 Would you like to win a free Starbucks card? How about a gift certificate to your favorite restaurant? Or even have a chance to win an iPad?! Of course, you would! After all, who doesn't like winning free stuff? And that's the basis of an incredibly powerful – yet underutilized - marketing tool for mortgage lenders, Realtors, and any small business owner that I’ll talk about today: Contests, giveaways, and raffles on social media.  Psychologists have found a nuance of human behavior that's nearly universal: we love to win just about anything, and we love free. In fact, studies prove that people vastly overvalue an item, good, or service if the word "free" is attached. Such is the case with an advertising campaign conducted by Krispy Kreme years ago when they offered a free donut to each patron on one particular day. The lines were so long that people had to wait up to two hours just for one donut (how much is two hours of your time worth?). The promotion was so frenzied that the donut retailer ended up having their most profitable day ever! You can use this same psychology to promote your business, albeit online and without the donut (eat that yourself). To give you a broad definition, we’re talking about giveaways, raffles, and contests (I’ll refer to them as GR&C) as interchangeable since they’re basically the same thing despite subtle differences. Likewise, these all can be conducted online via your website, Facebook, Instagram, or any social media account, email blasts, or any combination. Today, I'll mostly talk more about GR&C's for Facebook, but contact me if you want strategies for promotions on Instagram or email. The basic premise is simple: we offer something of value for free for the winner(s) of these GR&C’s as a way to promote your brand and business. The benefits to you will include:
 What might a GR&C look like on Facebook? Here are a few ideas to get started: -A quiz or trivia contest -Caption contest -Help us name (something) contest -Fill in the blank contest -Funniest GIF contest -A random drawing for new people that like your page -Random drawing for all of your followers -Fan/Client/Follower of the Week -Funniest/best selfie contest -Choose your favorite _____ contest -Raffle off something -Vote for something -Transformation (lose weight in 30 days, best before and after makeover, etc.) -A social media scavenger hunt, where you give clues and people have to take a photo at those places around town or per your instructions My favorite GR&C’s involve some form of a photo contest: -Take a funny selfie -Take a selfie or photo somewhere recognizable in the city/neighborhood you live in -Take a photo of a DIY home improvement or decorating project you did -Take a selfie or photo in front of one of your For Sale signs -Take a photo of a home you’ve helped buy or sell -Take a photo of the funniest/best/most creative ______ you can find -Take a photo from a certain event or holiday (Christmas/back to school/baseball game, etc.) The possibilities for great GR&C’s involving photos are endless, giving you important social proof, humanizing your brand, and also gaining far more interest than text alone. You can also extend this to videos but realize that you'll get fewer participants.  What can you give away? Prizes can range from free (you can bake cookies and deliver them!) to ridicuslouly fun and pricey. I once ran a promotion where a client gave away two tickets to a Justin Timberlake contenst! Here are some other ideas:
The key to a good GR&C is that you make it simple and document the rules clearly. That includes:
 To promote your GR&C: Create a nice graphic that clearly explains the contest, the prize, the terms, etc. You can also post about the GR&C on your blog, website, all over your social media, and via email blast. When the deadline ends for submissions, there are several ways you can decide the winner. It can be a random drawing based on names-in-a-hat or random number selection (which you can video and post), or you can simply choose your favorite. But my preferred method for picking a winner is by posting all of the photos from the participants (assuming you ran a giveaway with photos) and let your followers vote for their favorite. The photo with the most likes wins! That also encourages participants to share their photo/your post to encourage their other friends to like your page, follow you, and vote. Cross-promotion with a popular brand or local business To step up the promotion for the sake of enhancing your business, partner with a local business in the city or neighborhood where you operate. Businesses will often gladly give away a restaurant coupon for a free meal, a free car wash, a free massage, a free coffee, etc. just because of the advertising it will yield them. By bringing in a local business, you also encourage them to share it with their extensive customer database on Facebook and elsewhere, so you’re really gaining massive new exposure to a new audience.  Before you fly off and start setting up GR&C’s on Facebook, there are some rules and regulations you should be aware of: From what I’ve read, you can only run these GR&C’s on your business page (not personal). You also have to clearly define the terms and rules, who is eligible, and share a standard Facebook disclaimer that states that Facebook isn’t involved in any way. You also CAN’T ask contest participants to:
