Facebook marketing has arrived and is evolving on a daily basis as marketers discover what works and what does not.

One overwhelming FACT is that Facebook is a social network with emphasis on the “social” and business owners soon get the spam slap from friends if they try to promote their business and services too aggressively.

You must remember here you the average user have the “unfriend” power, virtually with the click of a button the annoying “spammer” disappears. So the marketers challenge is how to get the message out without irritating friends.

Today, the Internet is amongst the preferred places for business owners to promote in. Every site you pay a visit, you will notice that you will see promotion everywhere. This is called Internet marketing.

For people with a company of your own and you wish to successfully advertise your products or services, you will notice that the web tend to be one huge bulletin board that you could market in. Here, you will be able to virtually market anything and it is open for 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

With hundreds of enormous amounts of people visiting the Internet on a daily basis from all around the world, you can be sure that marketing here will certainly multiply your sales.

One great web site that you may want to concentrate your web advertising campaign on is Facebook. Today, this social networking website is currently considered to be one of the biggest social networking websites existing. Here, you will see that over 800 million people are now active members and are still continually increasing.

With figures like this, you realize that it’ll provide you with a really big opportunity to improve your sales plus your profit. In fact, it’s so huge that giant companies or corporations are actually marketing on Facebook.

Basically, Facebook is mostly a social networking website. Once you join, you is going to be able to look for your pals who are a member and add them to your list.

This can build a small group of your pals and it will enable you to look at their profiles and know more about them and vice versa. You can even send and receive messages in addition to comments.

Also, you is going to be able to post on bulletins that your friends is going to be able read. Studies are showing that images and videos get more likes and comments than words, motivational quotes do well as well BUT blatant advertising gets almost none and often results in an “unfriend”

These are the things that you could do with Facebook. It is largely the fastest growing social networking websites today. For this reason, a lot of people have started marketing on Facebook.

Some of my my most effective Facebook marketing tools are separating my business by putting them all in a “secret Facebook group” this means that only the people in the group can see your postings.

The great thing about Facebook marketing is that it provides a free and easy way in promoting products and services. With the included tools in Facebook, you is going to be able to take advantage of it, such as the Stumble Upon and Digg buttons to advertise your website or your products and services.

This is a good way to get targeted traffic to your website and it will enable you to increase the potential in selling your products and services as well as increase the amount of sales.

Because Facebook is available for people from all over the world, your business will be able to reach out to more people when you advertise on Facebook.

In today’s ever competitive business world, you recognize that you need to use every tool available in order to get ahead of your competitors. So, the next time you are thinking about marketing your company online, you may want to test marketing in Facebook.

Here, you are going to be able to reach out to more people and it is also easy to do so and the best thing about it is that it’s free. Spend some time and learn how to group your contacts…

With Facebook, you will definitely be able to efficiently market your business. Marketing in Facebook is free, easy, and fun, except for Facebook ads of course. The one thing I love about Facebook ads is the fact that you can LASER FOCUS your target market, which makes the ad more effective and more cost effective.

These are the things that you need to bear in mind whenever you want to try advertising over the internet. Try joining Facebook and you will see the potential on letting it help your business expand.

Facebook is a great tool, why don’t you click on the image to right now to download your FREE “Success with Facebook Pages” guide.

Facebook Marketing a VERY Helpful Tool to Improve Your Profits! is a post from: Main Street Marketing (SA)

Google owns Youtube! It’s currently ranked 4th in terms of traffic in terms of Global search traffic and it’s the 2nd largest search engine after Google. Yes it beats minor search engines like Yahoo and Bing. Cisco predicts that by 2015, 90% of all Internet traffic will be video.

SO, as an Estate Agent are you interested in making your own videos to upload to YouTube and to share with potential property buyers and sellers?

If you are and if this is your first time trying to do so, you may be wondering how you can go about making your own videos. Although the process of making a YouTube video may seem like a complicated one, it isn’t necessarily.

Even those with a low amount of computer knowledge are able to successfully make their own videos, many of which later end up on YouTube.

The first step in making a YouTube video is to get a video recording device. Video recording devices come in a number of different formats. For instance, it is possible to use cell phones, webcams, or traditional camcorders.

