Gary Carpenter

What is the difference between market value and appraised value?

The appraised value of a house is a certified appraiser's opinion of the worth of a home at a given point in time. Lenders require appraisals as part of the loan application process; fees range from $200 to $300.
Market value is what price the house will bring at a given point in time. A comparative market analysis is an informal estimate of market value, based on sales of comparable properties, performed by a real estate agent or broker. Either an appraisal or a comparative market analysis is the most accurate way to determine what your home is worth.

If you would like to know what your home is worth today (even if you are not moving) give us a call 402-680-7000.

"Are you generating at least 2 to 5 Leads per day, Yes per day from your current website?"

One of my jobs as the CEO of Keller Williams Greater Omaha is to interview agents in our market place and the one question  I always ask all agents is "Do you have your own website?"  In this day and age, they reply, "Yes, of course, certainly!" Where most are stumped is when I ask,  "How many leads are you currently generating on a daily, yes, daily basis?"   You would be surprised how many agents just look at me with a blank stare or say, " I get leads from my website but most of them are a dead end and it just doesn't work." 

The whole purpose of any advertising in any business is to allicate a response and the response that you want from your "Lead Generating Website" is  the consumer's correct information (name, number, and email).  The only way they will give you something of value is if they receive something of value from  your website.  The value today in a real estate website is the ease in which they can search for the home of their dreams.  That brings up the subject of IDX ... either you have it or you don't.   If you do not have it then your website is just a fancy business card!

Web Information Exchange is the most effective way to reach out to all those people interested in properties and are scanning the Internet for them. There was a time when property advertisements were published in newspapers and magazines and those on the hunt could pick them up weekly or monthly to aid in their search. While you can still find 'advertisements', they are now on the web.  In fact, the internet is the #1 way buyers are searching for real estate, over 90% of all buyers are starting there search online and 8 out of 10 home buyers who used the Internet to search for a home purchased through a real estate agent, in contrast with 63 percent of non-Internet users who were more likely to purchase directly from a builder or from an owner they already knew in a private transaction.

IDX listings makes it possible for a web site to list all the properties available - very much like the newspapers and magazines.

If you are in the real estate business and want to generate online leads, your first job is to give prospects what they desire - information about the properties. Now the problem is as an agent or a broker, how many properties are you able to get hold of and screen?  

All  listing agents and brokers who are members of the network agree on the details and features each other's websites will show. This is often referred to as IDX broker reciprocity.  IDX listings will also help your visitors to perform map-based searches which means that they can zoom in to the address level. 

These are some of the characteristics of an IDX Listing website

• IDX list integration into your system is completely smooth and fast. 

• You can list your broker IDX website to go with your layout and colors.

• You have the freedom to choose what real estate ads you want and what you want to omit. 

• For complex developers there are custom CSS / HTML controls.

• The IDX listings system is super easy for your prospects to view. 

• There are client automated email updates that allow you to update your prospects. 

• There are unlimited customized slideshows and showcases.

 

If you want to show them all the listings, you can. And because the system is constantly updated, you can be sure new listings appear and solds disappear. 

Needless to say, IDX listings can greatly help you extend the leads from your real estate site. Since there are so many proprietary options, you can be sure that your prospects will stay longer on your site!

 

If you have any other questions about IDX websites please do not hesitate to call Gary Carpenter 402-680-7000 or email at [email protected]

 

4 Ways To Keep Yourself Focused

 

Here is an occurence you see too many times before – you start off your day by telling yourself that you will get (insert amount) of task done today. As determined as you are, you might end up having blunt conversation with your friends, replying and sending out e-mails and of course, get really busy on social outlets. 

 

So how do we avoid all these evil attention seeking, unnecessary task and make sure we accomplish what we should be accomplishing on the day itself? Our minds are easily wavered and affected and it becomes extremely hard to realign your focus with items that you need to get accomplished. Today I want to share with you 5 ways to improve your focus in Real Estate and how you can possibly discard activity that can divert your attention. Now these tips can be subjective but it may be effective for you!