Here are Facebook’s specific rules for promotions like this: E. Promotions 1. If you use Facebook to communicate or administer a promotion (ex: a contest or sweepstakes), you are responsible for the lawful operation of that promotion, including: a. The official rules; b. Offer terms and eligibility requirements (ex: age and residency restrictions); and c. Compliance with applicable rules and regulations governing the promotion and all prizes offered (ex: registration and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals) 2. Promotions on Facebook must include the following: a. A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant. b. Acknowledgment that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. 3. Promotions may be administered on Pages or within apps on Facebook. Personal Timelines and friend connections must not be used to administer promotions (ex: “share on your Timeline to enter” or “share on your friend's Timeline to get additional entries”, and "tag your friends in this post to enter" are not permitted). 4. We will not assist you in the administration of your promotion, and you agree that if you use our service to administer your promotion, you do so at your own risk.  Final notes: My advice is to start small, with a simple Starbucks card giveaway or random drawing. But start to do it regularly – like a Free Giveaway Friday, as an example, or on the first day of every month. Eventually, people will flock to your Facebook page regularly as word gets out and they realize that you're consistently giving great prizes away. And remember – you share these same giveaways, raffles, and contests on Instagram, through your email, and elsewhere. Give it a try – and contact me if you want to game-plan and get some help! Norm :-) 
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 Interviewing someone is a fantastic marketing tool for any Realtor, loan officer, or professional. Recently, I had an epiphany while running on the treadmill. (No, it wasn’t that my shorts are too short or that I run too slow.) Instead, it was this: my humble Real Estate Marketing with Norm brand may not be anything special yet (although growing steadily), but I do have access to some incredible and inspiring professionals that people would love to hear about. So, why not tap into their wisdom, experience, and expertise by setting up a series of interviews? That’s exactly what I’ve undertaken, as once I was off the treadmill, I furiously sent out emails to some of the most accomplished and coolest real estate pros I know (as well as buying some longer shorts). Today, I’m super excited to share the marketing benefits of interviews, as well as the nuts and bolts of why they’re so powerful. The problem with most marketing Marketing tends to get “I-centric” for lack of a better term. “I can help you buy or sell your home,” “I’m the best professional to do the job,” and “I’m the greatest of all time.” Go to MY website, call ME, and I can get you a great mortgage loan – it’s all about me, myself, and I. Sometimes, if Realtors, loan officers, and business owners really “get it,” they elevate their marketing to focus on the client, instead – highlighting the benefits, stories, and help and value they received. That’s a huge shift from “I-centric” to focusing on your audience’s needs, challenges, and wants that will make all the difference. But there’s a next-level resource for your marketing that’s incredibly simple but also surprisingly powerful and effective: the interview. No matter if you’re a real estate agent trying to focus on a certain neighborhood, a lender narrowing in on a specific demographic, or any business owner targeting their marketing, an interview will serve you incredibly well. The marketing benefits of an interview An interview will also be a promotional coup for you, offering:
2X your audience – and increase your business Let’s talk about that last one for a moment. One of the chief benefits of creating these is cross-marketing to an exponentially larger audience. For instance, if you write up a nice piece about your favorite mortgage broker, they will probably super appreciate the effort and share or repost it with their social media followers and audience. With that, you’re given a warm introduction that includes your name, profession, social media links, email, blog or website, and a boat load of built-in trust and credibility. You may gain exposure among hundreds or even thousands of new people who didn’t know about you before, and benefit from potential new business accordingly. In fact, I’ve seen one simple interview 2X the size of someone’s audience! Think of the potential if you do a whole monthly series! Who should you interview? That’s the fun part, as the possibilities are limitless. Of course, you can interview someone who works with your clients, like a lender for Realtors or vice versa. Or, show some love to a referral partner by highlighting their business. Here are some examples:
You get the idea! Not only will most people agree to an interview, they’ll feel appreciated and honored and answer your emails or calls immediately! Conducting the actual interview To carry out an interview, it couldn’t be easier – just ask someone if you could spend 15 minutes asking them a few questions. Shoot them a list of perspective questions or topics ahead of time so they can think about it. Sit face to face or call them on Skype, Facetime, or just over the phone if you’re not in the same area. You can either video the interview or just record the audio using one of the many programs available on your laptop or even your smart phone. Where to post the interview Either way, you’ll edit it down and can use it in several places:
Give it an interesting name You can call it an interview, or some other catchy title like: 10 Fast Facts with _________. 10 Quotes by __________. 5 Questions with ___________. 10 Minutes with __________. Inside the mind of ________. Confessions of a _________. Etc. Aim high with the subject of your interview But it’s also a good idea to aim above your pay-grade on this one, so to speak. What I mean by that is don’t limit yourself to your best friend or someone who is already giving you business. Send out a few emails and requests to interview people who are notable, iconic, and even famous in your local city, region, or nationally. Why the heck not? You have nothing to lose. Think big. Profiling someone famous In a slightly different strategy, you can also write up a profile on someone famous instead of interviewing them, like I did here with real estate couch Mike ferry. It’s not an interview and I never talked to the man, but I put together a profile with a quick Google search that he’d find favorable. Remember we talked about cross-marketing to an exponentially larger audience? When profiling someone famous, enjoys name recognition, or anyone who holds a certain amount of gravitas, you really can tap into their massive number of fans and followers just by using the right hashtags or tagging them. A final word on interviews With interviews, you’re simply offering useful, interesting, and fun content to your audience and turning the spotlight from yourself to others. Pretty soon, someone will want to interview you!  ***
Need help setting up an interview for your business? Or, do you have some great insights you’d like to share in one of my real estate marketing interviews? Hit me up! -Norm :-)  Download and share your high-quality PDF version: 
 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!   People do business with those they like. That’s a universal truth I’ve learned throughout my years (ok, decades – I’m getting old!) of marketing. It’s also a lesson I wish I understood back when I was a real estate agent and mortgage lender. Instead, most of the time, I would try to convince prospects to sign on the bottom line with my by reciting rapid-fire statistics, data, and other facts. While these all were accurate and important and, all it proved to them is that I’d had too much coffee that morning. But, it did nothing to draw them closer, establish trust, build a relationship, and display that I was eager to LISTEN to THEM. Despite myself, I got a few sales and made a living, but it was more a facet of a historically-hot market. Since then, I’ve learned a Golden Rule of sales:
To be a real salesperson, you have to find the courage to be a true, genuine, and flawed human being. Too often, we as salespeople, marketers, and business people try to be everthing to everyone, adapting like a chameleon, mirroring and mimicking and telling them exactly what they want to hear. We also tend to water down our “brand” – that unique promise of value and what makes us different and special. We think that by standing out and being authentic, we’ll only possibly lose a certain segment of clients who may not like us. Instead, by being ourselves unapolageticly and unequivoably, we actually attract more people, and more people loyally, as they can sense that we ARE real, breathing human beings with lives that don’t just include our jobs. Basically, the more they get to know us, the more they’ll like us – and love giving us their business. For that reason, one small but powerful component of your social media and online marketing should be a get-to-know-me series of images, graphics, or even an interview. What the heck does this have to do with your business, the product or service you’re selling, or your clients? Nothing! But I promise you that it will also be warmly received and appreciated by your audience, past clients, referral partners, and everyone else spanning A-Z in your database. They might even find that they have something in common that you two can connect over. Of course, it’s perfectly ok if they have SOMETHING to do with work, which will deomstrate your love and passion for what you do. While these questions may seem incredibly basic, your clients will love that you want to share an authentic piece of YOU – not just the business/sales/work personal version of you. Your vulnerability in revealing your personal life and personality will be perceived as strength and confidence. Take these questions and produce a “Get to know your Realtor/Loan Officer/Financial Planner (or whatever)” series: Where are you from? What did you want to be when you were a kid? Where did you go to college? Where do you live? (You don’t need to reveal your address or anything!) What are three things about you not man people know? What do you love about your job? Favorite holiday? Favorite sports team? Favorite food/vacation sport/movie etc.? What are your hobbies, interests and passions? What do you like doing in your down time? Tell them about your family. Share an embarrassing professional moment! Craziest work story. What your clients usually say/ask/think etc. What your assistant/wife/coworkers say about you. These are just a few ideas to get you started and brainstorming. Contact me if you'd like help! -Norm Real Estate Marketing w/Norm  Shoot these 50 videos and I’ll make you a real estate or mortgage celebrity! Those are the words I wrote to a mortgage broker who recently hired me to work on his marketing (and I'm working overtime!). I say that tongue-in-cheek, but shooting videos is the single best way to make yourself a marketing force to be reckoned with. Why?