If you are interested in using your cell phone to help you make a YouTube video, you will need to make sure that your cell phone has video recording capabilities. You will find that most new, modern cell phones do.

For the best quality videos, you want to use traditional camcorders, particularly digital ones, but webcams are also nice low-cost alternatives.

Once you have a video recording device in your possession, you can start to make your own videos. Popular videos on YouTube include video blogs, comedy skits, how-to videos, or travel videos.

You can make just about whatever type of video you want, whether it is one that is staged or just recording spur of the moment activities or conversations. When making a YouTube video, it is important to remember that YouTube doesn’t limit the number of videos you can submit, but all videos must be ten minutes or less, if you have a traditional YouTube membership account.

Therefore, if you want to have videos be longer than ten minutes, you either need to upgrade your account or make your videos in different segments.

When making your YouTube video, you will want to make sure that the quality is good. For this, it is a good idea to speak directly into the camera or else use raised voices. This will help to ensure that those watching your videos on YouTube can actually understand what you are saying.

It is also advised that you make sure the lighting is good. The best time to make movies is during the day. If you want to make your movies at night, whether they take place inside or outdoors, you will want to make sure that you have the appropriate amount of lighting. Nothing is worse that watching a video that is hard to see.

Although there are a number of steps, like the ones mentioned above, which you can take to ensure that your YouTube videos are quality ones, there is a way that you can fix problems later on.

You can do this with movie editing software. Moving editing software allows you to preview and edit your videos, should you wish to do so before uploading them to YouTube.

If you have a relatively new computer, you should be able to find movie editing software already on your computer. If you are unable to find movie editing software, you should be able to get free software programs or even purchase deluxe software programs online or from one of your local media stores.

The decision as to whether or not you want to edit your videos, before sharing them on YouTube, is yours to make, but it is advised that you at least look into doing so, especially if your computer already has a movie editing program.

You will want to watch your movies and see if there is anything that you would like to edit, change, or remove. If so, the time to do it is before you post your video on the YouTube website.

Editing your YouTube videos or at least previewing them first is likely to improve their quality, which, in turn, will help to improve the exposure that your YouTube videos get. Many YouTube members share videos that they find interesting with those that they know and your videos may be one of them.

Personally I have great success with Windows Movie Maker, software that came FREE with my Windows operating system. Obviously there is a learning curve but I can guarantee you it will be worth your while in the long run.

If you have any questions use the comments section below and do share this article with your friends on Facebook please….

Estate Agent Learn How to Make a YouTube Video and Profit Long-Term! is a post from: Main Street Marketing (SA)

More than 90% of adult Americans have access to a computer either at work, at home, at a public location, or all of the above. In South Africa there are around 5 and a half million Internet users with 91% of them on Facebook. We also have a very large segment of the population with cellphone access.

• A 2010 survey found that on average, adult Americans between the ages of 25 and 54 spend 37.5 hours online each month.
• Of those 37.5 hours, adult Americans spend 23% of time their internet usage time on social networks.

 What does internet usage mean to your small business marketing efforts?

As a real estate agent or other small business owner, you need to be present wherever your potential customers are present. You could spend hours researching exactly where to place billboards, outdoor banners, fliers, etc. OR you could focus your small business marketing on the internet.

Real estate agents have found that 84% of those who search for real estate topics online have intent to buy a home. That is a much larger number than the market driving past your billboard every day.

In fact, 89% of people looking to purchase a new home begin their search online! That means, if you are not online, you are missing 89% of your market!

What’s the benefit of internet marketing for the small business?

Easy! Highly interested customers with intent to buy!

How can you use internet marketing for the small business?

There are a number of ways to begin your small business marketing including:

• Advertising
• Social media
• Website
• SEO

The key is finding out who your market is and where they are online. Knowing that adults spend 23% of their time in social media, Facebook is always a great place to start. Plus, setting up a social media profile is free!

