My New Outside Blog

In a LOT of ways... Its already here.

As an Internet marketing consultant who prides himself in debunking current thoughts on what actually works and doesnt? I invest a fair amount of time with my clients across the Country..

I travel a lot. I mean, a lot.

Because I visit different regions of the country, I get to hear first-hand not only what brokerages and agents are talking about, but also the public at large. Its amazing what you can learn in a Starbucks for 4 hours with 20 $5 cards and a clipboard of questions.

Here's what I can tell you: there has been much speculation these last two years, about what the real estate brokerage of the future will look like. What you may not know, is the brokerages of the future are already here. There are several firms across the country that are rethinking the old paradigm and boldly exploring new frontiers. Here is a one example of such a brokerage, located in Los Angeles, California.

"Well, a typical day here is a bit different than what you might find at other brokerages," says Dane Findley, Marketing Director at Partners Trust Real Estate Brokerage and Acquisitions. "We believe what real estate professionals really want most from their brokerage is cutting-edge coaching and education, and state-of-the-art technology tools, so you'll see that belief reflected in our culture. This is how we spend our time and energy."

At PT, a Social Media Tutorial is presented every Wednesday morning at Partners Trust, during which Associates learn inside tips on using digital media to provide value to their communities and motivate each other to work their social media campaigns. These tutorials include everything from effective blogging tips (each agent has his/her own hyper-local blog) to how to drive your existing clients onto your 2.0 tool set.

Thursdays is Press Room Day -- an editorial story meeting where Associates exchange story ideas for their blogs, offering each other support and constructive criticism. "Each Associate is encouraged to have at least one Social Object, which is a hobby or interest other than real estate, around which an ongoing series of hyperlocal features can be built," reports Findley. "Authenticity is essential. If you want to write about the best dog parks in Santa Monica, or record video segments about your never-ending search for the perfect cup of coffee in Brentwood -- as long as it feels real and interesting to you -- we run with it."

Also on Thursdays is Workshop, when the Founding Partners gather round with their laptops and smart phones to catch-up on their social media channels, conversing on Twitter and Facebook, and leaving comments on local blogs and online forums. "Of course, we spend an enormous amount of face-time out in the field, but it's also important to build into our schedule our journalistic endeavors and social media protocols," states Findley.

Friday mornings is reserved for Enrichment Series at Partners Trust. Currently running is a 13-week group called Think Rich, designed to help Associates explore their own inner-relationships with money. Explains President Nick Segal, "we find that prosperity loves enthusiasm, so we make sure to laugh a lot around here and have a good time." This forward-thinking brokerage invests in the happiness of its Associates, and it shows in the design of the interior office spaces -- replete with water features, textiles, and eco-chic colors and materials -- even the air quality and acoustics have been considered. "Since all Associates own a piece of this Brokerage, each one feels a sense of responsibility and connectedness to the team," says Segal. "When the Associate feels good, they, in turn, provide their clients with a premium level of service. What I mean is, you can't get away with having a boring, stale office and then ask your Associates to be dynamic sales people. It simply doesn't work that way."

As a consultant for Partners Trust, I have shadowed members of the team and I've realized that one of the keys to their success has been a deep commitment, from the top-down, to their social media program. Whether or not to participate in the program is the decision of individual Associate, but the company as whole is fully committed to providing relevant and useful (and often entertaining) information to their clients in between transactions. "Well, let me put it this way," explains Findley, "it's only 11:30am, and I've already filmed one video and posted two blog posts from Associates. Every single one of the Flip cams has already been checked-out from our Concierge Station. That means that my team is out there, bringing their neighborhoods to life by sharing stories and finding the best things to do in the communities of Los Angeles."

Yes, the Brokerage of the Future is a mind-set. A comitment to teach and encourage their agent to spread their wings and move toward new technology while embracing age old social strategies.

If your real estate brokerage is doing something different, or if you know of one that is, please share what they're doing in the comments section. I always welcome success stories of brokerages that are doing new and inventive things that work. (But I may check it out and blog about it, so beware!)

Meanwhile, in the video below, one of my clients shares with you some of our helpful tips for getting the most out of your marketing and lead-generation efforts:

Tom and I work with Real Estate Professionals, not Social Media Marketers. There is a huge difference.

For Social Media Marketers, Social Media is their job. For Realtors, they have a job and social media is just a way to engage, communicate, become relevant in the market, build relationships, brand and generate leads (depending on who you speak to…) When teaching Social Media, the number one question (by a mile) I receive is: “

But where do you find the time?”