(If you wanted to know why or read some statistics on video marketing, check this out: Why I recommend video, video, & more video for your real estate and mortgage marketing.) So, I've included list of some of the videos you can make. By no means does this list cover everything you can shoot a video about, and you’ll naturally start adding a whole lot of topics to this list. You can shoot them in any order you want, but good to cover the basics about you and what you do, first. Of course, distribution is just as important as content, so sharing these videos according to best practices on Instagram, Instagram TV, YouTube, and Facebook is pivotal. You'll also notice that they were written for a mortgage lender, so Realtors can easily adapt these suggestions to their own field. (For instance, home inspector instead of appraiser; home buying tips instead of home loan tips, etc.) Good luck and press RECORD! Shoot these 50 videos and you'll be a real estate or mortgage celebrity:
1. Introduce yourself (Quick hello, how you are, what company you work for, what you do – provide home loans, where you operate, etc.). 2. Video of you driving up to the office, the outside, and walking inside. 3. Introduce your staff. 4. (Processors, underwriters, etc.) 5. Any video testimonials you can get from past clients or Realtors you’ve worked with is gold! 6. Quick intro of your favorite appraiser. 7. Title company/rep intro. 8. Any videos breaking down the basics of a mortgage: 9. Why rising rates are not a big deal (houses still affordable in your area, can lower the total cost by paying off interest faster, can refinance, still historically great rates, etc.) 10. Why it’s so important to get prequalified before you go looking for homes (and how easy that process is with you). 11. The documents a borrower needs to organize before they apply for a loan. 12. The benefits a borrower will get from working with you. 13. The benefits to Realtors when they send their home buyers to you. 14. Explaining the loan process. 15. Explaining the title and escrow process (or do a quick interview with a rep). 16. First time homebuyer loans and tips. 17. Getting a loan with a low credit score (FHA, etc.). 18. Will interest rates go up or down? 19. Credit score tips. 20. Why to stay away from big internet lending companies (delays, not delivering, appraisal issues, last minute rate hikes, etc.) 21. Why you should be careful rate shopping (bait and switch) 22. Common mistakes homebuyers/borrowers make (this is a very popular one). 23. Charities or causes you’re involved with. 24. WHY you love doing what you do. 25. Tour your old neighborhood, house you grew up in, introduce your parents, tell your STORY etc. 26. Introduce your family – why you work so hard. 27. Give info on school systems and rankings in your area (Note: lenders can do that but real estate agents can’t.) 28. Explain Good Faith Estimate, loan disclosure forms and timelines, etc. 29. Break down a closing statement/settlement sheet. 30. Why a 15-year loan saves you so much money (great to get a few refinance conversations going). 31. Explain amortization and total interest. 32. Attend a Realtor meeting and say hi. 33. Attend an open house and say hi and film. 34. Talk about pest inspection from a loan standpoint/interview an inspector. 35. VA loans. 36. Investment loans. 37. Loans for second homes or vacation homes. 38. Why parents should buy a house or condo in the area where their kid is going to college (rent out rooms, possibly make money on appreciation to defer cost of college, have a place the kid can live after graduation, teach responsibility). (Possibly several videos.) 39. A quick profile on your favorite sports teams in Sac. 40. A walk through downtown. 41. Go out on the street (downtown or a good area) at lunch hour and ask people some questions! 42. Highlight communities, happenings, openings, etc. 43. Any mortgage facts or basics that come to mind that you always find yourself explaining often. 44. Reservations and the emotions of first-time buyers. 