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 Back in 2006, the options for online marketing for real estate agents, mortgage lenders, and just about any business owner were a lot more limited. Sure, there was Facebook, but few people were using it for business, Twitter was brand new, AOL Instant Messenger was fun but not really useful for marketing, and Myspace was booming. Myspace! But every time you went to a broker training or any marketing Lunch-and-Learn, you were told that you should start building your email marketing campaign, including organizing and adding to your email database, creating great content, and sending it out consistently. Thirteen years later, and so much has changed with social media and online marketing (R.I.P. Myspace!). However, email marketing is STILL the tried and true method for reaching your audience directly where they live, work, and correspond. And you probably STILL haven’t implemented a regular email marketing campaign. Why the heck not? (Or, maybe you’re paying a company to send out generic “canned” content like gardening ideas, holiday notices, and maintenance tips that they send out for everyone else! BORING! – and ineffective.) Another (painful) way to think about it is this: imagine how big your email list would be now, how many extra deals you would have closed, and how much additional income you would have earned if you had started your email marketing campaign years ago? Ouch. You’re STILL missing a HUGE opportunity to generate leads. So, let's hammer this home again: Email marketing – such as newsletters, market reports, special offers, educational pieces, local profiles, invites, surveys, and even videos – offers some unique and highly effective benefits, serving as a perfect complement to social media and other marketing venues. We’ll cover some email marketing nuts and bolts and best practices in a future blog, but to open your eyes to how critical it is for any Realtor, loan officer, or any business, consider these 10 facts and stats (all based on credible research and studies): 1. Email marketing In fact, email marketing reportedly offers an average 3800% Return on Investment (ROI), which means it should bring in $38 for every $1 spent. In real estate, when a closed deal typically means thousands of dollars, that ROI is probably much higher. 2. Email is 40x more efficient at acquiring new clients than Facebook or Twitter. And a client on your email list is 6x more valuable over their lifetime than social media followers alone! 3. A message is 5x more likely to be seen when emailed compared to just posted on Facebook, or receive 6x more click-throughs than Tweets. 4. People who subscribe to your email list are 3x more likely to share your content on their social media accounts than people who come about your marketing messages other ways. 5. 72% of people prefer to receive promotional content by email compared to only 17% who want to see promotional messages on social media. (Although Instagram and Pinterest are higher than 17%. 6. Even better, 77% of consumers actually want to receive emails from brands and professionals they like and believe in – that’s you! 7. Email messages can be personalized to the receiver, and personal subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened. Additionally, personalized email messages see 14% higher click-through rates and 10% higher conversion rates. 8. All of the email marketing platforms allow you to track results like your Open Rate, Clicks, etc. and even see who signed up to your list or unsubscribed. You can also sync your email marketing campaign with your website, Facebook page, or simple landing or splash page that builds your list by giving away something for free. 9. Email marketing is still one of the best methods to deliver a singular message and drive traffic with a direct Call-to-Action. You can promote a new listing, announce an Open House, offer a CMA, talk about a special 0%-down loan program, talk about first-time homeownership, or just about anything else. Your email is just the "teaser," and with one click, the recipient is on your blog, website, watching your video, reading your report, or emailing you. 10. Email marketing is so powerful because of its exponential nature, picking up steam, scale, and results the more you do it. For instance, it takes about the same amount of money and time to send out a fantastic email to 10,000 as it does to 1,000 or just 100! So, are you finally going to start your email campaign, or are we going to be talking about this again in 2025? Probably not, if statistics hold, as only 17% of Realtors, lenders, and small businesses are utilizing email marketing campaigns. Maybe you think it’s too expensive (it’s definitely not), hard to set up (we can have your campaign for the whole year mapped out in a single weekend), or, most likely, you don’t have the time or energy to create content and actually DO IT all (that’s what I’m here for). Let’s solve that and get you on track to generate new leads, clients, and closed deals with great email marketing campaign – just email me to get started! -Norm :-) I don’t sell real estate or loans – I just make you guys a whole lot of money!   