Real Estate Marketing

Tip Tuesday: 3 Tips to Get the Most Out of Twitter

Future of RE Marketing - Mon, 03/08/2010 - 16:11


“I have nothing to say.”

I have heard this over and over again, not just by real estate agents – but by many people who are trepidacious about getting involved in Twitter.

To many, Twitter has become more useful as a way to tap into what’s “going on today,“ than to broadcast their own messages. And once you get acclimated to Twitter, you might just find you have something to say after all.

Biz Stone, Twitter’s co-founder says,

“Naysayers should simply log onto their Twitter’s home page and search for a topic they are interested in, whether it’s their favorite sports team, the name of their company or a topic in the news.” Within a minute, they understand the appeal, he said.

Here are 3 ways to make Twitter work for you:

1. Create a custom feed. Find people to follow by searching Twitter directories. My two favorites are WeFollow or Just Tweet It. Remember, to get followers at first, you must follow others!

2. Create lists.

Lists are fantastic – and a GREAT way to organize people you follow. You could make lists for news sources, fellow Realtors, geographic areas, etc. This way you can click on that list to see what those specific people are talking about. I just created the Inman Team list – as a place for people to contact the right person at Inman News (i.e. editorial, marketing, advertising, etc.) If you don’t know who the best users are on a favorite topic, look for lists on sites like Listorious or by checking profiles.

3. Check out the most discussed topics in your area. We hear it over and over again, but real estate is truly a ‘local business.’ Find out who is around you locally and what they are chatting about. Some Twitter apps, like Tweetie and TwitterLocal, let you search posts near you. Check the Web site Happn.in to see the most discussed topics in your area.

BONUS: Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Once you’ve gotten your feet wet, use Twitter to ask questions such as the best place to grab a bite to eat in a new city, marketing tips, or anything else you need an answer to!

Some questions Realtors could start asking via Twitter are: “What’s the best marketing tool that is working for you?” or, “What is the most effective thing Realtors are doing to convert leads to sales?” These questions open the door to conversation and networking!

What are you doing to make Twitter work for you? Would love your feedback – please leave me a comment below!

Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News

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Categories: Real Estate Marketing

Social Media: The Truth Shall Set You Free

Real Estate Blog - Sat, 03/06/2010 - 14:37
Its Called Social Networking But is it really social? There are four prevailing models for most business people on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. 1. Socialize Model- This model demands interaction and is true to why is it called social networking. What I dare say most socializer's do is well, socialize too much. The new media has become a way to hide behind the computer instead of doing real prospecting.Additionally, many potential prospects areonline during working hours.
Categories: Real Estate Marketing

Fun Friday: Microsoft sends flowers to the IE6 funeral

Future of RE Marketing - Fri, 03/05/2010 - 11:43

Yesterday, the “IE6 funeral” took place in Denver. This is what appeared on the funeral site:

Internet Explorer Six, resident of the interwebs for over 8 years, died the morning of March 1, 2010 in Mountain View, California, as a result of a workplace injury sustained at the headquarters of Google, Inc. Internet Explorer Six, known to friends and family as “IE6,” is survived by son Internet Explorer Seven, and grand-daughter Internet Explorer Eight.

Those mourning the Web browser, but unable to attend, were asked to send flowers. So, Microsoft sent a big bouquet!

In the photo above, a funeral guest is showing off the card that arrived with Microsoft’s bouquet. Microsoft confirmed the test and also that it sent the flowers (according to SeattlePI.com.)

The card reads:

Thanks for the good times IE6, see you all @ MIX when we show a little piece of IE Heaven.

The Internet Explorer Team @ Microsoft

Internet Explorer 8 has been in existence for over 8 years and Microsoft plans to continue support until 2014, but many in the tech world are happily ready to move on and ‘kill’ IE6 – especially with all the problems and bugs it has caused users.

Still using IE6? Please, either upgrade or I recommend switching to Firefox or Chrome!

What’s your browser of choice? Would love your feedback, leave me a comment below!

Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News

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Categories: Real Estate Marketing

Twitter Proves You Can’t Go Wrong With an Email Newsletter

Future of RE Marketing - Wed, 03/03/2010 - 16:33

Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to find an email newsletter from – TWITTER! I guess it shouldn’t surprise me – but at first I was a bit surprised that the company that made “140 characters” a household name, decided to get a message out to their members via email.

Good reminder to all of us that email is still a great way to get a message out – especially to your loyal fans (or followers!)

