21 Integra
Florida

Flow Realty
Massachusetts

Telluride Real Estate Corp.
Colorado

Interested in a new real estate website? Connect with one of our strategists today to learn more about our custom designs and award-winning website solutions for sellers, video, property detail, mobile, and our industry-leading map search.

The post Recent Website Launches: Fall 2021 appeared first on Union Street Media.

This year, our team worked extremely hard, bringing passion, perseverance, and creativity to each and everything they did. Our clients did the same as well, and we couldn’t ask for better people to be surrounded by and get to talk to day in and day out.

Before the year officially ends, we have one last thing to celebrate. We’re honored to share that Union Street Media was named the 2021 Lead Generation Platform of the Year by PropTech Breakthrough! With over 1,350 nominations coming in from all over the world for the PropTech Breakthrough Awards this year, the competition was extremely fierce. We’re honored to be awarded alongside real estate technology companies like Reali, Homesnap, RealScout, Doma, Lemonade, and Rocket Mortgage, among others.

The PropTech Breakthrough is part of the Tech Breakthrough organization, which provides essential market insights and research for the more competitive categories of tech – specifically Internet-of-Things, Artificial Intelligence, Mobile & Wireless, Digital Health & Medical Technologies, FinTech, CyberSecurity, and PropTech (Real Estate Technology). These awards recognize the “breakthrough” leaders by researching and analyzing companies that fall into each of the technology categories and how they’re innovating. PropTech Breakthrough’s goal is to provide one-of-a-kind, comprehensive market research and analysis, which is why they receive such a high volume of nominations year after year and why winning this award means so much to us.

With so much accomplished and still so much more to look forward to, we can’t wait to see what 2022 brings! Happy New Year!

The post 2021 Comes to a Humble Close appeared first on Union Street Media.

In particular, in the real estate industry, each season typically has its own unique characteristics, consumer behavior, and trends. The key to adapting and adjusting to holiday trends and getting the most out of your real estate digital marketing strategy is having a good understanding of what consumers want during this time. Keep reading for more insight into how consumer behavior shifts, and our top tips to grow your business, during the holiday season. 

Top 5 Real Estate Consumer Trends During the Holiday Season

1. More time spent on mobile devices 
2. Searching using an omnichannel approach
3. Emphasis on convenience 
4. Loyalty may switch 
5. Looking to make a change in the new year 

More time spent on mobile devices

Mobile device usage has been one of the most popular methods of browsing the internet for several years now with more than 50% of web traffic coming from a smartphone. During the holiday season, that usage increases – in fact, 52 percent of users turn to their devices to research products and make purchases. People are searching online while they’re on the go and while they’re at home, so having a mobile responsive real estate website and a mobile-first lead generation strategy for real estate is essential. (We also just won 6 awards in the Best Mobile category from the RealTrends Website Rankings Awards!)

Searching using an omnichannel approach

In recent years, there’s been a shift to leveraging omnichannel marketing for real estate. Omnichannel marketing entails keeping your potential consumer at the center of your marketing efforts by delivering consistent and compelling messages across multiple channels such as social media, paid ads, and search engines. Omnichannel marketing also means maintaining that same message and providing a seamless experience offline, such as when your potential customers call you and meet you in person. And, consumers and brands alike are fully embracing this approach – especially during the holiday season. According to a recent survey, 60 to 70 percent of consumers report that they’re shopping using an omnichannel method. They’re turning to social media, ads on streaming services, search engine results, and even online reviews for research and inspiration. 

Typically, real estate companies decrease spending on ads during the holiday season because of the sharp rise in the cost of advertising due to other industries ramping up their spending. However, this presents itself as an opportunity in the real estate industry to stand out. By continuing to advertise as part of a broader omnichannel marketing strategy, you’ll stay top-of-mind, avoid overspending (multiple channels equals multiple opportunities to reach your potential customers), and also get a jump start on establishing a strong online presence ahead of the all-important spring market. As a bonus, because of your increased opportunities to stand out online, both the algorithms (think Google and Facebook) and your potential customers will learn who you are and what expertise you provide.

Emphasis on convenience

Because consumers are now shopping and researching online more during the holiday season, they’re prioritizing convenience and actively seeking out brands that reduce friction during the discovery and purchasing phase. For real estate, this may mean setting up showings or open house reminders via text, using click-to-call or click-to-book calls to action (CTAs), sharing out links and information via social media, and more. Whatever you can do to be seen as easy to work with will go a long way in both capturing and keeping your customers’ interest.

Loyalty may switch

Similar to people seeking convenience, the customer experience today is more important than ever. Customers are comparing you to their previous best real estate customer experiences, if they’ve worked with someone before, and also past customer experiences they’ve had in general. They expect a high level of personalization, a clear and defined purpose to be integrated into all your efforts, and that you leverage your online strategies and tools to create a friction-free journey. That being said, customers are willing to switch to brands or companies that don’t meet their needs with 76% of people changing their mind about a company or brand after searching them on Google. This means you have to constantly be adding value and engaging your past, current, and prospective customers to give them a reason to want to work with you, whether it’s for the first time or the fifth time.

Looking to make a change in the new year

The end of the holiday season also brings New Year’s Resolutions — a new opportunity for real estate companies to connect with prospective clients. Many aspiring or current homeowners have resolutions that may take the form of wanting a bigger home, wanting to downsize, changing location, buying a vacation home, and more. Less directly, they could be looking for a change in lifestyle, something that many have experienced in the past two years and seems likely to continue.

Prospective clients could begin their search heading into the holiday season (closer to when they decide their New Year’s Resolution) or be influenced to begin their search via consistent and direct marketing messaging talking about the benefits of buying now. Similarly, the start of the year often brings change that could influence homeowners to list their homes. Take advantage of shifts in consumer behavior and reduced emphasis on real estate marketing during this time of year and you could stand out and capture more interest simply by being where your potential customers are with a message that resonates with them.  

Just as the spring market is famous for being a time of intensity, the real estate industry has its own unique characteristics and consumer trends during the holiday season. In order to stay on top of the latest trends, having a deep understanding of the shifts that happen during this time and adjusting your digital marketing strategy is key.

Need help crafting a digital marketing strategy that helps you get the most out of these seasonal trends? Connect with us today to get specific recommendations to help grow your business.

The post Real Estate Trends: How to Stand Out Online During the Holidays appeared first on Union Street Media.

That being said, we wanted to congratulate Teri Degnan of Teri Degnan Real Estate & Consulting for winning our Give Back Giveaway! Teri has been a long-time supporter of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center and we will be making a donation on her behalf to help support them. 

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center is an independent nonprofit that provides services for at-risk individuals, families, and seniors. They focus on fighting hunger, promoting health, educating young and school-aged kids, supporting families, and engaging seniors. The MLK Community Center’s mission is centered around nourishing, educating, and supporting the people who live in Newport County, Rhode Island so they have the resources and support they need to improve their economic, social, and physical well-being. They hope to “build a strong and inclusive community where all people are empowered to be self-reliant and to live their best quality of life.” We love their mission and we love Teri’s commitment to them!

To learn more about the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center and how you can help support them, visit their website at https://www.mlkccenter.org/.

The post Give Back Giveaway Spotlight: Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center appeared first on Union Street Media.

The most common response? “The people.”

So this year, after 18 months of spending less time with “the people” in person than I have over the previous 22 years, what I’m thankful for are all of “the people” who make Union Street Media what we are.

The people who are part of our company are not just those who walk through the door — whether physically, for those of us who are in the office, or metaphorically for those of us who are online from home. The people are not just those who work here either. They are our clients, our industry partners, and our friends. They are those who make it all possible, by doing what they do, as a part of the collective energy that is Union Street Media.

I have always believed that all work is worthy and over the past year that has become even more evident. These days when I’m at the supermarket checkout, I find myself thanking the cashier for working there. If they don’t work at the supermarket, I cannot buy my groceries and feed my family. So when I said that I’m thankful for “the people,” it is much broader than what you might traditionally think of.

For the second year in a row, Union Street Media and our clients were recognized as earning more RealTrends Best Websites awards than any other website provider. In order for that to happen, it starts and ends with “the people” — all of them.

For that, I am thankful.

The post What We’re Thankful For appeared first on Union Street Media.

I recently returned from the Inman Connect Conference in Las Vegas —  it was a phenomenal week of thought leadership and networking. And, I have a couple of takeaways that I want to share!

The post Inman Connect Las Vegas 2021: A Real Estate Reunion appeared first on Union Street Media.

Spectrum Youth & Family Services is an organization located in Burlington, Vermont that empowers youth ages 12-26 and their families to turn their lives around. Spectrum provides services like Drop-In Centers, Supportive Housing, Counseling, a Youth Health Center, Skills Programs, Mentoring, and so much more. I was on the Spectrum Youth & Family Services board for nine years from 2007 to 2016, terming out after three 3-year terms.

When I joined the board, we had just had our best fundraising year, having generated $250K. Mark Redmond, the Executive Director, loves to tell the story that in a meeting I said, “The work this organization does is worthy of $1M a year in philanthropy.” This past year, we raised more than $3 million!

There are so many things I love about Spectrum that it’s hard to articulate just one. When I used to do dumb things (as we all did as a teenager/young adult) my dad would say, “You’re not a finished product.” What I love about Spectrum is that it gives a second, third, or maybe more chances to people who aren’t finished products yet. By helping turn around a life at that age, Spectrum gives back so much to both the individual and the community. I have always loved organizations that have huge impacts on individual lives and Spectrum is a model of one that does just that.

There are many ways in which Spectrum helps young people and one of my favorites is Detail Works, which I helped concept and launch along with several other board members and entrepreneurs. It’s a social enterprise that helps Spectrum Youth get their first job experience — and it’s also the best place to get your vehicle detailed!

I’ve always felt that we’re all in this together, and the past two years with COVID have shown that to be the case more than ever. Realtors are active in supporting their communities because they are the ultimate promoters of the communities they serve — and that includes everyone in them, regardless of whether they’re clients. I continue to be inspired by organizations like Spectrum and all of the organizations our clients support. If you have a suggestion for who to feature next, we’d love to hear from you!

The post Charity Spotlight: Spectrum Youth & Family Services appeared first on Union Street Media.

The real estate industry is one of several industries that have seen drastic shifts in consumer behavior. From how people are searching for homes to what they expect from their real estate agents and brokers, buyer, seller, and agent behavior have all been impacted by the pandemic. And, it’s looking like some trends are here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.

In order to continue to adapt to changing trends and get the most out of your digital marketing strategy for real estate, it’s essential to understand your consumers and their current priorities. Read on to learn more about some of the most important consumer trends to come out of the COVID-19 era and what to do about them. 

Top Consumer Behavior Trends for Real Estate in 2021

1. Interest in companies with a defined purpose 
2. The value of an elevated customer experience 
3. Relationships are everything 
4. Rapid response is key
5. Increased demand for hyperlocal
6. Trust is essential
7. Spending has revved up

Interest in companies with a defined purpose 

People have begun taking notice of companies that have a clearly defined purpose. These companies have a true grasp on why they exist and who they’re meant to serve. When your actions are driven by a shared purpose, there’s a clear connection between your identity and your commitment to everyone involved with it — which includes customers, employees, and communities. For example, some real estate companies prioritize dealing with green homes and sustainable buildings. For those seeking a greener lifestyle, they’ll want to work with a company that shares the same values as them. 

The value of an elevated customer experience 

Today, customers are comparing you not only to their previous best real estate customer experiences, but to their best customer experiences in general. Customers expect their agents and brokers to reduce friction in their home buying and selling process. This includes being available via a variety of communication methods, including phone and text, utilizing virtual capabilities, and helping them navigate a challenging market by anticipating what’s next. Furthermore, customers also expect a high level of personalization, to see how your purpose is integrated into everything you do, and that you skillfully leverage your online strategies and tools on their behalf. 

Relationships are everything 

Intertwined with consumers wanting an elevated customer experience is that consumers also want to establish good relationships with the brands they currently work with or with whom they’re considering working. Because people want tailored experiences, diving into your analytics is key to prioritizing your customer’s needs – not only for those who are already your customers, but also for prospects and people who are with you after closing. Keep in mind the value of quantitative and qualitative data, which means both talking to people about their needs and gathering anecdotes, and also analyzing how they’re actually behaving, such as via the email links they actually click, listings they look at, etc. Showing you understand your customers will go a long way to strengthen your relationship with them, and also turn leads into actual clients. Even more so now, because the meaning of home has changed — homes are a place to work, replace or augment prior travel and leisure experiences, and at times, completely disconnect and relax — people want to have a good rapport with someone who truly understands them and will help them achieve their goals. 

Rapid response is key

Equally important, consumers now expect faster response times — 40% of consumers expect brands to respond within the first hour of reaching out on social media. This means developing a highly effective real estate digital marketing strategy and incorporating different elements into your business such as virtual tours, videos, live streamings, online chat, the ability to manage and access customer information via mobile, and contactless closings, to name a few examples. For real estate professionals, this also means constantly evaluating and re-evaluating your customers’ ability to engage and interact with you online. Keep in mind that your audiences engage with you in different ways and have different preferences, even down to the social media platforms they use. Because each audience is different, just like every real estate company is different, your experience with them should be tailored accordingly. 

Increase demand for hyperlocal

As more people are utilizing online tools to research their potential home, community, and agent, they’re also seeking an immersive experience into what it’s truly like to live there and work with a specific company. Buyers –  and sometimes sellers –  want insight into what features and attractions the neighborhood and surrounding areas offer like places to eat, entertainment, attractions, factors influencing home values, and more. Developing hyperlocal content can position you as an expert in your area and gain the trust of prospective and current clients (more on trust below). Keep in mind that hyperlocal may truly mean having a neighborhood, community, development, or even street-level focus, especially depending on the area you serve. It’s also essential for your potential customers, and search engines, to see you as an expert in a few hyperlocal areas first before extending your authority elsewhere, as that will save you time and money down the road. 

Trust is essential

The pandemic put a spotlight on the relationship between companies and trust with their consumers. Now, your reputation is partially defined by what you promise (helping someone find their dream home or sell their home fast, as two examples) and what actually happens (their experience working with you and whether their goal is achieved). When the gap between promises made and what’s delivered widens, you lose their trust, which is especially important in such a highly emotional transaction and given the internet’s broad reach. If you treat customers right, they’ll tell others.  

Spending has revved up 

Because of the large market imbalance that’s come to a point during the pandemic, fueled by supply chain disruptions and a shortage of inventory, people are spending more on homes. Buyers are paying more for lower-priced homes to ensure they secure a house and avoid a bidding war. Also, with the largest home-buying group in the market –  Millennials –  competition has ramped up. The requirements for what people want in a home have also changed, as have sellers’ requirements for listing. Many buyers are willing to spend more to find all the amenities they want in one place, like communal gardens, laundry services, and even co-working spaces in many cases. Furthermore, investments in vacation homes have also grown because of the pandemic. Vacation homes serve as a means of safe travel for people wanting to go somewhere, while also offering more space and privacy from others. 

While we’re still observing all of the trends that arise due to the pandemic, what we know so far is that our world will be forever impacted. In order to stay on top of the latest trends and stay ahead, having a deep understanding of your consumer and the right balance of digital strategies is key. Also helpful is knowing what to prioritize and relentlessly pursuing it.

Need help crafting a digital marketing strategy for real estate that makes the most of these trends? Connect with us today to get specific recommendations to grow your business. 

The post Top Consumer Behavior Trends for Real Estate appeared first on Union Street Media.

And the results are in! For the second year in a row, Union Street Media won more RealTrends website rankings awards than any other company! Fourteen of our incredible clients were recognized by RealTrends as having industry-leading websites, earning awards in and for multiple categories. Best Overall Website, Best Design, and Best Mobile were where our clients performed best, which is a testament to our belief that websites must impress visually and be easy to use in order to generate real estate leads.