As a Realtor, mortgage lender, or any business owner, you have a lot on your plate when it comes to marketing. For instance, by now, you have a Facebook page and a business Instagram profile (if you don’t, then contact me ASAP!). Instagram will soon surpass Facebook in terms of prevalence and reach, and it’s a perfect way to engage the under-35 demographic of home buyers (about 80+ million strong!). So, you really want to grow your following on Instagram as well as cross-promote to your existing friends, past clients, and database. Luckily, Instagram has a new feature that makes it easier to spread the word about your IG account and get new followers: Nametag. Playing off of the QR code technology, it’s basically a digital signature in the form of an image that shows your Instagram profile name. You set it up in about 30 seconds through your Instagram (I’ll show you how at the very bottom of this blog) and then, can share the image anywhere you like – Facebook, Pinterest, your website, via email or direct message, etc. You can even print out the image and people can scan it and follow you! Some smart agent will eventually put their Instagram Nametag on a billboard! When people see the image, they only have to go to their Instagram and scan it and voila! They are following you. When you go to the Nametag screen, you’ll see the default color background. But you can change colors, use fun emojis in the background to stand out, or even take a selfie and use your own image for the Nametag (even better for personal branding!). Once you’ve set up your Nametag image, Instagram lets you save it to your phone’s camera roll, share it, or email it. When someone sees your new Nametag (like let’s say you share it on Facebook), they only have to go to their own Instagram account, go to the nametag feature, and press the “Scan a Nametag” feature at the bottom of the screen and then hit Follow. Again, the QC scan technology is pretty versatile, so you can now share your Nametag image through: -Facebook, Pinterest, and other social media -On your YouTube channel -Email (how about on your email signature?) -Text message -On the sidebar of your blog -On your website -On CMAs or other special reports -Even in print form, like on flyers, a sign in your office window facing the street, on envelopes, attached to gifts or gift baskets, on banners at fairs, festivals, conferences, client appreciation dinners, networking events, etc. -On your business card! -Or even on a magnetic sticker on the side of your car! -As part of a free giveaway, raffle, or contest? -How about at open houses or home buyer workshops? Sorry, I’m getting a little too excited about the possibilities for outreach and brand awareness through Nametag. Remember that marketing is just math, and if you have a 10,000-person database that you’re touching frequently with quality content, you’re bound to sell far more homes and close more loans than if you had a 1,000-person database. Think BIGGER and use tools that help you get there, like Nametag. Contact me at [email protected] if you have any questions or want some help! Best, Norm. :-) P.S. Oh, and here's my Instagram Nametag for the account @RealEstateMarktingHelp. See if you can scan it and follow me!  How to set up your Instagram Nametag: Here is how to do it: 1. Go to your Intagram account on your mobile device (doesn't work on the desktop version). 2. Click the menu icon in the top right corner.  3. Click Nametag  4. Instagram will produce an image like this:  5. You can change the style/colors etc. by hitting the Color button or save/share the image by hitting the button in the top right corner. 6. Save the image to the Camera Roll on your phone. 7. After saving the image to your camera roll, simply email it, share it on social media, print it out, or whatever you’d like!   Instagram for Realtors: Why real estate agents need a professional profile on the world's fastest-growing social media platform.
Facebook may be still be the world’s most popular social media platform, but Instagram isn’t far behind—and in line to be called the best social media platform very soon. It’s also a terrific resource for Realtors and real estate professionals who are looking to market and gain a bigger client base (and who among us isn’t?). In fact, Instagram had 800 million monthly active users last year. This year, they’re expected to easily pass the one billion user mark. That's also more than twice the number of monthly active Twitter users, and more than three-fold over active Facebook Messenger users (but not Facebook, itself.) It’s estimated that each day, there are 500 million active users around the world. Of course, Realtors only care about active users within the United States, but 77.6 million Instagram users are from U.S. – more than one-fifth of the entire population! Instagram has now also surpassed Twitter as an effective forum for companies and brands to market themselves – including Realtors. Here are 7 other reasons why every smart Realtor should have a (business!) profile on Instagram: 1. Reaching the demographic of homebuyers today (and tomorrow!) homebuyer Homebuyers are trending younger in a big way, and Instagram is their social media of choice. For instance, 68% of today's homebuyers are under the age of 39, and that number will increase even more in coming years as Gen Y enters the workforce and is ready to buy. Additionally, 59% of 18-29 year-olds use Instagram, and many say it's the most important platform in their lives. It's worth noting that Instagram is also predominantly mobile, which follows the graph of a younger and growing audience who uses social media and the web from their smartphones (including searching for houses!) 2. Showcases houses with photos and videos Since Instagram is centered around photos and videos, it’s a perfect portal for real estate agents to display their product: homes, neighborhoods, and everything in them. In fact, Instagram videos receive 200% the level of engagement (clicks, likes, comments, shares, etc.) than photos or videos on any other social media platform. With Instagram, you can really get creative, personal, and have some fun documenting what you see every day as a Realtor, without spending significant time or energy. There’s really no limit to the kind of photos you can take to attract a bigger audience and new clients! Incredible Instagram fact: There were more photos taken last year than the previous history of the world combined! Let that sink in! 3. Instagram users don’t mind advertising or marketing at all While users may get a little annoyed at all of the sponsored posts or ads on Facebook, YouTube, and others, studies show that they actually welcome marketing on Instagram! Consider these statistics:
