Share on Facebook, Don’t Sell
Posted on March 6, 2012. Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: austin, constant contact, Facebook, good life team, housing trends enewsletter, Inman, justice for bella, krisstina wise, marketing, matthew shadbolt, new york city, north carolina, Real Estate, selling, team building, telemarketer, the corcoran group |
I’m sitting in my office and the phone rings. The number on caller ID looks vaguely like one of my friends’ … I answer with anticipation and bam! It’s a telemarketer. Here I was expecting to share something fun and worthwhile, but I get wacked with a sales pitch instead.
If you’re like me, you go to Facebook with a positive feeling, ready to read something fun and worthwhile for your business or personal life. And then you come across a hardcore sales post and that feeling takes a dive. And so many times it’s a real estate friend, someone who thinks he/she has to post every new listing … and nothing else.
Are you guilty of being a Facebook telemarketer?
A recent blogpost from Constant Contact reminds us you can make your Facebook fans “hang up” if you make it look like you’re being social just to make a sale. In fact, it notes an ExactTarget survey found the top two reasons people stop being fans of business pages are that 1) the brand is posting too frequently and 2) it’s doing too many marketing pitches.
Instead, Constant Contact recommends you position yourself as an expert in your field, business or organization so when customers/potential buyers want to purchase, try a service or contribute, they will think of you. That is, you should share instead of sell on Facebook.
So how do you share yourself on Facebook?
Share an experience
I’m totally enthralled with how The Corcoran Group makes New York City come alive on their Facebook page. Especially with the new Timeline for business pages with larger-format photos, the page makes me feel like I’m an integral part of the city scene – and I’m 1,600 miles away! The firm also shares videos of local restaurants, key in a market where both locals and visitors seek out unique and delectable cuisine. “Sharing helpful or entertaining content” is the way to market yourself, says Constant Contact.
And every Saturday, the page shares the story of a New Yorker. On Feb. 18, there are photos of an immigrant family living in a 350-square-foot apartment with a bathtub in the kitchen – not of a 3,500-square-foot penthouse the firm is trying to sell.
I profiled Corcoran’s social media guru, Matthew Shadbolt, in the February Pond Report about his innovative use of Foursquare, so this is just another example of his ability to use social media to build an experience.
Sharing expertise
If you want to know about Austin, Texas, you’ll find it on The GoodLife Team’s Facebook page. Yes, the firm posts the occasional listing but that’s far outnumbered by the posts on the Austin economy and housing market, the city’s walkable neighborhoods, what to plant in an Austin garden, as well as great restaurants and bars (generating lots of comments).
And as an Inman-awarded innovative firm, The GoodLife Team also posts technology news such as a recent Evernote seminar, in addition to and broker Krisstina Wise’s Coffee Chats on team-building, management skills and more.
Of course, Wise and her team also post their videos highlighting tools that assist sellers and buyers, such as staging and 10 commandments for buyers. In addition, they spotlight the Austin Modern Home Tour, born in their own office out of their love of modern architecture.
Wise and The GoodLife Team have become a resource for the buyers and sellers in the Austin area as well as for real estate agents and brokers across the country, leading to listings, sales and referrals in an organic way.
Sharing a cause
In April 2010, a family’s beloved dog escaped from its back yard. While Bella showed no aggression and was surrounded by neighbors and children who knew her as a harmless pet, because she was a pit bull, she was shot by an animal control officer. And despite having a chip implanted, Bella was cremated without her family being notified.
This heartbreaking story has spread from North Carolina all across the country due to the power of outrage and love for animals – and the Justice for Bella Facebook page. In less than two years, the page has grown to more than 24,000 fans.
How? It has expanded its geographic reach by partnering with “no kill” movements and highlighting animal-related injustice nationwide. As Constant Contact said, “Nonprofits have a cause that people are already interested in. [They] can become the go-to place for fans just by helping them stay in touch with the latest developments and resources.”
At the same time, the page’s love for all dogs comes through loud and clear, as evidenced by this recent photo.