In this highly intense, ever-changing market, we’re grateful and honored to have helped elevate our clients’ business, achieve their goals, and drive results where it matters most. And, of course, to be recognized by RealTrends as being the industry leader in high-performing, stunningly-designed websites again. Keep scrolling to view each award-winning website that earned a top ten ranking this year.

Our client, Tate & Foss Sotheby’s International Realty in New Hampshire and Southern Maine, ranked for several categories, including Best Overall Website. With their captivating designs and clean, user-friendly features it is no wonder why Silver Creek Real Estate Group, CENTURY 21 North Homes Realty, and Barrett Sotheby’s International Realty also ranked in this category!

There’s a delicate balance between having a stunning website and also having a website that delivers search engine results. Silver Creek Real Estate Group in North Carolina earned a Best Design award and has now won awards in four different categories for three years in a row! We’re also proud to see Tate & Foss Sotheby’s International Realty, Barrett Sotheby’s International Realty, and CENTURY 21 Scheetz ranked in the Best Design category and have stunning websites that deliver.

Here at Union Street Media, we recognize the importance of having a mobile-first design. Our high-performing, mobile responsive websites look beautiful on all devices, including desktops, tablets, and mobile phones, and are tailored to what users expect wherever they choose to interact with them. A big congratulations to five of our clients who ranked in Best Mobile this year: Tate & Foss Sotheby’s International Realty, Silver Creek Real Estate Group, CENTURY 21 The One, CENTURY 21 North Homes Realty, and Mosaic Community Lifestyle Realty.

Our property detail pages are designed to be user-friendly and drive leads for our clients while still maintaining their gorgeous look and feel. That’s why we’re so proud of CENTURY 21 North Homes Realty for ranking in this category!

There’s no denying that community is a key foundation of real estate and demonstrating your knowledge of your communities on eye-catching pages is essential. The communities in which our clients live, work, and have fun should be celebrated, which is why we’re so proud of Tate & Foss Sotheby’s International Realty for ranking in Best Community!

Because of the pandemic, the use of video has never been more important in the real estate industry. We’re thrilled to see Silver Creek Real Estate Group awarded for Best Video again!

In addition to these incredible companies, several others earned Honorable Mentions.

Lastly, we’d like to give a huge shoutout to every employee at Union Street Media who worked tirelessly to make this possible, and, of course, to our incredible clients without whom we couldn’t have done any of this! We thank you and appreciate you so, so much!

Want to know more about our industry-leading website and digital marketing solutions? Connect with us today — we’d love to see your website rank in 2022!

The post Union Street Media Wins the Most RealTrends Website Rankings Awards, Again! appeared first on Union Street Media.

The real estate industry still lags behind when it comes to digital adoption and the battle for agent recruiting and retention depends on brokerages’ ability to provide more value to agents in the coming years, primarily through technology, marketing, coaching, and other support services. So, is it possible to take the stress out of building a high-performing, agent-empowering tech stack for brokerages?

Yes! 

It’s absolutely possible and it’s been done before. We’ll be the first to admit it: like horror movies, either you love technology or you hate it. What’s stressful to one person is a challenge that drives others. And if technology isn’t your thing, we get it. Whether that’s the case or not, we’ve put together our top tips to take the stress out of your next tech transition. 

Nine Tips to Make Your Next Real Estate Technology Change Seamless:

1. Have a Shared Vision of Success – can you articulate what success looks like for your business? What would others on your team say when asked? Is there alignment on the single most important problem you’re trying to solve? The challenge in building a tech stack is not in choosing the vendors or tools, and it’s not even in implementing them, it’s in ensuring that the decisions you make all help each other, and move you closer to realizing your company vision. Struggling with saying no to your top producing agents? Balancing conflicting goals? We get it. Often, having crucial conversations before you invest the time and money into spinning up new systems and tools can help address these challenges. Look for shared meaning and deconstruct what each of you believe is necessary to accomplish your mutual goal. When people understand how technology decisions will directly impact them, they can make an informed decision. A good example of this is an agent who wants separate listing websites for their listings vs. optimized listing pages on the company’s website. Can you show how the latter helps them? Any partner you choose to work with should share and be able to easily articulate your vision as well.
2. Remember You’re Building a Tech Stack – one of the common mistakes we see made is technology decisions that are made in a silo, or even worse, “non decision” decisions where a company signs up for a platform and doesn’t really need (or want) all of the tools it contains. Both of these can lead to a lot of excitement over one tool and a lot of potential frustration down the road when you’re expected to, or feel like you have to, make the most out of what you have. Loss aversion is a real thing; once we’ve committed to something we’re far less likely to change our minds. The challenge is that continuing to use bad technology for your business is going to cost you so much more over time, in actual dollars and intangibles, like your team’s trust. It’s a major reason why the real estate industry as a whole is no more productive now than ten years ago, despite an enormous investment in technology. A good example of this is choosing a marketing strategy or lead generation platform without having thought through your lead nurture and customer relationship management strategy. Or visa versa. You may love a CRM for all of its bells and whistles and if it doesn’t integrate with the lead generation tools that are best for your business – your website, online advertising, social media marketing, etc. – it’s probably not best for you. Thinking through what you need from each aspect of your technology, and where you can afford to not get all of your “nice-to-haves” to ensure you get all of your “must-haves” is essential.
3. If it’s Too Good to Be True, It Probably Is – simple as it is, we see many clients come to us after having been overpromised and underdelivered to. Every company has case studies and success stories (or they should!). Don’t be afraid to dig into what getting that number one search engine ranking required or what kind of lead nurture was necessary to convert that super inexpensive, low quality lead. As they say, the devil’s in the details.
4. Attitude is Everything – let’s face it, no technology transition will be completely flawless. Timelines change, priorities change, and you’re managing a lot. The best situation to be in for any technology transition is working with someone who genuinely cares about, and understands, your business. Just as important is choosing to work with people who understand that you are going to need to bring other technologies into the stack and partners into the system you are building, and they should be as invested in their success as they are their own. It’s the classic, if you succeed, we succeed mantra. Some people really live it and believe it. 
5. Set a Realistic Timeline – depending on the scope of the technology implementation or transition, we recommend planning for “30% unknown” time. This means 30% of your day is left open for things you can’t anticipate until that day or soon before. Similarly, 30% of your implementation timeline is allocated to the unanticipated; things like new requirements that need to be vetted or additional testing of new user flows that arose after the project started. It’s always better to have padding in your timeline to ensure the highest quality outcome possible, which will save you time and money down the road.
6. Frequent Check-Ins are a Must – make time to check-in on your technology projects, even if it’s for 15 minutes a week or a half hour twice a month. Not only are frequent, pre-scheduled check-ins useful to hold yourself (and others) accountable to deliverables, they allow for frequent discussion of potential roadblocks and sharing of information that’s invaluable to creating a successful outcome. The key to tech transitions isn’t to ensure everything works the first time, it’s to find out what “works” means to you and to quickly iterate and get everything set up the best way possible for your business. Unless you’re buying an out-of-the-box solution (in which case this post probably isn’t helpful), you should expect to constantly be asked and be able to explain what’s most important to you and why about the different technologies, services, and features you’ll be leveraging.
7. Test Early, Test Often – the importance of testing and quality assurance, whether of software, of marketing, of a new process, or something else altogether, cannot be overstated. There are many benefits to frequent and continuous testing. Ensuring a high quality outcome and the best possible user experience is number one. Good testing also ensures that you know what “expected functionality” is and can share feedback and request changes when needed. 
8. Don’t Forget Training – the best implementation plans can fail during rollout. Most product development teams also have product operations teams that are responsible for rolling out products to their broader audience(s) and ensuring adoption. Spend at least as much time on this phase as you do the initial vendor and technology selection and implementation and you will be well ahead of most.
9. Empower Your Champions – every organization and every product, whether a new technology or service, should have several champions who serve as evangelists within the organization. Champions should believe in the why behind the change you’re making, should be able to demonstrate their success with it, and should be willing to talk openly about and train others to use it. Consider having one champion for every ten people or so, and selecting champions with different backgrounds and strengths to increase the likelihood of others being able to relate to at least one of your champions. Equally important is how you communicate with and grow your champions. Make sure they have access to all of the information you have as soon as possible and that it’s clear and purpose-led (i.e. they know why things are the way they are). Also, solicit their feedback and ensure they see the impact of their investment in the new product so they feel a strong sense of ownership and pride in its success.

Whether you’re happy with your current technology or are actively evaluating changes you’d like to make (like building a new real estate website or getting our new Map Search), we’re all going to need to continue to transition to newer technologies and services in the future. It’s the reality of the world in which we live, and it doesn’t have to be so hard. New technologies create new opportunities and with the right partner or partners guiding you, you can move forward with confidence and excitement at what’s possible.

Looking for the right partner to help elevate your real estate business? Connect with us today! 

The post Take the Stress Out of Real Estate Tech Transitions appeared first on Union Street Media.

Stories are powerful because they’re memorable and, at least for stories we haven’t heard a million times, teach us something new. Incorporating stories is a great way for your audience to gain insight into who you are. Stories help you demonstrate your expertise, foster your sphere of influence, generate more leads, connect with buyers and sellers, and much more. When you share stories, you’re more likely to capture your audience’s attention and form a deeper connection, necessary to build trust. 

The great thing about storytelling for real estate is that you get to be as creative as you want. You can decide what narrative you want to craft and in fact, craft several different narratives. You can share your company’s journey, an agent’s story, or stories from within your community, to name a few. Remember, stories have different elements and they’re not all about you. Ultimately, the goal is to share stories for people at different points in the buying or selling process, and with different backgrounds and needs, to enjoy and connect with. Keep reading to discover how to craft and share your story online in the most memorable and appealing way.

How to Effectively Tell Your Story 

1. Be intentional
2. Share success stories
3. Leverage video
4. Use conversational language
5. Get personal
6. Embrace blogging
7. Utilize omnichannel marketing

Be intentional

Decide what message you want to convey, and your goal in doing so, so you can best tailor your content for its intended audience. Do you want to position yourself as a local expert? Or, do you want to convey your brand’s personality as reliable and easy to talk to? Having an intention behind what kind of story or stories you want to tell makes it easier to create content, decide what medium it will be in, and lead your audience on a journey with you. Stories shouldn’t all be about you, and you should have a reason to want to tell them. Asking and answering what you are hoping to accomplish in telling each story can be a very useful starting point.

Share success stories

People like to hear about other people’s experiences and take into consideration their thoughts and reviews. Ask clients to share their stories working with you and how you’ve helped them achieve their goals. Make sure they’re truly stories, not just soundbites or traditional testimonial-style quotes. When someone talks about an event, something that happened while they were working with you and both how it affected them and how you helped them through it, it’s going to be far more powerful of a message than a simple one or two sentence quote.  Stories give better insight for prospects to understand who you are and what working with you is like. Displaying success stories with images or creating a video where you interview clients are eye-catching ways to feature the service element of your business and ensure your message resonates.

Leverage video

The video storytelling opportunities for real estate are endless. You can film a video tour of a listing so buyers can better envision themselves in the home or community. To add an extra layer to the video, consider interviewing prominent figures in the community or featuring popular amenities or attractions. Or, create videos that give tours of your office, interview team members, or detail how your business started. Be sure to upload your video to YouTube and embed videos on your website to boost your SEO for real estate.

Use conversational language

For stories involving text, talk to your audience like you would a friend. Don’t be afraid to use more casual, humorous, or clever language to establish and show off your company’s personality a bit more. People like to feel like they’re talking to a real person and are more likely to relate to you better (more on that below). It can be really helpful to define your brand voice as part of your overall brand identity. Things like the tone of your brand, the way you sound (and want to sound), and the words you use are all really important. If you want to be approachable, for example, your word choice would be different than if you want to be seen as exclusive. Your brand positioning is up to you – if you’re stuck with how to say what you want to say, we can help.

Get personal 

Often, what makes stories exceptional is the fact that they are relatable. In fact, Matthew Luhn of Pixar fame (who calls himself “guy who makes people cry”) says stories are meaningful because they are memorable, impactful, and personal. As a real estate service provider, you want your potential clients to believe you know what it’s really like for them to buy or sell a home. This includes sharing personal stories about relocating, finding the right community, how many houses you viewed before finding the right one, preparing your home for viewing, and more. Find what you and others on your team can bring to the table and incorporate personal stories to create more meaningful connections and build rapport with your audience. Keep in mind you should still make sure to tailor content to the needs of your intended audience and how you’ll be able to help them reach their goals. Just because you have a story to share doesn’t mean it should be shared, and there are likely many stories you have that can help your audience better navigate their own experience and understand what it would be like to work with you through it all.

Embrace blogging

Typically, when we think about stories we think of the written word. Blog posts are a classic way to share stories and have so many opportunities to engage your audience with a variety of topics. For example, if you’re featuring a special listing, craft a narrative that puts the reader inside the home, walking from room to room. Or, along the same lines, take your reader through their prospective community. Blog posts are also a great way to detail your company’s story; you could address who founded the company and why, how your team got into real estate, what your purpose is, and more.

Utilize omnichannel marketing

Perhaps the most essential ingredient to effectively telling your story online is leveraging omnichannel marketing to get people to hear, read, and watch your story. Omnichannel marketing is a way for brands to position their potential customer at the epicenter of their marketing strategy, ensuring a seamless experience across any place they choose to interact with you, whether it’s an ad, a phone call, walking into an office, or more. In order to do this, you should deliver consistent messaging everywhere you are talking about your services. We all interact with brands in multiple ways and across multiple channels so consistency really is key in ensuring you come across as authentic and trustworthy. Digital channels should include but are not limited to your website, social media, advertising, email, and more. Sharing your personalized content across these channels in a consistent way creates a cohesive experience for your potential customers and instills confidence they’ll know what they’ll get by working with you. 

In summary, telling your story is a tried and true way to connect with your audience. By telling a story, you’re impacting your audience’s emotions and attention, so you’re more likely to be top of mind when someone needs to buy or sell a home. Need help crafting and telling your story online? Connect with us today to discuss your goals and get recommendations on how we can help.

The post How to Tell Your Story Online appeared first on Union Street Media.

What is Google Business Profile?

Similar to Google My Business Google Business Profile is a tool that helps your business get found when people search for real estate businesses in your area. Think of it like local search for real estate, but instead of listings showing, your business appears. If you have a Google Business Profile page, your business will show up higher on the search engine results page (SERP) when people search for real estate services in your area. And, one of the biggest differences between Google My Business and Google Business Profile is the ability to edit your profile right from the search engine results page (SERP) when you’re logged in as an account that manages it. Keep reading to discover why Google Business Profile is so important and how to use it to grow your business online.

Why Google Business Profile is Important for Real Estate

Because people are searching for services online, having a Google Business Profile helps boost your visibility online and attract prospects and leads. Plus, people care about reviews and tend to look at what appears first on the search engine results page (SERP). Having a Google Business Profile makes it more likely your business will appear in a coveted top of page position and allows Google to display different information about your business that will entice people to visit your website, from reviews to your office information.

Before we dive into the details, it’s important to mention what kinds of businesses can create a Google Business Profile. Most often, Google Business Profiles are for businesses with a physical address where they service customers. However, you can still create a profile if your business is a hybrid, meaning you serve customers at your physical address and also go out and visit customers, or if you’re a service-area business that visits customers directly instead of at the physical address. Plus, if you have several physical locations, you can create a profile for each of those locations. Real estate businesses tend to fall into the hybrid, service-area business, and multiple locations categories. 