Internet Marketing for the Small Business! is a post from: Main Street Marketing (SA)

Marketing is not a once off, flash in the pan operation. It gets proven time and again by successful businesses and people in all areas of life. One of my mentors and friend Trevor Chute of the legendary real estate brand “Talk to Trevor” is one such person. He quickly realised the use of an Internet Marketing Consultant.

Talk to Trevor

Consistency is Trevor’s middle name. With a degree in Psychology and work experience in the advertising world he took the property scene in Table View, Parklands by storm and today he’s hard work has paid off.

BUT and this is a BIG BUT, Trevor is more determined than ever to continue, improve and increase on his marketing mix, the very successful marketing strategy that’s seeing him as the no.1 selling estate agent in RE/MAX of Southern Africa, no mean feat.

It’s one of the characteristics that makes him a success, he knows it takes consistent marketing to get the word out, he expects results BUT he’s realistic about the time frames and he’s constantly improving and broadening his marketing foundation.

I heard a statistic a while ago that opened my eyes. It stated that below average estate agents solely rely on leads from their offices, where as average agents will do 2 or 3 additional thing to get leads BUT they found that exceptional estate agent have over 10 areas they get leads from, better get the word out.

I had the privilege to have a quick video interview with Trevor Chute on his Internet marketing campaign and to congratulate him on his achievement.

In the video below we talk about me helping him to move his website from one of the big portals to self-hosting and building his brand as a stand alone business and not one off 100′s. Trevor has always gone for unique…

It is fact Internet Marketing is no longer a maybe, it is a reality and if you want to be successful in the future you WILL have to overcome the obstacles of the learning curve and get into the mix.

I’d love to heard your opinion about this so please leave your comment below and share on Social Media so that your friends can talk with…

Trevor Chute Achieves No.1 in Sales in RE/MAX South Africa. Well Done! is a post from: Main Street Marketing (SA)

Can you believe it, the last day of the 1st month of 2012 already. Many of us are just getting going with the year and for others our marketing of 2011 has carried us through to a buzzing start to the year.

In marketing there’s a lot of experimenting and guessing and more experimenting that goes on to get to that magical mix that bring results

One of the constants that stay the same is that marketing is an ongoing, never ending process and once off inspirations rarely produce any lasting results.

I spent 2 hours last week on a webinar with some of the real estate industry leader in the USA around what’s going to work in Social Media marketing in 2012, specifically targeted to estate agents but I can say from experience this goes for all local businesses.

The one point that came through very loud and clear is ENGAGEMENT! Meaning that you will have to take the time to build your online relationships and develop them into off-line relationships. Here’s another constant in successful marketing relationship building.

With all due respect to all the Social Media platforms out there, in the end it still goes about the off-line relationship to seal the deal, especially in real estate.

So here’s 5 tips on how to get more engagement out of your Social Media marketing

1. Make sure you scan your Facebook  profile and Facebook page a couple of times a day for opportunities to interact with your friends and fans.
2. Build your friends list with a focus on people from your city and neighborhood, Facebook allows you to specify your city when you make friends.
3. Organize your friends in lists, I know this will take some time BUT it will help you to communicate with the right target market when you post.
4. A community or hobby based Facebook page is still the most effective way to build a prospect list for a local business.
5. Set news alerts in Google News for your area and business, it will give you relevant, fresh content to share with your friends and fans, become a true area specialist

In 2012 it is predicted that Facebook will reach 1 billion members, it is also estimated that in South Africa, 92% of Internet users are on Facebook, so can you afford not to be there?

So, yes certainly Facebook is a vital part of your marketing campaign, please note I say part because that’s what it is only a part.

Over the next weeks I will be looking at the other parts just as vital to your campaign, so make sure you stay tuned and subscribe on the right for these updates.

What’s Going to Work in Social Media in 2012? is a post from: Main Street Marketing (SA)

1. Hi Deon, tell us a bit about your career leading up to your current position? - I read for a B.Com (Law) degree at the University of Pretoria and a master degree in tax law at Wits.

I was lucky enough to commence with my articles at Hofmeyr Herbstein Incorporated in Sandton in 1998.

Hereafter, I joined Bowman Gilfillan Incorporated where I specialised in commercial and corporate law for a number of years.