I hear this almost every day from my Realtors. Look, it is possible that YOU may not have the time. Possible, not probable. Here are some tips I share with my Realtors to ensure they can squeeze a bit more time for their Social Media Marketing Efforts

1) Control your day. - Do you get up each morning and let the day determine what your schedule is? Do you have 2-3 things on your calendar and “do some work” in between? Do you get up, go to the computer and REACT to your email? Not effective. Become a Task list taker.   Keep detailed task lists and prioritize them regularly. Immediately upon finishing one task, start another. At the end of each day do two things.

    a) Look at what you have ACCOMPLISHED. I know you work hard. Lots of people work hard. What did you remove from the list?

    b) Decide what you are going to accomplish tomorrow and commit to work until you accomplish it. Knowing that you will work until you accomplish your goals, will ensure you don’t waste time on non-productive stuff.

2) Get Mobile-How often are you parked in front of a home, waiting for a client, or Realtor to meet you. How are you investing your down time? Social Media Applications (twitter and facebook, etc.) have GREAT mobile apps. Keep in contact with your community through out the day, in your less productive time. (And for some, I know the word “app” sounds scary, but they’re not. They are simple, easy to download and use tools to make you more efficient- trust me!

3) Understand the cloud- Web based applications like gmail, facebook or twitter allow you to chime in from any computer, anywhere. At the office or a client with a few extra minutes? Get in touch.

4) Have a Virtual Lunch- Who do you go to lunch with, friends? Fellow Realtors? How about grabbing a sandwich and sitting down in front of your computer with your Active Rain or FB Friends and favorite tweeples.

5) Schedule it. It’s Marketing. Just like everything in life, sometimes when we don’t write it down and commit to it … it goes undone. And when you’re online engaging and marketing yourself, it can be quite easy to surf the net for latest news or celebrity gossip, or check out the sales online. Once you commit in your schedule time to engage in social marketing, hold yourself to this time allotment. 6) Remember, for many this is their form of Prospecting. – For years we’ve been taught to spend an hour or three making calls or knocking on doors, following up on leads, scheduling appointments after open houses and sending personal note cards. Today, spending strategic time on Twitter searching key action phrases like “looking at homes in LA” or “looking at Trulia” and engaging prospects is a valid form of prospecting. Spend some time getting your ‘virtual home tours’ on YouTube or Active Rain.

The key is (like everything else we do throughout the day) have a plan, an outcome and be intentional and it will pay off big time.

Was this Post Valuable?

This was the collaboration between Jim Marks(virtualresults.net) a social media strategist, and Tom Ferry, (yourcoach.com) a Realtor coach and trainer. Leave a comment if you would like more tips on how to control your time and create a successful social marketing strategy.

So you’re watching the last 10 minutes of the final episode of your favorite reality show, and a commercial interrupts your mind-numbed glee. Are you really in the mood for this message? Are you ready to receive it? Do you even remotely care? This is the issue with “push marketing.” Push Marketing is marketing that pushes a message to the audience, at anytime, anywhere and any media If you are not CURRENTLY looking for information on Poughkeepsie Real Estate or Realtors in general, and it is forced upon you, you have been “pushed to.”

But what about your blog? Blogs are typically found by people who are SEARCHING for a topic that you have written about. They want to find you… (hence the term…search) and once they do, you give them the Information they desire.. They can subscribe, self-identify and request more information. They can even “opt-in” to a mailing list or email subscription to obtain your valuable offer or information. This is called Permission Marketing But how random are your subscribers and readers? Where are they coming from? Are you missing an opportunity to develop a GEOGRAPHIC audience?

In other words, can you Permission Market to your Farm? Imagine Permission Farming… Attracting people who are specically interested in a neighborhood, because they live there, used to live there or want to live there, to your online presence.  A hyper-specific geographic website that specifically caters to that neighborhood or farm?What would this site or blog look like?  What might the content be?  How do you market this site to gain a large number of subscription from the community? How do you become the onlime AUTHORITY for your farm...  and how do you attract the residents to this site...

Rather than the typical NICE POST, JIM (although I really do appreciate it…) Lets see if we can engage this idea...  

How do you market your HYPER LOCAL blog to a Farm... How do you reach out to a specific neighborhood in a way that motivates them to go on-line and subscribe to your website.  Lets get some great ideas flowing and I will chime in along the way!!

Jim Marks is the President of Virtual Results, an Internet Marketing Company that specialized in Create Websites that Work, Internet Strategies, and Social Media Success Stories for Real Estate Agents.