BRER Real Estate Marketing Blog

Please welcome a new contributor, Jonathan Bentz with ProspectMX
This is the first post about using Twitter - more to come!

 What Are You Doing?

If you are still trying to figure out why I led with this question, then you aren’t using Twitter. Twitter is a ‘Micro-Blogging’ website. Imagine having your own blogspace and having to speak your mind in ONLY 140 CHARACTERS. Tell people what you’re doing, and follow people that interest you. Likewise, other people can follow you and find out what you’re doing. 

I’ve been using Twitter since January. According to Compete.com, Twitter is now one of the top 400 sites on the web, with nearly 4 million visitors a month. In recent months, CNN & FOX News have been watching twitter streams for real time reaction to national news. In some cases, CNN has even received breaking news from Twitter. 

Should real estate agents be using Twitter? 1000’s currently are using it to communicate with each other, and prospective clients. Twitter-user PollyBriley, a Wisconsin real estate agent, offered two reasons when I asked my network:

“the learning and social aspects from other REALTORS®; I meet lots of local folks I might never have met otherwise.”

So you want to get started? Here’s how:

• Register at the site with a branded username (your city name with the word “realestate” might be a good choice)
• Take time to fill out your profile and create/upload a background

Things to remember when using Twitter:

• It’s ok to link to your blog, company site, or photo page in your Twitter profile.
• Speak your mind and be yourself. Continue conversations with other Twitter-users (aka tweeps).
• DO NOT use twitter to only promote a free CMA or continuously send links to your site.

Be aware that Twitter can become addicting, but it is also an awesome tool for communicating with your target market. There are people EVERYWHERE using Twitter in a variety of age ranges. If you can become one of the most vocal Twitter users in your area, you can build up credibility and familiarity with your market very quickly.

Like blogging, “Twittering” is an awesome tool for communicating with potential clients. Use it the right way without sounding like a salesman in your conversations, and prospecting can become much easier. 

For more tips on how to use Twitter, feel free to follow me and drop me a message. I can be found on Twitter @gmhv_bentz.

Jonathan Bentz is a link building expert and social media geek for ProspectMX, a Pennsylvania internet marketing company. Previously, Bentz worked in marketing at a luxury resort located in Western Pennsylvania and managed their website to a substantial increase in site visits and online bookings.  He has experience in e-mail marketing, organic search optimization, moderating message boards, and developing site content plans for a variety of web clients.

Because I live in the South, it’s difficult for me to remember that Thanksgiving is here already.

I spent most of my life in Michigan, and “up North”, keeping track of the seasons is easy.

When it starts getting really cold - and you’ve seen at least a dusting of snow, if not a few feet - and the air is rich with the aroma from wood-burning fireplaces — you really experience the changing of the seasons.

On the other hand, I don’t miss snow tires - and taking my life in my hands going to work each day when the weather is bad and the roads exceptionally slippery - and the gray cap that can sit over cities in Michigan for weeks at a time.

So, I’m content here with our pretend winters, and I’m looking forward to the holiday season.

I have many things to be thankful for this year, not the least of which are the great clients I’ve had the opportunity to work with this year. 

To all of you whom I’ve come to know personally, I thank you for your camaraderie, and for your business.

For everyone who reads this blog, I thank you for your interest, and I hope you find this blog useful.

I wish all of you a happy and peaceful Thanksgiving celebration!

Remember our military at the holidays!  As you may know, there are many ways  to show support for our military folks who give so much all year around.  Two Internet-based opportunities:

• Send a postcard to someone in the military.  Visit Let’s Say Thanks.  Xerox Corporation has set up this website where you can select a postcard from among designs created by children all across the country, and personalize it with your own greeting.  The postcards are then printed by Xerox and mailed in care packages sent to military personnel serving overseas by a military support organization, Give2TheTroops.
• Send an e-mail.  Visit America Supports You. 

And, please join me in a prayer to give our new leaders the wisdom and strength they will need in the years ahead.

Quite frequently I hear that, even in places where the market is still fairly active, transactions are taking longer.  Part of the reason for that delay in the purchase and sale process is due to hesitancy among buyers.

And, I can’t say I really blame them - things are a bit rocky right now.  And, yes, that IS an understatement.  For real estate professionals, this is a time when you need to have every bit of ammunition you can muster to make sure that people are being realistic about the market in your area.

You also need to be able to explain to prospective home buyers the support that they might be able to receive in order to purchase a home.

