“Our prospect-focused Internet Distribution Strategy is a core component to our overall business process, and allows us to deliver high-quality traffic to our advertisers in ways the competition can’t,” said Marcia Bollinger, Apartment Finder’s president. “We know there are many ways to attract visitors to a property’s website. We’re focused on generating traffic organically: delivering relevant information that encourages shoppers to call, e-mail or visit a property for more information. With CommunitySherpa, we’re extending the services we provide on land and online to our customer’s community via the social Web, and we are thrilled to see the market respond so favorably.”

How Leveraging Social Media Helps Connects Apartment Shoppers and Property Managers

CommunitySherpa provides property managers with a full-service social media marketing program that includes a custom-branded blog, Facebook and Twitter presence for their apartment community, content-creation and network administration support, as well as detailed reporting and analytics – all for a fixed-cost monthly subscription.

Bollinger adds, “It’s so much easier to find new renters when you make it easy for them to find you. We go beyond delivering Page 1 search results because we know there are all kinds of places to find shoppers. We excel at that process. Behind our program and clients’ 1 million social interactions to-date is a monthly unique visitor total hitting approximately 50,000 in May, just under 900,000 page views, 4,800 tracked leads, 48,000 Facebook fans, 39,000 Twitter followers, and impressive results in referral traffic and blog subscriptions that have simply created an overwhelmingly productive social footprint for everyone involved in CommunitySherpa.”

A leader in innovative distribution methods, Apartment Finder’s proprietary Prospect-Focused distribution strategy features a vast network of distribution points that “bump” into customers’ best prospects throughout their day: on land, around town through its quality print publication, Apartment Finder; and online with its state-of-the-art site ApartmentFinder.com. Through its Prospect-Focused Internet strategy, Apartment Finder delivers critical property information to shoppers in leasing mode by:

* Extending the search online from Apartment Finder magazine
* Maximizing visits on long-tail searches
* Increasing its presence in social searches
* Optimizing ApartmentFinder.com for general search
* Making Apartment Finder easy to find in mobile searches

To find out more about its Prospect-Focused Internet Distribution and CommunitySherpa, visit Apartment Finder at booth #1315 at the National Apartment Association Conference and Expo at the New Orleans Convention Center, June 24-25. Or contact Judy Bellack at 561-306-9504, or Krista Castillo at 972-489-9729.

1. Find the link that says Create a Page on Facebook, I can’t really pin-point it right now because Facebook Move around things real often. If you can’t find the link then simply copy and paste the address below: (PS: You have to be a member before you can create a page)

Address: www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

2. Go to the Create a Page Section, then click the option that says “Local Business”, then from the Drop Down Box Select Real Estate. Go Below and Add the name of your Business as the Page Name, then Click “Create Official Page Button”

3. Your Page is now up and you can start suggesting friends to become a Fan/Like your Page. Remember to upload a photo to your page and also edit your page information and add your website URL as well.

If you decide to do it buy yourself, then you can start by using Social Networking Websites to market your Real Estate Business. Social Networking Websites is a websites that gives users the ability to connect with different users and share content. These are sites that you are already a member of but probably just didn’t know the power that they had.

FaceBook
This is a great medium that could send potential buyers to your blog or website. Probably you are there wondering how, so far you know that it is a place where you and your friends can connect. Well facebook has an option where you can create a page for your business, after you create a page potential clients can become fans of your business plus you can advertise your page on Facebook for as low as $5 per day. There are also plugins (if you are using the WordPress Blog Platform) that will give users the capability to share contents of your blog with their friends on facebook.

Digg
This is a another popular networking website that gives the capability to connect with other users and
share content with not just your friends but everybody who visits the website. Another great way to get
visitors to your blog. Digg features a voting system that is referred to as “digging an article”, if readers view an article from your website / blog which was submitted to digg, they can vote on it, the more votes you get on your article is the more it gets publicized on Digg.

Stumble Upon

Here is another great one, I use this everyday. Even this article will be on it after it is published. Stumble Upon is a social networking site that users submit article which they have stumbled upon while surfing the internet and then share it with users. You can add users as your friend and even see what they have stumbled upon.

Twitter

This is one of the newest Social Networking applications on the internet. You can update your friends on what you are doing in real time with a tweet. With each friend you add it is considered as you following them and each person that adds you is considered as your follower. After sign up, you can add a brief bio and also your website or blog address so friends can check your blog out. For more information on Twitter see previous article on Twitter.

Follow Us on Twitter!!!

Twitter is a social networking site that gives users the capability to connect with friends in real-time, what you do basically is communicate and stay connected through the exchange of short status messages. It gives the option so you can add a bio and your website URL and the fun thing is that your can customize your profile with a custom image and colors to match.

Here is Wikipedia definition of Twitter…

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users’ updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length which are displayed on the user’s profile page and delivered to other users who have subscribed to them (known as followers). Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow anybody to access them. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS) or external applications. The service is free to use over the Internet, but using SMS may incur phone service provider fees.

Sign up for your account today and start following friends and follow ezrealestate at the same time.

WordPress is easy to setup and has an inherent SEO advantages and get the best search engine placement for your listings. If you are selling Real Estate it is important to have a top listing in Search Engines, so wordpress would do you good that way.

Plus there are free templates by realiventblog.com that will give your blog a really professional look. These are special themes designed to highlight listings and the real estate agents that list them!