45. FHA loans or financing options for investors who want to flip. 46. Buying a lot and building with construction financing. 47. How and where the mortgage “bad guys” rip off or deceive borrowers (protect them). 48. Tips for getting the best mortgage loan possible. 49. When you know it’s the right time to refinance (equity, rates rising, etc.) 50. The day in the life of a SUPERHERO mortgage broker. *** Contact me if you'd like more info about video or marketing help! -Norm :-) Real estate agents and mortgage loan officers do a whole lot of marketing, but there is no better use of their time and resources than producing short and simple videos. We’ve covered the research behind this before, but here’s a compelling summary: 85% of home buyers and sellers admit that they want to work with a real estate agent who uses video. Homes for sale that have video marketing have 400% more views and inquiries than homes without any video. 86% of potential home buyers are using video to research communities, and 70% use it to view inside of a home. But, here’s the rub: we’ve known (for years!) that video is KING when it comes to social media. However, most Realtors and loan officers still are using it reluctantly – or not at all. And I totally understand that because it’s intimidating to get in front of the camera and “act natural.” I’ve found that if you have a carefully planned, focused and specific topic that’s offering a lot of value to your audience, it’s much easier to turn on the camera and just let your passion and expertise take over. So, here are 100 video topics for Realtors (and many of these will work for mortgage lenders, too) can shoot and share for their social media marketing: 1. Community videos (Introducing and covering general information about different neighborhoods and communities). 2. Listing house tours (of course!). 3. Architectural tours (talking briefly/showing one kind of architecture with a few local examples). 4. Listing presentation – have a short video to send to your potential clients ahead of the listing presentation. 5. FAQs for listing your home – convenient to send to new clients and have on your website/social media. 6. FAQs for buyers – same thing. 7. Special FAQs for first-time buyers (first-time buyers needs extra education and TLC!). 8. Monthly market updates. 9. What IS included with a typical home sale? 10. What ISN’T included with a typical home sale (but maybe negotiable). 11. About the loan/mortgage process (bring your lender into this one!). 12. About title and escrow and the process (same as above but with title and escrow staff). 13. Breaking down property taxes. 14. About your home inspection (including bringing in your favorite inspector for a cameo). 15. About pest inspections (same). 16. Answer a single question from your clients or audience – maybe even live! 17. Preparing first-time buyers for the stress, uncertainty, and fear they might experience. 18. Getting ready to buy with a mortgage lender (preapproval, etc.). 19. The benefits (and high Return on Investment) of home staging. 20. Fixing up a home to sell (including your contractor). 21. Fixing up a home once you buy it with tile, paint carpet, fixtures, and other cosmetic fixes. 22. About roofs, repairing or replacing roofs, roof certifications, etc. 23. Talking about the appraisal process with your favorite appraiser. 24. Revealing real estate agent secrets. 25. How to choose a good lender (what to look for, questions to ask, avoiding big internet companies, etc.) 26. How to choose a good listing agent (you!). 27. What to look for in a buyer’s agent (you again!). 28. What to do in a bidding war (for buyers). 29. How to create buzz that might result in a bidding war (for sellers). 30. How to get more for the sale of your home. 31. Negotiation tips, strategies, and tactics. 32. What goes into a purchase offer other than just price. 33. Breaking down and explaining a purchase agreement. 34. TESTIMONIALS! 35. Cover community events, local fairs, festivals, fun runs, etc. 36. Profile local businesses. 37. Interview local politicians. 