SOCIAL MEDIA SERIES - John Murdock, Marketing …johnmurdockmarketing.weebly.com/uploads/2/9/5/0/295… · · 2014-12-04•Mike Hoy is your Dedicated Mortgate Consultant from

SOCIAL MEDIA

SERIES

MIKE HOY, MORTGAGE CONSULTANT

• Mike Hoy is your Dedicated MortgateConsultant from Marketplace Home Mortgage

• We have many great mortgage solutions available!

BLOGGING

Blogging is a communications

mechanism handed to us by the

longtail of the internet –

Tom Foremski, Financial Times

FIRST A VIDEO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bs2CdmHmIk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bs2CdmHmIk

What is a Blog Exactly?

•A website

•Blog post = page on your website

Why Do Real Estate Agents Blog?

• To be FOUND!

• To position themselves as an expert in a field or geographical location

• To successfully advertise and market their listings

• To generate traffic

• To lead people back to your website

It allows you to…

• Distinguish yourself as a market expert• Geographical, Demographic or Psychographic

• Increase traffic to your website

• Grow your network

• Channel information

• Develop though leadership

• GENERATE MORE LEADS

Goal

“I don’t want to”… “I don’t have time”…”it’s not my thing”

Key Words

• Longtail Keywords• 5 Phrases Deep• Very Specific• Always our Goal for Real Estate – Saturated Market

• Customers using 2nd level key words are 16-18 months out• Customers using 3rd level key words are 12 months out

Key Words

Specific Address3605 James Ave Deephaven

Less CommonPort Royal Waterfront Homes

CommonNaples Homes

Top 10Naples Real Estate

Blog Blue PrintTitle, Content, tags

Title/ Headline

• Make it very clear – not cute and catchy

• Needs to match what clients are typing into Google

• Your KEY WORD phrase – “Deephaven Waterfront Home”

• Geographically specific

• “Bloggers are in the business of headline writing – fail to understand that, and fail to attract the readership your hard work deserves.”

Title/ Headline

1. Consider the audience• Competing to get notices

• Bad headline = invisible

2. Emotion – make them feel something they can relate to • Extreme words: best, most, never, crucial

• Playful words: secret, hidden, unknown, exiting

• Curiosities: celebrities, well-knowns, new items, buzz words

Bad = Interest Rates are Unpredictable

Good = The 4 Crucial Reasons You Don’t Want to Wait on Interest Rates

Content

• Actual blog post

• 300 word minimum

• If you are at 700-800 words – split it into 2!

• Make sure it is interesting and informational

• Answers readers questions – even if you don’t know the specific question

• Key Words • Helps google understand

Key Word Content

1st Sentence

Photo Title

Anchor Text

Your Choice

Last Sentence

Content

• 1st sentence: Google reads it, put your key phrase/words here• “Have you ever imagined living in a “Deephaven waterfront home?”

• Photo title: need to include a picture on every single blog post• Don’t save picture as “IMG0657” save it “deephavenwaterfronthome”

• Anchor text/Hyperlink: helps rank your website higher• Link them back to your website

• Your Choice: whatever verbiage sounds natural

• Last Sentence: Google reads this next• “And that is what a Deephaven Waterfront Property would be like.”

Content

• Deep Links• You should have a link from your Blog post to your IDX

• Not just your home page

• Powerful CTA• What you have learned in Bold

• “contact me”

• “email me”

• “call me”

• Links all should send them to “me”

• Don’t put these at the very end

Content

• Contact Info• Name

• Phone

• Website

• Short paragraphs

• Block Quotes

• Lists

Content

• PITHY

• The faster you can connect with and deliver the message to youraudience the more effective it will be

• Instead of using in-depth explanation – use links• To addition commentary

• To definitions

• To related content

Picture

• Maintain interest

• Title/save the image something that is relevant to your article

• Link the image to something of value (if relevant)

• Don’t just use Google images• Against the law – Fine $1,000s

• Use your own camera! • Watermark your images

• Affordable stock images (around $1)• 123RFl.com, iStockPhoto.com, BigStockPhoto.com

• Stock.xchng – free stock images

• Clipart if you must

Tags

• Index• Back of the book

• Tag it!• Olde Naples, real estate, waterfront property

•Where?• Depends on your blogging platform

So What Should I Blog About?

• Blog hyperlocal1. Blog about your listings2. Blog answers to questions

• lots of clients have similar questions• What are the best schools in the area?• Why do I need an inspection? • Where do I go? Who do I call?

• Figure out the right keywords and blog about it!• Deephaven home inspections

3. Blog your passions • 1st time homebuyers• Bike riding

4. Blog stats, numbers, charts, etc. - Infosparks

Blogging Inspiration

• Listings

• Neighborhoods

• Appraisal process

• Inspection process

• How to get financing

• How to stage a home

• The closing process

• Listen to your Buyers and Sellers

• Market statistics for your area

• Senior housing

• Local events

• Offers and counteroffers

• Best local schools

• Where to_____

• Local demographics

• Market statistics

• Investment Properties

• Your specialty niche

• Mortgage news – Mike

• Architecture or housing styles in the area

• The home buying process

• Mobile app

• Weekend getaway

Where to Blog

• Blogger, WordPress, etc.