How to Use Google Business Profile for Real Estate

1. Create a profile. To get started, visit www.google.com/business/ to determine if an account already exists and click “Manage Now.” You’ll then be prompted to select the account or enter the name and address of your business. Make sure that the name, address, and phone number (also known as NAP) you enter are consistent with what’s found on your website, social media, business cards, and everywhere else that information is found, especially online.
2. Add the areas you serve. Confirm you service people outside of your location. Doing so labels you as a Service Area Business because you may cover multiple local areas and you also might have appointments, showings, or open houses in several different locations –  not just your physical office. Because you’ll be set up as a Service Area Business, you’ll be able to rank for searches outside of your physical location. Also, you can add as many areas you serve by zip code with no limitations, giving you more control over where you’ll be found in search. Make sure to only add locations that you actually want to serve though.
3. Choose your category. Your Google Business Profile can be tailored to best suit your business. For example, if you’re a single agent with your own business, you can choose “real estate agent” or if you’re making a profile for your company as a whole, choose “real estate agency.” It’s important to note that if agents who are part of a company set up their own Google Business Profile as an individual, they’ll be competing against the company (whatever page has the “real estate agency” distinction) in search rankings. If an agent wants to have their own profile, they should use their physical home address instead of the company’s address.
4. Build out your profile. As mentioned previously, be sure that your contact information like website, phone number, and address, is consistent with what can be found on your website. Similarly, it’s important to add your logo and a cover photo to enhance your brand recognition. Include your business hours and add photos of your business; doing so tells Google that you’re a legitimate business and also helps you appear in other search results. Another key element on your Google Business Profile for real estate is the description. Your description — about 250-400 words — should be optimized with the most important keywords for which you want to rank, to help boost visibility and traffic.
5. Post to your page. Your Google Business Profile page is similar to your social media accounts, meaning it’s important to continually post updates and be active on the page. You can add listings, articles that mention your business, local news events like awards you receive, and more. Also, adding photos of you and your team along with videos that show off who you are, like an about me/us video, client success story, or a video showcasing your services are all great ways to educate and inform potential leads, while also boosting your SEO. 

Properly setting up your Google Business Profile and optimizing it for local real estate searches will help drive more leads and traffic to your website by boosting your visibility online and being seen as an authority by Google. Like with your other digital channels, it’s essential to keep it up to date with the latest and most relevant information. Also, be mindful that Google makes frequent updates to its search engine algorithms (9x per day on average), so additional changes to how you use Google Business Profile and leveraging other tools may be needed in the future. 

New: Increase Your Visibility Online & Drive Leads with Our Directory Management! 

Our Directory Management helps boost your SEO and attract more leads through your online profiles, making your real estate business more visible online and more competitive in local markets. Keeping your online profiles, like Google Business Profile, Facebook, and Bing up-to-date plays a crucial role in your search rankings. We’ll ensure that your online presence is managed and optimized, so you can focus on what you do best—running your business. Reach out to your Digital Specialist or Digital Advisor to learn more. Or, contact us to get started with Union Street Media!

Looking for more tips on the best digital strategies to grow your business? Let’s have a strategy call! 

The post Best Practices: Google Business Profile for Real Estate appeared first on Union Street Media.

Each social media channel has its own unique features and best practices; things that are trends on one channel may not be a trend on another channel. To help you navigate what works best for you, we’ve compiled a list of the top social media trends for real estate across the most popular channels. 

It’s also important to note that because your real estate business is uniquely yours, your audience is, too. There are an abundant number of social media channels these days that you can use to elevate your social media strategy for real estate, but a few stand out as strongholds in the field. These channels include 

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube

It’s important to understand your audience and be active on the platform(s) where they are. Keep reading to discover the latest social media trends for real estate. Want more information on these trends and how to implement them to grow your real estate business? Let’s connect! 

7 Social Media Trends to Grow Your Real Estate Business 

1. Expanding the focus 
2. Authenticity is viral  
3. Education engages
4. Communication is a two-way street 
5. Video is still preferred 
6. Sharing success stories 
7. Automating the social media process 

Expanding the focus

As more people seek out hyperlocal content about an area, they’re expecting to see more local content featured on social media, too. Buyers –  and some sellers –  want richer information than high level property details. They want insight into what features and attractions the neighborhood and surrounding areas offer. What is it actually like to live there? Sharing places to eat, entertainment in the area, attractions, and more creates a sense of place, which is invaluable for someone contemplating buying a house there. Doing so can also position yourself as experts in the area and gain the trust of prospective clients, including sellers, who also expect to see you sharing local content, videos, and providing market information that helps them understand their home’s, and their neighborhood’s, value. Following and tagging local businesses is a great way to demonstrate your connection to and knowledge of an area — and maybe even get a like or follow back! 

Authenticity is viral 

Now more than ever, people are seeking companies that they can trust — especially when it comes to a big, important, and often emotional decision. People respond to people, so leaning into the human aspect of your business pulls back the curtain slightly and allows better connections to form between you and your audience. For example, incorporating employee bios with information on what they do for work and also what hobbies they have or an interesting fact about themselves gives a little more insight into who they are. Additionally, posting behind-the-scenes photos to your real estate social media channels puts faces to your company. Want to showcase your unique staging services? Post before and after photos, sure, but also consider posting some action shots of the team getting the house ready; what better way to show how hard you’ll work on your sellers’ behalf?

Education engages

According to a recent study, seven in ten people use social media to connect, engage with news, or share information. Because so many people are turning toward social media for information, and sharing it, providing relevant information in the format of infographics, short videos, and digestible snippets from blogs is a great way to get people to engage with your brand online. Ideas can include home staging tips for sellers, what to expect during an inspection, the latest real estate trends, when the best time is to buy or sell a home in your area, etc. Also, as a result, you’ll further position yourself up as a trusted resource by being the go-to source of market and area information.

Communication is a two-way street 

Simply posting a link, photo, or video might feel like the only step to take in building your brand online and sharing information with your audience. However, as more buyers and sellers turn to social media to find information, ask questions, and get answers, they’re also expecting responses from companies. Responding to comments with personalization like using the commenter’s name and directly addressing their problem or question will let them know that they’re heard. Even a simple “thank you for your comment” goes a long way to open up conversations.

Video is still preferred

Video and social media are synonymous at this point. Videos were popular before the pandemic and became even more in demand as people relied on online mediums to view property tours and get to know the area before spending the time and resources to visit in person (and even to buy sight unseen). In addition, companies turned to live streaming to hold Q&As, webinars, and conferences. With so many platforms integrating video as part of their features, like Instagram reels and YouTube shorts, and consumer demand as high as ever, video isn’t going away any time soon.  

Sharing success stories 

People take into consideration other people’s opinions, reviews, and experiences working with companies. We seek out “social proof” that working with a company will be worth it. Sharing success stories focused on how you’ve helped your clients solve their pain points provides potential clients with the information they need to feel like they’re making the right decision, and in what ways you’ll be helping them. Success stories are more than a simple testimonial; even one or two videos of happy clients talking about their experience in detail, such as how specifically you helped them and what impact that had, can be incredibly powerful.

Automating the social media process 

As it’s important to be active on multiple platforms (including newer entrants) and with the rise in machine learning, incorporating an automated social media workflow into your marketing efforts helps you dial into the most relevant content for your audience. With the help of automation, you can determine the best times to post on social media, analyze engagement data, and so much more. Plus, you’ll be able to plan out your content calendar more effectively with social media scheduling tools like Hootsuite or Sprout Social to ensure your audience sees your posts on a consistent basis. Furthermore, posting on a consistent basis with relevant content extends your organic reach as your posts settle into each platform’s algorithms.

Because social media is ever-evolving, it’s essential to keep up with the latest trends and implement them into your social media marketing for real estate. Tracking your social posts with built-in analytics or a third-party social media tool will help you see what’s working and what’s not, making it easier to adjust accordingly and effectively grow your following online. 

Looking to elevate your social media strategy? Connect with us today for specific recommendations to help grow your real estate business. 

The post Social Media Trends for Real Estate appeared first on Union Street Media.

7 Email Marketing Trends for Real Estate 

Emails are used for a variety of reasons, like keeping your audience up-to-date with company news, information on services offered, new listings available, market updates, and so much more. Email is also an essential communication channel for your current and past customers, to move the transaction forward and to generate repeat and referral business. Below we dive into the latest email trends for real estate and how to incorporate them into your digital strategy.

1. Using AI for optimization
2. Personalization is best
3. Easy to scan messaging
4. Improving accessibility 
5. More interactive elements
6. Optimize for mobile
7. Prioritize privacy 

Using AI for optimization

Implementing artificial intelligence, or AI, into your email marketing strategy is one of the best ways to streamline your marketing efforts and has increased in popularity as companies, email lists, and machine learning all continue to grow. Plus, AI for real estate can give you great insight into your audience such as what interests your potential buyers most and whether speed or price are most important to your potential sellers. With the help of AI you can determine the best times to send emails, craft engaging subject lines, easily clean up your lists, effectively segment your lists, and so much more. AI email optimization also helps create personalized email experiences without a ton of extra effort, key because of consumers’ increased preference for specific content and direct messaging (more on that below). 

Personalization is best

Because email marketing has seen an increase in automation in order to streamline workflows, personalization can sometimes be overlooked — especially now with so much of our lives online and the sheer number of messages received every day. People want to feel important, like a company is speaking directly to them and their interests, instead of being lumped together with the masses. One of the best ways to do this is to address the email to them by name. Also, take into consideration their specific interests, such as types of homes and preferred areas, products or services they’ve used, past open rates/engagement, questions they’ve asked about the buying or selling process, and other factors. Then, create segmented lists in whichever automated platform you use to ensure that the emails you’re sending out are targeted with them specifically in mind. 

Easy to scan messaging

While elaborate emails with flashy features and tons of content may be eye-catching, many people now prefer plain-text emails for their simplicity. Plain-text emails are exactly what they sound like — just text in the body of the email without a whole lot (if any) imagery. These emails get straight to the point and make communicating your message to your clients clearer and more effective. Also because of how many emails are received on a daily basis, busy professionals and people on the go don’t have a lot of time to read lengthy text. 

Improving accessibility

Ensuring your emails are accessible to everyone is crucial so more people can receive your message and view it on the device they choose. Some ways to make your emails more accessible include easy-to-read text, and clear images with alt text, and considering your text size and color. A popular method in increasing accessibility is implementing a Dark Mode option for your real estate emails. Dark Mode helps reduce eye strain, increases contrast to read text easier, and saves battery life. 

More interactive elements

While plain-text emails have become more popular, there’s still a steady trend of more embellished emails that engage your audience. Because technology capabilities have improved, people expect more features and interactive elements. Incorporating interactive elements and features is a great way to boost engagement and even add a little personalization. Some popular methods include calls to action (CTAs) for scheduling a showing, slideshows of listings, animated gifs, hover-over images, and more. Keep in mind that the more features you add to your emails, the slower they can take to load and the lower the likelihood of someone clicking through. Therefore, we suggest varying content and using plain-text emails for some messages and interactive elements for others — you know what makes the most sense and what’s newsworthy, like an event, that could benefit from a catchy gif versus something that people want to easily digest, like a market update email, for which interactive elements would probably seem more distracting than entertaining.

Optimize for mobile

You’ve probably received an email (or hundreds) where the images are getting cut off or you have to zoom in or out to view the content. Because so many people are spending their time on their phones, making sure emails are optimized for mobile is key and shouldn’t be overlooked. In 2021, over 80% of Millennials use their phones to search for and find their homes. Google has long since prioritized mobile content and user experiences. And our mobile use continues to grow. Ensuring emails are optimized for mobile is key to greater engagement, including lead generation.

Prioritize privacy

Now more than ever, people are aware of their privacy online and want to understand how their personal data is being used. Especially with buying or selling a home, a big decision that involves a lot of personal data, clients looking for companies who are transparent and whom they can trust. This means informing your clients via email about how you’re protecting their information and staying up to date with privacy best practices. Also, be sure to include a clear option for users to opt out of receiving your emails and unsubscribe from your mailing list.  

At the end of the day, how people interact with and view emails has shifted, but email marketing itself still remains one of the best ways to communicate with, engage, and attract your leads and customers. Email marketing is the cornerstone of an effective omnichannel marketing strategy, whether for lead generation, sphere marketing (generating repeat and referral business), agent recruiting and retention, or more.

Need help crafting the best email marketing strategy for real estate? Connect with us today for specific recommendations to leverage this tried-and-true channel in new ways and to grow your business online.

The post How Email Marketing for Real Estate Has Changed appeared first on Union Street Media.

Whether for buyers seeking information on the best offer to present or how to tour a home from afar or sellers who want to attract and evaluate the most qualified buyers, sharing the most relevant real estate trends with your clients helps them make the best decision possible and, in turn, strengthens your value as a trustworthy source of information. For this reason, we’ve compiled some of the top real estate trends impacting the industry and what your clients absolutely need to know about them. We know you’re most likely already aware of them, and hopefully, this list helps package them in a way that can be easily shareable. 

7 Real Estate Trends for Buyers and Sellers to Know 

1. Modern features and maximizing space 
2. Millennials are the largest generation buying homes
3. A slight shift to more of a buyers market
4. Buying sight unseen is still popular
5. The lasting importance of virtual tours
6. Delays in appraisals and inspections 
7. Sellers are staying in their houses longer

Modern features and maximizing space 

Because so many people spent more time than ever in their homes recently, they’ve learned that features and characteristics of their homes they once adored (or ignored) may not be beneficial anymore. Buyers are now leaning toward more modern kitchens and bathrooms and open floorplans to maximize the space. They also are favoring properties that require a lower cost for maintenance, like a landscaped yard and newer, more energy-efficient windows and appliances. For sellers, this means possibly putting a little more money into updating or renovating certain spaces to make homes more appealing to buyers and be able to command an even higher price.

Millennials are the largest generation buying homes

Millennials are the largest adult generation and now comprise the biggest portion of homebuyers, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Also, because many Millennials waited longer to buy their first home, some Millennials are purchasing multi-million dollar or higher-end homes, a steady trend bolstering the luxury market. Many Millennials also place a high value on sustainability and quality of life. Though not the case everywhere, areas with booming entertainment, food, art, and outdoor recreation scenes are experiencing an influx of Millennials. For sellers, appealing to Millennials is key. 

A slight shift to more of a buyers market 

Because of continued low mortgage interest rates and high demand, the real estate market remains strong in the second half of 2021. However, after home prices rose 11.8% in 2020, growth was predicted to fall to 4.4% in 2022. For now, sellers are still in the best position in the market. Most people listing their home can still expect higher than average offers being made on them, even as trends slowly start to shift to favor buyers more. Because home prices are coming down from their peak, exhausted buyers will soon have room to breathe and find a home that’s affordable without engaging in a bidding war.

Buying sight unseen is still popular

After becoming immensely popular during the peak of the pandemic, fueled both by travel restrictions and an extremely competitive market, buying sight unseen remains strong. According to a recent survey, 42% of people would consider buying a house they haven’t seen yet. For busy and exhausted buyers, putting in an offer on a house they haven’t seen eases some of the stress of having to travel, especially if it’s cross-country or international. Sellers can expect to see an inspection contingency in offers from buyers interested in sight unseen, potentially resulting in repair requests or a price reduction based on what’s found during the inspection.

The lasting importance of virtual tours

As mentioned above, many buyers are still leaning into purchasing a house without seeing it in person. In order to get a feel for the home, they’re consuming mass amounts of photos and videos. Even buyers who plan to visit the home in person prefer to access content like photos and videos online first. Buyers have also sent a person or agent to represent them during a showing and viewed the house through a video call. The main attraction for virtual tours is convenience and it’s looking like virtual tours are here to stay. Even for buyers who are closer to their desired area, virtual tours have become an essential tool to help them find the home that’s right for them. For sellers, this means a greater influx of buyers viewing their homes and a higher chance of receiving multiple offers when they list with a real estate agent providing virtual tour services. 