38. Interview local school principals (although you can’t give school system ratings or rankings as a Realtor, so be careful with this one!). 39. Cover new restaurant openings or just give a shout-out to your favorite neighborhood restaurants/bars, etc. 40. If you lived in this neighborhood, THESE would be your local amenities…series. 41. Summarize all of your written blog posts. 42. Funniest things you’ve seen as an agent. 43. Home security does and don'ts (with an alarm company). 44. Why you DON’T want a discounted agent or a low-cost real estate brokerage. 45. Don’t be ZILLOW’D! 46. Covering the details of a Comparative Market Analysis, and how it helps determine a fair and accurate home price. 47. Youth sports and athletics in your neighborhood/community/city. 48. Yoga in your neighborhood/community/city. 49. The best gyms in your neighborhood/community/city. 50. Best coffee shops in your neighborhood/community/city (very important!) 51. Best ice cream shops in your neighborhood/community/city. 52. Parks and recreation areas in your neighborhood/community/city. 53. Common buyer mistakes to avoid. 54. Common seller mistakes to avoid. 55. Local holiday themes (Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, etc.). 56. Awesome house amenities, appliances, new tech innovations, etc. 57. Covering one specific amenity like floor tile, countertop surfaces, fixture metals, etc. 58. All about swimming pools and real estate (prices, liability, renting with a pool, impact on sales price, etc.). 59. Homeowner liability. 60. Homeowner insurance (you can do several videos with your insurance agent!). 61. Interview a policeman about crime and safety in a specific community (but Realtors CAN'T give their own information about crime statistics and levels, just refer to a third-party source). 62. Common neighbor nuisances, disturbances, and issues (and who’s right?). 63. A day in the life of a Realtor or mortgage loan officer (you!). 64. All about HOAs. 65. Are condominiums really a good deal? 66. What to look for – and what to avoid – when buying a condo. 67. Rent versus buy broken down. 68. Radon safety. 69. CO2 detectors and safety. 70. Fire safety in the home, including the cause of most home fires and how to prevent them. 71. What buyers or sellers need to know about unpermitted upgrades, rooms, or structures. 72. Inside a real estate closing/document signing. 73. When is the best time to sell your home? 74. When is the best time to buy a home? 75. Septic tanks, sewers, and common plumbing problems. 76. All about closing costs – and who pays them? 77. About your company. 78. Why you love selling real estate. 79. About you, both personally as an agent. 80. Design trends, paint colors that are “in,” etc. 81. How to spruce up your curb appeal. 82. Landscaping tips. 83. Painting tips. 84. Energy saving/going green tips. 85. Money saving tips. 86. Cool and fun around the house hacks. 87. Is it a buyer’s or seller’s market? 88. Special offer, raffle, giveaway, etc. 89. New home buyers jumping for joy! 90. History of your community/neighborhood/city. 91. Great things to do in the summer in your area. 92. Or, great things to do in each season. 93. Or, even a weekly “What to Do in _______ (city name) This Week” series. 94. Video scavenger hunt/neighborhood/city trivia contest. 95. Profile of the area’s pro sports teams. 96. Buyer/seller regrets (and how to avoid them). 97. Investing in rental units. 98. Buying multi-family or multi-unit real estate. 99. Whiteboard instructional videos (there are some great services that can make these for you if you send them the written bullet points). 100. A breakdown of why home ownership is still the best way to build wealth – and the American Dream! Can you commit to doing all of these over the next year? (That's about one every three+ days). Or, maybe highlight the ten you like most and schedule them for next month to get started. Either way, you'll see the results with your marketing and client engagement almost immediately! Contact me if you need help or want to talk strategy! -Norm :-)   Would you like to win a free iPad?