Here is the body of the email in it’s original form – lots of great new things coming down the pipeline from Twitter!

Hi there,

In the early days of Twitter, I used to send out short updates just to keep everyone in the loop since so much was happening. It’s been a while, but you signed up for short, monthly updates from Twitter so we thought it was time to start sharing more information. We’ve had quite a year. If you haven’t visited in a while, we’d like to invite you to come have a look at http://twitter.com — we’ve been busy!

Growing Up
In the course of a year, registered Twitter accounts have grown more than 1,500% and our team has grown 500%. Recently, we hired our 140th employee! His name is Aaron and he’s an engineer focused on building internal tools to help promote productivity, communication, and support within our company. We celebrated with a little dance party.

Features of Note
Some features of note that we released over the course of a year include the ability to create lists, quickly spread information with a retweet button, and an easier way to activate your mobile phone to work with Twitter over SMS. We also built a new mobile web site that looks and works much better on smart phones.

Feeling Inspired
By working together during critical times when others needed help, sharing important information that otherwise might not make the news, and inventing new and interesting ways to use Twitter, you’ve shown us that Twitter is more than a triumph of technology — it is a triumph of humanity. Projects like Fledgling and Hope140 were inspired by you.

Chirp!
While there may only be 140 full-time employees working at the Twitter offices, there are thousands of dedicated platform developers who have now created more than 70,000 registered Twitter applications creating variety and utility for all of us. We’ll be gathering this spring at Chirp, our first ever official Twitter developer conference.

Thanks,
Biz Stone, Co-founder (@Biz)
Twitter, Inc.

Would love your thoughts on email newsletters. I am a big believer in them myself – especially to drive traffic to your web site or blog. I also think they are a fantastic way to keep your ‘raving fans’ updated on the latest and greatest that you are promoting.Leave me a comment below!

Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News

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Categories: Real Estate Marketing

Tip Tuesday: An Hour a Day – 5 Easy Steps to Maximize Your Social Media Strategy

Future of RE Marketing - Tue, 03/02/2010 - 15:33

One of the topics people ask me frequently about is social media – and specifically they ask me for how to make the best use of their time. Anyone who has dived into social media knows that it is not “free” – it takes time and a thoughtful effort to make it work your time.

If you are like me, and seem to be “always connected” – whether it’s Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc  – it’s a great reminder that you need to be smart with your time. If you’re not careful, social media can be a time suck!

So how can you be more smart with your time?

Plan social media into your schedule for 1 hour a day: 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes late in the day.

The key here is multi-task, move fast, don’t get distracted.

If I was a real estate agent – this is how I would do it:

AM: 1st thing after or before you check your email

1. Turn on your computer. Open 7 windows: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, your web site, your blog, your favorite news website (i.e. Inman News ), and your favorite ‘drip marketing’ social media site (my fave is Hootsuite). Move fast, don’t get distracted.

2. Facebook: Scroll through the page – make 3 comments on other people’s posts. Post what you are up to that day. Respond to anyone who has commented on your or left you a message. Move fast, don’t get distracted.

3. Twitter. Click your @ button (i.e. – @katielance). Anyone who has mentioned you – thank them publicly. Respond to DM’s. Scroll through your home page and re-tweet 3 things of interest. Move fast, don’t get distracted.

4. LinkedIn: Post your status update – have it feed to Twitter (check the ‘Twitter’ box to do so – so easy!) Respond to any messages in your inbox. Check your groups. Not in a group? Join a group and comment on 1 discussion a day. Move fast, don’t get distracted.

5. Close these 3 windows: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. Keep Hootsuite.com open and your web site, blog, and your favorite news site. Pick 6-8 links to share that day in Twitter. One can be a listing. The rest must be good content or newsworthy. Pick 3 links to share for Facebook. Twitter moves faster than Facebook which is why you need to post more often. Plug your posts and links into Hootsuite. Space them 1-2 hours apart. If something is a hot topic you can schedule it to go out more than once. Move fast, don’t get distracted.

PM: Repeat!

Next day: Repeat!

Do this everyday 5-6 days a week. If you follow this schedule it will become a habit. Also don’t underestimate the power of commenting and interacting – this is probably MORE important than posting your own content and links. Social media is just that – social!

BONUS TIP: Plan into your schedule an additional 2-3 hours a week if you are a blogger. Also plan one time a week to search for new friends, fans, and followers.

Looking for more info?  Stay tuned… I have something exciting in the works that will be revealed in a few weeks.