 1. Work In Chunks

It’s a scientific fact that our brains can only be attentive on a limited amount of information for a limited amount of time. Making sure the appropriate information in mind is the one that lines up with our activities in Real Estate is where the difficulty is. To lighten the load on your brain, it is better to segment your work into small manageable pieces. The idea is you do not want to spend an entire day working on one task non-stop. Breaking it up allows your brain to ‘breathe’ and it will reward you later with effective work. So work in small portions then leave your desk and if your lucky go outside breathe in mother nature.

2. Reward Yourself For Your Determination

It’s not really a bad thing to visit sites like Facebook, Meebo, or Twitter to get your social updates, but it’s important to not spend huge amounts of time on them, especially when your activities for the day are not complete. What I tend to do is create a set of tasks that I need to complete before I can visit any of those sites or leave my desk. I will work awhile, complete a task, then reward myself with some time catching up with a friend. This strategy relies on sheer perseverance and strong will. If you cant stick to goals that you set try another one of these methods.

3. Go Incognito

If all else fails and you just cant seem to get away from the Facebook and pesky co-worker emails, you have to hide yourself. Go invisible on the instant message clients, set the away message to “BUSY, DON’T BOTHER ME”. And for those people who love to stop by your desk, throw on those head phones so they dont feel inclined to spark up a conversation. I often have to close my door and put up a Prospecting Sign so that I can get my work completed. It seems the moment one person starts talking to me that the floods of people come. I’ve learned to never put myself in conversational positions while trying to be focused or make sure that i’m in control if I am in those situations.

4. Be Interested/Passionate About Your Work.

Finally the best way to be productive is to truly enjoy and be passionate about what your working on. We go to great lengths and hours of work for things that interest us. Yet we lose focus instantaneously if what we are doing is not important. It might take sometime finding interest in the work you do, you might have to just think about the big picture.

 

IPhone 4 Tips: 10 Things New Users Should Know

I don't know about you but I LOVE my new iPhone 4 and don't know how I functioned before I had it! ;0) The following blog is a mixture of a few things – mainly tips, tricks and some guides for those of you who just bought an iPhone 4. If you are skeptical about the reception and other potential problems the iPhone 4 might have – don’t worry – you are not alone. I am also going to share some hands-on experience regarding few potential iPhone 4 problems, so read on.

 

1. Update All Your Applications

First things first, check for application updates. If you have lot of applications installed in your previous iPhone 3G or 3GS, chances are they will need to be updated again so that they can take advantages of the new iOS4 features and iPhone 4 capabilities. So before you start trying out your existing applications on iPhone 4, take a moment to check if they need to be updated.

2. Where’s Facetime?

This is probably one of the first thing you’d like to explore on new iPhone 4, but where’s the Facetime app?Facetime is actually not an application, in fact, it’s an option available (for now) only when you make a call via WiFi to another iPhone 4 user.

Facetime is turn off by default. To turn it on, go to Settings → Phone and turn Facetime on. Carrier activation might be required. Learn more about Facetime.

3. You’ll Need A New Wallpaper

With retina display, everything on iPhone 4 looks amazingly vibrant and high quality. The screen supports up to 960×640 pixels at 326ppi, approximately 4 times higher than the resolution in a iPhone 3Gs. In another words, it makes your current wallpaper looks weak and you’ll need to look for a higher resolution wallpapers :-)

4. Try IMovie For IPhone 4

iMovie for iPhone4 is a light version of iMovie for Mac and it’s awesome. It allows you to edit and share your recorded videos on the fly. And did we mention all videos recording with iPhone 4 are in high definition (HD)?

iMovie for iPhone 4 cost $4.99.

5. Tap To Focus Object – Video

Even the smartest gadget can use a some human touch. While video recording, you can tap on different objects on the screen to have iPhone focus on them.

6. View Widescreen While Recording

If you swap from camera mode to video mode, you’ll notice that the objects are actually getting closer. That is because video recording is done in wide screen mode. To display in wide screen while recording – double tab the screen.

7. Search Web, Wikipedia On The Fly

By swiping right on the home screen, you’ll activate Spotlight. Type in something and scroll all the way to the bottom and you’ll noticed two additional search options have been added, respectively the "Search web" and "Search wikipedia". Both search uses Safari browser.

8. Mirror, Self-Shot

iPhone 4 comes with an additional front camera. By clicking on the camera icon on the top right, the front camera is activated instead of the back. We thought this could be useful for those who want to use their iPhone as a mirror, or perhaps, it makes taking self-shots easier too!