Delays in appraisals and inspections

According to a recent survey by ​​the National Association of REALTORS®, 23% of people reported appraisal delays that impacted closing. If an appraisal is below the purchase price, lenders are more likely to deny the loan, slowing down the closing process. As for inspections, 9% of people reported inspection as their cause for a delayed closing. If the inspection reveals serious issues that need to be addressed, negotiations about who is or isn’t willing to take them on could hold up the process and delay the closing.

Sellers are staying in their houses longer

Because buyers have been having a harder time combating low inventory and high housing prices, those who are buying and selling at the same time are asking for more time before closing. Sometimes, the seller might ask to rent from the new buyer for a period of time if their closing date doesn’t align with selling their previous home. For buyers who are open to letting the seller stay in the house longer, their offers are more likely to be accepted or can go into a better negotiation. 

At the end of the day, your clients look to you for advice during one of the biggest purchases and moments of their lives. Sharing the latest real estate trends with your clients as you advise them on how each trend may or may not impact them is a sure way to gain their trust and build a lasting relationship.

Curious about other trends affecting the industry or want help leveraging them to grow your business? Let’s connect to discuss your needs.

The post Real Estate Trends to Share with Your Clients appeared first on Union Street Media.

To help preserve the investment that you’ve already made online, we’ve put together a guide to use during any of the aforementioned exciting times. It’s important to be strategic about how you make any of these changes, to both maintain your hard-earned SEO value when switching domain names and to ensure your customers have the best experience – and perception – of the change as possible. 

Below we breakdown what to do when merging two real estate websites to maximize your retained SEO value and ensure a smooth transition for your website visitors.

10 Tips to Merge Real Estate Websites Without Losing SEO Value

1. Register your new domain name as soon as possible. Getting your new domain name up and running quickly gives search engines the opportunity to crawl your new website and users the opportunity to find it, whether they know about you already or not. After registering your new domain name, it’s helpful to create a “coming soon” page or message so that people and search engines know the content will be there shortly. And, putting content on your website tells search engines that it isn’t a parked domain and to pay attention to it. 
2. Tell your audience about the change. Be sure to update your homepage with a message saying that a change is coming. Also, post on social media, send an email to your database announcing the news, and consider other small changes, like adding a message to your email signature, voicemail recording, and more. The goal is to ensure everyone knows it’s coming and can get excited about what it means for them!
3. Create a sitemap of your site. A sitemap provides a list of all of the pages that are on your website, which you’ll need in order to effectively transition your domain to a new one. Taking the time to plan out the sitemap you’d like to have on your new website is incredibly valuable both to ensure you can understand your best performing content, what to transfer over, and what to expand or create from scratch, and to be able to create it ahead of time to give your team, users, and search engines a heads up about what to expect.
4. Perform a content audit. Along with the above, once you have a sitemap, it’s important to go through every page on your website, particularly pages you’d like to have on the new website, and find any mentions of your old domain. Ensure that any mentions of your old domain, both through text and hyperlinks, are updated on the new site. This includes mentions within your site’s copy as well as links in navigational elements like your header and footer. If your website uses relative URL paths, meaning any internal links in pages include just the page name (or file path, in web dev speak) and not the full domain, you won’t need to update every link as long as you set up a domain level redirect. All links that are absolute URLs or absolute URL paths, meaning they include the full domain name and page or file path (everything after the first slash), should be updated. We recommend using relative URLs whenever possible to make domain transitions easy down the road.
5. Keep the same URL structure. You don’t need to add extra confusion or excessive updates for search engines to have to process if you can avoid it.
6. Set up 301 redirects. One of the most important steps in merging websites is properly setting up 301 redirects. Because search engines won’t automatically know that the new site belongs to the same person or company that owns the old one, it will view the new site as duplicate content. Instead, let search engines know where the new website and pages live so you can transfer as much domain authority and page authority from the current website to the new website. This is done through 301 redirects, which tell search engines like Google that a link has permanently moved to another location. Here is where your sitemap is especially important – you’ll use it to notify search engines what the new URL is for each page on your old site. Note that you may need to set up both domain level and page level redirects. Check with your website provider to see which applies for you. 
7. Update Google Search Console. After you’ve set up your new site, it’s important to tell Google that you changed your domain. This is done by connecting your primary domain in Google Search Console and re-submitting your sitemap so Google can index the new site while also saving your old site’s rankings. This will also help your new site rank because Google will transfer much of your domain authority from one domain to the other as long as it knows it’s still the same company, sees the same (or more!) relevant content, and believes the new website provides a good user experience. 
8. Change your email addresses.  If you use your domain name for your email addresses, make sure to change them over to the new domain as well. During the transition period, you’ll also want to either forward emails to your new address or set up an auto-reply informing people of your new email address/domain.
9. Market your new domain. Plan on dedicating marketing resources to SEO and advertising for your new website post-launch. It’s especially important to give your website’s visibility a boost right when it goes live as popularity, or increases in traffic, is a signal to Google that a great resource exists. So, Google may spend more time on and/or come back more frequently to crawl your website, knowing it’s getting lots of traffic and backlinks. Though it doesn’t have to be at the same level as in the several months immediately post-launch, continuous SEO is key because Google is constantly making algorithm updates and changing how it indexes websites and web pages. In fact, it has averaged nine algorithm updates per day at times. Keeping up with Google’s search algorithm changes is as important for your website’s health and establishing your initial online presence, if not more. That’s because once Google sees your website as not valuable, or even worse, providing a poor experience, it’s much more difficult to stand out and rebuild. Knowing how Google defines a quality website and user experience, and knowing your website adheres to its best practices, is crucial.
10. Double-check your site. Make sure both websites are as optimized as possible. It’s important to start off on the right foot and ensure SEO best practices have been implemented sitewide. You also don’t want to lose any momentum while your new website is being built or while you’re planning (and waiting for) the website merger to happen. That’s why continuing to work on your current site as you build up your new site is key, though depending on the timeline you can probably get away with focusing, and should focus, more on the new website. Essential SEO work includes, among other things: adding metadata to all pages, ensuring alt text for images exists, checking for duplicate content, and adding 301 redirects where necessary.

If you need to merge two websites, you can protect the SEO value earned from the old site and transfer it to the new site. Intentional planning is the best springboard off which to launch this next phase and move forward with confidence. Have questions about merging websites or the best digital strategy to boost your real estate website’s SEO? Let’s connect and discuss specific recommendations to help you grow your business.

The post How to Merge Real Estate Websites Without Losing SEO Value appeared first on Union Street Media.

Whether you’re just starting out and looking to create a domain name or wanting to change your existing one, we’ve compiled some domain name best practices for real estate websites below. You’ll also find tips for what to do if the name you want is already taken and tips for making a domain name switch as seamless as possible. As one example, if you already have a domain name and are looking to change it, implementing 301 redirects is necessary to transfer as much SEO value from your current domain to your new one and to ensure the best user experience when you change your real estate website’s domain name. 

Domain Name Best Practices

There’s a lot to consider when choosing a domain name for your real estate website. The most important factors in choosing a domain name are listed below and can be summed up as memorability, usability, and relevance. Choosing a simple, memorable, and brand consistent domain is key. You want your domain to be short, easy to remember, easy to type, and representative of your company and/or brand. The best practice for domain length is 2-3 words max. for .net and .org domains, and 3-4 words max. for .com domains since there are fewer .com domains and those tend to be more memorable (as opposed to users having to remember .net and .org).

Choosing a relevant domain is also important, whether that means including real estate and location specific keywords or brand and company keywords is less important as Google doesn’t rely on exactly matching keywords the way it did years ago, so you don’t need to worry about capturing exactly the most relevant keywords to your services and area you cover, just the primary theme. There are two main benefits to choosing a relevant domain name to your business: 1) The domain name itself is still a ranking factor, though not as much as it used to be, so the more relevant the domain, the more prominence Google will give it; and 2) Your domain name is the text that other Internet users and referring websites will use as anchor text when linking so users and search engines will connect the keywords in your domain name and subsequent anchor text with what you do. Websites are also more likely to post links to user friendly sites, with easy to understand and relevant domain names, so again, keeping it simple is as important as ensuring your domain name is relevant.

When choosing a domain name for your real estate website, make sure to:

• Keep it simple. If your real estate business has a complex name or a very long name, consider shortening or abbreviating it. If you have to use a long name, separate each word with a hyphen. 
• Register misspelled versions. If your domain name has a commonly misspelled word in it, register the misspelled version of the domain name so you won’t miss out on traffic that’s going to the misspelling.
• Choose a top-level domain extension. For those unfamiliar with top-level domains, they’re found at the end of the domain name. Common extensions are “.com,” which is the most popular, “.org,” which is mostly used with organizations, and “.net,” which is a popular alternative to .com and .org. Other domain extensions exist, though we don’t recommend using them unless they are highly relevant to your business, such as .realestate, which is a good option. SEO can at times be negatively or positively impacted by other domain name extensions, like .biz or .ly depending on whether Google views them as spammy, or credible (credibility is generally based on some pre-certification, a domain being country based, or a domain being keyword rich and relevant, such as party.nyc being used for a NYC club website). For a business, it’s best to choose .com if it’s available although both .com and .net domain extensions are credible, so you don’t have to worry about any negative impact on SEO from the domain itself as long as you choose one of those. Other benefits of .com domain extensions are that they’re generally more memorable (users have a harder time remembering .org and .net domains). Additionally, there are fewer total .com domains than other domains, so you can generally get away with a longer domain name for .com websites because they’re more rare.
  
• Register with more than one domain type. In order to protect your brand online from others registering a domain name similar to yours and using some of your popularity for themselves, it’s wise to register with multiple domains. Because registering a domain is relatively inexpensive, you can keep these domains unused and easily implement code to redirect or forward traffic to your main domain website.
• Consider a keyword-rich domain name. To best position your website to rank online, be shared by others, and more, it’s still important to choose a domain name that has top keywords associated with your real estate business and/or represents your brand. As a result, you’ll be able to drive relevant traffic to your website and get found online easier. 

What to Do if the Domain You Want is Taken

It’s happened to many of us – you identify the perfect domain name only to realize it’s already taken and the owner either won’t sell or is asking too much. How do you know whether it’s worth it to buy the domain and are there other options? The answer is yes, there are other options and yes, there are ways to determine the value of a domain name. To determine the value of a domain name, analyze the website’s current search engine ranking, domain authority, and traffic. Also make sure to do a security check. Has the website been blacklisted? If you determine it’s not possible or not worth it to buy the domain name, other options do exist, including:

1. Use a different domain end type

One of the easiest ways to get the majority of the domain name you want is to change the ending. For example, if another company already has a domain name with the ending “.com,” consider registering your company under another ending like, “.org.” However, it’s important to note that some companies may have trademarked that name, and subsequently, any other versions of that name cannot be used, no matter the top-level domain extension.

2. Change your name slightly

Similarly, altering your name a little bit could also allow you to keep the domain name that you want. Think about how you and your customers refer to your company. Choosing a domain name that they recognize and use can also be the way to go.

3. Consider purchasing the name you want 

Domain names are bought and sold frequently. If you come across the domain name you want and it looks like that website isn’t active, you can try to reach out and purchase it. If the owner of that domain isn’t using it, there’s a better chance you’ll be able to purchase it, as opposed to a high-traffic, popular domain that’s in use.

4. Start fresh

If you’re a brand new company that doesn’t have an online presence yet, or a company that’s going through major changes, sometimes the best option for getting the best domain name is to rethink what you want your brand to be called. Do some research to find out if the name you want is already a brand name or trademark. Your domain name should be unique to you, as well as free of any potential infringements.

Ultimately, you should pick a domain name that’s easy for your customers to remember so you can get found online and continue to grow your real estate business. Want more information on domain name best practices, whether choosing the right domain name or ensuring a seamless transition to a new domain name? Contact the Union Street Media team today to discuss your needs and get personalized recommendations for how to grow your business online. 

The post Real Estate Domain Name Best Practices appeared first on Union Street Media.

As real estate industry trends change and consumer behavior evolves, digital content can and should follow suit. Content comes in many different forms – from blogs to videos to images to interactive website elements, and a whole lot more. Typically, real estate content falls into written, video, image, and audio-based forms. Below we break down the most prominent real estate content trends in 2021 and examples of each.  

The Top 7 Real Estate Content Trends in 2021

1. Property and Neighborhood Tours
2. Hyperlocal Community Insights
3. Informative Guides, How-To’s, and eBooks 
4. Real Estate Stats and Trends 
5. Highlighting Honest Reviews and Testimonials 
6. More Humanized Content 
7. An Increased Interest in Audio 

Tours of Properties and Neighborhoods

There’s no doubt about it: video content is extremely popular and highly valuable –  82% of all online traffic comes from videos. Specifically for the real estate industry, video tours of properties and neighborhoods are both necessary and highly popular. This was true before the pandemic and the demand has grown rapidly ever since. Now, for working professionals, people relocating, international buyers, and others who feel more comfortable with digital tools like virtual tours, the convenience of being able to see and get a feeling for a home and a neighborhood is a major drive for consuming video content. Including neighborhood focused and listing videos will enhance both your listings and local content. Potential buyers can see if a property is right for them before spending the time and resources traveling there and real estate agents get more qualified buyers as result. On the listing side, most sellers expect their real estate agent to use video, so being able to leverage video for multiple different needs, from listing marketing to attracting out-of-area buyers, will strengthen sellers’ perception of the value you provide and differentiate you from others. As an added bonus to helping your sellers, if you upload your videos to a YouTube channel, you will also boost your SEO and drive more leads to your real estate website. 

Hyperlocal Community Insights

Whether they take the form of detailed blog posts, video interviews with local businesses, helpful infographics, area information like points of interest and schools, maps, or more, people place a high value on hyperlocal content that gives them a true sense of place. The types of information that potential buyers could be looking for are what the schools, childcare options, taxes, laws, entertainment, food options, quality of life, and more are like. Sellers will connect your local knowledge with your expertise and the likelihood of them achieving their desired outcome as well. Keep in mind that hyperlocal may truly mean having a neighborhood, community, development, and even street level focus, especially depending on the area you serve. It’s better for your potential customers, and Google, to be seen as an expert in a few hyperlocal areas first and then expand your content in the most relevant way (based on what people are finding most valuable), whether that be by lifestyle, geography, property type, services, or more.

Informative Guides, How-To’s, and eBooks

Given the wealth of information that’s available on buying and selling a house, many people turn toward online content to help guide them through the process and prepare them for what to expect. Long-form written content gives you the space to fully detail what they need to know and include any accompanying data or visuals. Providing buyers and sellers with this information will also set you up to become a go-to resource for them. 

For those looking to sell their homes, content focused on home improvement, appraisals, home staging, and deciding on a price tends to be of high interest. Buyers also want to be prepared for what the buying process looks like, especially since it’s looked a little different in the past year-and-a-half. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, 15% of all buyers found that understanding the steps involved with buying a house was the most helpful aspect of buying a house. Some other content topics they’re interested in include: knowing when to start looking for a home, how to put in the best offer, what happens if a bidding war occurs, and how to choose the best agent. Because sellers want to know what you’re doing to find qualified buyers, focusing on this real estate content trend makes sense not only to appeal to buyers looking to be as prepared as possible, but also to win more listings.