Rand Merchant Bank then approached me to join them, and a few years later I was recruited by Liberty Life.

During this whole time, I mainly specialised in structured finance and insurance law, which lead to Absa recruiting me in 2006 as a manager.

I guess you could ask how all of this lead to a property business in the Garden Route?

Well, many large property deals require specialised finance structures so I have dabbled in property almost from the start of my career.

We started Terblanche Total Property Solutions as sideline business in 2007 while I was still in Jo’burg.

It soon started to gather momentum and I was more than ready to move down to the coast for a different lifestyle. So I did and here we are. Never regretted it!

2. When did you join IEASA? - I think I joined IEASA as a member in 2009.

I was elected to the board of directors of IEASA Garden Route and to the local steering committee of the Real Estate Business Owners of South Africa (REBOSA) in 2010. I was appointed as chairperson of IEASA Garden Route towards the close of 2011.

3. Why did you join IEASA? - Every property professional who is serious about their business and the industry should join IEASA. Maybe my background as an attorney has taught me the value of belonging to a professional industry association that self-regulates its members.

I joined because I wanted estate agents to play a more meaningful role when laws are passed and decisions are made on a national level that affect our business and our lives.

Estate agents should contribute and play an important role when things such as qualification requirements and transformation of the industry is discussed on a national level.

4. Tell us a bit about you plans for IEASA? -The estate agents that are still in the industry are true professionals, savvy business people and definite survivors!

I would like IEASA to add real value to its members’ lives.

We will achieve this by providing skills training that is relevant and important to a property professional, networking events to encourage cooperation and motivation and real tangible business benefits such as discounts and other value offerings.

One of our most important goals is to encourage all property professionals in the Garden Route to join IEASA so that our region can play a meaningful role on national level.

Being a property professional in the Garden Route is different from being one elsewhere, and it is important that IEASA Garden Route becomes a strong collective voice for our members.

5. How involved is the IEASA Board in the direction of real estate in South Africa? – IEASA is passionately committed to representing estate agents on a national level.

With REBOSA, IEASA is one of the only organisations that truly speak on behalf of estate agents.

The leaderships works tirelessly on a national level to make sure that estate agents have a voice when decisions are taken that affect them.

6. How important is training in an estate agents career? – It’s simply not possible anymore to be an estate agent without training.

The modern real estate landscape has changed immensely with new laws, new qualification requirements, new marketing techniques, new entrants to the market, new business models etc.

The industry is transforming into a profession. The only way for an estate agent to survive today is with proper and continuous training. It’s one of IEASA Garden Route’s top priorities.

7. If you had to recommend a curriculum for estate agents what would it entail? – Although I can really expand on this, I’ll keep it short.

Estate agents need to understand the following things, among other things, pertaining to the whole of their business:
a. The legal environment in a wide sense
b. The macro and micro forces playing a role in the economic environment
c. The political environment and transformation
d. Business management and administration;
e. Relationship management, client service and human psychology;
f. Finance
g. Marketing and sales skills

8. How has the Internet changed the industry? – I recently heard someone say, “Online is the new prime time.” In my own business I certainly find this to be true.

The reality is that the Internet has changed so much more than just the way estate agents market their listings. The Internet is also an indispensable research tool.

The Internet has completely changed the way we communicate with each other and with clients (when last did you send a fax?).

For some progressive estate agents, the Internet is also now the place where they manage their listings, store their clients details, office files, photographs, agreements and documentation, correspondence etc.

With the exponential growth in the number of web enabled mobile phones, we must remember that the Internet is now everywhere and it’s immediately available.

I think the bigger issue here is the fact the Internet is also now the place where our clients spend more and more of their time (think Facebook, for example). Your clients are on the Internet. Are you?

9. What would advice would you give today’s estate agent with regards to competing in this tough market? – My advice is simple.

Focus on becoming a true property professional in every sense of the word. It’s more important to walk the walk than to talk the talk.

Property is still a people business. If you know what you’re doing and you focus on exceeding your clients’ expectations, success will follow.

Trust is earned and you will only be successful once your clients trust you.