9. The IPhone 4 Reception Problem

This is the question most people are most concerned about. To be fair, yes signal bars do dropped when gripped – they call it the Death Grip.

However, signal drop only happens in areas where receptions are weak, so it very much depends a lot on your service provider. The problem is mild, don’t get too worried about it.

10. Yellow Splotches On The Screen

Some users are reporting that they have been noticing yellow patches on the iPhone 4 screen. According tomacintouch, this is just a small temporarily problem as these yellow splotches are nothing but some bonding agents for the glass that will evaporate as the device is exposed to the air. You can relax now.

 

20 Facebook Tips/Tricks You Might Not Know

If you surf Facebook on daily basis or occasionally, chances are you’re already familiar with regular stuffs like add/delete friends, update statuses, walls and profile, add and explore pages & applications, etc, but there’s more..

This week we want to cover some interesting things you can do on (or with) Facebook; inclusive of tricks that are not documented or unknown to many, as well as tips to stay connected better with your friends. Without further ado, here’s 20 Facebook Tips/Tricks You Might Not Know. If you have interesting tips/tricks related to Facebook, please feel free to share in the comment box below.

 

1. How To Place Facebook Chat On Firefox Sidebar

   If you are using Firefox, you can place the Facebook Chat at the sidebar.

   

2. How To Download Facebook Photo Albums

   FacePAD: Facebook Photo Album Downloader allows you to download your friends’ facebook albums, Events albums, and Group Albums, en masse, with the click of a button.

   

3. How To Share Flickr Photos To Facebook

   Flickr2Facebook is an unofficial Flickr to Facebook uploader(bookmarklet) which allows you upload photos to Facebook from Flickr.

   

4. How To Update Facebook Without Using Facebook

   hellotxt and Ping.fm both introduced features that let Facebook administrators update Facebook Pages.

   

5. How To Schedule Facebook Messages

   Sendible lets you schedule Facebook messages ahead of time so you can send messages to your friends, customers or colleagues in the future.

   

6. How To "Friend" Someone On Facebook & Hide It From Your Status Updates

   A short tutorial on Makeuseof to guide you how to hide Facebook status updates and keep that fact confined to your closer friends.

   

7. How To Create A Photo Collage Using Pictures Of Your Facebook Friends

   Click on Friends tab. Proceed to More tab. From "Choose an option" dropdown, choose any of the dashes "—" . Your Facebook friends collage is right on your computer screen.

   

8. How To Know When Facebook Friends Secretly Delete Or Block You

   This service has been discontinued. X-Friends is a unique tool for tracking friends that disappear from Facebook.

   

9. How To Display Selected Pictures Only On Your Facebook Profile Page

   A little-known feature in Facebook that lets you decide who shows up in that Friends box. Click that "edit" pencil in your Friends box and type the names of your best friends in the box that says "Always show these friends"

   

10. How To Remove Facebook Advertisements

    This Greasemonkey script – Facebook: Cleaner removes many of the annoying ads and updates that unavoidably appear on your Facebook pages.

    

11. How To Syncs Photos Of Facebook Friends With Contacts In Microsoft Outlook

    OutSync is a free Windows application that syncs photos of your Facebook friends with matching contacts in Microsoft Outlook. It allows you to select which contacts are updated. So you can update all contacts at once or just a few at a time.

    

12. How To Display Facebook Statuses On WordPress Blog

    The following method make use of Facebook status feed and WordPress RSS widget to display Facebook Statuses on WordPress blog.. It will also work for self-host WordPress blogs.

    

13. How To Post Your Blog Posts To Your Facebook Wall Automatically

    Wordbook allows you to cross-post your blog posts to your Facebook Wall. Your Facebook “Boxes” tab will show your most recent blog posts.

    

14. How To Access Facebook Chat On Desktop

    Gabtastik and digsby let you keep Facebook chat sessions open on your Windows desktop outside of your regular web browser, using minimal screen real estate and system memory.

    

15. How To Create Quiz On Facebook Easily

    LOLapps provides quiz creator that can be employed to conjure up these popular personality quizzes that are so widespread in Facebook.

    

16. How To Hide Your Online Status On Facebook Chat From Select Contacts

    Facebook has integrated friends list with Chat and you can also choose which of these list members get to see you online.