In that way, Instagram is a lot like a hybrid between Pinterest and Twitter than it is Facebook, and that's GREAT news for Realtors who can market boldly and unapologetically on Instagram! 4. Market to your home city or even neighborhood with Instagram’s geo-location Part of Instagram’s vast utility for real estate agents comes from its unique geolocating feature, or Location Tagging. In a study of millions of individual photos and videos, researchers found that Instagram posts that were tagged for location received 79% more engagement than those without! Since real estate agents work in such hyper-local markets of regions, cities, or even sub-markets of neighborhoods, it's easy to establish yourself in your area and reach those who live, work – and want to buy a house there – too. 5. Easy to be specific with hashtags Even better than just laser focusing our marketing with location tagging, Instagram’s utilization of hashtags allow Realtors to connect with users based on interests, products, organizations, trending topics, values, or even life experiences. In fact, posts with at least one hashtag average 12.6% more engagement than those without. You’re allowed a whopping 30 hashtags on any Instagram photo or video (and there’s a great way to maximize all of those without just listing them all in your original post, keeping an organic appearance.) You can also tag other user accounts, which is fantastic if you want to include a lot more eyeballs from other credible sources, and hashtags are also the most effective way to quickly grow your following there. 6. Less competition Realtors and real estate agents who start using Instagram to market their services have a HUGE leg up on the competition. How is that possible, since it seems like just about every Realtor you know already is on there? We’re talking about business accounts – not personal profiles – on Instagram! You shouldn’t be posting photos of your abs, your vacation, your lunch, or your dog on your professional Instagram if you want others to take you seriously. Yes, there are almost 80 million Instagram users in the U.S. and 25 million businesses or brands, but ONLY 8 million business accounts, so Realtors would be remiss if they didn’t get on board! 7. Undervalued paid ads and analytics Marketing guru Gary Vaynerchuk recently named Instagram paid ads the most undervalued resource for advertisers anywhere on the web! In fact, mobile ad revenue through Insta is expected to hit $7 billion in 2018! The relatively-new Instagram business profile also gives smart Realtors a huge advantage over just having a personal profile. Professionals can include their company name, phone number, and address, and also feature easy-to-use post boosting and targeted ads, as well as detailed analytics that allow you to refine your ad campaigns. In summary, tomorrow’s top-producing real estate agent is starting to take Instagram seriously today!  Like no other professionals I can think of, Realtors and loan officers are responsible for not only performing their duties of representing clients, but also acting as their own full-time marketing and advertising agencies. In fact, about 60% of the average real estate agent or loan officers’s time is consumed with marketing, promotions, prospecting, and trying to land their next client.
These days, there is no better way to grow your audience and reach potential new home buyers & sellers, purchasers & refinancers than on social media. However, too often, Realtors and LOs fail to grasp and execute the fundamentals of social media marketing. It’s understandable, considering it seems like there are so many platforms, options, and advice when it comes to social media, and not all of it in agreement! Today, I wanted to present you the basic guidelines, stats, best practices, and useful notes on the world’s top social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Linkedin. Start by implementing these basics, and you'll be on your way to the best year of your career! Key stat: Photo albums have 180% more engagement than other posts. Profile photo dimensions: Must be at least 80 x 180 Displays at 160 x 160 Thumbnail will appear on screen at 32 x 32 Display at 140 x 140 pixels on smartphones Cover photo dimension: Must be at least 399 pixels wide and 150 pixels tall. Displays at 828 pixels wide by 315 pixels tall on your page on computers, and 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels on smartphones. File under 100kb is optimal. Best times to post: 1 pm most shares 3 pm most likes The highest level of user activity between 9 AM and 7 PM Best days to post: Thursdays and Fridays Extra features:
Notes:
Key stat: Tweets with images receive 18% more clicks than those without pictures. Profile photo: Will be cropped square Recommended size 400 x 400 pixels (px) Displays at 20 c 200 px Header photo: 1500 x 500 px recommended Maximum file size 10 MB Use png (best), jpg or gif photo file Best time to post: 1 PM most retweets 12 PM and 6 PM highest activity and usage Best days to post: Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays Notes:
Key stat: Instagram users engage 25% more with brands than on other social media platforms. Profile photo: Appears as 292 x 292 on a desktop computer and 160 x 160 on mobile app Thumbnails display as squares (but your original image doesn’t have to be square) Photos are also 292 x 292 Best times to post: Peak Instagram usage times are 3-4PM Best days to post: Instagram shows consistently good engagement all week long, with the exception of a slight dip on Sundays. The highest day for engagement is Saturday by a small margin. Notes:
Key stats: Linkedin posts with images get 98% more comments, and posts with links have a 200% higher engagement rate. Thumbnail photos 160 x 160 Feed images 350 x 250 Best times to post: Between 10 AM and 11 AM Best days to post: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays Notes:
YouTube Key stats: 84% of consumers were convinced to make a purchase by a brand’s video, yet only 63% of businesses are recording videos to connect and inform their audience. More than 50% of all YouTube views are on mobile devices like smartphones. Channel Cover image: Full-size displays at 2560 x 1440 Video uploads: Must maintain a 16:9 aspect ratio Must be at least 1280 x 720 quality as HD resolution For highest quality, upload videos at 1920 x 1080 resolution and 4k resolutions Best time to post: 12 PM – 3 PM Around 5 PM – 6 PM Best days to post: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays Key stats: 93% of Pinterest users use the platform to make purchases, and Pinterest users spend 15x more money than Facebook users. For that reason, Pinterest drives 25% of all retail website referral traffic! Profile photo: DIsaplays at 165 x 165 on the homepage Displays at 32 x 32 everywhere else Maximum file size of 10mb Pin sizes: Pins display at 238 px wide, but their height automatically adjusts to the image. Expanded pins have a minimum width of 600 px. Board display: 222 x 150 px (large thumbnail) 55 x 55 px (smaller thumbnail) Best times to post: Pin between 8 PM – 11 PM Peak time 9 PM Best day to post: Saturdays Notes:
*** Need more help with your marketing and client acquisition? Contact me for a free ebook that will explain the essential pillars of marketing for every real estate and mortgage professional!  As the top search engine in the world, Google drives more traffic than any single source, responsible for about 75% of all search queries in the U.S. today - including when consumers look for a local Realtor, mortgage lender, or any business. Google has been around almost as long as there's been an Internet, but it has a relatively new platform that can do some pretty incredible things when it comes to expanding your reach and presence online. (We're not talking about Google+, which is dead as disco!) I’m referring to the Google My Business page feature on – you guessed it – Google. As a real estate agent, getting your NAP (name, address, phone numbers, etc.) as well as brokerage name, the area you serve, email address, and website, etc. are crucial, and Google My Business will help you do that – and way more. And the best part is that very few Realtors and loan officers are bothering to use it yet, so you have a window to be ahead of your competition. In fact, having (and using) a Google My Business listing can:
The best part is that it’s free! However, it does take a little bit of time and know-how to do it correctly (you don't want to just use your home address, but set up your business as a solo practitioner at your brokerage address, etc.) so contact me if you need helping setting it up quickly and inexpensively. Ok, let’s dig into the features and benefits of Google My Business: What is Google My Business? Google My Business is a convenient tool for businesses, organizations, and even real estate agents to organize, catalog, and promote their online presence across the Google universe. That includes syncing Google search, Google Maps, and more. You can find the portal to get started at Google.com/business. The powerful benefits of Google My Business: By setting up and using Google My Business correctly, you’ll make it far easier for potential clients to find you, forums to connect with them directly, and ways to measure and optimize those interactions.  One of the main benefits, of course, is that your business will show up right when people are searching for your services or similar business in your area. For Realtors, that may mean that when people search Google for "Real estate agents in East Sacramento" or "Buy a home in San Jose,” your business will appear in the search, complete with all the information you want them to have right at their fingertips – your name, phone number, website, email and even a flag on the Google Map. Amazing! Since a Realtor's business is hyper-local (you don't care about showing up for home sale searches in Kansas, or even Los Angeles, if you're a real estate agent in Sacramento), Google's Google My Business (let’s call it GMB to save my typing finger) is a powerful and focused tool – and one that gives you a competitive edge over the 98% of other real estate salespeople who aren't using it.  Here is some information that GMB will document and share across all Google platforms: • Phone number • Website URL • URL to make an appointment • Business hours • Address (Again, this can be tricky for Realtors, but there's a correct way to do it.) • Locations • Categories • Company Logo • Profile Photo • Internal and external photos • Virtual Tour (if applicable) • Videos • Other social media links All of these tools will be at your disposal – and more with their advanced function. It's no wonder why an estimated 39% of local retailers and walk-in businesses have already claimed and verified their Google My Business listing. Do you need more convincing? In part two of this blog, we’ll bring you information about these 10 benefits of having a Google My Business page: 1. Your Google listing will attract a new audience via Google Search. 2. Your business will pop right up in Google Maps. 3. Easily manage your business information. 4. Gain reviews - and answer them directly. 5. Write and share Google posts. 6. Access user insights and search analytics. 7. Get a free Google website! 8. Offer specials, promotions, special discounts, etc. 9. Enjoy their Question & Answer feature. 10. Direct message your audience and potential clients. Tune in for part two coming soon, or email me if you'd like help setting up your Google My Business listing.  |
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