10. Lastly what words of encouragement can you give to all estate agents out there for 2012? – Hang in there! If you are still in real estate in 2012, you have already survived some of the toughest years in recent memory.

That’s quite something. All indications are that interest rates will remain low, most of the banks have started to lend money to buyers again and even the UK and USA property markets have shown small recoveries in certain parts.

Focus on becoming an even better property professional this year. If you join IEASA, it will be a great first step!

Thank you Deon it was great to get to know you a bit. Please feel free to leave your comments below and we’d love to chat to you.

Meet Deon Terblanche New Broom at IEASA Garden Route! is a post from: Main Street Marketing (SA)

That’s astonishing. Over 15 billion videos are viewed every month. 35 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute! Here’s 15 ways to maximize your YouTube marketing results, to stand out from the competition.

1. Create a compelling video. Going viral is everyone’s wish, but that just isn’t possible for most of us. Create content that addresses your audience instead.
2. Make your video easy to find. To make your video easy to find, optimize it for search. Use an effective title and make sure your keyword is there. Also be sure to create a good description with appropriate tags. Make it keyword rich and start it with a full URL.
3. Launch a brand channel. Branding your YouTube channel is possible without money. Change your background and colors to be appropriate with what you’re offering. Make “player view” your layout, which allows your videos to play automatically.
4. Use marginal notes. Using marginal notes, you can easily gain subscribers by giving your viewers additional information about your video. This can include links to your other videos, playlists, channels, and the option to subscribe.
5. Use YouTube Ads. This is a great way to get exposure for your video. It can be called the call to action technique, and your submission can even become a promoted video. If a visitor searches your keyword, or video name rather than the text of your video, the thumbnail of your video will stick out.
6. Post a bulletin. You can post a bulletin at the top of your channel. This allows you to alert your subscribers and give them a video or link on their home page. This is a great traffic builder.
7. Use Social Media.  Send more traffic to your videos by using Facebook, Twitter, Stumble Upon, and even by blogging it.
8. Comment on related videos. By commenting on related videos, you’re getting your name out there and increasing the chance someone will click through to your channel.
9. Use Video Replies. Using video replies on related videos really makes your videos stand out and draws interest if done properly.
10. Video Reviews. Video reviews are one of the most popular forms of information today. With a well designed product review, you will certainly be ahead of the competition!
11. Create a separate webpage. By creating a separate webpage, you can optimize it for search engines, and you can link to your YouTube videos. This gives your videos even more link juice and will make it perform better in searches.
12. YouTube Insights.  This one’s easy. The YouTube analytics allow you to see who’s viewing your videos, when, and how they found them. This allows you to target those audiences better.
13. Create playlists. Feature your best content in the right column on your channel. Playlists allow you to organize all of your videos, regardless if you made it or not.
14. Hire a professional. Hiring a professional allows you to get your video seen by an established user base, as they will most likely link to your video. A simple appearance by a YouTube celebrity works wonders.
15. Research. This one may seem like common sense, but research your targets. Find out what consumers want, what they find appealing, their style, etc.

I’d love to hear your opinion….

15 Ways to Maximize Your YouTube Marketing Results is a post from: Main Street Marketing (SA)

It’s amazing but apart from hosting and  connection fees the Internet is FREE! Here you have just the most powerful communication medium in the world at your finger tip, are you going to waste the potential.

It’s a new year and all of us are off to a rearing start and already many are starting to ask why does it cost so much? It seems that no matter what every little bit of advertising and marketing we do cost us money and often it is a risky spend.

BUT what can you do on the Internet that’s going to have an effect on you businesses visibility online without costing you a fortune or better even cost you nothing. In the image above you’ll see two 1st place Google listing I have achieved for my business under the term “internet marketing consultant cape town”.

Two listings on the 1st page of Google, this can cost you quite a bit if you had to get someone to do it for you but these two things you can do yourself and later when you want to optimise them a bit you can get a professional.

So instead of wasting time and money today killing the planet with another junk pamphlet drop, why don’t you spend a bit of time and learn how to set-up these two FREE profiles properly and get your own Google 1st page listing in your area.

FACT: local search e.g. search with a place name in it has an 84% economic intent. That means that more than 80% of  searchers in this category wants to do business with you. How’s that for odds?