    

17. How To Get Facebook Updates On Email

    NutshellMail consolidates your Facebook accounts through the inbox you use the most.

    

18. How To Update Facebook Status From Firefox

    FireStatus is a status update utility for multiple social networks, including FaceBook.

    

19. How To Get Facebook On Your Desktop

    Seesmic Desktop, Facebooker, Xobni, Facebook Sidebar Gadget, Scrapboy and Facebook AIR application are desktop applications that allows you interact with your stream just as you would on Facebook, but without the browser.

    

20. How To Delete, Cancel And Terminate Facebook Account And Profile

    A simple guide to terminate, delete or cancel Facebook account, together with the Facebook profile easily.

    

 

How to Get more "GOOD LEADS" from facebook!

 

Post stuff that people care about

According to Page Lever, 98% of fan page interaction comes from the news feed. Which means if you want to increase closings (i.e. more traffic, more leads) then you’ll need to maximize the type of content that will increase your Klout Score.

Getting Comments

Try asking questions, or positioning your information in a creative way to generate interest from readers. Think of it like an interview: ask open-ended questions that require more than a “Yes” or “No” answer. Remember the key is to get them tocomment! Here are a few examples from Jay Papasan and Chris Smith of the blogFuture of Real Estate Marketing.

Getting “Likes”

Getting “Likes” may be easier than comments as you begin to build your Klout. Try posting hyper-local community information, a recent client testimonial, market stats or your latest travels with your family! Another great way to get Likes: quotes that inspire you for the day. As you post you’ll begin to see which type of posts get you more “Likes”.

Getting Fans

You might think this step comes before Comments or Likes; after all who’s going to Like if you don’t have any fans, right? Wrong. The reality is you need to start posting immediately to give people a reason to want to like your Facebook Business Page. And in between posts, drive people to your page:

• Add a Facebook “Like” button to your Website, blog, LinkedIn, Email Signature or ActiveRain page – any place where someone could click to “Like” you.
• Add your Facebook unique URL (after you hit 25 fans or more) to your business card as well as any print or email marketing material.
• Send an email to current clients, business alliances and friends and relatives asking them to “Like” your Facebook Business Page.
• Tell people! During any conversations with potential or current clients, say something like “I can definitely send you information on comparable home prices in your neighborhood. If you’d like timely information on our local market and updates on homes being bought and sold, I’d recommend “Liking” my Facebook Business Page.”

There’s a great section in The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuck that really pulls it all together:

“Social media works best when you evoke an emotion in the people to whom you’re reaching out. It pulls. If you’re going to launch a campaign, it has to be one that evokes emotion – positive or negative – so that people feel compelled to share. Give them something to talk about, unleash the power of word of mouth, and allow them to pull you into their consciousness. Letting the consumers decide for themselves that they really want to know you, versus persuading them that they should, can make a very big difference in the kind of relationship that ensues. … Use social media campaigns to create an opportunity for engagement, not to force it.”

The reason Ben is winning the social media and online lead generation game isn’t justbecause he posts intriguing questions or comments consistently on Facebook, or always replies on Twitter, or has a Klout score of 57 [although, all three of those contribute to his overall success] – it’s because he genuinely cares about connecting with his sphere, producing meaningful conversation and influencing others with the hopes of having an impact on their lives.

When you inspire others to believe in you then they’ll believe in WHAT you do.

What are you doing to increase your Klout and win more clients online?

Ben will be co-hosting Mega Technology Camp in Austin, Texas September 20 – 21 along with Cary Sylvester and Bryon Ellington. This year’s agenda includes mobile, social marketing and lead generation strategies. Visit events.mapscoaching.com/mega-camp for full details. (P.S. Register soon – this session will fill up FAST!) Ben is also the founder of IMSD (Real Estate Internet Marketing Specialist Designation)

 

Four Simple Steps At Increasing Market Share So You Can Shift Gears and Head Straight Into Success!

