If homeowners have high expectations that home prices will hit bottom in the next six months, Realtors are even more optimistic.  Inman News just published an article titled, “Realtors Optimistic about Price Bottom,” stating that according to surveys done by HomeGain as well as Zillow that most (Realtors and Consumers) expect prices to stabilize or increase in the next six months. (Read Inman News Article)

I found this while working on my Facebook Page, Chris Mattix @ GraphicalData.  It is a Step by Step Guide from Facebook for building Facebook Pages as well as useful tips and information.  Be sure to click on the different tabs to see help on information for that tab.  If you’ve been thinking about building a Facebook Page for your business or want some helpful advise and resources for making yours better check it out.  Facebook’s Resource Guide to Pages

I was honored when my friend Carol Johson asked me to create a video that she could play for the Brokers at her upcoming annual Recruiting Network Conference in Scottsdale AZ on April 22nd-24th.  I thought I would share it with you.  This could easily apply to agents as well.

If you enjoyed RealEstateTechBytes, please subscribe to my RSS Feed!

So, what is this thing called Twitter and how can I use it as a Realtor?  This is probably a question you’ve asked yourself recently.  It seems Twitter has become a major phenomenon.   I would definitely not classify it as a fad anymore.  Now as you know, I have always been an early adopter of Technology, however I will admit that I have stood back and not jumped in the the Twitter scene.  I was a little reluctant as I couldn’t see the benefit for Realtors until now.  I now have enough knowledge and research to say that Twitter is here to stay.  Here are just a few stats that make me believe it:

• An estimated 5-10 thousand new accounts are opened per day
• Twitter traffic has grown over 600% in the past 12 months (Compete.com)
• Twitter.com has become one of the top 1,000 websites by traffic in May 2008 (Alexa.com)

So, what is Twitter?  Twitter is a great way to drive traffic to your website and/or blog.  It is a social networking and micro-blogging service that enables you to send and read other users’ updates known as tweets.

I have found an incredible resource for explaining Twitter and how Realtors can use it in their business.  I follow many Real Estate Technology Blogs and one in particular that I really like is MyTechOpinion.com.  The author is Nicole Nicolay (aka NikNik).  She has written an eBook titled, “Twitter for Real Estate Twits.”  This book is written in plain english, a quick read and very detailed.

So the question is how do you maintain all of these Social Networking sites as well as you blogs. There is an easy way.  It’s called Ping.fm (You’re not seeing things, it is Ping.fm and NOT Ping.com).  Here’s how Ping.fm explains what they do.

Ping.fm was created for the sole purpose of making it as easy as possible to share your posts with the world. Now you don’t have to fumble around the web in order to post anymore, you can just post once, and be done with it.

The idea came about when making some posts to Twitter and Tumblr. The idea of posting the exact same information in two places seemed a bit tedious, so Ping.fm was born.

Now this site is in beta so you’ll need a beta code in order to sign up.  You can use this one (“pingscompany“).  Now this beta code will eventually expire.  If it stops working just go here and you can request your own code.  I use this site almost every day.  I don’t know how I could maintain so many sites without it.  Take a look at it and let me know what you think.

If you enjoyed RealEstateTechBytes, please subscribe to my RSS Feed!

Social Networking could soon replace most conventional lead generation and prospecting.  With so many consumers searching the internet before contacting a Realtor, it is imperative that we find a different way to reach these potential clients. According to an Inman News article, “…Web 2.0 is very much akin to the general store from 100 years ago. People came there to discuss politics, hear the latest gossip, and most importantly, find and maintain personal connection. The way that you participated was simply by being there. …places such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and YouTube serve the same function today as the general store did 100 years ago.”  Where do you begin?  Which sites do you sign up with and how do you use them to generate leads?

I agree with NikNik, author of “My Tech Opinion” blog who wrote a great post called “Focus Your Social Media Marketing.”  NikNik listed six steps for focusing your social media marketing (read more…).

So, how do you use these Social Networking sites to generate leads?  You can use these sites to network with fellow Realtors all over the country and world to build a referral base.  Have you noticed how many buyers from other countries like Canada have started investing in real estate here in the US?  Well, you can find fellow Realtors in other countries by doing a search on sites like LinkedIn and Facebook and connect with them.  You can also find them by joining  various professional groups on these sites.  Let them know that you are the local expert.  Ask your past clients you are now connected to to recommend you on sites like LinkedIn.  Answer consumer questions on sites like LinkedIn, Trulia Voices and Zillow.  Now that you’re connected with all these people you’ll be able to follow what’s going on in their lives and react.  For example I had one of my past clients post photos of their new baby.  I know knew that they were having a baby and sent them a baby gift.  They were so surprised because they didn’t even know that I knew.  I told them that I was following the progress of Facebook.  You can also post a link to your new listing or new blog posts.  Joel Burslem, author of “Future of Real Estate Marketing” blog wrote a great post called “Marketing Real Estate on Facebook” you should check out.  These are just some of the ways to use these sites to generate leads.

Just don’t be afraid of it.  It’s really not impersonal.  You can easily build lasting relationship online by using this type of networking.  I will say that face-to-face networking is still a valuable source of lead generation and a way to continue to foster those past relationships, however you can also use Social Networking.

If you have any other creative ideas for marketing yourself or property listings using Social Media, I’d love to hear from you.

If you enjoyed RealEstateTechBytes, please subscribe to my RSS Feed!

1. You go to Jott.com and create your free account.
2. Add all the contacts that you use most frequently. You can add their email and cell phone for text messaging.
3. Set up Jott Links to add all the services that you use so you can add appointments and even post a blog.
4. Program the Jott toll free number (866-568-8123) in your phone.
5. Then when you’re ready, call the number (use a bluetooth headset for safety) and tell Jott what you want to do.
6. Jott then transcribes your voice into text.

It’s that simple. I have used the service many times and it works well. It even lets you spell out words that you think it may have trouble with. It has saved me many times.

Jott has also just recently added Jott for your Blackberry where you can reply to emails and text messages using Jott so again you don’t have to use the keyboard. You can download the application here. NikNik of MyTechOpinion has written a good post on Jott as well (Take a look).

If you enjoyed RealEstateTechBytes, please subscribe to my RSS Feed!