Real Estate Trends and Market Data

Providing clear, easy-to-digest stats and highlighting key trends helps your potential customers to understand the complex real estate landscape, while also solidifying your value in their eyes. Particularly on social media, infographics are extremely popular. Because the real estate industry relies heavily on images, infographics and real estate go hand in hand. They give the viewer an easy snapshot of the most important information they need to know about the industry and are great for sharing on social media. Plus, they’ll give you something to which to refer back if or when you get questions about why you recommend pricing a home a certain way, what your clients should expect to pay for things like closing costs, and so much more. Check out Canva for an easy-to-use tool to use to create your own eye-catching real estate graphics, including infographics.

Highlighting Honest Reviews and Testimonials

With Internet usage as high as ever, buyers and sellers increasingly toward social media to search for information and seek validation in their home buying and selling decisions. Social media is used to discover places they may want to live, agents with whom they may want to work, and to better understand specific communities. People value the opinions of others in their network, look for honest reviews on companies and people, and are influenced by the idea of “social proof”, which is the idea that the company or person others trust is who they should trust. Making sure you have a sufficient number of reviews, especially on Google and Facebook though also on directory sites like Yelp, and that the reviews look as if real people wrote them is key. As for the types of content in which reviews and testimonials can come, leveraging video interviews or graphics with text is common and recommended over text alone. 

More Humanized Content

You may recall seeing dozens of companies post screenshots of Zoom meetings and virtual team bonding activities during the early months of the COVID-era. You may have been one of them. People like to be able to see others with whom they may potentially work in the future. We all want to feel like we’re connecting with a human, not a piece of technology. Content that highlights photos of your team, organizations with whom and events at which you volunteer, and personal information are all things potential customers want to see and consumers today expect from companies. After all, the trend toward authenticity isn’t new; it’s something millennials have favored for years. Being authentically you and sharing your values can come in many formats. Examples include blog posts in response to different events or causes and videos of you with others, like your past customers and your team. Sharing more of yourself, without making what you’re sharing all about you, is a strong way to establish that all-important trust with your audience. 

Increase Interest in Audio 

Though podcasts have been growing in popularity over the past several years, they – and other audio-driven content and applications like Clubhouse –  have grown even more popular during the pandemic. Audio channels can showcase interviews, be a great vehicle for telling stories, serve as a good place for Q&As, and more. Audio content makes the audience feel as though they’re joining in on the conversation and are a part of an experience, as opposed to less interactive and dimensional content forms. Unsure where to start? Check out this great article on how to start a podcast and remember, you can also experiment with audio ads (called programmatic audio) and other shorter formats to start.

Interested in learning more about these real estate content trends or the best content marketing strategy to help your business grow? Let’s connect! 

The post The Top Real Estate Content Trends in 2021 appeared first on Union Street Media.

If you think of your own experience, this all probably makes a lot of sense. When you’re online and when you need to make a big decision, you’re probably consuming vast amounts of content. Digital content is essential to our ability to learn, stay connected, and make decisions. Because of this, incorporating content — and being strategic about it — into your real estate digital marketing strategy is essential. A great real estate content marketing strategy establishes you as go-to resource for your past, present, and future customers; ensuring you stand out online and connect with the people with whom you most want to work.

So, What is Content Marketing for Real Estate?

Content marketing refers to the process of creating and sharing content that’s valuable and relevant to your audience in order to acquire leads and engage with your past, present, and future customers. Text, images, videos, audio, widgets and interactive web elements, and much more all count as content. A well-thought-out real estate content marketing strategy positions you as a local and an industry thought leader and builds brand awareness, helpful for both buyer and seller lead generation, as well as real estate agent recruiting and retention. 

By creating and distributing content that your audience finds useful, you establish trust with them and become a valued resource, which is also likely to lead to them sharing your content and referring others to you. Great content facilitates the online equivalent of word-of-mouth marketing; it gives people who value you and your services something to talk about and gets more people interested in what you offer at the same time. As a bonus, content marketing is also a more cost-effective strategy than other forms of marketing because the content you create can be shared and re-purposed again and again, on your website and other channels like social media, online advertising, and email. It really is the gift that keeps on giving — or — at least the work that keeps on giving! Keep in mind, though, that it may take some time to build up your online content and truly see the benefits of a solid content marketing strategy, namely to start attracting leads and rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs).

The Benefits of Content Marketing for Real Estate

Content marketing is known as an evergreen way to digitally market to your audience because the content continues to work for you long after it’s originally created and shared, with less attention and resources needed to attract and engage your audience over time. Additional benefits of great content marketing for real estate include:

• Improve your SEO. When your valuable content ranks highly on search engines or is shared widely on social networks, you’re increasing the likelihood of your real estate website being found online by ranking high on search engine results pages (SERPs). Google in particular has prioritized unique, hyperlocal content for years and will always rank a web page higher if it believes it is the most relevant, user-friendly, and popular destination out there for a particular search.  
• Build your brand awareness. Relevant and educational content keeps your audience coming back and positions you as a trusted thought leader, making you a valuable source of information. 
• Engage your audience. By answering your audience’s real estate questions and showcasing your values through content, you’re opening a line of communication between you and your audience if/when they need your help and you’re also establishing relatability that gives them a reason to want to contact you. 75% of buyers and sellers work with the first agent they contact, so you want to give them every reason possible to reach out to you first. 
• Drive leads in a cost-effective way. Content marketing is an effective way to drive leads by itself and it’s also necessary to maximize the cost effectiveness of your other digital marketing, like your online advertising. You can save up to 50% on your online ad costs per click by directing people who click on your ads to highly relevant, optimized landing pages with quality content tailored to your audience. 

Five Tried-And-True Real Estate Content Marketing Ideas 

To implement a content marketing strategy, first identify the channels through which you want to deliver your content and the type(s) of content that make sense for them. These may include:

1. Blog posts. Add a blog to your real estate website so you can educate and inform your audience about topics relevant to them and your business. Be sure to perform keyword research and include the keywords you want to rank for in the posts. 
2. Informational content such as guides, how-to’s, and ebooks. Ebook content is similar to blog posts yet is usually longer and includes a cohesive visual design. They allow for more details and explanations about a topic that might not be able to be included in blog posts, such as a seller’s guide, visitor’s guide to the area you serve, or more specific tips like a home staging guide.
3. Video. Because videos drive a lot of online traffic, are seen as essential to many homeowners considering with whom to list their homes, and are some of the most shareable forms of real estate content, producing videos to share on social media, embed in your real estate website, and post on a YouTube channel with strong content are key. Creating and sharing a variety of real estate videos, from listing videos, to local business spotlights, to customer stories and agent interviews will increase dwell time or the time people spend watching your videos, which also helps boost your SEO for real estate. Especially now with so many people relying on video capabilities for things like virtual tours and continuing to rely on mobile devices to go online (2 out of every 5 mobile minutes is spent watching video), incorporating video is essential to developing a great content strategy. 
4. Infographics and graphics. Because the real estate industry is a highly visual industry, creating infographics or other simple graphics that use as little text as possible to let the image tell the story and showcase your expertise is ideal. Plus, it’s a great way to break down complex ideas into more digestible ones. Use a series of graphics to talk about how you make the home selling process super easy and stress-free, or consider how you can visually share your company promise, your mission and vision via a set of images that entice and resonate with those who see them.
5. Success stories. Similar to with an ebook, case studies written in the form of personal, relatable success stories (with a video equivalent!) are educational, professional, and should convey your expertise. Include data from your own business to support the effectiveness and strengths of your brand, but remember, this is more than just a testimonial. A success story talks about the problems your customer was having and walks through how you solved their problems. Home seller received a bad appraisal? Family needed help settling an estate? Buyer needed to relocate with less than a month’s notice? Walking through how you helped them navigate a tough situation in detail can be highly valuable, and still short enough to hold a viewer’s attention. 

Central to any real estate content strategy is creating content that ensures you stand out. Yet key to standing out online is not only creating amazing content, but making sure the right people see it. That’s where content distribution, or the process of sharing content in as many places as makes sense, comes in.

You certainly want to create high quality, search engine optimized, hyperlocal (down to the neighborhood, community, subdivision, street, and even building at times) content on your website. Content should live on your website except in cases when it truly makes sense to store content elsewhere, such as video on Facebook. Facebook’s algorithms show videos that are uploaded to or created directly on Facebook more than other videos like YouTube videos being shared on Facebook, so there are instances in which it makes more sense to upload a video directly to Facebook than to link back to the video on your website. That said, in general, post to your website first, then share your content on social media and get more eyeballs to it through paid advertising, including social media advertising, pay-per-click advertising, display advertising, retargeting, and other paid placements like boosted posts. Ensure your ad content mirrors your website landing page content and watch your clicks and leads grow as Google gives you top placement.

Content marketing is the foundation off which you can build a remarkable online presence. Interested in learning more about the best content marketing strategies for real estate? Connect with us today! We’d love to collaborate on what makes the most sense for you. 

The post Real Estate Content Marketing Ideas to Grow Your Business appeared first on Union Street Media.

The Top 10 Real Estate Trends in 2021 (So Far!)

1. The increasing value of the real estate industry
2. The flurry of real estate investment activity and PropTech entrants
3. Real estate technology becomes smarter
4. Virtual-first: companies embrace permanently hybrid models
5. Millennials are now the leading buyers group
6. Hyperlocal is the only local
7. Social media as a discovery and a validation platform
8. Changing communication preferences
9. Increased employee flexibility and support
10. The rise in data breaches and cyber security

The increasing value of the real estate industry

According to the Business Research Company, the value of the real estate industry will surpass $7 trillion by 2022. With the market as a whole looking like it won’t slow down just yet due to continuing low mortgage rates, workforce changes, and a still competitive seller’s market in many places, the real estate industry is expected to continue on its high growth path. Plus, with virtual capabilities and more options available for both buyers and sellers, the seasonal markets that we’ve come to expect each year have changed. Now more than ever, people can view homes at their own convenience and because of that and continued low inventory, buyers have and are likely to continue to search for homes at a steadier rate throughout the year. 

The flurry of real estate investment activity and PropTech entrants

Because of the need for technology to support every aspect of real estate operations, from virtual tours and property management to remote work and communications, there’s been an uptick in investment in the real estate industry by PropTech companies. Specifically, the growth in SPACs or “blank check companies” underscores the huge potential of real estate technology and companies providing real estate services. Since most real estate companies have continued to incorporate and invest in technology throughout this year, we expect this trend to continue. More and more companies will go public through SPACs or traditional IPOs, and the flurry of real estate technology mergers and acquisitions will continue as well. 

Real estate technology becomes smarter

Along the same lines, we’ve also seen a rise in PropTech companies who are looking to invest more in technology to stay ahead. The startups that use AI and Big Data are likely to receive more funding because they’re already pushing the boundaries of how to use technology to innovate traditional real estate processes. Opendoor is a great example of this. As Co-Founder and CTO Ian Wong said when describing how Opendoor works, “Opendoor is able to provide near-instant fair market values for homes using a proprietary valuation model that leverages first and third-party data, along with the use of machine learning.” Opendoor uses advanced decisioning to process more data points, and faster, than a person ever could, providing potential sellers and Opendoor with a quick, accurate estimate of what their home is worth.

Startups focused on or leveraging AI, machine learning, and newer technology like quantum computing will be the companies who automate different segments of the real estate industry, eventually influencing other companies and their operations to join the transformation. The FinTech space has been investing in these technologies for years and it looks like real estate is catching up.

With more funding being poured into companies who are willing to take a risk with new technology, it will likely be increasingly challenging for smaller companies to compete, though several have been able to change how they operate and find their specific niche in order to succeed. 

Virtual-first: companies embrace permanently hybrid models

Virtual technology like virtual tours have continued to be in high demand even as many COVID restrictions on gatherings have been lifted, and we expect this to continue. Buyers who can walk through houses virtually aren’t going to give up the convenience in every situation. Busy professionals, people relocating, international buyers…there are many scenarios in which and people for whom virtual technology is going to continue to be key.

That being said, real estate agents need to be prepared to provide sellers and buyers with multiple options for how to access properties and other services. Agents should create a plan to work with vendors (or other divisions within their brokerage) that provide virtual services as well as in-person services. These services should include appraisals, digital transaction management, financing, and more. Because of the convenience that these automated and digital services have provided throughout the pandemic, and many real estate companies have already seen the benefits of adopting these workflows, it’s likely that this trend of utilizing virtual capabilities will be a more permanent part of the real estate process in the future. 

Millennials are now the leading buyers group

In 2022, Millennials are expected to account for about 55% of the real estate market. Because Millennials as a whole waited longer to buy their first home, Millennials are changing the definition of what a first-time home buyer looks like. Developing a strategy to reach and engage Millennial home buyers will continue to be important throughout 2021 and in the years to come. Some qualities Millennials look for in homes have changed due to the pandemic, and others, like walkability, nature, and a high quality of life, are still important. COVID-era priorities are also likely to stay, such as having a home office, home gym, and enough room for hobbies and guests to spend lengthy amounts of time in.  

Hyperlocal is the only local

Though digital tools for real estate are as important as ever, sellers and buyers continue to value high quality local content that demonstrates a deep understanding of the area in which they currently, or want to, live. The increase in demand for hyperlocal content means that potential buyers want to understand what the local schools, childcare options, taxes, laws, politics, quality of life, attractions, and more are like. Sellers want someone who is deeply connected to what’s going on in their neighborhood and even on their street. This trend can put smaller real estate companies at an advantage and set them up to continue to succeed in the future, as long as they have the capability and desire to create and share meaningful, hyperlocal content online. Larger companies like Compass usually favor the listing marketing approach, so hyperlocal content marketing is a great way to stand out and compete.

Social media as a discovery and a validation platform

In 2021, 97% of all buyers used the Internet as their first step in the home buying process. Similarly, sellers leverage online tools like home valuation estimates as much as ever. Simply because of their reach, the big social media platforms have offered benefits to savvy real estate companies for years, especially those who know how to focus their marketing to avoid wasted spend. Now, with our online use as high as it is, with Millennials being the largest generation in the real estate market today, and with the changing expectations consumers have, buyers and sellers are turning toward social media for both discovery and validation. They’re using it to find places to move, agents they want to work with, and seek others’ feedback on their decisions. Social media isn’t solely for aimless scrolling; it’s also the best medium for attracting real estate leads. People value the opinion of their network, look for honest reviews, and are influenced by “social proof” that the company they’re interested in is trustworthy. Having a strong social media strategy for real estate is more important than ever, including and beyond Facebook, which is still one of the most widely-used platforms and has seen incredible growth so far in 2021. 

Changing communication preferences

Since 2020, texting has been the most popular form of communication between real estate agents and their clients – and it has grown even more popular in 2021. Email and phone are close behind in terms of overall preference, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. For buyers and sellers, especially higher net worth buyers and sellers, being accessible by any communication method is hugely important, though they are more likely to call directly. Either way, online conversions via web forms are exceedingly being replaced by direct contact methods, especially for higher-intent real estate prospects who’ve already done their research and know what they want, as well as sellers looking for guidance. 

These changes in consumer preference drive workflows and force brokerages to adapt. Many real estate brokerages have already built or are considering building e-leads teams that are responsible for engaging and qualifying people who inquire about real estate services online, including through the website, as well as online ads. Because so many people start their real estate search process online, online leads can be less far along in their decision process. Creating an e-leads team or working with a partner company to improve the quality of online leads (or both!) can be a game changer in freeing up agents’ time to focus on those who are closer to being ready to list their property, proceed with buying, or are their best source of repeat or referral business.

Increased employee flexibility and support

According to a recent survey, 65% of workers want to become full-time remote employees post-pandemic and 31% would prefer a hybrid work system. Many people say that they’ve established a work-life balance that they enjoy, allowing for higher productivity and time to take care of their home life. 

