Category Archives: digital media

are you searchable? – post 2 of 31

marketing in a social age is devoting 31 posts this month to social and digital media and the real estate industry.

Are you searchable?

If not you should be.  If I did not personally know a real estate agent there are a few places I would go to search out for one.  I will share with you how I would look for them and where I would be.

Google

Are you searchable on Google (or really any major search engine)?  People might not search for you but they are searching for agents in a neighbourhood or within a specific area.  For example, if you specialize in condos in Toronto’s Scarborough Bluffs area, make sure you can be found if someone types in : “Toronto Scarborough Bluffs real estate agent”.

How do you do this?

There are a number of ways.  Here are two ways.

First, optimize your search.  A good SEO expert will make sure that the keywords you want to be found by are used on your main website.

Second, take advantage of social search.  A proper blogging and using micro blogging strategy is a great way to increase the chances of you being found.

Twitter

Being searchable on Twitter is not hard.  The point here though is twofold.

First, make sure that you tweet enough that your content gets becomes relevant and is then found by the search engines.  Second, create enough good content that people on Twitter find you interesting and useful.

Important Twitter Point:

It’s okay to tweet out your listing.  However, what might not work is ONLY tweeting out your listings.  Be human.  If you were at a party (unrelated to real estate) would you only talk about real estate? Try it and see how fast you’re looking for someone to talk to who’s interested.

Facebook

I will cover Facebook a bit more in a later blog post.  Understand this though: Facebook has become one of the world’s most popular search engines.  Many people will search on Facebook just like they search on Google.  And Facebook’s search is powered by Bing; a competitor of Google’s.

My advice here is to create as much relevant and compelling content on Facebook as you do on your blog and on Twitter.  One of the things you can do is to publish your blog on Facebook.  This allows your thoughts to be read by those who may be Facebook friends of your’s but not savvy enough to search for your blog.

 

31 for real estate – post 1 of 31

Why wait for New Year’s Eve to make a resolution.  Not that this is a resolution. But to make a decision like this one in one of the busiest months of the year can be considered insane.

All month long I am devoting this blog to sharing my thoughts on digital and social marketing.  My focus is going to be on the real estate industry: real estate agents, real estate companies, real estate service providers, and mortgage professionals are just some of the subjects that I will comment on.

How will I come up with 31?  With your help of course!

I do have almost a decade of experience in the real estate industry so I’m sure Ill have plenty of content.  However, if there are questions you have regarding real estate and how digital and social marketing are effecting this industry, please feel free to comment on this blog.

In the meantime, here is my first piece of advice:

1 of 31:

Don’t be afraid to learn.  I was recently at a real estate social marketing conference.  The one thing everyone had in common was fear of the unknown.

What was this thing they call social media?  Do we need to know how to twitter to survive in the new economy? I’ve been in business for 15 years so why do I need to learn all this new stuff now?

You need to learn because you want to learn.  You need to learn this new stuff so that you can relate to and serve your clients.  You need to learn so that you can continue to stay relevant and profitable.

Feel free to comment and ask questions below.

yorkville media centre – day 2

There’s something interesting happening at the intersection of Yonge and Bloor in Toronto.  And I’m not talking about the expensive shopping boutiques or fancy restaurants.

I’m referring to the Yorkville Media Centre.

I recently blogged about the YMC on Techvibes.  (I encourage you to check it out to read what good work the YMC is up to.)  What I didn’t say was that I was also a guest speaker during Day 2 of their 9 Day course.  Here’s a glimpse into what is taught at the YMC and a bit from my guest talk.

More that me being on video, I’m really proud of Mark and Alkarim for what have have built and what they continue to build.

Enjoy the video.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIcXLlrw0_8]