I came across a good article at Realtor.com about the First-Time Home Buyer Credit.  The article describes, in plain English, six basic things that home buyers should know about this tax credit that was part of the legislation passed earlier this year.

If your marketing plan includes selling to potential first-time home buyers - apartments perhaps? - this would be excellent information to include in a direct mail campaign to those prospects.  Can you fit all the required information on a postcard?  No.  But, wouldn’t a taste of this information be a great teaser to get people to visit your website or contact you!

You should review all six of the facts in the article, but I found a few particularly interesting:

1.  The tax credit can be used until July 2009 for qualified purchases.  Your buyers may have more time than they thought. 

2.  The legislation defines “first-time home buyers” as anyone who hasn’t owned a home for at least three years.  So, as an example, if you know prospective buyers who have transferred to your area, but then decided to rent until the market calmed down, they’d be good prospects for this credit.

3.  There are income limits, but buyers who exceed that limit may still be able to take advantage of the credit at some level.

4.  For new home construction, if your buyers are in their home by July, 2009, they could still qualify.  For purposes of the tax credit, the purchase date is defined as the first day the owners occupy their new home.

If you’re selling luxury homes, this credit won’t do your buyers any good.  But, if you’re working with buyers whose income is approximately $95,000 for an individual or $170,000 for a household, you may find that promoting this opportunity is helpful to you and your buyers.

No one likes sitting the fence!

This guest post was written by Larry Easto who is a
best-selling business writer, and publisher of Real Estate Marketing Link

 In the spring of this year, a friend started a search for a new home.

Because she didn’t know any active real estate agents, a retired agent was asked for a recommendation. In turn, this agent asked a former colleague to recommend a suitable agent for my friend. As it turned out, this former colleague also happened to be the current president of the local real estate board.

Within a day or so, the recommended agent called and the first meeting was arranged. At this meeting, my friend advised the agent that she had been pre-approved for a mortgage.  She also mentioned that although she was starting her search in March, she was not looking to move until later in the year.

My friend and the agent agreed they could work together and the search was started.

The agent was one of three members of a sales team. Property showings were conducted by one, two and sometimes all three members of the team.

After having seen about a dozen properties over the next month, by mutual agreement, the active search was wound down.

The agent assured my friend that she and her team knew what she was looking for. The agent also told my friend that that the team would continue to email listings they thought suitable. The agent also said that either she or another team member would keep in touch regularly with my friend by either phone or email.

The emailed listings stopped a few weeks after the last meeting. Now, about 6 months after the last meeting, there has been no further contact from any member of the team.

Since the last contact with her agent, my friend has received a substantial inheritance and no longer needs mortgage financing.  And now that the property values are declining, she is interested in reactivating her search for a new home.

But she faces a dilemma.

Should she contact her agent and by so doing reward the agent and her team for failing to keep in touch as promised?

Or should she start all over again with a new agent?

If so, how can she find an agent who will do as promised - keep in touch and continue to help?

Even though the first agent was personally recommended by the president of the local real estate board, she and her team members seem to have lost interest in helping my friend and moved on to other things.

If my friend can’t rely on the recommendation of the local real estate board president, whose recommendation can she rely on?   

*     *     *     *     *

Note from Kathleen:  Do you have any suggestions for Larry’s friend?  Do you think this is an isolated incident?  How organized is your follow up system?????

You may have noticed that the old blog was a bit sparse last week.  In fact, there were no blog posts last week at all.

Did you miss me?  

Actually, I had the best encounter with the medical care system I can remember.  That’s unusual because in general the medical profession and I don’t get along very well.

I seem to get the weirdest maladies, and many of the doctors I have seen are far too quick to tell me to go home and relax because there’s really nothing wrong with me.  I try that until I can find a doctor who will actually take me seriously.

The last time that happened, when I found that doctor, we had an exchange I’ll never forget.  After I explained my symptoms, he asked me what medication I was on to manage the problem.

• I stared at him in amazement and said, “You mean there’s something I could take for this?!?!?”
• He stared at me in amazement and said, “You mean you’re not taking anything for this!?!?!”

It was pretty funny.

One of my favorite doctorisms is “You might feel some slight discomfort”.  The translation for that phrase is usually “This will hurt like hell, but I’m too afraid to tell you”.  It would be so much better to be prepared!  But, I guess that would be too easy  . . .

Ah, well.  What can you do?  Luckily, I don’t have a lot of health issues.  Just weird ones.