Facebook is still very personal
“Share, Don’t Sell” reminds us that Facebook is not a traditional marketing space. Use photos, headlines, videos and helpful links to connect with your fans – be real. Here are some more insights on how to act like a person on your Facebook page.
Think about it … are you selling or are you sharing? Here’s hoping your Facebook page is engaging and fun for your fans!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )“The Newest Trends in Social Media and Social Discovery”
Posted on July 1, 2011. Filed under: Real Estate Housing Trends, News and Information | Tags: aerial view, Agent, Brokerage, Business, Buyers, Carbon Footprints, commercial real estate, communications, e-zinc email, email, ENewsletters, Ezine, Facebook, Frog Pond, frogpond blog, Internet Marketing, marketing, Marketing and Advertising, Marketing Strategy, marketing tips, Paperless, Realtor, satelite imagery, Social media, Susie Hale, sustainability, Twitter, Web conferencing |
Breaking News Network is one of the most innovative marketing tools I’ve seen. Never before has a marketer been able to harness in this social setting, local news and community activities, in one very automated personalized site. It is so localized that not only are you able to display local housing trends and data, compare zip codes, but even restaurant menus in the neighborhood, and even daily deal offerings and much much more.
Watch the video embedded in Breaking News Network to get a brief understanding and then sign up for Webinars for details.
Please join me for a free series of ground-breaking Webinars on new trends in marketing, “The Newest Trends in Social Media and Social Discovery”.
I think you’re in for a treat for this summer. We’ve developed a summer series of webinars to discuss news marketing concepts you will never hear anywhere else. Register once below and participate in all five webinars.
You may have attended previous webinars with me and my friend Pat Kitano of the Domus Consulting Group. I invite you to a new series of Webinar with Pat Kitano who will explain the newest trends in social media marketing and social commerce that I guarantee you will not hear anywhere else.
July 7 – 9:00am PDT / 12 noon EDT: The Groupon of 2011 – Airbnb. How Airbnb disrupts real estate revenue models and creates new opportunities to Realtors. Link for reference: bit.ly/AirbnB
July 21 – 9:00am PDT / 12 noon EDT: How to promote your local business community completely free and create tangible marketing and financial value for them. Then, how do you leverage your “value” relationships into leads and transactions. Example: bit.ly/kevinsthyme
August 4 – 9:00am PDT / 12 noon EDT: All about Daily Deals. How to create them, how to market them, and most important, how to automate them so you promote your community without lifting a finger (while also receiving income from them)
August 17 (Wednesday! due to a schedule conflict) – 9:00am PDT / 12 noon EDT: How to use Housing Trends eNewsletter, IDX and other real estate information resources to reach 100% of your community before they even contemplate a decision on real estate. (It’s too late to reach them if they don’t know you).
September 1 – 9:00am PDT / 12:00 noon EDT: New social discovery applications. Social media marketing by itself is inherently inefficient. Learn how to pull active buyers and sellers out of the woodwork by getting them to “discover” your services. This webinar will tie everything you will learn from the summer series.
Register once, and you’ll be on the invite list for the complete series, which we slate to run every two weeks.
The Webinars are held on the following dates:
Jul 7, 2011 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM PDT
Jul 21, 2011 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM PDT
Aug 4, 2011 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM PDT
Aug 17, 2011 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM PDT
Sep 1, 2011 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM PDT
Register Now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/261994618
Once registered you will receive an email confirming your registration with information you need to join the Webinar.
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer
Hugs, The Frog
Susie Hale
“Gettin’ Off the Highway and Into Their Driveway(TM)” Brings Happiness
Posted on June 14, 2011. Filed under: Real Estate Housing Trends, News and Information | Tags: Arts, Business, community, Community theatre, Consumer, lifestyle, marketing, micro local marketing, neighborhood, Real Estate, Realtor, United States |
When you’re view is from 30,000 feet high or 30,000 feet down the way, you might be missing the point. The point is Micro Local Marketing. It’s what the consumer wants. It’s why the consumer removed the gatekeeper; why the consumer is so accessible.
