Just like any analytics program, Facebook Insights, provides page owners with the metrics around their content to help understand trends and develop better content.   There are a few things to know about Insights before we start diving into the details.

The first is that Insights is only available to pages with more than 30 likes- so go out and ask for those likes!

The second thing is where do you find Insights?   If you are the page administrator you will see an Insights tab on the left hand side of your screen under the same section you see your “Wall” icon.  Insights are denoted with a purple icon.

Clicking on that icon will provide you the data from the past thirty days by default.    The first thing you’ll notice is a graph that tells you four different pieces of information; the total number of likes your page has,  the number of friend of fans,  how many people are talking about your posts and your weekly reach.

This is all great information-right?   You can start to see each time you post, and the more you post the better your reach, the more people are talking about you, and how your likes also increase.  They are all related.    On the graph above you can see that there was a period of time where we didn’t post at all, and you can also see on the graph how all of our numbers dropped during that same time period.

Facebook Insights gives you so much more data.  You can actually segment your graphs by: Likes, Reach, Talking about This and Check-Ins.

The most compelling information provided by the Facebook Insight tools is the information regarding the individual posts.  This is where the data really becomes not only interesting but also useful.   The posts are divided up by categories including a text post, a link, and pictures.  What’s interesting to note from our data below, is the fact that posting a picture created the most engaged users.

 This information tells us that in the future we need to be posting more pictures to our feed, as they create the most engagement.   The really powerful thing here is the ability to determine what type of post or content to focus on creating and to be able to adjust our strategy to better suit the needs of our audience.   This portion of Insights also gives us the opportunity to see how many people our message reached and how many people are talking about it after they read it.

Take a few moments to check out Facebook Insights on your page- you’ll be glad you did!

The holiday season can be stressful and the last thing on your mind is how you’ll use your Facebook business page- don’t worry, we’ve thought about it for you and come up with five tips on using Facebook over the holidays.

Tip #1:  Highlight Holiday Events- This time of year there are a thousand different things going on at any one time: food drives, a tree lighting, performances, runs and on and on.  Take a few moments to find out what’s happening in your community and share it with your followers.  If there is a website with more information make sure to provide a link.

Tip #2: Post Holiday Pictures – There are so many fun pictures from this time of year, when we all gather to enjoy one another.  Share those photos.  We saw a great photo that an agent shared of all of the wrapped presents her office was donating to the seven families they sponsored this year!

Tip #3:  Encourage Engagement – The holidays are a perfect time to reach out and connect with friends and past customers, and Facebook is a great place to start!  Send out a blast message to your past clients to tell them about your Facebook business page, include a link and ask them to “Like” your new page.

Tip #4:  Engage- Take ten minutes each morning to engage with your followers on Facebook, check in on their lives and take a moment to make a meaningful comment.  This isn’t about selling, or what you do for a living; make it about them- even just wishing them and their loved ones a happy holiday season can be a powerful message.

Last but not least, Tip #5:  Post a Video – Do you have a holiday tradition you’d like to share?  A contest you’d like to promote, or just a holiday greeting?   Whether it’s your favorite holiday song, or a message about safety this holiday season, take a moment and ether record or just post a video.

It’s hard to believe that 2011 is over in a matter of days! This year has gone so quickly, but before it’s gone, we would like to take a moment and say thank you and to wish you a happy holiday season.

This year, more than ever before, we are reminded of the things in life that are truly important, such as our friends and our families. From our family to yours, we wish you and yours a happy, healthy and joyous holiday season.
~The Real Pro Systems Team

Why should REALTORS use video for marketing?

Sell yourself, your business and your listings with short, snappy videos. A good video is worth a thousand words, and they’re easier to make than you might think. And, from an SEO and analytics standpoint, if you have video on your website you’ll raise your Google ranking.

Are you still on the fence about using video for marketing? Numbers don’t lie! 100 million people take a social action on YouTube (likes, shares, comments, etc) every week, and the number of advertisers using display ads on YouTube increased 10 fold in the last year. 48 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, resulting in nearly 8 years of content uploaded every day.

That’s a lot of videos!

And speaking of numbers, last week, YouTube announced its new YouTube Analytics tool which will provide detailed data regarding your audience, and how that audience interacts with the video.

Bob Sokoler of Louisville Real Estate, ReMax Properties East does a great job of incorporating his personality and brand identity into his market updates from his car! He attaches his camera to the rearview mirror with Velcro, and voila – mobile marketing!

