Week 15 Wrapping Things Up & Looking Ahead

Week 15 Wrapping Things Up & Looking Ahead

When I first enrolled in the class I had a different idea of what it would be about. I did not expect that we would create our own Facebook and Twitter “business” sites. However, it was an excellent exercise to better understand how social media works. 

This class gave me the realization that social media is vital to your business and another resource to drive traffic to your sites for “new” customers. I discovered the power of social media is becoming more a necessity than just for social networking. It exposes your business to a wider audience. I was surprised that there are so many social media platforms, but selecting the platform that best suits your business is critical. 

Being introduced to the Google Analytics, a tool that is highly beneficial in developing your marketing strategy, branding your products/services, finding out what works and doesn’t work, and gaining knowledge of where your followers are coming from. I also learned there are so many other tools to utilize to grow your business.

One big discovery was the fact on how much time and effort it takes to maintain your social media platforms. Also, how important it is to have your followers either “like, share or comment” on your site. Another thing, content, content, content will bring new customers and retain current customers. 

There was a lot to learn and a bit overwhelming at times to absorb everything in a short period of time. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the class and am more confident about social media.  Today, I am better equipped and knowlegeable to respond to family and friends when they ask about social media. 

Thank you.  

Happy Holidays and a Prosperous  New Year! 

Week 14 - Create My Business Strategy

Week 14 – Create My Business Strategy

How much time do you think your business should spend on social media marketing and why?

Allot at least an hour a day on each social media platform and daily at interval times to respond to comments in a timely manner.

In order to attract new customers or convert followers into customers you must put in the time to ensure you are posting quality content with images, responding to their comments, interacting with your followers, providing excellent customer service, building your brand for your product/services, and scheduling future posts.

What tools do you choose and how might you use them to use and test a strategy over the next six months.

Google Analytics to get feedback on what is working and not working.  Determine if I am reaching my target audience by age, gender, location, etc., what content do my followers “like, share, or comment” on, which marketing campaign receives the most traffic, who is searching my site, which page they linger on the most,  which pages are viewed the most and the least,  and where they are coming from, e.g. browsers, mobile, etc.  With the pertinent information I can change content to be more intriguing for my followers, revamp my marketing strategy to focus on how I can  attract more potential customers, and keep a close watch on how these changes result in more interaction from viewers and customers.

Facebook Scheduling posts ahead of time to save me time and better planning on my marketing campaign.

Sprout Social was recently introduced by one of our classmates, which I may consider. From what I have read it allows you to schedule and publish updates to your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts. It can also connect RSS feeds to your account and have them regularly update your social media platforms with new content. It also includes influence and engagement monitoring to see how influential they are.

Plot out a rough draft plan of the next month of content across the sites you’ve chosen and how you hope they might grow or sustain your business.

This Month’s Goal:

Increase traffic to Facebook and Twitter by 50% and grow followers by 75%.

Our Mission:

We must ensure our posts are interesting and intriguing to attract new customers and retain our current customers.

We must provide education and valuable information to everyone who visits our sites to convert them into customers.

We must respond to all comments good or bad in a timely manner and ensure their satisfaction.

We must commit to performing at our highest level with integrity, honesty and to the best of our ability for our customers and agency.

 

Social Media Calendar:

Days	Time	Social Media Platforms	Task
Daily	8:30 am, 1:00 pm, 4:00 pm	Facebook and Twitter	Check comments and respond appropriately
Daily	8:30 am	Facebook and Twitter	Post sales closed, if any
Monday	8:30 am	Facebook and Twitter	Post real estate related article from one of our agents, expert, or media
Monday & Wednesdays	10:00 am, 4:00 pm	Facebook and Twitter	New exclusive property listings
Tuesday & Thursday	8:30 am	Facebook and Twitter	Post then repost a contest, discount
Tuesday & Friday	8:30 am	Facebook and Twitter	Post and repost any upcoming open houses
Thursday	9:30 am	Facebook and Twitter	Post about one of our agents social activity, community service, or agency activity
Bi-Monthly	8:30 am	You Tube	Post a video of one of our exclusive property listing and a real-estate related educational video
Mid month and end of month	8:30 am	Facebook	Check Google analytics
Monthly, Customer Birthday	8:30 am	Facebook and Twitter	Monthly and individual birthday wishes to customers and followers with a free Sprinkles cupcake gift card

With this plan and schedule we will accomplish our mission and achieve our goals. Tracking mid month and the end of the month will give us feedback of what works and what doesn’t. At mid month if we are not gaining more followers, we may need to produce better content/images  and post more frequently. We may offer more interesting/fun contests that will draw more followers. We will determine if the articles/videos are relatable or interesting enough for our followers. If this works, we will repeat the schedule and if not, we need to modify it.

Week 14 - Comments on Classmates Blogs

Week 14 - Comments on Classmates Blogs


http://michellereneemusings.blogspot.com

http://jvspurzem.blogspot.com

http://www.tltarkington.blogspot.com

http://tacoshopmama.blogspot.com

Week 14 - More Social Strategy - Part 1

Week 14 – More Social Strategy

 Which ones integrate best with the type of business you have created?