If you’re a smart Realtor, you want to ramp up your business, get noticed and do it with a bang that makes your name pop out and stay in the memories of anyone looking to buy or sell a home or property. With a plethora of Realtors out there, all looking to do the same thing, how do you stand out and shine on your own? We’ve got a solution neatly lined up in four amazingly simple steps that will steer you toward achieving success – by shifting gears and driving business directly into your hands! Here’s how to narrow your focus:

When you zoom in on the specific focus points, you’ll find it easier and your goals more realistic to accomplish. By following these four strategies you can and will employ almost instant change in your business.

Decide What You Want

Knowing exactly what you want is a key factor in being able to achieve success. And the more specific you are, the better your chances of achieving your goals. By staying within reason of your specific goals, you don’t end up trying to be all things to all people – leaving you to focus on the important aspects of your career, and allocating a good amount of time to those things exclusively.

Whether it is wanting to sell a set number of homes per week, working a 20-hour workweek, controlling your volume and traffic or creating a certain quality of life – the idea is that when you know what you want, you will know what you need to achieve what you want, and you’ll also have a clear idea of the people you will need to be working with to be successful.

Decide Who To Target

If you attempt to reach too many people in too vast an audience, the ability to home in on a specific niche is taken away from you. By focusing on a group that you know you want to work with, you solidify your chances of greater success within that niche. An example of a targeted audience is move up buyers. This may be the ideal potential clientele for you to seek out, since they increase your sales price averages, take considerable less work and are a great source of long-term business leads because they are usually established homeowners with many contacts and potential leads. Regardless of which niche you select, the importance of honing on a target audience is paramount, as it will clear up the focus and allow you to concentrate on increasing your success.

Establish a Brand

Many Realtors make the common mistake of relying on their broker’s brand. To a consumer, everyone looks the same in the real estate business so it is essential that you create your own brand, unique to even your broker. This way the consumer, especially the ones who fall into your targeted audience bracket, can distinguish you from the rest of the lot, and recognize you for the services you can provide them unique to their needs. When you have established your brand presence within the niche you’ve selected for yourself, not only will consumers appreciate your services but they will also understand and value those services – resulting in them understanding that you are worth what you charge for your time.

Create a Specific Message

Once you’ve established your wants and needs, you have selected a target audience to achieve those needs and your niche has its own unique branding – it’s time to create a very specific message geared toward your potential clientele. The idea, again, is to stand out from the rest. By creating a clearly defined message, you are leaving no room for mistaking what exactly you have to offer; whether sharing your value proposition to potential clients, highlighting your experience levels or previous successes, the message is one that will drive traffic to your door and help you to reach the pinnacle of success, as you’ve defined it.

~

Following just a few simple, yet essential steps is key in establishing your goals; knowing who you need to pursue to achieve those goals and setting up the framework to do so in a way that is optimal for business – you can and will shift gears and increase your market share!

 

"Increased Profits at Keller Williams Greater Omaha Market Center"

Gang, this is a great blog post by "The KCM Blog"! As the CEO of Keller Williams Greater Omaha, I agree with most of what they are predicting. Each month I compare our company's numbers to the local board's and for the past 3 months we have experienced an awesome trend in contracts written.   April +56.7%, May +133.3%, June +141.3% and we are up +52.9% for the year thus far. I am very optimistic that this trend will continue even going into the slower selling months! While other markets are not experiencing these types of increases, our agents are enjoying the increased business.  Since we cap our agents on how much they have to pay into the company, they are also enjoying increased PROFITS!

_____________________________________________________________________ 

Making predictions can be the ‘kiss-of-death’ for a blog. Even if we get four out of five correct (80%), there are those in the industry who will kill us on the one we got wrong. We believe strongly that when making a real estate decision for you and your family you must look forward and take into consideration how the housing market may change.

For this reason, we are willing to take on the possible wrath of our counterparts by sticking out our necks and predicting these will be the major real estate news stories from now until the end of the year.

Interest Rates Rise

Many, including us, have been surprised that rates have not risen already. However, the next several months are going to see three distinct changes that will propel rates upward.

1. As the government starts to leave the mortgage market, private industry will step in. Private industry demands a higher rate of return on their investments. Mortgages will be no different. Studies have shown that 30 year mortgage rates could increase by 1 to 3% over the current rate.
2. In many higher priced markets, rolling back Conforming Loan Limits means that rates for the mortgages on these properties will resort back to the rates on private jumbo loans. The FHFA informed us that last year, the difference between mortgage rates for jumbo loans and jumbo-conforming mortgages has varied between about ½ and ¾ of a percentage point.
3. As the economy gets better (and we believe it will), the pressure to keep rates low to stimulate growth will abate.

