 The best damn marketing you can do…if you only have 5 minutes per day! I received a great question from a new client the other day. Based in breathtakingly-gorgeous Lake Tahoe in Northern California, my client is even busier than the average realtor (or mortgage lender). One minute, she’s showing luxury homes and negotiating better deals for investors. The next, serving 'Tahoe locals who are trying to buy their first home, in between managing vacation properties and dealing with the peaks and valleys of the off-season versus the ski season. So, she's thrilled to have me on-board to help, freeing her up to focus on meeting new clients and selling homes ($200/hour-and-up tasks) instead of grinding away with mundane marketing (the $20/hour tasks that I handle). However, this soon-to-be-superstar Lake Tahoe agent was still worried about the time it would take to commit to our new marketing campaign. “So, if I only have an extra hour each day,” she asked me. “What’s the most important thing I should be doing to market my business?” Fantastic question – and many of you are in the same boat, with so many obligations and important matters (like putting out fires and closing deals!) pulling you in every direction that it’s really hard to find an hour – yet alone a few minutes – to sit down and dedicate to marketing. “I’ll do you one better,” I told her. “And tell you what you can do in just five minutes every day to grow your business.” “What is it?” she asked, eagerly. “Just turn on your camera and start videoing!” I said. I genuinely believe that is the #1 most beneficial marketing activity for any real estate agent, mortgage lender, or any small business owner or entrepreneur. If you only could do ONE thing for marketing… And only had an extra 5 MINUTES every day… The best use of that time is to shoot a few short videos. Like marketing icon, Gary Vaynerchuk says, “No matter what you do, your job is to tell your story.” I can give you a ton of data to back up that assertion, like that 83% of brands, companies, and entrepreneurs using video marketing think it gives them a good ROI. But that's kinda boring, so I’d rather get you excited about how easy, fun, and effective this is. You're already paying too much for your smartphone every month, and it's with you at all times, so why not put it to work? These videos don’t need to be fancy, formal, or use any special equipment – just point and hit record. The opportunities are boundless. In the car driving to an appointment? Turn on the camera and talk about the house, the clients, the market, or the crazy things the home inspector just found. Take that time to wish a client happy birthday, send them a happy home-buying anniversary vid, congratulate them on getting married, or thank them personally for that last referral they sent you. You can shoot quick videos to update buyers and sellers, or answer a common question or concern you hear often. Lenders should be doing this EVERY DAY with valuable content that helps Realtors as well as educates and informs their clients. And a personalized video update is a great way to invite people to events you’re promoting. The best part is that you can film short vids anywhere and anytime as you go about your typical day. Do you love it when the leaves start to change color in autumn? See a stunning sunset from your new listing’s back yard? Your first-time homebuyers just got their keys and are practically (or literally) jumping with joy? Turn on the camera and share those moments!
Here are examples from three of my clients who do a great job shooting quick videos all the time.You can also give tangible, concrete advice and information with these quick videos. Discuss a statistic or market trend in a video, walk through an example of a good (or bad) investment property, or talk about property taxes and why it’s better to buy than rent, etc.
Oh, you’re having a bad hair day (or, a bad hair decade like me!) and look like you just rolled out of bed? Simply turn the camera around the other way so it’s pointing out into the world. Narrate the video as you drive through certain neighborhoods, visit local landmarks, and walk through homes you’re buying or selling. At your escrow office for a signing? Introduce your favorite title and escrow team - or appraiser, home inspector, and home improvement contractor. Lunchtime at your favorite local restaurant? Why not scan the room, video the menu, say hi to the owner, and give them a great video recommendation? If nothing else, just share a few of your thoughts on gratitude, why you love your job, or THANK someone. You’ll be surprised how fun this is once you get rolling and make it a habit, and how much fantastic marketing content you can produce in just five minutes a day. If the video comes out too dark, your voice is drowned out by an 18-wheeler, or you just come out sounding like a rambling crazy person (me again!), then you simply discard that video, or edit out the parts you don’t like. With video marketing, short and sweet is better, and you can share them on Instagram (feed, story, or TV), Facebook, YouTube, etc. I realize that I’m getting fired up and talking a lot about WHAT to video, but you get the point – stop thinking and just turn on the damn smartphone and get started. It will offer the highest ROI by far on your time and marketing dollars. In just five minutes a day, you’ll be FAR ahead of the competition and, most importantly, far ahead of where you were this time last year. Now, I gotta run – I’m going to fix my hair and try to take my own advice by shooting a few helpful marketing videos! -Norm :-) P.S. Need help with those $20/hour marketing tasks so you can focus on making $200 an hour or more? Hit me up!
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 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 info@remnorm.com 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! |
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