I would love to hear how you formulate a schedule for social media – what works and doesn’t work for you. Please leave me your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks!

Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News

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Categories: Real Estate Marketing

A Smarter Solution – Real Estate Job Hunting 101

Future of RE Marketing - Fri, 02/26/2010 - 11:50

Problem: When someone in the real estate industry goes job-hunting, it can be difficult to navigate through all the listings posted on Monster, Career Builder or some of the other online job boards posting up.

In addition, when an employer or real estate brokerage is looking for someone with specific real estate experience, it can sometimes feel like a ‘needle in a haystack.’

Solution: Vendor Alley has a BRAND NEW job board up just for real estate job postings. I think This is a great idea. It takes a a common problem  (unemployment in the RE industry) and makes a super-easy solution.

As of right now, there are 4 categories:

  1. Sales
  2. Tech
  3. MLS/Association staff
  4. MLS/Association CEO

This is a version 1 release. Vendor Alley plans on adding additional features, ‘bells and whistles, and possibly additional categories down the line.

Greg Robertson, Co-Founder, W&R Studios says, “I get a lot of requests for job postings on Vendor Alley or people wanting recommendations.  I also saw that there was no single place for people to look for jobs in the real estate industry.  Since Vendor Alley gets such diverse readership (vendors, MLS professionals, sales, tech, portal, brokers, agents, franchisees, etc.) I thought it would be a good place to start a job board.”

Posting a job is really simple – employers form to fill out that includes a place for a job descriptions and contact information. It is only $29.95 to post a job for 30 days via PayPal.  They are also thinking about the idea of charging an additional amount to also do a post about it on Vendor Alley.

Greg has requested feedback, so please check it out and feel free to leave a comment below.

Written by Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News

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Categories: Real Estate Marketing

Congrats to our 10,000th Twitter Follower!

Future of RE Marketing - Wed, 02/24/2010 - 11:20

Since I came to Inman News – one of my big goals was to hit the coveted “10,000 follower mark” on Twitter. As we came closer and closer, we thought it would be fun to have a contest. We decided that the Inman News 10,000th follower would win a free Connect SF ticket.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE…

So yesterday. We hit our goal and we are pleased to announce our 10,000th Twitter follower is: @Rofo_SF

These guys have a great company concept; and having a soft spot in my heart for companies that help small businesses, I was thrilled to be able to present Alan with his free ticket!

Rofo.com, which stands for “Right of First Offer”, is an office space search engine for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Rofo aggregates commercial real estate listings from top national brokerage firms to local building owners and everything in between.  In addition to browsing available real estate listings, businesses can put Rofo to work by posting their specific real estate requirements and receive competitive proposals from local landlords and brokers.

Alan Bernier, CEO for Rofo.com says, “The idea for Rofo and our unique focus on smaller commercial space (less than 5,000 sqft) came from first hand experience as brokers.  Entrepreneurs and smaller businesses who represent the majority of real estate transactions do not have the same access to resources and professionals as larger companies.  The goal at Rofo is to empower smaller tenants in their search for space and create an environment where those looking for space are easily matched with those who have it.  As a growing startup who has moved 3 times in 2 years we’re eating our own dog food.  And we now have an even greater appreciation for the platform we’ve created.”

Congrats again @Rofo_SF!

If you aren’t following Inman News yet on Twitter, I invite you to join us to get the latest in real estate news, marketing and technology!

Now onto 100,000

Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News

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Categories: Real Estate Marketing

Tip Tuesday: Content is King – Especially on Facebook

Future of RE Marketing - Tue, 02/23/2010 - 15:13

In the last few weeks or so, I have noticed an incredible amount of GOOD content coming down the pipeline. Like you, I subscribe to blogs, RSS feeds, Twitter lists, etc. But what has grabbed my attention lately has been my Facebook feed. Anyone who know me, knows that I am a huge fan of having a Facebook Fan Page. I think it is still one of the best ways that a brand, company, or individual can ’speak’ to it’s audience.

 

So today, I wanted to share with FOREM fans, a ’snippit’ of my Facebook feed and the articles that jumped out to me. You’ll notice that these articles are all across the board – not just real estate. 

When talking to FOREM founder Joel Burslem awhile back – he reminded me of something so powerful and gave me some great advice:  “Read blogs and news sources from outside your industry – we can learn so much by seeing what other successful companies and brands are doing – that aren’t necessarily in real estate.”