Some Loan Requirements Tighten but More Can Now Get a Loan

Lending institutions have already started to introduce stricter mortgage guidelines. Whether the Quality Residential Mortgage (QRM) requirements are instituted as originally proposed or eased somewhat, there is no doubt that guidelines will continue to tighten as we work through the year. However, we believe the private sector will again start introducing alternative mortgage financing but at a greater expense to the consumer. You WILL be able to get a mortgage. It will just cost you more.

Housing Sales Increase

Contracted sales have shown consistent improvement over the last six months and we feel this will continue and actually begin gaining even greater momentum. We believe there is a ‘pent-up’ buying demand caused by the volatility of the market over the last several years. When interest rates start to move upward and alternative financing becomes more available, these buyers will start to jump off the fence. We believe there will be a major upswing in sales over the next six months.

Distressed Properties Increase Markedly 

More people are paying their mortgage on time and that is great news for housing in the long term. However, the numbers of distressed properties currently in the foreclosure process is still very swollen. These properties will begin coming to the market in the second half of the year as short sales and foreclosures. The numbers will be staggering in some areas.

Prices Continue to Soften in Most Markets 

The current housing inventory for sale and the distressed properties about to come on the market will vastly outnumber the increased supply of purchasers we will see over the next six months. There will be more houses for sale then there will be buyers purchasing them. That oversupply will continue to put downward pressure on prices through the rest of this year and into 2012.

You now know what we believe will take place in real estate between now and the end of the year.

 

Keller Williams Realty Dominates REAL Trends 500 Survey

Keller Williams Realty Dominates REAL Trends 500 Survey
2nd largest real estate franchise in U.S. continues to show growth

 

AUSTIN, TEXAS (April 13, 2011) — On the heels of announcing its position as the second-largest real estate franchise in the United States by agent count, Keller Williams Realty continues to post positive growth and strong presence in industry rankings. 

 

The company’s brokerages dominated the recently released REAL Trends 500, an annual industry ranking published by REAL Trends, Inc., a leading source of analysis and information on the residential brokerage and housing industry.Keller Williams brokerages represented 24 percent (199 offices) of the top 500 brokerages ranked by closed transactions and 28 percent (138 offices) of the top 500 brokerages ranked by closed volume. The number of brokers ranked on the list surpassed all other major franchise players – with twice the number of brokers represented (by closed transactions) and almost three times the number of brokers represented (by closed volume) compared to Coldwell Banker, currently the largest real estate company in the U.S. by agent count.

 

“These rankings serve as proof to the entire industry that we’re not just growing in agent count, the productivity of our already successful associates and offices is rising higher as well," said Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

 

“We recognize that the success of our brokers and our associates on these rankings is a direct result of the quality of people we’re in business with," added Mary Tennant, president and COO of Keller Williams Realty, Inc. “Time and time again, we’re reminded how resilient and positive our leaders and associates are in today’s real estate market."

 

In March of this year, the company announced that it had surpassed Century 21 as the second largest real estate franchise in agent count in the United States.

 

Along with growth in numbers, the company received many accolades in 2010 including:

·         Entrepreneur magazine, No. 1 ranked real estate franchise on the 31^st Annual Franchise 500 list

·         J.D. Power and Associates, highest in overall satisfaction ratings from home buyers among the largest full-service real estate firms for the third year in a row

·         Inman News, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board Gary Keller named one of the 100 Most Influential Leaders in Real Estate

·         Training Magazine, highest ranking real estate franchise on the annual Training Top 125, #47 Overall

 

For more details, the full report is available on the REAL Trends Website: http://www.realtrends.com/products/rt500.

 

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About Keller Williams Realty, Inc.:

Founded in 1983, Keller Williams Realty Inc. is the second-largest real estate franchise operation in the United States, with 701 offices and almost 80,000 associates in the United States and Canada. The company, which began franchising in 1990, has an agent-centric culture that emphasizes access to leading-edge education and promotes an economic model that rewards associates as stakeholders and partners. The company also provides specialized agents in luxury homes and commercial real estate properties. For more information, or to search for homes for sale visit Keller Williams Realty online at (www.kw.com). Information about Keller Williams Realty’s international expansion can be found at (www.kwworldwide.com).