With these workforce changes also comes the trend of mental well-being as a priority, something that wasn’t discussed as much before the pandemic. Employees are taking more care of themselves, or at least trying to, which as a result, allows them to be able to come to work refreshed and energized to care for their clients without sacrificing their well-being. The charge for companies is how to embrace and support this shift. Moving from praising an overworking culture to encouraging a more intentional and often more productive culture is one of the biggest changes and one that is likely to last at least in some companies and sectors.

The rise in data breaches and cyber security

With more people working remotely, there’s been a significant increase in cyber attacks. Major attacks earlier in the summer dominated headlines, like those JBS, Fujifilm Corporation, Cox Media Group, and Colonial Pipeline experienced. These breaches hugely affected the companies and economy as a whole. Specifically within the real estate industry, KPMG noted in 2018 that the probability a company would experience a material data breach in the next two years was 26%. And that was before the latest rise. Targeted attacks aren’t the only ways data can be lost, as system glitches and human error are also contributing factors. All should be taken seriously.

Because more people are online in 2021 than ever before, cyber threats are likely only going to grow. People continue to go online from less secure public and home networks, and with travel resuming again, businesses should consider what additional cyber security measures hybrid and remote workforces need and that they may be lacking. Other policies like having regular training sessions in place for employees and staying up to date with the best security practices are key and will continue to remain at the forefront of the trends affecting the real estate industry. 

Interested in learning more about these real estate trends or how to leverage real estate technology to help your business grow? Connect with us today to discuss your needs.

The post Real Estate Technology Trends: First Half of 2021 appeared first on Union Street Media.

Hold On, What Are Responsive Display Ads?

Responsive display ads are ads served on Google’s Display Network that show users personalized content based on multiple factors such as the websites they’re on, devices they’re using (desktop, mobile, etc.), browsing history and behavior, and more. Google’s machine learning technology pairs images you upload with headlines you provide in order to achieve the best performance as dictated by the campaign strategy. There are strategies to maximize clicks and maximize conversions or leads, among others. Responsive display ads are great because they can be launched quickly and provide really valuable insights. Because Google pairs so many different combinations of images and text together, by adding responsive display ads to your real estate digital marketing strategy, you can get a really good understanding of what matters most to your potential customers, and use that to inform your other marketing efforts, such as search engine marketing, website content creation, social media marketing, blogging, and more. Let’s dive into some of the numbers to see just how well responsive display ads work to drive real estate leads.

Three Ways Responsive Display Ads for Real Estate Work

1. Time

Before I begin a deep dive into the analytical side of the benefits of responsive display ads, one thing is key: the amount of time you will save by running responsive display ads is an important factor. Easily one of the most compelling reasons to add responsive display ads to your display campaigns is that they are considerably less time-consuming to create initially than image ads. Responsive display ads leverage Google’s machine learning capabilities to conduct A/B tests on different combinations of ad headlines, descriptions, and images in a much more robust and efficient way. If you are to utilize, hypothetically, five different images, five different headlines, and five different descriptions, that would enable Google’s machine learning algorithms to conduct A/B testing on 125 different combinations of ad content. You can create this many individual ad variations manually and, by leveraging Google’s advertising technology to do it instead, you can spend more time on analysis and strategic recommendations (i.e. what’s next?). Google helps you use your assets to build the best performing display ads possible in an exponentially faster way than trial-and-error testing of manually created image ads, which means getting further, faster in uncovering the messaging that will resonate most with your audience and generating real estate leads sooner.

2. Performance

As promised, it’s time to dig into the numbers. 

To understand the true potential of responsive display ads, our team ran real estate display advertising campaigns with two different levels of ad spend, low and high. We then compared the campaigns with responsive display ads to those without them. Looking at how they performed during Q2, the differences are compelling. 

➔ The low-spend campaign with responsive display ads saw approx. double the number of clicks as the non-responsive display ad campaign. The high-spend campaign did even better, driving almost triple the number of clicks than the non-responsive display ad campaign. 

➔ The click-through rate on the lower-spend responsive display ad campaign was more than double the non-responsive display ad campaign. 

➔ The high-budget responsive display ad campaign saw 3.8x the number of impressions as the non-responsive display ad campaign; that sheer increase in traffic added much more value to the campaign, driving greater visibility along with the increase in clicks. 

➔ Lead conversion rates for both responsive display ad campaign spend levels were higher, with the low-cost campaign seeing triple the conversion rate vs. the non-responsive display ad campaign. This equated to 6x the number of conversions.

➔ The large-budget responsive display ad campaign had more than triple (3.4x) the number of conversions of the non-responsive display ad campaign.

The performance of display campaigns that include responsive display ads hugely outperforms the performance of display campaigns without them. The fact that the responsive display ads drove double and triple the growth across key performance indicators, as opposed to smaller increases, also speaks loudly to the value of responsive display ads when included in display advertising campaigns for real estate at any spend level.

3. Optimization

Given the value and performance of responsive display ads, it would only be natural to assume that results like these come with a heftier price tag. However, the reality is that the opposite is true. More times than not, responsive display ads see similar performance at a more optimized cost level. Here are some examples: 

➔ The low-spend campaign running responsive display ads had an average cost per click of about half the cost of the campaign without responsive display ads. This is also true for the higher-spend campaign, which had a cost per click closer to one-third of the cost of the non-responsive display ad campaign. 

➔ The cost per conversion and cost per lead numbers paint a much similar picture. The higher spend campaign had a cost per conversion that was less than one-third of the cost per conversion of the non-responsive display campaign. The low-spend campaign saw a cost per conversion that was one-sixth the cost per conversion of the non-responsive display ad campaign.

More clicks and leads for the same or even less money? Yes, please! Letting Google find and create your highest-performing ads, freeing you up to spend more time growing your business in other ways, including leveraging your customer insights to improve your other digital marketing efforts? Heck yeah!!! Simply put, responsive display ads provide real estate companies with an almost too-good-to-be-true opportunity to spend more efficiently and achieve exponentially better results.

Want to learn more about the best digital marketing strategies for your business, including display advertising for real estate? Let’s connect to discuss your goals.

The post How to Use Responsive Display Ads for Real Estate appeared first on Union Street Media.

Take a look at some of our favorite new websites for real estate below! These stunning, mobile first real estate websites were all built with customizable IDX and are supported by advanced technical SEO for real estate that ensures they get found. With mobile responsive design features tailored to deliver on-the-go user experiences, each website always looks great and works — no matter how and where someone chooses to look at it. You can select the company name below to view their website in its entirety.

Interested in a new real estate website? Connect with one of our strategists today to learn more about our custom designs and award-winning website solutions for sellers, video, property detail, mobile, and our industry-leading map search.

Zahnd Team 
Canada

Shares of New York
New York

Pinon Real Estate Group
Colorado

Halliday Real Estate 
New Hampshire

Mountain Life Real Estate Team
Georgia

NewBridge
Connecticut

Colebrook Realty Services, Inc.
Massachusetts & Connecticut

William Raveis Real Estate
Vermont & Maine

Noyes Real Estate Agency
Maine

Sunset Lakes Real Estate
Maine

Grace Hagerty Real Estate Inc.
Massachusetts

Williamson Group Sotheby’s International Realty
Vermont & New Hampshire

CENTURY 21 All Professional
Florida

The post Recent Website Launches: Summer 2021 appeared first on Union Street Media.

Incorporating YouTube videos into your digital marketing strategy is a great way to elevate your real estate brand. Because videos account for 82% of all online traffic, having a YouTube channel with strong content also helps boost your SEO for real estate. 

Read on to learn how to use YouTube to grow your real estate business.

YouTube Basics for Real Estate 

Before you create your first video on YouTube, be sure to create and optimize your YouTube channel. Include clear and consistent branding details on your channel like a header image with your logo, a link to your company website, a link to your other company social media platforms, and any other relevant contact information like a phone number or email address in the about section. We also recommend optimizing your channel description, effectively your “About Us” information to include your vision, mission, and service description (i.e. Who are you? What do you do? For whom? For what purpose? From where? and How do you do it?). This could be as simple as: “As a values driven residential real estate company based in Boston, Massachusetts, we empower our clients to spend more time doing the things they love by making it incredibly easy to buy or sell real estate with us.”

Another aspect to consider before starting to make and upload videos is the type of real estate video(s) you want to make. You can create a video about pretty much anything. Being intentional and focusing on specific types of video that will appeal to your target audience will make planning and implementation easier and will also lead to better engagement. Some examples of real estate videos to create include: how-to’s (ex. how to know whether your home is priced for the market), interviews with experts (ex. the top trends in smart home technology), customer stories, listing videos and property tours, agent spotlights, neighborhood tours, and local business highlights.

Whether you’ve been using YouTube for years to get your real estate videos in front of the people you want to see them or are just getting started with video marketing for real estate, read on to discover what you absolutely need to know about using YouTube for real estate. Consider many of these guidelines applicable to video marketing on other platforms as well, such as Facebook video. For more information, connect with us to discuss your specific needs and get personalized recommendations for your business.

8 Ways to Get Started with YouTube for Real Estate

1. Include relevant keywords in the title. Including real estate, location specific, service oriented, and brand keywords in your video’s title entices people to click on and watch the video. Just like with any search engine, these keywords help ensure search engines can easily understand what your video it about and display it on search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant searches. This is also a necessary step to being shown first on YouTube’s search results page when users are looking for specific videos. Begin with keyword research using your go-to keyword planning tool (such as Google’s Keyword Planner) or take a look at titles of similar YouTube videos if you don’t know where to start. If you’re posting a video series, be sure to create an encompassing title for the series, and then use a subtitle for each individual video to keep the series consistent and ensure subsequent videos benefit from the preceding videos’ views.  
2. Add call to action (CTA) cards. YouTube has a great feature where creators can add CTA cards in the videos at specified times. These cards can be placed throughout the video, matching up with topics discussed in your video, and will appear as a small slide-down on the right-hand side, lasting for a few moments. They can include links to another video, playlist, channel, or external website. Make sure to tailor links to what’s most relevant to the person watching the video and the place in the video in which the call to action is featured.  
3. Create captivating thumbnails. Aside from your video’s title, your video’s thumbnail image is one of the first elements that potential viewers see and what determines whether they click and watch the video. Thumbnails give your audience a sneak peek into what the video will be about and should be visually engaging and relevant to the content, though they don’t have to be an actual frame from the video. In fact, you can use your favorite image editing program to create a custom thumbnail and add text or images instead of selecting a frame from the video. Brand consistency is key. Check out this post for more on how to build your real estate brand online, including the importance of making a great first impression with your brand identity.
4. Write a good description. Similar to with your YouTube video’s title, write a description that clearly describes what your video is about using relevant keywords and a strong call to action. The description box is also a great place to include any links to your real estate website, social media channels, resources, or if your video features a guest, their website and social media handle.  
5. Optimize for captions. Be sure to enable closed captions and subtitles for your videos to make your content more accessible to everyone. By enabling captions, you and your audience will also have access to a transcript of the video to make consuming the content easier. Plus, most videos are watched on our mobile phones and people often intentionally turn sound off, so enabling closed captions ensures your message is getting across with or without sound.  
6. Create playlists. Curating playlists of similar videos helps direct your audience to more of your YouTube content. YouTube auto-plays videos after a user is done watching, so as long as videos truly are similar (i.e. all listing videos, all spotlights of local businesses in the same area, all customer testimonials, etc.), creating playlists is a simple way to keep viewers on your channel and watching videos longer, the key to boosting SEO and attracting leads. 
7. Learn what works best for your audience. YouTube is owned by Google and because of that, YouTube is also one of the best platforms for leveraging analytics to learn more about your ideal customers. Spend time with your YouTube data and review different metrics like total views, traffic sources, and time spent watching each video, to inform your strategy. Doing so will give you insight into the videos that are working best so you can create more of them.
8. Re-purpose and share. Once videos are uploaded and optimized using data, remember to share them across other channels and embed them in your real estate website to get them seen by even more people. Often, our clients talk about the significant resources required to develop and implement an effective YouTube marketing strategy for real estate. The key to maximizing the impact of your (or others’) efforts is to ensure you’re re-purposing your content, tweaking it slightly for different channels where it makes sense (i.e. uploading videos directly to Facebook as Facebook’s algorithm prefers native video over shared YouTube videos) and not re-creating the wheel every time you want to post something new. This is also where analytics are incredibly valuable as you can better understand your best performing evergreen content and build strategies around it. If your “How to Winterize Your Home” video does well, re-post it every year!

Want more information about creating an effective YouTube strategy for your real estate business? Let’s connect to discuss what makes sense for you.

The post Best Practices: YouTube for Real Estate appeared first on Union Street Media.

What’s Next for Real Estate Technology

The pandemic also opened the door for PropTech companies and investors to rethink what’s possible and what’s next, including trends and opportunities for the real estate industry. PropTech is an umbrella term, short for property technology, that represents companies that use technology and software to assist in today’s real estate market. Some of those trends were easier to spot and began pre-pandemic, like the shortage of inventory and increased pressure for companies to keep up with, and invest in solutions for, the intense residential real estate market in particular. Others took the past year’s events to become mainstream. Either way, because of the need for technology to support everything from virtual tours, property management, and a booming market, to the proliferation of working from home and ever changing consumer behavior, there’s been a major shift in what PropTech companies and investors value. 

Real Estate Technology Goes Public

One manifestation of this change is the rise in special purpose acquisition companies or SPACs, also known as “blank check companies”, in the first half of 2021. SPACs are generally seen as an easier way to go public because after SPACs build their initial investor capital, they then merge with a company to raise even more capital and start selling shares without going through the whole process of an IPO. The growth in SPACs is indicative of the interest in and demand for companies providing real estate and real estate technology services to go public. 

As one example, Nextdoor recently announced that it would be going public through a SPAC with Khosla Ventures. Nextdoor is expected to gain $686 million from the IPO. Estimates now put the company worth between $2.2 billion and $4.3 billion. Nextdoor is expected to use the money to accelerate company growth by expanding the platform to reach more people. 

Economies of Scale in the Real Estate Industry

Being able to bring products or services to market quickly and at a large scale is a big advantage in the PropTech space. For real estate brokerages, economies of scale can help alleviate upward pressure on profit margins. Because of this, a standard merger or acquisition (commonly referred to under one umbrella of M&A) is also a popular method for increasing resources. In June, @properties acquired Suburban Jungle, a pre-search consultation service. For @properties, the acquisition gives them access to referrals and lead generation sources, while Suburban Jungle will gain access to more resources to help expand their platform capabilities; a win-win relationship for both. Another path to accelerate growth is through private equity investment like Permira’s recent investment in Engel & Völkers. Both companies described the investment as necessary to enable the company’s “digital transformation journey” and fuel international growth.

These are just a couple of examples of companies looking for and creating opportunities in the current market. In short, the increase in real estate company valuations, the shifts in the PropTech industry, the rise in SPACs, and the flurry of M&A activity 2021 has seen so far have all aligned to elevate the real estate industry’s digital transformation. It will likely be increasingly challenging for smaller real estate companies to effectively compete and be profitable in the years ahead, though several have found success in developing a niche and changing how they operate.

What Should Real Estate Companies Do?

As with any new market opportunity, it can be tempting to jump right in and try to get ahead of everyone else (see the rise in the Clubhouse app for real estate as one example of this). However, just because something is new, looks promising, and is seemingly what everyone else is doing, it doesn’t mean that it is the best decision for your company. Some of our most successful clients and partners have maintained their independence while growing organically and kept a steadfast focus on their strengths despite having several opportunities to pursue new products and services, and join forces with others.

Whatever you make of this year’s real estate trends, including the rapid acceleration of many companies’ growth through the avenues mentioned above, it’s important to take into consideration how much and what kind of growth makes sense for you. Agent adoption, revenue goals, and integration with your other tools and resources are all important considerations, among many others. Look at your data and have important conversations with your team to see what’s working, where you could improve, and whether you want to do it on your own. If this past year is any indication of the upward trend in digitization and expansion, then we’re expecting to hear a lot more about investing in the real estate industry in the future. For companies looking to keep up with and help lead the shift, the time is now to start planning for 2022 and beyond.