Here are the 10 stories I enjoyed from my Facebook feed today – in no particular order:

Starbucks Gets Its Business Brewing Again With Social Media

How the Resort Industry is Using Social Media

VIDEO: Posted by Fans of CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

VIDEO: Facebook is the ‘Ultimate” Viral Video Tool, Ethan Beard

Realtor Mag Marketing Makeover Challenge

RPR revamps MLS licensing agreement

Want More Twitter Followers? Tweetmeme Has A Button For That.

10 Must Have Facebook Plugins For Wordpress

To Tweet or Not to Tweet: Expert Tips about Using Social Media

How to Make Money on Foursquare

Shameless plug: If you’re not following the Inman Fan Page, I encourage you to check it out! Get all the top news headlines delivered right to your Facebook news feed. Plus, be the 1st to know about contest, promos, and more.

So what are your favorite posts from your Facebook feed today? Have a great tip? Leave me a comment here!

Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News

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Categories: Real Estate Marketing

Fun Friday: Top 5 Real Estate Social Media Blunders

Future of RE Marketing - Fri, 02/19/2010 - 16:34

I’m sure none of our loyal FOREM member commit any of these ‘blunders’ – but just in case… I figured it would be fun to do a little post about it today.

Feel free to pass this onto anyone “not following the rules!”

Top 5 Real Estate Social Media Blunders:

1.    Talking about yourself to no end. Enough about me, let’s talk about ME! Yes, social media is social – but at some point, it is NOT all about you! This is tough in real estate, where you learn from every marketing person to ‘sell yourself’ and ‘you are your brand’ – which is true – but many people (especially the Gen X and Gen Y crowd) don’t want to hear all about you – they want to know about the interesting things going on in the community, in their neighborhood, local market stats, and other things that make what YOU do valuable to them.

2.    Only posting your listings. Major faux-pas!  Luckily I have not seen as much of this lately, but it’s still happening.   You can post your listings – but make sure you post other great content. (See my ideas in #1 above)

3.    Copying content and claiming it as yours. Big “no no” here. There is so much great content out there – it’s fine to use an excerpt of something and then credit the source, but don’t copy someone else’s  material and claim it as your own.

4.    TMI. There is a fine line between being social and giving out “too much information” – no need to tell your social network everything and anything!

5.    Speaking the same on Facebook as you do Twitter. Maybe this is my own irritation, but whenever I see hashtags and @ signs on Facebook I cringe a little. The language on Facebook is different than Twitter. I think it’s fine to duplicate messages on both channels (especially since a LOT of people are only on one of the channels and not both) – but if you do, take a moments to adjust your language to be more “Facebook friendly”

I know there are a lot more blunders – what’s your favorite one? Or the one you see agents doing over and over again? Leave me a comment below.

Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News

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Categories: Real Estate Marketing

Are You Running Your Business at "Half Speed"?

Real Estate Blog - Wed, 02/17/2010 - 17:16
If you read House Blogger at all then you know that I Coach a Youth Football team for the past 7 years. Besides absolutely loving the game, my real passion is in teaching the kids the analogous life lessons that...
Categories: Real Estate Marketing

Interactive Floor Plans Going Mobile

Future of RE Marketing - Wed, 02/17/2010 - 15:19

Planomatic recently released PhotoPlan Mobile 1.0 Beta - the first mobile interactive floor plan presentation optimized for the iPhone in the virtual media industry. iPhone users now have the ability to interact with real estate listings’ floor plans from any point on earth with internet service.

Planomatic seems to really have hit the nail on the head. The coolest part of this product is that the consumer can interact with it.

Once you click on the floor plan, you can pick from a drop down menu and choose which room you’d like to ‘decorate.’ Once you select the room, you are given a large variety of ‘furniture’ to choose from – including colors and styles, as well as the ability adjust wall and carpet colors.  I really like that a lot of thought went into the interactive part of this app. For example, you can pick different styles and colors of furniture – which really help to ‘put you in the house’ and paint the picture of what it would be like to live there.

One thing this app has going for it is the ‘fun factor.’ If I was a buyer, I could definitely see myself using this app especially for homes I was really interested in. It could  help a buyer make that decision when they are wondering:  “Is this the house for me?”

Kori Covrigaru, the CEO of Planomatic says, “It’s quite unique, and in my opinion (yes, I’m obviously biased) the coolest thing to hit virtual tours/iPhone in quite some time.”

To access the apptap this link  from your iPhone – Safari will recognize that it’s on the iPhone, and automatically display the PhotoPlan Mobile:

Interactive FloorPlan Presentation

There are other great floor plan programs out there such as: United Lane or Floor Planner but none have the interactive iPhone app that Planomatic has.