Micro Local Marketing is “What’s in it for me” on steroids. Consumers are smarter than ever, but want someone who can interpret what the data means to them. Micro Local information is the what and why in the consumers community, neighborhood, and street.
Give them the housing numbers, the information on new shopping centers, little community theater auditions, where commencement’s being held, what new road is being expanded, new corporation headquartering in their community, remind them of flood insurance and routes out of town for immediate evacuation, and all things relevant…give them the knowledge to select you as their trusted adviser, housing consultant, REALTOR.
Gettin’ Off the Highway and Into Their Driveway(tm)” engages the consumer, builds relationships and results in happiness.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )FrogPond.com Takes Giant Leap as Online Hub for Real Estate Professionals
Posted on May 27, 2011. Filed under: Real Estate Housing Trends, News and Information | Tags: Agent, Brokerage, Buyers, commercial real estate, communications, e-zinc email, email, Ezine, free articles, Frog Pond, frogpond blog, green, green marketing, housing data, housing trends, Houston, Internet, Internet Marketing, marketing, marketing tips, news, Newsletter, Paperless, press releases, readers, Real Estate, real estate content, Realtor, Sellers, Susie Hale, sustainability, tv |
40,000+ subscribers nationwide utilize FrogPond products, services
HOUSTON, TX – May 27, 2011 – Showcasing a wide range of publishing, software, and communications and marketing solutions for the real estate industry, FrogPond.com has relaunched with updated graphics and multimedia features. The site contains 3,500 free reprintable articles, profiles of industry leaders, videos detailing current marketing trends and tools, and a link to the Housing Trends eNewsletter, which has more than 40,000 subscribers nationwide.
“Content is King! FrogPond.com has always been about providing outstanding free real estate content for the industry. Today, the consumers are driving the market with their desire for housing information. FrogPond’s Housing Trends eNewsletter was designed for the real estate professional to provide the ‘numbers’ from a national to micro local perspective to help the agent stay front and center with the consumers” , said Susie Hale, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of eFrogPond Inc.
FrogPond.com began in 1994 as a site for booking real estate and motivational speakers and later was where agents could “cut and paste” articles aimed at homebuying and selling consumers. Today, reprintable, royalty-free articles are aimed at agents, brokers and other business owners, with information on sales and marketing strategies, personal excellence, customer service and business planning.
Agents who want timely and accurate information to send their past clients, homebuying and selling prospects now subscribe to the Housing Trends eNewsletter (HTEN). Hale launched HTEN in 2010 as a monthly, free-subscription publication containing timely and accurate consumer-oriented content on national and regional housing sales, economic trends, mortgage rates and calculators, home improvement and maintenance, taxes and insurance.
The electronic publication is customizable for the subscribing agent’s franchise colors and logos and includes a personalized messages section. Agents can e-mail the newsletter or post it on their Facebook page or Website. It has been very successful – today having more than 40,000 subscribers across the spectrum of real estate franchises and brokerages. Those subscribers are many of the long-time – as well as the new – readers of FrogPond.com.
Other new features on the redesigned FrogPond.com Website include “picks” from the well-read Hale for motivational and real estate books, as well as a sidebar showing her Twitter feed and entries from the Housing Trends eNewsletter Facebook page.
Hale has a 23 year career in the real estate industry, with wide and deep experience as a licensed residential agent, a title company marketing officer, a mortgage broker and a mortgage banker, prior to her founding eFrogPond. Known as “The Frog,” Hale’s insightful technology and communications solutions have earned her the respect and affection of real estate professionals at all levels across the country. In 2008, she was named one the Top 25 Most Influential Women in Real Estate Leadership by the Active Rain online community for real estate professionals.
NEWS from eFrogPond.com
Contact: Susie Hale, President/CEO
101 Westcott, #102,Houston,Texas77007
(o) 713.880.1010 (c) 832.428.8482
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