The TWO Internet Marketing Tips I’m talking about here are: Google Places and LinkedIn!

I get the question often about why these two listings are of any significance? So here’s the answer!

These specific TWO online properties have the ability to help local business show up on the 1st page of Google more often and at less cost than almost any other strategy and they are FREE.

I’m not going to go into major detail here, I have covered the topics in depth in previous articles see What is google Places? and 5 Simple Steps to an EFFECTIVE LinkedIn Profile for some advice on how to optimise your Google Placed and LinkedIn profile.

I know that Internet marketing is a whole new learning curve for most and that many of you don’t have time to learn new more effective marketing strategies. All I can assure you is that the best investment you can make into your business right now with regards to marketing is to get your Internet marketing up and running, EFFECTIVELY!

I’ll be conducting a 2 day workshop at IEASA on the 7th and 8th of February 2012, do contact Lee-Ann on 021-531 3180  for more information, else pop me a comment and I will get you sorted.

Make it your mission to be more social on Social Media this year, don’t get distracted by what other people do, focus on building your friends and communicate regularly with them.

Also make sure that you remember to bring your cyber buddies into reality where ever you can because we can meet and stay in touch online but we still need that physical interaction to cement lifelong relationships, so don’t discount your off-line networking opportunities.

Two NO Cost Internet Marketing Tips for Local Business! is a post from: Main Street Marketing (SA)

Many of my Estate Agent clients are asking: what can we do to get our marketing kick started and ready for 2012?

I often get asked: what is the best and most cost effective Internet marketing tip I can give an Estate Agent? No matter whether you are new or established….

My TOP marketing tip to any Estate Agent would be to claim their Google Places Page and to get it optimised, so that it ranks well in a LOCAL search.

Claiming your Google Places Page is FREE and could be an easy way for you to get 1st page rankings in a local search in your neighbourhood without having to spend a fortune on web development and paid marketing.

Google specifically created the Google Places Pages for LOCAL business and LOCAL search to replace and improve on the Yellow Pages, with more and more search queries including a place name e.g. “Cape Town attorney”. It’s Google’s sole mission to serve up more and more relevant and fresh results.

To claim your Google Places Page simply click on the image below and follow the instructions.

The latest statistics shows that only around 16% of businesses worldwide have claimed their Google Places Page thus far. As a marketing consultant I can only attribute this to indifference and a lack of understanding just how vital this listing can be for your business.

Below is a screen shot of a search I just did for “Cape Town properties”!

Notice that the Google Places listings is served up right at the top! You see some paid listings (PPC) above it BUT the 1st 7 listings for this very competitive search term belongs to the Google Places pages related to the search, only after that you’ll get the organic search results.

FYI! According to research, searchers are 8 times more likely to click on the FREE links on the page before they will click on the PPC and other paid advertising on a Google search page.

Here’s 5 tips on how to improve your Google Places Page:

Tip #1 – Make sure you complete your information 100%. There is an indicator in the back-end of your account that will tell you to what degree you have completed your information. Make sure you get this to 100%!

Tip #2 – Use your business address and phone numbers like they would appear in the phonebook. Because of GEO tagging and the focus on local business, the more accurate your physical address and phone numbers, the better your chances of a more effective listing.

Tip #3 – DO NOT load your business name or your description with keywords. Google WILL penalise and not list listings artificially manipulated with SEO tactics. They want your business address and info, plain and simple.

Tip #4 – Do make use of the place to load images and videos. It will make your places page more interesting and you will need some to get a 100% score.

Tip #5 – Google refreshes the Places database every 2 weeks so it could take that long for your listing to appear in search results. If it does not, you will have to look at the SEO and ranking of the website listed on the page. Of late this seems to have become more and more important.

There are a couple of other tactics we use when improving places pages ranking potential. That however is beyond the scope of this article and a bit more technical.

But without a doubt the best thing you can do for your Internet marketing in 2012 is to claim your Google Places Page. Use the comment section below for your questions and comments.

I leave you with this thought!