The social platforms that integrate best with my real estate business are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

•        Facebook would generate “likes” and “shares” that would result in new customers who find my posts intriguing and valuable in their search for their dream home. Also my Twitter account is linked to it.
•        Twitter would find potential customers checking out my listings and finding coupons, contests, open houses instantly.
•        YouTube would have videos of property listings. I would also have instructional or educational real estate videos that real estate buyers/sellers would be informational and valuable in their search for their dream home.
•        LinkedIn would provide credibility on my skills and experience as a trustworthy real estate agent.  Also a place to connect with other real estate agents I could partner with or gain valuable information from. It’s a business networking site where I can connect, educate and share my expertise

Which have you enjoyed using the most?

I enjoyed Facebook. I like the opportunity of interacting with my followers. Get to know them better, find out their likes, and interests. It’s a more personalized experience that makes you comfortable and open to them. It’s fun to comment and share with them as well as offer contests, coupons, etc. It’s a curiosity to check on what is going on in their lives and can be daily addiction.

Which work best on a daily use pattern?

Facebook and Twitter would be a daily task. It’s important you post often to these platforms to keep things current. Followers will be more apt to return knowing you are active and providing them with good content. Also you should monitor the comments good or bad and respond to them immediately.

Facebook you must establish rapport with your followers is to like, comment or share on their posts.

Twitter is about what is happening in real-time and has a short life span. It’s more instantaneous and enjoyable to read a quick tweet.

Which can you still use effectively on a much less frequent time schedule?

LinkedIn would be the less frequent. My bio is already up and posting my real estate sales may take a while to close.

Week 13 Optimizing Yourself and the Compan

Week 13 Optimizing Yourself and the Company

Note: For this class, I created a “fake” real estate business to complete the assignments. With that in mind, the features chosen will initially be basic.

When I first viewed the Google Analytics features page. I realized how overwhelming it would be trying to figure out what features would work best for my business. In the beginning, it will be a trial and error experience until I fine-tune my business strategy utilizing the information. I also know it will be a time consuming effort and sheer dedication to regularly monitor my site and Google analytics to stay ahead of my goals.

I found it fascinating that I could create dashboards on my own or import pre-made dashboards from the “gallery” with specific information. I imported the Content Analysis, Basic Google Analytics reports, and the Social Media dashboards from the “gallery”. Dashboards give me a snapshot of relevant information to analyze visitor traffic. It will help me understand what works and what I can do to fix areas that need improvement. I will learn what type of content I must write that is intriguing for a viewer to stay longer and view other pages on my site.

Another feature that is highly beneficial is the “Audience”. This feature shows me who my users are by demographics (age, gender) and indicates their interests. It will give ma a sense of their behavior and the frequency of how often they are coming, how long they stay and how many pages they view. It also informs me of which browsers the traffic is coming from. Information from this feature will show me if I am reaching my target audience and insight of what I must do in changing my content to be more valuable to my potential customers. It will show me what’s trending and help me decide what adjustments to make to my business strategy.

Overall the data points will give me a better understanding of what is working and what is not. Studying the analytics encourages me to re-evaluate the design of my site, content, images, placement of information, etc. It compels me to question what must I do to optimize my site and build my social media platforms for viewers to stay longer and potentially gain new customers and referrals.

Week 12 Coupon Deal

Week 12 Coupon Deal

I will create a Groupon coupon for buyers and sellers. The coupon will cost the potential client $25 up front and require them to use Land Prime Property to buy or sell, then at closing the Groupon customer will receive a $1,000 gift certificate at Home Depot or Lowe’s (agents have also offered cash credit/rebate at closing, flat fee listings, or a reduced commission).

My coupon has a set of criteria in which the potential client’s purchase or sale must be greater than $400,000.00 and close within a year. This offer would be available on Groupon for a limited time of seven days.

Other real estate agents have met with success using this coupon confirming that the people who are serious enough to buy or sell their house in the short term are willing to pay the $25 up front for a coupon.

Week 12 Using Other Social Media Tools

  Week 12 Using Other Social Media Tools

What four additional online marketing tools do you believe could be important to the growth of your business?

I already have Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest so the four additional marketing tools I believe could be important to the growth of my business are: 

LinkedIn

• What better platform to network with professionals who may be searching for a reputable, knowledgeable real estate agent/agency to help them buy their dream home.
• An excellent platform to make connections with other real estate agents to partner with, interact with groups in my field, and to promote my skills. 

 Yelp

• This is a highly popular referral service that I use whenever I am searching for a service provider, restaurant, events, etc.
• A site that will give my agency more exposure. Anyone looking for a good real estate agent/agency by location or # of stars would see my company, contact information, directions, and map.
• I can communicate with the reviewer whether it’s a positive or negative review to thank them or to remedy the issue.
• It’s also a good place to gauge how customers perceive my services/agency. 

Groupon

• I am an “addict” to this site to find discounts for a variety of goods, things to do, beauty, spa, health/fitness, automotive, electronics, home & garden, and getaways.
• I would offer discount coupons to entice potential customers to my agency with specific criteria that need to be met. 

YouTube

• A popular site that offers a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others.
• It’s my go to place for instructional videos, entertainment that I may have missed,  ideas, etc.
• If done well and creatively, I would produce a variety of videos from tips of buying a home, staging your home, decorating your home, how to select the best mortgage, and anything related to real estate. 

How could you integrate them into your current strategy? 

All social media platforms would be included in my business plan and part of my strategic objectives and goals as contributors to my agency’s profitability.  It’s a priority and time consuming so I would hire someone to manage and ensure that he/she maintains and monitors all my social media platforms as well as responds appropriately to the posts/reviews in a timely manner.