I got a question from Rick Neumann asking how people go about selling homes on the International market.  I’m not an expert on International marketing, but I do have some information to share.  If anyone has had success and insight about selling Internationally, please leave a comment!

Thanks to Danielle for leaving a comment with more great ideas!

From what I’ve seen, using the Internet is the best marketing strategy for attracting International buyers.  Here’s how I would suggest tapping into the International market:

1. Establish a website for your target geographical market.
2. Drive traffic to the site using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Pay-Per-Click marketing.
3. Make sure your website speaks directly to International buyers.
4. Take advantage of International real estate portals.

Establish a Website for Your Target Geographical Area

When you design your website, think about the things that an International buyer would want to know.  They will certainly want information about the communities in your area, including things like the types of neighborhoods and homes, things to do in the area, etc.

If you put yourself in your prospects’ shoes, you’ll find other things to include.  If you are in an area that attracts people from other countries who need a permanent residence, you might want to include information on schools.  If people from other countries are attracted to your area for a second or vacation home, you might want to include information about renting the property and property management companies.

Drive Traffic to Your Site

As far as I know, there are no search engine keyword phrases by which International buyers identify themselves.  Therefore, you’d want to show up prominently on searches for your area, such as Atlanta real estate or Phoenix homes for sale.

People from other places who know what part of the U.S. they want to look in will typically use the same search terms as any other buyer.

Make Sure You Speak to International Buyers

I’ve never worked with anyone whose entire business was based on working the International buyers.  So, the website will need to speak to all of your target audiences.  So, if you want to attract International buyers, you’ll need to let them know they’re welcome.

Maybe there should be a big button on your home page that says: International Buyers.  And, your menu should have a section for International buyers.  Then, you need to have information that will speak directly to those individuals.

A currency converter might be helpful.  There are free currency converters available on the Internet.  Take a look at these examples:  XE.com, Onada.com.  I’d certainly suggest including a disclaimer to indicate that the converters are for the visitors’ convenience to give them an idea of costs in various currencies and that you are not responsible for the accuracy of the tools, etc. etc.

If you speak a foreign language or two, it would be helpful to let your visitors know.  You might even want to create a few pages in other languages.  I’d be careful of the online language translators like BabelFish or Google.  From what I’ve learned in talking to multi-lingual clients, the automatic translations are very literal and can sometimes even be offensive in how the translations come out!

Your site will be most effective if you can identify specific benefits International buyers would receive working with you.  Do you have experience in the area?  Do you know good attorneys who can assist?  Do you speak other languages?  Are you from another country yourself?  Do you know how buying property in the U.S. differs from other countries?

Just saying that you work with International clients isn’t the greatest proof source for that claim.  Your marketing message will be most effective if you can illustrate how your skills in particular are useful to International buyers.

Take Advantage of International Real Estate Portals

There are undoubtedly lots of real estate websites that cater to International buyers and sellers.  For one, www.Point2Homes.com has an active International set of listings.

Here are two others I’m aware of: LuxuryRealEstate.com and WorldProperties.com.  You can even evaluate joining an organization like the FIABCI.

Rick, I hope this information is helpful to you.  Again, if anyone else has any information about International real estate, please join in!!

If You Haven’t Participated in the MLS Poll in the left column of this blog,
NOW IS THE TIME!
All you need to do is choose one answer from each of the three categories:
TYPE, REGISTER, RESULTS.

So far, there have been 13 responses.  So, the rest of you need to get going!!  Here’s what the results say so far.

Type of MLS Search Used

66%     Search from the MLS - no visitor login
25%     Search from a 3rd party with login
  9%     Search from the MLS with login

The fact that such a large number of respondents are using an MLS without a visitor login is very discouraging!!   If you fit into that category, please review the value of a great IDX search, and how to choose a home search!!!  If you’re not using a full-featured home search, you’re missing out on a lot!

The other thing even this small sample points out is that there just aren’t that many MLS organizations who provide full-featured searches.  Only one respondent was using a search from their MLS search that had visitor login capabilities.

Registration Methods

75%     No registration required
25%     Require registration after some use
  0%     Require registration before use

I think these results reflect the state of the industry.  There are a lot of places where people can search for homes for sale.  Requiring registration before any use just doesn’t make sense.  The likelihood is that your visitors will just go elsewhere. 