You don’t need to win an Oscar to sell a house, but you might have fun trying. Here are a few tips and tricks to get you started:

Lights –Good lighting makes or breaks any marketing video, but amateur videographers don’t have to invest in expensive lighting equipment to get good results.

• Look at the sky: Shooting outside on a cloudy day is best
• Look at the clock: Beware of shadows! Bright, mid-day sunlight can create a lot of shadows. Late afternoon light is more even. Make some test videos to check the light before you shoot the whole video.

For interior shots of the house you’re showing, keep in mind these rules of thumb:

• Indirect light is better than direct light. Turn off indoor lights and use natural light from a clean window for best results.
• If you’re shooting people inside, bounce light off a wall behind them from an angle; don’t shine a light directly on their face, and don’t put them directly in front of a primary light source.

Cameras – phones, FLIPS, both? You do NOT need an expensive, complicated camera to make decent videos for your business. “Plug and play” cameras and phones are easy, no cables to use or lose!

• Kodak Play Touch
• iPhone !
• FLIP – beware, Cisco will stop supporting FLIP Software in December 2013.

Action! Good story telling is crucial to drawing in your audience. Keep it short and sweet, less than two minutes is ideal. If you have more to say, make another video!

Think like a scriptwriter:

• Write down your key points and practice your delivery a few times before the camera starts rolling. Smile as you talk, positive energy shows up on camera.
• How will you tell the story of what you’re selling? When making a home viewing video, ask for stories from the seller to incorporate, like info about the history of the house, the neighborhood, the sweet little old lady next door. Do you want the seller on film?
• When making a brand video, think about what your clients want to know about you. Show more than tell!
• Here’s a great example of a “First Time Buyers” testimonial from a young couple.

Think like a director:

• Make a shot list or storyboard out the idea. Nothing fancy required, but think through the content before you start shooting. This makes editing much easier.
• Use humor! Here’s a well done, FUNNY parody on the Old Spice Guy video, done by a clever Real Estate Agency
• Don’t over think! Be natural; let your personality shine through. Practice talking to a friend off camera, keep your dialogue conversational.

Think like a cinematographer

• Establish the setting, so viewers know where they are (the neighborhood, the yard, the house, etc.)
• Stop shaking that camera; you’ll make your viewer dizzy! Hold the camera with two hands, or brace your hand along a wall to keep it steady.
• Keep your background simple so you don’t distract the viewer
• Frame your shot, and you don’t have to center everything!
• Use the zoom function wisely. Consider taking separate close up shots.

Think like an editor

• Eliminate as much background noise as you can when filming (electronics and crowds are the worst offenders!)
• Add a few seconds of extra footage before and after each scene to make editing easier.
• Slowly pan between shots, don’t make your viewer dizzy!
• Music – free download sites
• Editing software: your camera may come with some, or try iMovie, Windows Movie Maker. More advanced software: Final Cut Express or Pro, Adobe Premier

Content: Let your content be your message. Be informative, entertaining and useful.

Define and write down your goals for video. Do you want to introduce and build your brand, show buyers your listings, increase sales and educate your buyers? Maybe you want to offer a tips and tricks series?

• What is your call to action? Is there a sense of urgency? Put your call to action links in your video:
  • Call me!
  • Visit my website? Like me on Facebook!
  • BUY THIS HOUSE!

Video SEO and Optimization:

• Keep key words in mind when you’re creating clear, descriptive video titles and tags
• Unique URL/Embed codes?

Publish your video:

• YouTube
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Promote your video: Incorporate your video into your marketing plan

•  Embed your video into your email campaigns and blog posts
• Promote your blog or your website via Twitter, Facebook and/or LinkedIn.

 Good links to more information: 10 easy steps to SEO Tips for YouTube http://www.reelseo.com/video-seo-tips-for-youtube/

2011 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

Online marketing gurus can get quite preachy about the importance of social media engagement for businesses. They tell us to get on Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn (etc., etc. etc.) and we should have conversations with people before we try to sell them anything. You wouldn’t walk into a cocktail party and ask someone to buy a house before you chit chat and get to know them a bit, right?

Right. Got it. We agree! But does all this engagement really help your business? Does hanging out on Twitter all day actually lead to closed deals and real paychecks? Can you sell a house on Twitter?

Yes. And yes you can.

I asked a few active Twitter REALTORS (should we call them Twitlors? TRealtors?) to explain how they use Twitter, and how they measure their results. Their answers provided a great snapshot of how smart agents are integrating social media into their brand identity and marketing strategies.