In 2012 and beyond, your market is getting younger and technology is growing exponentially as the MAIN medium of finding information and communicating. Print media and even broadcast media as we used to know it is shrinking rapidly. Where should your marketing for results FOCUS be?

Best Marketing Action Estate Agents Can Take in 2012! is a post from: Main Street Marketing (SA)

Judging from the turmoil around us and the deepening economic upheaval in the USA and Europe, 2012 certainly holds a quiver full of flaming arrows that will either light the way or burn the house down, which is still to be seen.

According to some of the experts at a recent Property Investors breakfast we are on a horizontal economic trajectory for at least the next five years and we should be just too happy not to see further drastic market plunges but neither will we see much in the way of significant recovery.

New bonds are down from 40 000 odd per month to just over 20 000 per month and so are Estate agent numbers down from 90 000 odd to 20 000 odd which means there’s more property to go around per agent or is there?

What I’m seeing is that the caliber of Estate Agent being higher which means so is the level of competition, top agents are creaming it whilst average and below agents are still fighting over the scraps left by the go getter’s. 

So here’s my question to you, what can you do in 2012 that will turn your year into a raving success?

2012 is all going to be about FOCUS and CONTROL! Laser targeted focus on your market (neighbourhood) and control over your marketing and stock.

With the caliber of agent being higher and more marketing savvy and aggressive, you need to find the fastest most cost effective way to corner the market in your neighbourhood and to get your listings out to the buying world (buyers will be even more discerning as they keep control of the market and more desperate seller appear), your buyer of 2012 will be someone of means and intellect because the economy has been sifting the gene pool.

Your 2012 buyer will have been researching the market online and will have a very good idea of what’s on offer even before contacting you. Your dilemma is going to be to get noticed by this buyer online.

This is where the focus and control comes in because of the way Google, Facebook, Social Media and LOCAL search has been developing, more weight is being given to local business with relevant fresh content in search results, may it be of a PC, laptop, iPad of smartphone, if you harness this advantage to you advantage you will beat other estate agents and even portals to that client, may it be buyer or seller.

The reason is simple, through making use of a targeted blogging and Social Media marketing campaign you can answer 77% of your clients questions about weather he or she should use you before you have even met. See graph…

What I’m referring to are these factors recently published by NAR (National Association of Realtors) in the USA.  Apparently some of the most important factors in choosing an Estate Agent are:

1. Agent’s honesty and trustworthiness – 30%
2. Agent’s reputation – 20%
3. Agent’s knowledge of the neighbourhood – 14%
4. Agent has a caring personality/good listener – 13%

That’s a whopping 77% of the clients decision making depending on you and your image in the community, not your company, brand or designations. This is very good news for those agents who can find a way to harness this information.

This is where blogging and Social Media marketing becomes incredibly powerful.

Through a community focused blog, integrated with your Social Media profiles, you now have a marketing tool that you can use to make online contact with prospects that you can forge into off-line relationships.

With a blog you will position yourself as an area specialist online, where the bulk of your clients will be looking for you. Doing this right is your most effective, costs effective marketing strategy any Estate agent can follow in 2012.

In a recent article on the website Social Media Examiner the following was found about blogs globally:

1. Bloggers are young, educated and experienced
2. Bloggers help brands
3. A growing number of consumers trust blogs
4. Bloggers depend increasingly on social media
5. Bloggers use multimedia
6. Bloggers are earning money through their blogs
7. Bloggers are increasing their activities

Globally blogging is a growing industry and an amazingly simple but effective way to get your marketing message out there in a manner that will build you trust and breakdown the barriers with prospects even before you physically meet the.

Combining your property on offer with your community on offer you can create a dynamic environment using your online marketing that will benefit the community, your client and ultimately you.

BUT there’s a window, just like you cannot have multiple Wimpy’s in one location neither will numerous community blogs in a suburb float, you need to be amongst the 1st.

The logic behind this survival marketing strategy is simple. It is meeting your clients where they at! Online, on Facebook and searching in Google.

I’d love your comment on this! Use the comment box below to enlighten us.

The Estate Agents 2012 Social Media Marketing Survival Guide! is a post from: Main Street Marketing (SA)