Here are screenshots of the template…

Click Here for a Bigger View >>

The most effective way to do this is by keeping in constant contact with them and leaving a gift behind to remind them of you later. A phrase used for this type of self advertising is “Pop By”. You want to Pop By clients, old and new, on a regular basis.

Some key points:

* Have you already branded yourself? Pick gifts that highlight your brand.
* Use several different “levels” of gifts. Have smaller, less expensive gifts for lower priority clients and nicer slightly more expensive gifts for your A clients.
* Bring gifts specifically for your clients children or pets. When the clients sees that you have paid attention and know about their family and personal life, they are more willing to trust in you and take you in as part of that life.
* Specify it to the season or holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas make this type of marketing great fun.
* Get creative and have fun!

[Real Estate Weblog]

1. Don’t be put off by bad weather. It’s a good time to check the potential property for leaks and poor drainage.

2. Visit the area to check out the proximity of schools, nightlife, transport, shopping centres, etc. These can have an effect on your lifestyle, both now and in the future (ie.children).

3. Contact local agents to research recent sale values in the area.

4. Always obtain building and pest reports on any property in which you are seriously interested.

5. Before you buy, get in touch with your potential neighbours, to ascertain suitability and see if there are underlying disputes or problems.

Step 1: Creating a Marketing Plan

Create a marketing plan for your home that will help distinguish it in your local marketplace and attract buyers to your property. This may include advertising in the newspaper, posting your listing on the Internet, holding an open house and more. CENTURY 21 Sales Professionals often use the CENTURY 21 Customized Marketing System to create a personalized selling program for clients. Its purpose is to sell a home at the best price possible in the shortest amount of time.
 

Step 2: Setting the Price

A key part of the marketing plan is setting the list price. If a home is priced too low, it may cost you money. If a home is priced too high, potential buyers may be scared away. To determine the best asking price review the cost of recently sold homes, evaluate the competition and study marketplace trends. CENTURY 21 Sales Associates are trained to use this information to help you reach the right asking price. It is also helpful to discuss other terms and conditions, such as timing and items that can be included with the sale of the home. Both of these can make your home more attractive to potential buyers.
Step 3: Showtime

Now it’s time to get your home ready for the spotlight. Start with a good cleaning, then eliminate any clutter, add a fresh coat of paint and tidy up the yard. Talk to your real estate professional about other tips that can help boost a home’s curb appeal and impress potential buyers once they’re in the door. One way to make a home more attractive is to purchase a Home Protection Plan. This insurance protects you, the seller, from paying repair or replacement costs of major items during the listing period. It also protects the buyer during their first year of homeownership.
Step 4: Protecting Yourself

In some cases, a home sale can also be an invitation for danger. Here are some things you can do to make the process safer.

• Ask for identification 
 
• Ask for pre-approval letters 
 
• Lock up and hide collectibles and valuables 
 
• Remember “For Sale” signs bring in buyers. Do not allow your children to open doors to strangers. 
 
• If you have pets, make sure they are controlled
 
• Remove any dangerous items 
 
• Talk to your CENTURY 21 Sales Professional about additional safety tips to help protect you and your family.
 
Step 5: Making the Deal

A buyer has made an offer – now it is time to negotiate. Rely on your real estate professional to guide you through this process. He or she will help you arrive at an acceptable price, terms and conditions. Once you have accepted an offer, help keep the deal together by meeting deadlines and criteria, including home inspections, appropriate buyer visits, scheduled deposits and other steps. In fact, during this period there may be a renegotiation of the accepted offer price depending on the outcomes of these visits. As the closing nears, you may also need to perform repairs or do additional work to the house as agreed upon in your contract. In addition, you will need to have the house “broom clean” prior to the closing so that the buyer can complete a final walk through. When you finally arrive at the closing table, come prepared with the appropriate certificates and approvals as required by your town, county and state. Ask the appropriate agency or get a list of what you need from your local CENTURY 21 Office. Once the money has exchanged hands and all the papers signed it’s time to hand over the keys and concentrate on your next big project – getting YOUR new home in order.

With so many agents in Canada’s real estate marketplace, many trying to win the same listing, it is important for realtors to take measures to stand apart from their competition.

As posted on RISMedia.com the other day, the Seller Agency Council went out and asked some home sellers what questions they would ask a prospective agent to help them determine who they would pick to represent them in selling their home. Here are their responses:

1. How many homes have you sold in the last ___ days, not your company or your office, but you personally? How long did they stay on the market?

2. How long have you been an active, working agent? not just licensed or in the real estate business, but how long have you actually been selling in our market?3. How well do you know our neighborhood?

4. Are you willing to offer a guarantee that allows me to cancel at any time, for any reason with no advance notice and with no explanation necessary?

5. Do you have a 24 hour line that provides information to buyers at any time, 24 hours a day? Do you pay for it yourself or is it provided by a lender or your company?

6. Do you know the difference between passive selling and aggressive marketing?

7. Do you use home staging as part of your marketing program?

8. Do you have an aggressive market plan into which you invest your personal dollars?

9. How does your marketing benefit your sellers directly?

10. What sort of guarantee do you offer?

11. Do you test your marketing techniques for results and change plans if required?

12. What Internet marketing is done for my home, by you as an agent and by your company?

13. Do you have a team or an assistant to help you market our home?

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