Of course you would! After all, who doesn’t like winning free stuff? And that’s the basis of an incredibly effective – yet underutilized - marketing tool for Realtors that I’ll talk about today: social media contests, giveaways, and raffles. In fact, psychologists have found a strange nuance of human behavior that's nearly universal – we love to win just about anything, and we love free. Studies have shown that people vastly overvalue an item, good, or service if the word "free" is attached. Such is the case with an advertising campaign conducted by Krispy Kreme years ago when they offered a free donut to each patron on one particular day. The lines were so long that people had to wait up to two hours just for one donut (how much is two hours of your time worth?), and the promotion was so frenzied that the donut retailer ended up having their most profitable day ever! Real estate agents can use this same psychology to promote themselves, albeit online and without the donut (eat that yourself). To give you a broad definition, we’re talking about giveaways, raffles, and contests (GR&C) as one interchangeable promotional tool, since they are basically the same things despite small and subtle differences. Likewise, these can be conducted online via your website, social media accounts, email blasts, or any combination. But today, I'll talk more about GR&C's for Facebook. The basic premise is simple: we offer something of value for free for the winner(s) of these GR&C’s as a way to promote your brand. The benefits can include: • More page likes • Increased sharing of your page/post • Increased engagement, energy, and interest in your page and services • Develop a fun rapport with your followers • Add new people to your database • Generate more reviews and testimonials • Build overall awareness of you, your brand, and your services So what might a GR&C look like on Facebook? Here are a few common ideas: -A quiz or trivia -A random drawing for new people that like our page -Random drawing for all of your followers -Random drawing for people who say they want to be eligible, either by liking or commenting on the post But my favorite GR&C’s involve some form of a photo contest: -Take a funny selfie in or around your house -Take a photo of a DIY home improvement or decorating project you did around the house -Take a selfie in front of one of your For Sale signs -Take a selfie somewhere recognizable in the city/neighborhood you sell real estate in -Take a photo of a home you’ve helped buy or sell -A social media scavenger hunt, where you give clues, and people have to take a photo at those places around town or per your instructions The possibilities for great GR&C’s involving photos are endless, and they also gain far more interest than text alone and give you important social proof, humanizing your brand. You can also extend this to videos, but you'll get far fewer participants. The key to a good GR&C is that you make it simple and document the rules clearly. That includes who is eligible, what they have to do to enter, what exactly you’re giving away (and how many), how they can enter, and how long the promotion will run. Create a big, clear, nice image for us that explains the contest, the prize, the terms, etc. You can also post about the GR&C on your blog, website, on Instagram, and via email blast. When the deadline ends for submissions, there are several ways you can decide the winner. It can be a random drawing based on names-in-a-hat or random number selection, or you can simply choose your favorite. But my preferred method for picking a winner is by posting all of the photos from the participants (assuming you ran a giveaway with photos) and let your followers vote for their favorite. The photo with the most likes, wins! That also encourages participants to share their photo/your post to encourage their other friends to like your page, follow you, and vote. To step up the promotion for the sake of enhancing your business, partner with a local business in the city or neighborhood where you sell homes. Businesses will often gladly give away a restaurant coupon for a free meal, a free car wash, a free massage, a free coffee, etc. just because of the advertising it will yield them. By bringing in a local business, you also encourage them to share it with their extensive customer database on Facebook and elsewhere, so you’re really gaining massive new exposure to a new audience. But, before you fly off and start setting up GR&C’s on Facebook, there are some rules and regulations you should be aware of. From what I’ve read, you can only run these GR&C’s on your business page (not personal). You also have to clearly define the terms and rules, who is eligible, and share a standard Facebook disclaimer that states that Facebook isn’t involved in any way. You also CAN’T ask contest participants to: Recommended you or your business on their page Share your Page to be eligible Tag themselves in a random photo (one they aren’t actually in) Post something on their own timeline Share your page or raffle on one of their friend’s timeline Here are Facebook’s specific rules for promotions like this: E. Promotions 1. If you use Facebook to communicate or administer a promotion (ex: a contest or sweepstakes), you are responsible for the lawful operation of that promotion, including: a. The official rules; b. Offer terms and eligibility requirements (ex: age and residency restrictions); and c. Compliance with applicable rules and regulations governing the promotion and all prizes offered (ex: registration and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals) 2. Promotions on Facebook must include the following: a. A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant. b. Acknowledgement that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. 3. Promotions may be administered on Pages or within apps on Facebook. Personal Timelines and friend connections must not be used to administer promotions (ex: “share on your Timeline to enter” or “share on your friend's Timeline to get additional entries”, and "tag your friends in this post to enter" are not permitted). 4. We will not assist you in the administration of your promotion, and you agree that if you use our service to administer your promotion, you do so at your own risk. My advice is to start small, with a simple Starbucks card giveaway or random drawing. But begin to do it regularly – like Free Giveaway Friday, as an example, or on the first day of every month. Eventually, people will flock to your site regularly as word gets out and they realize that you're consistently giving great prizes away. *** Need help setting up a Facebook giveaway, managing your Facebook marketing, or with any real estate marketing? Contact us! |
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