RECoach Cites Best Aggregators

Do you find it takes too long to keep track of all the good real estate/technology information that’s passing through the Internet? Save time by setting up a Tweetdeck and following the industry’s power tweeters. Check out RECoach Eric Bryant’s “Top 10 Human Aggregators.”

(Oh, and don’t forget to add @realtormag.)

Last Chance: $4,000 Marketing Makeover

By Stacey Moncrieff, Editor in Chief, REALTOR® Magazine

HP is putting its products and services on the line to prove that print marketing is still essential to your success — and you could be the beneficiary, with a marketing makeover to start your 2010 off right.

In “The Marketing Makeover Challenge” from REALTOR^® Magazine and HP, five REALTORS^® will test their marketing prowess using HP printers, paper, design templates, and coaching. All the finalists will walk away with prizes valued at $1,000 — and one lucky winner will receive a prize package worth $4,000, including equipment and supplies from HP and tuition for NAR’s ePRO certification.

The challenge is for brokers and sales associates who currently use a non-HP printer that serves between one and 19 practitioners and staff. Finalists must be committed to a print marketing campaign and willing to work with REALTOR® Magazine and HP during the first quarter of 2010 to complete challenges and create blog posts about their experiences.

Tomorrow, Dec. 30, is the last day to enter. After that, the judges (including me) will begin the process of selecting our five finalists, so if you’ve been thinking about putting your name in the ring, do it now!

The most important social network to participate on is your own.

By Todd Carpenter, NAR Social Media Manager

Online community building expert, Chris Brogan wrote an interesting article last week on what he would do if he was a REALTOR®. I disagree with his strategy not to talk about work, but that’s another post for another day. What I really like about his post is its focus on building online communities hosted by a REALTOR®

I’ve often been quoted from a presentation I did at SPARKt a year ago with regard to the rules of participating on social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. I compared them to church. Why do you go to church? Is it to play bingo? Do you go for the free crackers? Do you go so you can talk with your friends about football? What about this: Do you go to sell real estate? If you said yes to any of the above, you’re going to hell. You go to church to worship. If all that other stuff happens secondary to worshiping, great! But worshiping is why you’re there.

Online social networks are like any other social network (church, the Rotary or an Elk’s Club…). The key is to identify the rules for that network and work within them.

Consumers don’t turn to Facebook to find a new home. They might use it to find an agent. But if you did your job outside of the sales cycle, that consumer will already be connecting with you on your own social network when they’re ready to buy a home.

The most important social network to participate on is your own. Read more

Why You Need a Tech Policy

By Wendy Cole, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

Because most real estate salespeople are independent contractors, brokerage managers commonly assume that they shouldn’t dictate or even recommend to agents what sort of computers or other tech tools to use, let alone what versions of software. That could be a gigantic mistake. During a technology management course this week, sponsored by the Illinois Association of REALTORS® and the Midwest CRB Chapter, instructor Jonathan Nicholas, a former broker-owner and current consultant to brokerages, discussed the technical incompatibility and general chaos that can ensue when offices fail to come up with a standardized approach concerning the equipment and software their agents use. Read more

Trying to Sell Through Social Media? Not So Fast…

By Katherine Tarbox, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

Knowledge Networks, a company that produces social research, recently released a report that shows more than 83 percent of the online population between the ages 13-54 use social media, but less than 5 percent of social media users turn to these sites for suggestions about purchasing decisions.

The study, which can be found here, broke down the things people are more likely to use social media to assess, such as travel services and clothes, and the items users are less likely to seek online advice on, such as groceries. While real estate was not specifically queried, the survey did offer data on other large purchases, including cars and financial services. One could infer that most users wouldn’t make many important decisions about home ownership through social networking. Read more

My Twitter Challenge

By Katherine Tarbox, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

I recently interviewed Jack Dorsey, one of the co-founders and CEOs of Twitter, for an upcoming technology column in REALTOR® magazine. He is as engaging and as much of a visionary that many in the media have suggested he is.

While some argue that Twitter has reached its threshold, I think it’s just the beginning for this application. Read more

Me, Myself, & Facebook.

Recently, a real estate agent I hardly knew asked me, “Don’t you think your Facebook page is unprofessional?” My reply was, “Don’t you think yours is a little too professional?”

Both of us are right, or wrong. It depends on how you look at it. Read more