According to Kory, the BlackBerry and Android apps are on their way!

What do you think of this app? Would love your opinion of it!

Do you have a unique or new product coming to the market? Drop me a line at katie@inman.com or post it in the comments below.

Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News

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Categories: Real Estate Marketing

Tip Tuesday: 5 Ways to Make the Most Out of LinkedIn

Future of RE Marketing - Tue, 02/16/2010 - 14:32

If you are like most real estate agents, you’ve set up a LinkedIn account, put in your basic info, connect with a few people and then haven’t looked back since.   If this is you – you are not alone! If you have been updating your LinkedIn account regularly you are ahead of the curve!

Why do I like LinkedIn? I really like that it is a truly professional network and allows me with one click to share unbiased testimonials.

Here are 5 things you can do right now to get the most out of LinkedIn:

1.   Update your profile. Log into your account and make sure you have the basics in there – updated photo, work history, dates, experience and education. Sounds simple – but if you haven’t been in there in a while, it’s good to dust off that resume!

  • Add your specialties. This section is key (located under the ‘Summary’ section within ‘Edit Profile’) – this is the section google is going to pull from. Think of this section as the ‘keywords’ or ‘meta tags’ for your profile. Pick 7-10 key words to describe your specialties and/or areas of expertise.
  • Add 3 additional links. Under websites – select the drop down ‘other’ – this allows you to add 3 different links and name them whatever you’d like. Instead of being limited, you can add specific links within your site or blog. A few ideas here: link to a market stat page on your blog/website, link to your property search (IDX feed) page for a specific area/county, link to your Facebook page, link to community info on your website or blog.

2.    Add your public profile link to your email signature. If you are using Outlook, edit your email signature in the Edit>Options menu. If you are using Gmail or another free email service a great free service to use is WiseStamp. WiseStamp will allow you to add all your social media channels into your email signature.

3.    Add connections. Add past colleagues and past classmates. It’s worth the time to get your client database into an excel spreadsheet (CSV file). If you are using Outlook or Gmail you can easily export your list. Once you’ve done that, copy and paste that email list into LinkedIn (Under ‘Contacts’ > ‘Add Connections.’) You want to get your clients onto LinkedIn ASAP – why? See reason #4.

4.    Write 10 testimonials. One of the biggest benefits of LinkedIn are the testimonials you can generate. How do you get people to say nice things about you? Say nice things about them! Write 10 testimonials – do 10 a day for 5 days and by the end of the week you should have at least 10 from people ‘returning the favor.’  A testimonial does not have to be an essay – simply 2 or 3 sentences of how you know this person and why you would recommend them. A great example of this is a Realtor I worked with at Empire Realty in the SF Bay Area – Sue Rubin. Sue aggressively added her contacts into LinkedIn and wrote testimonials – she now has 10 fantastic testimonials on her LinkedIn account. How is this different from the testimonials on your web site or listing materials? To the average consumer, LinkedIn testimonials are more authentic because you did not touch or alter them in any way – they are truly from a past colleague or client.

5.    Join a group. A great way to stay connected to LinkedIn is to join like-minded professionals – with over 6000 groups available – there is something for eveyone. Do a search for ‘real estate’ or any topic you are interested in. You will be notified via email or new conversations in the group. The 3rd largest estate groups on Linkedin is Inman’s Real Estate Connect group – here you will find news and discussions about the market as well as conference updates and highlights.

Bonus: If you are on Twitter make sure you add your Twitter handle and note that you can link your LinkedIn status updates to Twitter

I would love to hear how you are using LinkedIn. Please leave your feedback in the comments below. Thank you!

Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News

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Categories: Real Estate Marketing

Dude Are You Buzzed Yet? --Google Buzz

Real Estate Blog - Mon, 02/15/2010 - 12:18
Google released Google Buzz last week. And it is well, all the Buzz. At least with the folks who care about these things. For I, a search engine optimizing dude, it leaves me a bit numb as I consider buzz...
Categories: Real Estate Marketing

Their Loss is Your Gain

Real Estate Blog - Sun, 02/14/2010 - 20:02
Exodus: From Lasner: The state Department of Real Estate reported that by the end of 2009, 503,284 people had California real estate licenses — down 29,247 or 5.5% from the end of 2008. December’s agent total was the lowest monthly...
Categories: Real Estate Marketing

Fun Friday: Top 5 Valentines iPhone Apps

Future of RE Marketing - Fri, 02/12/2010 - 13:25

Wondering which iPhone Valentine’s apps to check out? Here are 5 fun ones to download for this weekend!

