Archive for Jonathan Bentz
This guest post was written by Jonathan Benz from ProspectMX
According to ComScore’s latest projections, there are now 222 million users on Facebook, making it the largest social networking website. As the site enters its fifth year on the tubes, have you figured out how to use it to benefit your real estate internet marketing efforts in 2009?After taking some time to introduce the readers of BRER to Twitter, I thought I might take some to offer advice on getting started with Facebook.
A LITTLE HISTORY
The entire Facebook revolution began at Harvard in 2004. Mark Zuckerberg built a site where students could share photos and head shots, putting a “face” on the names in the student directory. Harvard students dug it, and it began expanding to other universities across the country.
By the end of the year, Facebook had nearly one million users (myself included), and Zuckerberg had received some startup capital. He dropped out of Harvard and set up shop in Palo Alto, CA.
Today, Facebook is open to practically everyone and has internal e-mail communication, photo sharing, an advertising network and a constantly updating news feed that updates what your friends are up to across Facebook while you are also on Facebook.
GETTING STARTED
The basic idea behind Facebook is that it is an effective way to stay in touch with friends, family, coworkers, alumni, and other contacts in one convenient location on the internet. Connections start based on existing real-world ties.
When you register for Facebook, you establish your hometown, college, high school, or corporate network from which to select friends. Facebook will then let you survey other users based on your answers to start building a network of Facebook friends.
Lucky for all internet users, Facebook has made the process of finding your friends pretty easy. After you begin building your network based on your location, work experience, and educational background, Facebook begins suggesting people you probably know, creating a virtual sphere of influence for yourself.
Of course, you can also find friends in more traditional ways. Search by name within Facebook and having Facebook dig into your e-mail address book to find contacts is also possible. Just like Twitter, a connection is only cemented when your “friend” confirms that you are, in fact, friends.
WHY FACEBOOK MATTERS TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS
Internet marketing is so effective because ROI is easily tracked and attributed to campaigns. Besides, with over 222 million users, more of your prospects are likely to be online, rather than digging through the pages of your local daily paper. Getting your message in front of prospects where they are most likely to see it and respond is still the first rule of marketing, right?
The most obvious way real estate agents can effectively use Facebook is for prospecting. Creating an online sphere of influence is easy on Facebook. All Facebook users in the real estate industry should be connected to all clients, past and present, in addition to the friends, work contacts, and schoolmates you would already connect to.
As you continue to build your sphere of influence on Facebook, there are tons of options for spreading the word about your business, including:
- Starting a group related to local events or local real estate
- Uploading photos of your most recent listings to a group or photo gallery
- Adding the RSS feed of your blog to your profile or status message
THE UNSPOKEN FACEBOOK RULE
There is no question that Facebook can be an effective boost to prospecting and building your sphere. That said, there are several things to remember when using Facebook:
- While it is okay to link to your blog or company site, it is important to be “social,” meaning you must interact with other Facebook users in a non-marketing manner.
- On social networks, users can “sniff out” marketing, and prefer not to be marketed to!
- Using Facebook merely as a method to promote a free home valuation or as a driver of blog traffic can cause you to lose connections quickly.
Use Facebook the right way – without coming across as a salesman - and creating a productive sphere of influence is definitely possible. Plus, you’ll establish an effective new method for Prospecting!
Jonathan Bentz manages link building for a variety of clients at 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.
Real Estate Marketing: Using Twitter II
· CommentsThis guest post was written by Jonathan Benz with ProspectMX
See Jonathan’s Introduction to Twitter
You’ve Registered For Twitter… Now What?
So you got started using Twitter – great! The first step in testing something is getting started, right? After having received some feedback from those of you who have registered for Twitter since my first post, I wanted to take a second and breakdown some of the most basic questions I received from BRER readers.
Now you’re registered… then what? First, introduce yourself to the Twitter world. Everything you write on Twitter is published on a public timeline where anyone on Twitter can read your message. So, in 140 characters, start your Twitter experience by answering the question “what are you doing?”
Finding Friends on Twitter
Finding friends on Twitter seems to be one of the most difficult things in the world when you first start. Like most social networking and social media sites, you can find friends who are also users by having Twitter scan your address book on e-mail hosts like Yahoo!, Gmail, and Hotmail.
Another great way to go about deciding who to follow and talk to on Twitter is to add your favorite bloggers to the list of people you follow. Many bloggers have a link on their blog pointing to their Twitterstream.
In the real estate industry, there are a select list of users that are “must follows.” These are the Twitter-users with a focus on the real estate industry who best understand the benefits of the service. They also have 1000′s of followers, so they are the industry thought leaders. Five of my personal favorite Twitter users in the RE.net are listed below. I personally follow all of them (along with 1000′s of others).
- @ResPres (Jeff Turner of RealEstateShows.com)
- @RealEstateZebra (Daniel Rothamel of Strong Team Realtors – Charlottesville, VA)
- @LaniAR (Lani Rosales, New Media Director of AgentGenius.com)
- @PhoenixREGuy (Jay Thompson of PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com)
- @pkitano (Pat Kitano of MediaTransparent.com)
Many of these bloggers and real estate professionals have a tendency to follow everyone that follows them. This will open up the conversation between you and the other Twitter users. Once someone follows you, they will be able to see what you say, just like you are able to see what they say once you start following them.
Sending Twitter Messages
When you want to send a message directly to someone, use that trusty “@” symbol. This is Twitter’s way of indicating that a message you send across the network is intended to be a response to someone.
For example, Jeff Turner saw a Twitter message I posted about an ABA basketball team in Bluefield, WV last week. He wanted to respond to me directly, but still on the public timeline for everyone of his followers to see. Therefore, before he typed his message, he placed the short code “@gmhv_bentz” in front of it, to insure that everyone knew he was speaking to me.
In addition to sending direct messages to someone on the public timeline, you can also send a private message across Twitter – simply type a “d” in front of the name of the Twitter user you want to contact. In the example above, if Jeff Turner wanted to send me a private Twitter message about that basketball team, he would have typed “d gmhv_bentz” before his message.
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.
Introduction to Twitter
· CommentsPlease 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.