Results - MLS Search Lead Generation

55%    I’m not sure
27%    Better leads without registration
18%    Better leads requiring registration after some use
  0%    Better leads when requiring registration

Fifty-five percent weren’t sure which approach provided the best leads?!?!  I’d suggest those folks do some testing.  I’ve seen differences from city to city in terms of how willing visitors are to login to a home search to obtain benefits like saving searches, etc.

If you haven’t tried it both ways, you’re missing an opportunity.  Unless you receive a steady stream of leads from your website and MLS search, you might want to experiment.  But, in my opinion that is only true if you have a full-featured search.  There’s no sense asking people to register if all that brings them is the opportunity to look at homes for sale. 

So, that’s the latest on the poll, but of course, this is a pitifully small sample of real estate professionals.  Help us all out - take a minute to participate!!

As I mentioned earlier, I was  having a difficult time trying to figure out what was going on with Adobe’s new FlashPlayer 10.

The bottom line is: 

FLASH 10 IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH 64-BIT COMPUTERS!

So, if you have a 64-bit computer, DON’T upgrade to Flash 10!

Thanks to Sam Chapman’s suggestion, here’s how to determine if you have a 32-bit or 64-bit system: 

• Open the System information window by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking System.
• Under System, you can view the system type.  It should indicate whether you are running 64-bit or 32-bit Vista software.

An Adobe rep said that they would be introducing a new version that will be compatible with Vista 64-bit machines over the coming months.

Also, according to the Adobe rep, this is what you need to do if you’re having problems with Flash 10:

1. Uninstall Flash 10 using the instructions here

2. Download the Zip file for Adobe Flash 9 to your Desktop.  The file can be found here.  (link has been corrected)   It’s the third option - the 134MB file

3. Unzip the file on your Desktop

4. Reboot your computer and Adobe 9 will be installed

And, yes, you’ll probably have to go back and delete a bunch of files from the Desktop, but that’s what the man said.

Adobe strikes again!!  Might be nice if the Flash Support Team was informed!!!!!!!

The Bad News

I’ve been fighting with Adobe Support for days now, and it’s driving me nuts.

The last time I had an Adobe problem, I was trying to get the full version of Adobe Acrobat to work.  That time I was able to get phone support.  We tried everything including registry changes, and for no apparent reason, it was impossible to fix the problem.

Of course, I could have wiped the hard drive and rebuilt it.  But, I bought NitroPDF instead.

This time, it’s a more difficult problem.  There seems to be a problem  viewing some flash displays if you have a Vista 64-bit computer and you upgrade to the newest version of Adobe Flash, Flash 10.

Oddly enough, there is a notice on the Adobe site that Flash support is being provided by email only.  Thus started my quest to figure out what the problem is.  I opened a support case at Adobe and have been trading emails with them for the past few days.

No luck.  The last suggestion from Adobe support was that I purchase Dreamweaver and use it to generate the code to embed a flash module.  Yeah, right.

If anyone, anywhere, has had problems with Flash 10 on Vista computers and figured out how to fix it, please let me know.  If you have any idea how to get a straight answer on a fix, or if you know where I could go to get an answer, I’d be forever greatful if you let me know!!

Now, For the Good News!

Voter turnout in the 2008 election is being called Unprecedented. . .  Phenominal. . . and I’m sure there’ll be more adjectives to come. 

It’s also been an amazing year for new voter registration.

This was a groundbreaking election, and I’m proud that the American public responded in kind.

I’m also really excited that the campaign is over and I won’t have to listen to taped recordings calling me on the phone, and campaign commercials on the television.

Now, I pray that we can show the same kind of spirit in pulling together to address all the issues facing the nation.

Tomorrow, I’m going to fill my gas tank while the gas prices are still “low”. 

I found an interesting article at the Forbes.com website that was written by two gentleman who have also written a book about selling in slow markets.

Forbes has an interesting habit of publishing an article that contains some information, then they provide an “In Depth” option which takes you to a slide show that has additional information.  Since I found some good information in this article, I’ll summarize both the article and the “In Depth” information for you.

Tips for a Quick Sale

1.  Price the Home to Sell - You’ve heard this many times, and it’s true that you need to do the homework to make sure you’re setting a realistic price.

2.   Price the Home in Standard Price Ranges - Since so much of home searches are done on MLS search sites, price the home to be easily found by the most likely buyers.  You may want to set the price at $330,000 and plan to sell for $300-$325,000. 

But, in a tight market, buyers may only search in the $300-325,000 range and never find your listing.  It’s a tough call because it gives you less room to negotiate, but it’s an important issue to consider.
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