• WordPress• You have to be very consistent – 3-4x a week

• 3-6 months before you see any ranking results

• Flexibility – colors and text

• Over-customizable

• Blogger • Google+

• Easy to use

• Templates

• Easy to share

9 Things About Blogging You Wont WantYour Competition to Know

1. Blogging works• But how long does it take? It depends

• You can speed up your success by blogging with a specific target in mind

• Don’t try and get on Google’s 1st page with “Twin Cities Real Estate”

• Understand the target audience and be specific with:• a community

• Niche

• a situation

• type of property

2. Blogging is easy• By definition: JUST writing and publishing an entry

• The hardest part is to get motivated and finding time to make it happen

• Hit PUBLISH as often as possible – pithy posts!


3. The leads are great

“Jim, I have been reading your blog for a few months now, and I love it. You have answered so many questions – some I didn’t even know I had. Anyhow – my wife and I are ready to talk to someone about selling our

home and we’d love to meet with you.”

• Agent Selection tool

• Blog clients tend to be at the END of the process

• Blog clients contact you to hire you instead of just see a house

• Blog clients already know what house they want to buy


4. Blogging makes you a better Real Estate Agent• A blogger can see improvements in the following areas:

• Discipline

• Focus

• Organization

• Networking

• Exposure

• Expertise

• Knowledge

• 1st impressions


5. You dominate search engines• Blogging coupled with regular posting is the recipe for taking over

the result pages for coveted search terms


6. There is plenty of room to compete• You won’t find a market with 1% of its members using blogging as a

marketing strategy

• This means that there are plenty of room for you to carve out your own active audience

• Take the most obvious topics and locations


7. The sooner you start the sooner it works• Your audience is waiting!

• STOP SAYING:• “I don’t have any time to blog”

• “I will start blogging when the market slows”

• “I will start when I hire an assistant”


8. You no longer suffer with a bad website• You understand how to make your site successful

• You know why your site is being found by Google

• Blogging makes you relevant, current, competitive and savvy


9. It is the best marketing money you spent in the last 5 years• Improving your presence in a search engine with posting: FREE

• Building an audience around your expertise: FREE

• Gaining the trust of your readers: FREE

• Generating leads: FREE


How to be Found on Google

1. Do people know you well enough to search for you?• If not – work on that 1st

2. Do they trust you enough to buy from you?

3. Goodwill through community participation

4. What makes your site remarkable enough for others to talk about it?

DON’T Just Blog for Google SEO!

1. Use blogging to get REFERRALS • “Ill take 1 referral from a real live human over a hundred from

Google.”

• Use your blog to create a referral stream from people you’venever worked with before

• Local businesses• Put someone else’s name in lights and they are going to be impressed and return

the favor

• Write a local restaurant review- endear the owner• They will refer you

• You just grew your sphere of influence and all it took was a few kind words

DON’T Just Blog for Google SEO!

2. Prove you are a community expert • Don’t just say it

3. Develop a regular readership• Don’t blog strictly real estate

• Just like you send out community newslettesr & Twins Calendar Magnets you need to include interestersting topics that provide value toyour readers

• If you create an interesting place to visit – readers will follow suite

How to Market Your Blog

1. Post and Pray

2. Google authorship• Attend Google+ Class

3. Go social • Email blast, newsletter, website, email signature

4. Organic growth • Social media likes and shares, forwarded newsletters

Blog Writing Checklist

1. What are my keywords?

2. Did I write at least 300 words?

3. Did I write more than 1,000 words?

4. Did I use my keywords in my opening and ending phrase?

5. Did I use my keyword phrase 5 times?

6. Do I have at least 2 outgoing links in my blog? CTA

7. Are one of those links to my IDX? Capture the lead!

8. Do I have a photo?

9. Spell check!

Blogs to Check Out

• Naples Real Estate Blog

• Virginia Beach • Great headline• Easy to read• CTAs• Resourceful links• Suggestion: use a different photo

• The Real Estate Coconut • Great headline & picture• Very useful map• Great CTA usage

• Santa Barbra • Great headline & pictures• Great related posts• Well categorized• CTAs

http://naplesrealestateblog.blogspot.com/

http://dennisblackmore.com/2012/10/03/five-reasons-to-buy-a-virginia-beach-or-hampton-roads-home-now/

http://therealestatecoconut.com/2012/10/complete-guide-to-coconut-groves-gated-communities/

http://santabarbararealestatevoice.com/2012/05/18/what-does-1-million-buy-in-todays-very-strong-santa-barbara-real-estate-market/

Remember

“Being a blogger” and “having a blog” are NOT the same thing. “Be a blogger” and you will never be in a

need of a new lead. “Have a blog” and you may just be adding one more useless make work activity to spend

your time on.

Homework

• Decided where you are going to blog

• List some keywords & keyword phrases you want to use

• List 3 common questions from Buyers and Sellers

• Write 3 blog posts1. Neighborhood blog

2. Blog about one of your listings

3. 1 of your FAQs

• Promote your blog• Facebook business page, Twitter, email

Next Time?!

Same place, same time

Documents

SOCIAL MEDIA SERIES - John Murdock, Marketing …johnmurdockmarketing.weebly.com/uploads/2/9/5/0/295… · · 2014-12-04•Mike Hoy is your Dedicated Mortgate Consultant from