1. Candy Hearts lite – This free app is perfect for those who love the idea of candy hearts but don’t want to eat any empty calories.

2.  iXplode – Valentine’s Day – This $.99 app is the perfect ‘Anti-Valentine’s Day’ app. From the product’s description, “Want to send your “ex” a special holiday greeting? How about a heart shaped box of Chocolate being ripped apart in a massive explosion along a custom message straight from the heart? Maybe you just want to blow your “special someone away” with a Valentine’s Day greeting they’ll never forget.”

3. iFlirt – For $0.99 this app will provide you with dating tips, pick-up lines, and more.

4. iWrite – Love Poems – This $1.99 app will help you get your creative juices flowing, give you tips on writing your love poem and provide examples.

5. Shakespeare. A free app containing the complete works of William Shakespeare and if it’s free love poems you want then skip down to the last two items on the menu; his sonnets and poems.

BONUS:
Not really Valentine related – but Open Table (for local restaurant reviews/reservations) and Foursquare (the addicting ‘check in’ app) are great apps and have become two of my favorites lately.

How is this related to real estate? Well, this weekend is the perfect opportunity to show your clients your LOVE! Ok, I know that was cheesy , but honestly why not take this weekend to send a quick note to your top 5 favorite clients to thank them? It couldn’t hurt, right?

Happy Valentine’s Day FOREM members!

Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News

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Categories: Real Estate Marketing

Google Buzz – The Next Big Thing in Social Media?

Future of RE Marketing - Wed, 02/10/2010 - 13:58

Google announced yesterday that they are throwing their hat into the social media ring. Google says the new Google Buzz tab will begin showing up on about 1% of Gmail user accounts starting right away. Google says the rest of Gmail users will be able to see a new Google Buzz tab in their accounts within a week.

2 things immediately caught my eye:

1.    Google Buzz is only integrated into Gmail. Granted there are 150M+ Gmail users but there are still quite a few people who are not.

2.    Google Buzz does not integrate into Facebook. I think this is going to be a HUGE factor in whether Google Buzz is successful or not. It should be interesting to see how this plays out and IF Facebook will one day integrate into Google Buzz. As Facebook sneaks past 400M users – this is certainly not a number you can ignore.

Here’s a quick ‘cheat sheet’ of what Google Buzz is:

1. Integrates with Gmail. Below your Gmail  inbox, there will be a tab for Buzz, allowing you to read status updates, photos, and video. The 40 people you converse with the most in Gmail and Gchat are automatically added as friends. Buzz updates also appear in your inbox if someone comments on your updates or comments, or someone directs a Buzz to your attention by using the familiar “@” symbol

2. Integrates with Other Channels. Photos from Flickr and Picasa and video from YouTube appear as thumbnails in Google Buzz.  You can pull in tweets from Twitter but you can’t send your Buzz updates out to Twitter or other social networks.

3. “Page Rank” for Status Updates. To compensate for posts that many people don’t care about (like what you just ate for lunch) -  Google Buzz lets you like and dislike status updates, and learn over time whether to show or collapse status updates from your friends. It also looks for conversations outside your direct group of followers and adds them to your feed as recommendations.

4. Private and Public Updates. Private updates can go to all of your Buzz followers, or just a select group. Public updates are posted on your Google Profile page and are immediately indexed for Google Search.

5. Mobile App. Google Buzz will have a mobile app that  dictate status updates by voice and geotag your posts. On Google Mobile Maps, Buzz updates appear directly on the map, so you can read location-based updates. You can also look for any recent Buzz updates posted near your current location.

So what does this mean for real estate agents and brokers? I think at this point Google Buzz is too new make any predictions about what Realtors will or won’t need to do. I do think that if Google Buzz stays as is – it will be somewhat limiting to agents due to the fact it is just available to Gmail users and that it does not integrate with Facebook.

However – as social media evolves, it is imperative that agents keep an eye on where people are gathering and where they are communicating. Today it is primarily Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Will Google Buzz be the next big thing? Only time will tell.

Here’s a quick video Google put out yesterday that explains Google Buzz:


What are your thoughts? Would love to hear your comments – please post your feedback here!

Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News

Ad: Win more business! Showcase your company with a custom video ad from Turnhere. Save 50% off your first video!.

Categories: Real Estate Marketing
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