Need help finding the best real estate technology for your company? Are you looking to grow organically and are not quite sure how? Contact us today to discuss your needs and get personalized recommendations for your real estate company. 

The post What the Rise in M&A and Investment Activity Means for the Real Estate Industry appeared first on Union Street Media.

One of the hottest trends in digital marketing is conversational marketing. Conversational marketing isn’t new – it’s been around since 2019 – and its popularity has grown significantly due to the shifts in consumer behavior that started before and were accelerated by the pandemic.

What is Conversational Marketing?

Conversational marketing is when you engage with your potential, current, and past customers in real time and in as personalized a way as possible. You create fast, authentic connections through conversations and as a result, increase conversions.

Conversational marketing can and should occur across channels, and when done well it involves multiple tools. Read on to learn more about what conversational marketing entails and why your real estate digital marketing strategy should include it. 

How Does Conversational Marketing Work?

To implement a conversational marketing strategy, you first need tools that allow you to deliver personalized communication at scale in near real time. These include:

1. Chatbots – chatbots are a highly effective and scalable way to engage potential customers, as well as to provide 24/7 customer service if and when it makes sense for your real estate business. According to a Gartner study, by 2022, “70% of white-collar workers will interact with conversational platforms on a daily basis.” Chatbots use artificial intelligence (AI) to mimic human conversations and have become both increasingly realistic and widely accepted. Chatbots use conditional programming to ask potential customers a series of questions and depending on their answers, tailor how they respond and where they direct people. Different companies provide different levels of support and customization (we love Commversion’s white glove service). They are easy to set up on your website and relatively inexpensive, as pricing is usually based on leads generated (either as a cost per lead or by lead volume).
2. Live chat – live chat is software you can add to your website that’s different from automated chat software or chatbots because it lets users send a message directly to you or a team member in real time, as opposed to using conditional programming and pre-written scripts. Live chat can be highly effective, especially when used in conjunction with automated chatbots.
3. Live streaming video – live streaming video and video services have become increasingly popular, and for good reason. Live product demos and real time Q&As can be particularly effective. These can be as simple as a Facebook Live video where you also actively ask for and answer questions, or you can use software like eWebinar to conduct multiple semi-live sessions simultaneously. With eWebinar, you can host multiple webinars where you deliver educational content via pre-recorded video, such as new homebuyer seminars, market updates, and agent training, and get alerted when somebody has a question so you can pop-in and answer it. Whether you’re fully live or using a partially recorded, partially live format, the conversational aspects of video are one of the reasons people remember videos they watched far longer than they remember something they read and certainly a one-way action like requesting a home valuation.

There are other channels through which conversational marketing can and should occur, such as email marketing, voice applications (and voice-driven SEO), and SMS/text messaging. Marketing automation tools exist to streamline and scale your customer interaction across these channels as well, and there are abundant options for content you can leverage, from surveys and polls to a simple question or emoji. Many CRMs offer conversational features too, like Follow Up Boss’ automated, customized texting feature and LionDesk’s AI-driven lead follow up. Usually all that’s required to leverage these features is some extra set up work and thinking through your different customers’ needs. 

We would love to share more about our favorite conversational marketing strategies for real estate. Interested? Let’s start a conversation!

The post What is Conversational Marketing for Real Estate? appeared first on Union Street Media.

While many real estate companies find trusted partners to handle their omnichannel digital marketing needs, including branding and content, advertising campaign management, SEO for real estate, and more, options exist for those looking to do their own online marketing. We’re big fans of some of the tools below and definitely think there’s a time and place for them. Read on for some tips to get started with or level up your digital marketing strategy. Contact us with specific questions or to get personalized recommendations on what’s next for you.

The 10 Best Online Marketing Tools for Real Estate:

1. Canva – Canva is a photo editing and graphics creation tool similar to Adobe Photoshop, but on a simpler scale. It’s a great tool for agents wanting to create custom graphics without having to learn Photoshop. And it’s cheaper too, with several versions including a free version and a more feature-packed version that’s still an affordable $30 a month. Canva offers plenty of templates to use to build graphics for your real estate website, social media, online advertising, email marketing, listing presentations, brochures, and more. Though it doesn’t offer as many features as Photoshop, it makes up for it in being extremely easy to use and providing a ton of eye-catching options. 
2. Google Ads – Online advertising offers an incredibly cost effective way to reach your ideal customers, generate buyer and seller leads, and get in front of other real estate agents if you’re looking to recruit talented agents. With Google Ads in particular, you’ll be able to set goals, choose where, when and to whom you want your ads to appear, set a budget, experiment with different bidding strategies, run AI-driven ads, and leverage insights to continuously alter and improve your ads. The only downside to Google Ads is the wealth of features the platform offers, including new features and updates that Google is constantly introducing. Because of this, it can take a while to become an expert in how to best leverage the platform, avoid overspending, and get the best results. 
3. Mailchimp – Email marketing continues to be the real estate marketing tactic with the highest ROI, and we recommend all real estate companies leverage email marketing to drive new, repeat, and referral business. If you’re looking for the simplest tool to use to start your email marketing, look no further than Mailchimp. With Mailchimp, you can design email templates, build campaigns (such as newsletters, neighborhood or market related drip campaigns, welcome emails, and more), create contact lists (and segment them, too!), perform A/B testing on things like subject lines, automate follow-up marketing, and use insights to adjust and plan your future campaigns. Mailchimp’s pricing is a subscription plus volume model if you surpass the limits included at each level. Subscriptions range from free to premium, which starts at $299 a month. 
4. Hootsuite – Running social media for real estate is a big task. Between planning the content you’re going to create and maintaining a consistent posting schedule, it takes a lot of time and energy to develop, manage, and optimize an effective social media strategy for real estate. Hootsuite helps you plan, create, and schedule out social media posts across multiple channels to streamline the process. Plans range from $49 a month to $599 a month based on how many users you want to be able to access the platform. A good alternative to Hootsuite that we also like is Sprout Social. 
5. Ahrefs – The value of having a good SEO strategy for real estate cannot be overstated. If your website doesn’t appear on the first page of Google today, it’s almost as if your business doesn’t exist as it’s unlikely your website will be found. Ahrefs provides SEO tools that help you identify keyword opportunities by looking at search volume, ranking difficulty, and other factors. It’s a quick way to discover what your audience is interested in and identify potential gaps in your competitors’ strategies so you can carve out a niche for yourself and start optimizing your website for searches that will get you found online by the people you want. Prices for Ahrefs range from $99 a month to $999 a month for more tools and more users.  
6. Adobe Stock Photos – While taking your own photos is recommended, a lot of people use a blend of professionally shot, unique photographs, and stock photos. Taking high quality, unique photos of listings, for example, is a must. For web content like neighborhood and area information, blog posts, social media, and more, there are plenty of good stock photo options that will cost a lot less and take less time to get. Regardless of where you source the photos, high-quality visuals are essential for the best digital marketing strategies for real estate. For those who don’t have access to professional camera equipment, the time to go out and take their own photos, or the desire to pay someone to take all of their photos, we recommend Adobe Stock Photos. Adobe offers a massive selection of images and video clips to choose from, and several subscription options. Prices range from $29 a month to $199 a month for a varying number of photos, and photo licenses can also be purchased individually.   
7. Parkbench – Parkbench connects REALTORS® all over the country to help them build their sphere of influence and become a leader in their local market. Since the real estate industry thrives on referrals, we recommend exploring Parkbench, similar platforms, and associations to ensure you’re well positioned to both get and receive quality referrals. 
8. Follow Up Boss – Having a good CRM, or Customer Relationship Management platform, makes managing leads easier, keeps you organized, and helps you close more business. Follow Up Boss is one of our favorite CRMs for being incredibly easy to use and offering intelligent features like “Smart Lists” that help you classify and manage your leads, even making recommendations for how and when to contact them. Follow Up Boss’ analytics help you track your productivity and identify opportunities. And with dozens of integrations, Follow Up Boss seamlessly works with the other technology products you need to run your real estate business.
9. Social Media – Okay, okay, we couldn’t have a top ten list if we broke out every social media platform separately, so consider this the catch-all. Social media marketing is one of the best ways to grow your real estate business online and is key to attracting leads. Keep in mind that you don’t have to be on every single platform – every company and audience is different so it’s important to find what works for you. The most popular social media platforms for real estate are Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter, although others, like YouTube, can be very effective for real estate marketing. Each platform has unique features and should be thought of as its own marketing channel, with content and messaging that’s tailored to that platform. That said, while there’s a lot of work involved in developing a comprehensive social media marketing strategy, creating engaging content, and optimizing it for the best results, the tools that social media platforms provide to manage your profiles and content are almost universally straightforward to use and supported by a lot of online documentation in case you get lost. Facebook Ads Manager, as one example, is a fairly intuitive platform. We also recommend exploring tools like Hootsuite or Sprout Social (see #4 above) to manage your social media content, which simplifies the process even further, although some social media advertising has to be run directly through the platform’s ad manager.
10. Google Analytics – Google Analytics is hands down our favorite marketing tool. Why? Because there’s no point in spending your time and money on marketing your real estate business online if you’re not going to commit to understanding what’s working or not and to take action from that knowledge. Google Analytics is the most widely used website analytics tool available, used by 40 million+ websites. It’s free, super easy to set up, and allows you to track and understand your visitors’ behavior, user experience, landing pages and content, device functionality, channel performance, and so much more. Put simply, it’s the best tool to use to know the best place to spend your next marketing dollar. You can even use special tracking codes called UTM parameters to track the effectiveness of offline marketing promotions as well as online efforts. 

There are so many more marketing tools for real estate companies that we could spend hours (or pages!) covering them all. The bottom line is that digital marketing for real estate shouldn’t be this daunting thing that’s only done when it can be done perfectly. Get started today and let progress prevail over perfection! And if you get lost, give us a call. We’re happy to help.

The post The 10 Best Online Marketing Tools for Real Estate appeared first on Union Street Media.

Today, we’re taking a break from talking about digital marketing for real estate and shining light on what we can do to reduce or eliminate chronic stress and be more productive and fulfilled. We’re “turning toward the difficult stuff” as Emily and Amelia Nagoski describe in their book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle (check out their interview with Brene Brown here). To start, we’re going back in time to the 70s when a psychologist named Herbert Freudenberger first coined the term burnout.

Severe Stress in “Helping Professions”

Freudenberger used the term “burnout” to describe the impact of severe stress on those in “helping professions”, think doctors and nurses who sacrifice their own health for others’. We believe that real estate agents fit this description as well.

In the World Health Organization’s definition of burnout, burnout is work related. It’s about the impact of your work on your health. You could feel negatively about your work and be experiencing burnout and you also could love your job and be experiencing reduced professional efficacy because of burnout. It’s this last piece that really resonates. So many real estate professionals, like so many of our friends and family members, have cited feeling less productive in the past year and a half, and have sought ways to either do more with the same, or do more with less.

Signs of Burnout

Whether you view burnout as work related or, like many, can relate to the broader definition of burnout as emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by chronic stress, burnout is real. The Nagoski sisters talk about three signs of burnout:

1. Emotional exhaustion – the fatigue that comes from caring too much for too long
2. Decreased sense of accomplishment – the incomparable sense of futility; feeling like nothing you do makes a difference
3. Depersonalization – the depletion of empathy, caring, and compassion

Many real estate professionals who have experienced emotional exhaustion attribute it simply to too much stress. It’s not like you can all of a sudden stop caring about your clients, can you? And yet stress and burnout are fundamentally different.

Stress is necessary for survival. It’s what triggers our fight-or-flight response and what drives many of us professionally. Stress can be incredibly motivating and trigger immediate and effective action. When it’s uninterrupted, however, stress can be incredibly damaging to our health and lead to burnout. As the Nagoski sisters write, “the good news is that stress is not the problem. It’s how we deal with stress—not what causes it—that releases the stress…and ultimately, keeps us from burning out. You can’t control every external stressor that comes your way. The goal isn’t to live in a state of perpetual balance and peace and calm; the goal is to move through stress to calm, so that you’re ready for the next stressor, and to move from effort to rest and back again.”

So what is uninterrupted stress? And what does “moving through stress to calm” and “releasing the stress” look like?

Uninterrupted Stress and the Stress Cycle

Uninterrupted stress is a period of prolonged stress, often called chronic stress, without periods of calm or recovery. Chronic stress comes when a person never sees a way out of a situation; when they experience unrelenting demands and pressures for seemingly unending periods of time. In a normal stress response, our bodies experience a rush of physical changes, such as increased cortisol production and a faster heart rate, among other things. Then, after learning that the danger we were facing is gone or the event which caused the stress response has passed, we can return to feeling safe and our pre-stressor state of calm. Our heart rate returns to normal and we are able to restore ourselves physically, emotionally, and mentally. This is known as the completion of the stress cycle, or interrupting the stress cycle. 

In an uninterrupted stress cycle, the opposite happens. We never reach a point where we feel safe so we remain in a heightened state of physical, emotional, and mental alertness that affects us over time in much more pronounced ways than acute stress, or individual stressful events (think moments of profound loss or change, such as a death or divorce). Research has shown that living with chronic or uninterrupted stress caused by work, a bad relationship, financial insecurity, our environment, or so many other things, is much more damaging to a person’s health than isolated events, even those that feel overwhelming and insurmountable in the moment.

You may be wondering by now, okay, so what can we do about it? How can we create the feeling of safety and calm that allows us to complete the stress cycle, restore ourselves, and be ready to tackle the next stressor head on? How can we reverse burnout?

Seven Ways to Complete the Stress Cycle

The below are seven things you can do to ease burnout and interrupt the stress cycle. These should take a few minutes at most, though you can certainly spend more time on them. The key is to avoid overthinking them or, like I do, expecting perfection. It’s okay if you need to start small because the little things really make a difference.

1. Move – since both the onset and impact of stress are physical, de-stressing has to be physical too. The key here is that you don’t have to exercise in a traditional sense. You know the runner’s high people talk about, or maybe you’ve experienced? It’s when you experience an extreme state of zen after finishing a race. You can literally achieve that by punching a punching bag (or a pillow!) for five minutes. Or by putting on a song and dancing. Or by doing twenty pushups next to your desk. Those activities are all enough to interrupt the stress cycle.
2. Breathe – a simple breathing exercise that you do for one minute (think five second breaths in and five second breaths out, repeated six times) is enough to calm down your vagus nerve, complete your fight-or-flight stress response, and drastically improve how you feel. I never believed how effective it can be until I depended on it.
3. Talk to Others – the Nagoski sisters sum up the benefits of conversation well, writing “Casual but friendly social interaction is the first external sign that the world is a safe place”. Maybe talking about the weather isn’t such a bad thing after all, especially if you can truly be present in a conversation, even if very briefly. When you get your next cup of coffee, look for a way to compliment the barista and see what happens. Little moments like that have a significant impact on our perception of the world – are we in danger or do we feel safe?
4. Laugh – laughter is one of the oldest triggers we have to release emotions. “When we laugh”, says neuroscientist Sophie Scott, “we use an ancient evolutionary system that mammals have evolved to make and maintain social bonds and regulate emotions.” Laughing and even recalling something that made us laugh, is the equivalent of opening pandora’s box, but in a very good way. Through laughing, we can experience any of many emotions all at once, and return to a place of stasis after. If you don’t have someone nearby whom you can trust to make you laugh, or a funny story that’s top of mind, keep a YouTube playlist handy and take five minute laugh breaks. It’s a highly effective way to interrupt the stress cycle and it doesn’t require much.
5. Hug – physical affection helps our bodies release trust and bonding hormones like oxytocin that balance out the extra cortisol and stress hormones and help us know when we’re safe. Research suggests a twenty second hug is all it takes to interrupt the stress cycle. And if you don’t have another person nearby whom you want to hug, you can give yourself a hug, or a pet, or a pillow (seriously!). It’s the act of hugging that triggers the release, though there are also other benefits to being physically close to someone. Try it everyday when you get home and see what happens.
6. Cry – crying is one of the best ways our bodies have to release stress, so embrace it whenever you have the urge. If you really don’t feel comfortable in a particular moment, find a time that works for you to cry because crying is a normal and very necessary part of being human.
7. Be Creative – make something, anything. Creativity triggers a different part of our brain that, like the above, helps us know when we’re safe and it’s time to move on from stress. I’ve worked with people who simply doodle to interrupt their stress cycles, and it works magically for them. Creativity takes many shapes.