3 Ideas to engage your Facebook Fan Base

By Laura Price, Marketing and Communications, Keller Williams Realty International.

Facebook Fan Pages have drawn attention to themselves because, when done well, they can be extremely effective. It’s a great outlet to create raving fans and win more business.

Gaining a friendly following isn’t about posting quantity, however, it’s about quality. Moreover, the “If you build it, they will come” mentality doesn’t apply anymore. Today’s consumer expects meaningful interaction that can benefit them. If you can successfully do that, you’re fans will be more likely to repay the favor in the form of loyalty and sending business your way.

Here are three ways and a few great ideas to create raving fans on your Facebook page.

Gotta Be:

 

BE Information-based. As a real estate agent you have a wide variety of topics to discuss on Facebook. Here are some ideas to incorporate into your posting plan.

 

• Local market data including days on market, current inventory, mortgage rates, and the average or median listing price in your area. There’s no shortage of data and statistics out there – get creative!
• Activities happening in and around your area or events you’re attending. When you’re posting, find out who in your sphere is coming. If you’re at the same event, why not make it a point to get some face-to-face interaction with the people who are following you?
• City-wide issues positively or negatively affecting your neighborhoods. Sue Adler, associate with the Summit, N.J. market center got the conversation going when she posted about a recent hot-button issue in her area.

• Seasonal topics of interest – time changes, back to school dates, best place to catch fireworks on July 4^th, getting your home prepared for winter, Thanksgiving tips or recipes, local pumpkin patches for Halloween are a few ideas.

BE Yourself. You wouldn’t start a dinner party conversation with “HEY YOU: 3 bedroom, 2 bath home; just reduced!!!!!” That would be awkward, right? You are more than a real estate agent. Introduce yourself, talk about your hobbies, family, friends, and the latest books you’re reading. If real estate is on your mind, or you have an open house, absolutely post about it – just remember that it should be a two-way conversation. Talk WITH your sphere not AT them.

BE a Success: Buyers and sellers base their decision to work with you on several qualifications. And while not all clients will choose you for the same reason, many will look at your reputation. Your Facebook page is an excellent way to let potential clients know that you offer the best customer service in your area. Reputation-based posts are to be used sparingly – no one likes a bragger. Clients do like seeing how you can help them. Some example posts might include:

• Happy clients. Did you help a family purchase their first home, or perhaps successfully sell a home that was about to be foreclosed on? Talk about it. Better yet, ask your client if they’d be willing to post something on your wall.
• Briefly describe a challenging sale and how you and the client worked to get the home sold in the least amount of time and for the best price. (Remember to use your discretion on details, and ask your clients if it’s okay to post about their experience).
• Add the “Review” application to your page and ask recent clients to post reviews of their experience with you and your team.
• Set up a Yelp Profile and add a link on the notes section of your page. (Make sure you balance who you ask to post on your Wall and on Yelp. Not all of your clients will be willing to post on both sites.)

 

Jonathan Osman, associate with the Charlotte – Southwest market center is a good example to follow.

BE Consistent. Now that you have new ideas for posting, it’s time to get organized. Create a posting schedule so that you can participate in the social media sphere while doing job no. 1: helping clients buy and sell homes. Try this one:

• Monday: Local market update or an  interesting article on real estate
• Wednesday: What you’re doing that day or something interesting you’ve done that week. Make it real estate related or not! You choose.
• Friday: Highlight a weekend event. Ask who’s going!
• Saturday/Sunday: Post about a successful open house, a quote that inspired you that day, or something fun your family did over the weekend.

If you’re having trouble remembering to post, try HootSuite. Using HootSuite’s unique social media dashboard, individuals or teams can collaboratively schedule updates to Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Wordpress and other social networks via web, desktop or mobile platforms. Hootsuite also lets you track analytics on your updates. Schedulers aren’t for everyone, try it out and see what you think!

 

Key takeaways: E-I-O

Ol’ McDonald had the right idea. E-I-O.

Engage your fans.

Influence others.

Open the conversation.

 

If you can successfully execute these three strategies, you’ll be on your way to more fans.