My opened-ended survey questions were carefully crafted to get these people to tell me the truth about the effectiveness of Twitter, for them (“Don’t sugar coat your answers with marketing gobbledygook!” was what I said without saying it), but it turns out most of them came up with similar answers.

The agents I talked to use Twitter for networking, establishing themselves as local experts, and lead generation, which is what I expected. But several of them have also scored referrals and closed deals through Twitter, which is great news!

Networking on Twitter is clearly at the top of the most useful feature list of those I interviewed.

Scott Panella

“Great networking has come from twitter, for me,” said Scott Panella of @teampanella. “Making connections on twitter, then meeting in-person makes it so much easier to build upon the base that is already established in your business relationship.”

Clearly, meeting in real life after getting to know someone online, is a real benefit of networking on Twitter.

Colin Storm

“There are area Tweet-ups and Meet-ups almost constantly,” says Colin Storm (@ColinStorm) “and several opportunities to meet with small groups of people for specific community and/or business projects. Taking those online relationships and bringing them into real life encounters is easily the best part of Twitter.”

Building brand awareness by becoming a local expert is another strategic way Real Estate Agents use Twitter. Buyers and sellers want to know that you know your market.

Ira Serkes

“Twitter’s a great way to brand yourself as the hyper-local expert in your community,” says Ira Serkes (@Serkes)  “I think everyone should set up a Twitter Account – it also provides redundant means of communications with family & friends during emergencies. I also use it for neighborhood centric communications. People know about it, know about you, part of branding.”

Lead Generation is a big deal, as any good real estate agent knows, and Twitter has provided measurable results for some of those I interviewed.

Sam Miller

“I use Twitter mostly for business,” says Sam Miller, (@sammillersells) “and I’m using it in conjunction with my Real Pro Systems Facebook Business Page as well as my blog, my ActiveRain blog and my Real Pro Systems site. It has helped my SEO rankings, and my site traffic.  Believe it or not, posting links to listings now and then does generate interest and it becomes searchable. “

When I asked Lisa Archer (@LisaArcherRE) if she’s ever seen any leads come from Twitter, she said “Yes, our team is working with 3-4 clients we got from Twitter, right now! I have met so many people IRL (in real life) that I first met on Twitter.”

Lisa Archer

And as we know, people prefer to buy and sell houses from people they know.

“I have a listing currently under contract that came via Twitter,” says Colin Storm, “and I just wrapped up a lead for some small office space as well. My network is beginning to think of me whenever they have any type of real estate related question.”

Is Twitter a Time Suck?

Of course you have to be careful with Twitter, it can be a time suck, like any other social media outlet.

Ken Montville

“I’m on Twitter every day, sometimes too many times a day,” says Ken Montville (@mdsuburbs) “I joined Twitter because it was the cool and hip thing to do (and I wanted to be able to connect with people in the social media sphere) I haven’t seen any business from Twitter, but there are lots of people I have conversations with. I’ve met some IRL but mostly other REALTORS at conferences. And hey, I’m networking with you right now!”

Are there other reasons Real Estate Agents should use Twitter?

Erica Lawrence (@realsupportva), a Virtual Assistant with RealSupport, Inc.says yes! “Twitter helps you get superior customer service from various vendors; they reply quickly since they’ve been publicly ‘called out.’ It’s also great for staying ‘in the know’ regarding technology, new products, new services, and talking with vendors about what they offer. It’s great for networking with other agents, driving traffic to your website and blog, and interacting with buyers and sellers on a personal level. I could go on and on. Can you tell I love Twitter? LOL.”

Erica Lawrence

Yes, Erica, yes we can! And the truth is, I agree.

Be helpful, share knowledge

When I asked Chris Smith, (@Chris_Smith) the Chief Evangelist and social media guru at Inman News to give me a quick line about how REALTORS should use Twitter, he said “Ask to help more than you ask for business.”

This is a great point from a marketing standpoint, because people who think well of you, are likely to think of you first when it’s time to refer you, or hire you to be their agent.

Chris Smith

Chris has been helpful to me as I learn who’s who in the industry, and I’m happy to push his content to everyone I know might be interested.

According to the 2011 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the average home buyer finds an agent by word of mouth and typically only interviews one agent while home buyers rank tech savviness as the least important characteristic in their agent.

So the bottom line is, you don’t have to be a tech guru to sell houses online, you just have to know how to engage your audience and get to know them, and Twitter is a great way to do it.