Are you experiencing burnout? What’s worked best for you to complete the stress cycle? We’d love to hear from you.

The post Experiencing Burnout? This May Help appeared first on Union Street Media.

• What type of website do I need?
• How should I promote my different services online? Through one website or multiple websites? What should they look like?
• How can I make sure my website gets found by the right people?

Your website shows people who you are, what you stand for, and what you offer. It’s your digital storefront. And even research done a decade ago before the continued proliferation of online content (547,200 new websites are launched every day) shows that we make split second judgments about a business based on its website. To be exact, you have 0.05 seconds to make a positive first impression with your website or visitors will leave, often with no intention of coming back. 

So, what kind of website do you need in 2022?

Given the importance of standing out online and building a website that creates an impactful first impression, you may be wondering, okay, so how do I do that? When considering where to start, it’s helpful to think about the primary ways to design and build a website today: use a template or develop a custom design.

Templated website designs are appealing because they’re quicker to launch and cost less. Typically, you choose from a selection of themes offered by your website provider, input your content, configure the technical settings (DNS records, email, lead flow, etc.), and are ready to launch within days or weeks at most. With a custom website design, you have control over the look and feel of your website, and are able to tailor your website to your company’s and customers’ specific needs. 

Deciding whether you should go with a custom website design can be a bit overwhelming, so we’ve compiled the top benefits of a custom website design for real estate below. Note that not every business needs a custom-designed website and there are some situations in which we wouldn’t recommend companies go that route. Need help deciding? Contact us to discuss your specific needs and receive personalized recommendations. 

6 signs a custom real estate website design is right for you: 

1. You want to make a great first impression. Your website is the backbone of your company and is how you can best build your real estate brand and stand out online. And, because of the number of websites that already exist and are being created every day, it’s more important than ever that you make the most of that all-too-important first impression you have with your potential customer, partner, employee, or whomever it is you’re looking to attract online. 
2. You want your potential customers to find your website. These days, if your website isn’t able to be found in search engines, it’s like your company doesn’t exist. The goal of a search engine is to show users the most relevant results and the highest quality content for their search. Custom-designed, search engine optimized websites are tailored to your target website visitor, which means they’ll be more likely to both attract them and keep them interested in your content. This has the dual benefit of building your search engine authority as Google looks at the user’s experience with your website as an important ranking factor. The more popular, user-friendly, and relevant a website, the more Google will value it and display it in search results.
3. You want to tailor your website to your audience. No one knows your audience as well as you do, so choosing a custom website design allows you to satisfy your audience’s specific needs and speak directly to them. 
4. You want to be relevant and stay on-trend. The real estate industry has experienced significant change. New entrants and business models have emerged; technology for real estate websites, lead generation for real estate, and more is ever-evolving; and consumer expectations are completely different than they were a decade ago. A custom website design for real estate buyers, sellers, and agents gives you more flexibility to speak to the needs of the moment, as well as to incorporate evergreen features and functionality that lets you make updates in the future. For example, if you work with or hope to work with Millennials, your website may not meet their current needs. Millennials are searching for homes that are close to nature and to entertainment options; that are walkable and offer a higher quality of life. Incorporating elements like an interactive map into your website and content that speaks directly to these needs is a great way to appeal to Millennials, and what works for them today may not work in two years, certainly didn’t work two years ago, and may not work for your other ideal customers. Custom-designed websites offer more real estate (pun, intended!) for you to showcase different elements of your expertise, services, and past experiences, so you can appeal to different groups and evolve what you offer them at the same time. 
5. You know being mobile-first is essential. Mobile browsing accounts for about half of all online traffic in 2021. We typically see 55-65% of traffic (or more!) originating from mobile devices. With a custom-designed real estate website, you’re able to ensure that the best features of your website are displayed and compatible on mobile devices, and that content is tailored to each device and user experience (for example, by having a different home page for your website on desktop computers vs. mobile devices). 
6. You want more leads. Similar to tailoring your website to your audience, a custom website design gives you the opportunity to optimize your website more effectively for conversions and leads. Custom-designed websites give you the ability to create specific conversion paths that will guide customers where you want them to go, making sure they hit all of the right points and get all of the information they need along the way.

Custom-designed websites typically require a larger upfront investment than templated websites and from feedback we’ve received from clients who have made the decision to proceed with a custom design, they more than carry their weight in terms of the increased traffic, real estate leads, brand recognition, and positive agent perception of their company. Whether you’re looking to redesign your current real estate website, expand it, or start from scratch, let our team of award-winning website designers help you stand out and impress online. Connect with us today to discuss what’s best for you.

The post How to Know Whether a Custom Real Estate Website Design Makes Sense for You appeared first on Union Street Media.

LinkedIn’s mission statement is to “connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.” With a suite of advertising tools and features geared toward businesses, you could also add “connect the world’s professionals with companies in which they’re interested” as a second mission. LinkedIn is centered around facilitating connections between professionals, leaders, companies, and clients, and is a great place to build your real estate brand’s reputation online, especially given the high level of trust and credibility users associate with both the platform and the strategies you can use to connect with them.

It’s also one of the best social media platforms for generating leads.

If you’re considering how to use LinkedIn to boost your real estate business continue reading to discover what you absolutely need to know to get the most out of LinkedIn for real estate. If you’d like to get more information or have already leveled up your social media strategy, let’s connect to discuss what’s next for you and how you could go about achieving it.

The Basics: LinkedIn for Real Estate

Before you begin posting on LinkedIn, be sure to set up a business profile for your company so it can be easily searched and found by potential clients, employees, and partners. On your company page, fill out all of the information for your company name, email, phone number, and location. Make sure your company name, email, phone number, and address all appear exactly the same on LinkedIn as they do on your website and across all of the other online properties you manage (such as your Facebook page, Google My Business page, etc.). Finally, be sure to link back to your website from your LinkedIn business profile page.

7 Ways to Leverage LinkedIn for Real Estate

1. Build Your Reputation. As a highly trusted social media platform, people frequently turn to LinkedIn to research companies and brands. LinkedIn is known as being a goldmine for potential customers and partners to validate decisions and get to know you. Highlighting client successes and testimonials, company recognition and awards, and team members and partners are just a few ways to positively build your brand online. LinkedIn is a platform for professionals, so you want to make sure what you’re highlighting is representative of your company’s or team’s culture, and there’s been a long trend of leaning into your authentic self, sharing values, and getting more personal to strengthen the connections you are creating on LinkedIn.
2. Stay Top of Mind. LinkedIn is also a great place to share visual content that captures your audience’s attention and keeps them engaged with your brand. Post videos such as listing videos, interviews, and testimonials, and keep in mind they don’t have to be professional level quality to be highly engaging. If you’re unsure what to start, check out six tips for creating amazing videos here.
3. Be an Industry and Community Thought Leader. Unique, relevant, and eye-catching content is necessary to demonstrate your expertise and ultimately attract leads. It’s also important to keep in mind that content includes both what you post for original content and what you like, comment on, and share. Share blog posts from your website with a strong call to action, link to the post, and text that adds context as opposed to just regurgitating the blog’s title. You can also upload content directly to LinkedIn, like videos and photos, and still provide a backlink to your website. Similarly, LinkedIn makes it really easy to share and engage with posts from other industry leaders, peers, partners, and more, which is essential for positioning your page as a go-to resource for all things real estate and all things related to your market. To get the most out of LinkedIn, be active. Aim to post 3x a week and make sure to interact with others, including anyone who comments on one of your posts, as well as others within your industry and community. Follow similar pages and look for other businesses that share your values. Engaging with them is a great way to be introduced to a whole new potential audience: their followers. Make sure to balance for whom you’re creating and posting content as you likely want to use LinkedIn for agent recruiting and retention, as well as to capture buyer leads and get more listings online.
4. Create a Network. Perhaps the best way to leverage LinkedIn for real estate is to connect with and follow others. By connecting with leaders, peers, coworkers, and others who inspire you, you’ll be able to stay on top of trends, market updates, and best practices that will help your business. As a benefit, you’ll also strengthen your visibility and generate leads. LinkedIn has features where you can market to your connections, such as by downloading your connections’ email addresses to use for remarketing and leveraging LinkedIn advertising in-app to target your network, so spend some time every week growing your network. We recommend personalizing your messages when you reach out to connect with others as they’re more likely to accept your request to connect if you do, and you’ll be better able to grow your network accordingly. Tools do exist to reach out to potential connections, especially for recruiting purposes, en masse, though depending on your goals they may or may not make sense to add to your outreach strategy.
5. Encourage Employee Engagement. Your employees are some of your best brand advocates and they may have 10 times more LinkedIn connections or followers than companies. As you post on your company page, encourage your employees to engage with the posts by liking, sharing, or commenting. Doing so will help your company extend its reach to a larger audience. We also recommend identifying personal pages to promote and testing and evaluating the level of engagement you see from those pages vs. the company page. There’s value in elevating individuals as well as the company, especially when they have a large audience.  LinkedIn users generally trust content other users share so the opportunity is to lean into that and leverage both individual and company connections.
6. Create Your Own LinkedIn Group. LinkedIn has the ability to create groups, similar to Facebook groups. Groups are a collection of people who share the same interest(s). By creating groups, you’ll be able to interact with members of your target audience, fellow agents and brokers, community members, leaders, and even prospective employees (think of a “Getting Started in Real Estate” group). You can also join existing groups. You’ll have access to valuable information that can help your business and can also be a resource for others. Keep in mind that some groups are private, so you’ll have to be approved before you join, and others are open to the public. 
7. Utilize LinkedIn’s Advertising Tools. Like with so many other social media platforms, LinkedIn has built-in advertising tools for real estate to help extend your reach against your desired audience. For LinkedIn, you can use sponsored content to boost well-performing posts to specific people. LinkedIn provides both text and visual ad formats like carousel images and video, which we highly recommend especially for mobile.

As with any real estate digital marketing channel, it’s important to test which LinkedIn strategies are best for your goals. Understanding LinkedIn insights will help you identify your best performing content so you can adjust your strategy accordingly. If you’re looking at augmenting your current social media strategies for real estate by adding LinkedIn, we also recommend developing a content calendar that helps you segment themes and messaging by audience and channel. What works on Instagram is not necessarily going to perform best on LinkedIn, so it’s definitely worth it to put in some upfront planning and be intentional about what you’re creating before you get started. 

Want more information about using LinkedIn for real estate? Connect with us today to strategize on the most effective digital strategy for your business.

The post Best Practices: LinkedIn for Real Estate appeared first on Union Street Media.

Read on to learn how to best use Instagram to boost your real estate business.

Instagram Was Made for Real Estate: Here’s How to Use It

First and foremost, before you begin posting on Instagram, make sure that your company’s Instagram page is set up as a business profile. When you have a business profile, you’re able to view a dashboard of insights for your posts and can boost well-performing posts (more on that below). You won’t have the ability to add links until you have 10,000 followers or are verified by the platform with a blue checkmark so this is important. 

Instagram is an ever-evolving platform and has tons of features that can help make you shine. Here are just a few:

• Single posts. Post one image or one video up to 60 seconds long.
• Slideshow. Choose up to 10 photos or videos to share in a carousel to swipe through. 
• IGTV. Create videos up to 10 minutes long (you can create videos up to 60 minutes long with a verified account or once you have a large enough following). 
• Reels. Share short 30 second videos with fun editing options. 
• Stories. Share images or videos that only stay up for 24 hours.
• Instagram Live. Go live for up to 4 hours with the streaming feature to share more interactive and authentic content, such as a live property tour.

Below we break down what you absolutely need to know about using Instagram for real estate. If you’d like to get more information, let’s connect to discuss your specific needs and personalized recommendations for your business.

8 Ways to Use Instagram for Real Estate 

1. Feature listings. Show off current and future listings in a single image, slideshow, or video format. You can also have fun with using Instagram Live to give tours and share updates in a personal, authentic way. Because Instagram is a visually-driven platform, leaning into the “Instagram-worthy” features of properties, people, communities, and more (i.e. what looks really appealing) can be a great way to attract leads. 
2. Share success stories. People want to work with companies that are credible and reliable, so posting about a successful sale, a fun throwback to people you’ve helped in the past, or recognition like recent awards or achievements you’ve earned gives potential customers a look into what your company is all about. Strive to balance content that’s about you and content centered around others.
3. Promote new listings, specials, and open houses. Because Instagram is a fast-paced platform with stories lasting only 24 hours and feeds turning over quickly, it’s a great place to promote time sensitive information like open houses or specials (such as free staging services, use of a moving van, etc.). You can also use Instagram to make announcements and share about new listings that are likely to sell quickly, to build hype not only for potential buyers, but also for potential sellers.
4. Utilize advertising tools. Like with so many other social media platforms, Instagram comes with built in advertising tools. You can boost well-perfoming posts, serve ads, and track insights. Instagram can be highly cost effective in reaching a larger audience, especially if you’re looking to connect with Millennials and Gen Z.
5. Post employee spotlights. People are more likely to trust a company they feel like they know so share content about your team. Interview-style videos can be fun for agents and a great way to give your customers a sense of who they’d be working with, without directly telling them. Because Instagram has the most engaged users of any of the major social media platforms, it’s a good idea to avoid overthinking content you post and letting your and your team’s natural personality come through more. Some of the best performing posts have nothing to do with real estate and instead are things like birthday shout-outs, recipe recommendations, vacation tips, etc. Take advantage of this!
6. Provide tips or valuable information. With all the great features Instagram offers, it’s easy to share helpful information and tips for first time buyers or sellers to help them become familiar with the process. 
7. Highlight areas of interest. For customers who may be unfamiliar with the areas you serve, posting local attractions and places to check out on your feed will help you become a go-to resource for those wanting to move into the area. 
8. Use hashtags. Hashtags are common on social media platforms, but they truly shine on Instagram. Using relevant hashtags will help you extend your reach and allow your profile to be more searchable. 

As with any digital marketing channel, it’s important to constantly test and evaluate which Instagram strategies work best for your audience. Understanding Instagram insights will help you identify your best performing content so you can adjust your strategy accordingly and determine if Instagram is right for you. And there are lots of other resources to help you get started with, or level up, your Instagram strategy for real estate. Canva, for one, is a great tool to create visually-appealing, Instagram-worthy graphics (just be sure to make them your own so you stand out as opposed to looking like everyone else).

Regardless of where you are in your Instagram journey, now’s the time to pay attention to it. The company recently announced plans to take on YouTube and TikTok as an entertainment hub, continuing its transformation from a photo sharing app to so much more. With its loyal user base and proven advertiser success, these changes are poised to make a good thing even better.

Want more information about creating an effective Instagram strategy for your real estate business? Connect with our team today.

The post Best Practices: Instagram for Real Estate appeared first on Union Street Media.