I’ve been adding all sorts of programs and offerings this past month or so, mostly in the Social Media arena. I’m wondering now if Lifestreaming should be added or not. What are your thoughts on this?  Here is a great presentation that explains it pretty well:

I usually title these posts Coffee with a VA since I’m a VA and I write them while enjoying my morning coffee.

Today is no exception, I just felt that since I’m in the process of rolling out my new Social Media packages, I could share some fun social media icons from Mind Morsel as well that include one of my favorite beverages (wine glass icons would be totally inappropriate at this hour).

Social Media for Real Estate is nothing new, but the way in which we go about it is.  Things change every single day, and who has less time to constantly keep up with it than a Realtor®?

Enter the Real Estate Social Media VA.  I’ve been attending countless classes, webinars and reading tons of ebooks on both Social Media and Real Estate.  Ross Hair has a great ebook out for Agents to follow, and I’ve incorporated that into the program as well as different ways of monitoring, updating, keeping track, engaging, etcetera.  The difference between doing it all yourself and working with a Virtual Assistant to handle it all is HUGE.  Consistency (just like I constantly preach with everything else) is key.

We are putting together packages right now that include set up on the top 5 Social Media and Real Estate Social Media sites (including a facebook fan page), professional graphic design work for twitter, facebook & you tube channel – and your active rain outside blog if you have one, ongoing maintenance, daily upkeep, and monthly reports of your ROI.

Sounds great, right?  Nice and easy?  Yes, it is both BUT they are still SOCIAL networks and will require a bit of work from YOU (you are after all, the one the reader wants to know).

In other VA Chick news, I will be rolling out a new logo and design for my fan page and twitter page as well in the next few days, and most likely a big update of the site – I’m very excited!!  AND, the Facebook Marketing class will be up and running soon as well.

If you have any questions about our new Social Media packages, or anything else I’ve talked about, leave a comment or schedule a quick meeting with me.

Have an awesome Friday!

This is a repost of Lesley Lambert‘s blog post on Agent Genius on October 23, 2010

Facebook is huge right now and most of us are there, but few real estate agents are using it appropriately or to their best advantage.

I will try not to judge you if you are on Facebook playing games like Farmville, but you really need to rethink if this is the highest and best use of the largest network you have access to on any given day.

Instead of farming in Farmville, how about farming for prospective clients?

Few tools have been as effective in my marketing as Facebook. I find it to be uniquely handy at staying in touch with a large number of people in a low key and fun way. It is also a wonderful way to keep reminding my sphere that I am in real estate…but careful here, we don’t want to be spammy about it!

So turn off the games and start using Facebook to plant the seeds for future business. Here are a few tips for the real estate agent who is looking to learn how to tailor their marketing to Facebook.

Firstly, you need a business page.

You shouldn’t be using your personal profile page to promote business. It is against the guidelines on Facebook and just rude, regardless. I will share with you how you CAN use your profile effectively, but blasting out your market reports and new listings is a big NO-NO on your personal profile.

There are different strategies you can employ with your business page. I tend to use my name as my brand, so my fanpage reflects that. Many agents have had tremendous luck with hosting a niche page, instead. Something geographically based instead of real estate based might be easier to gain traction and fans. Consider your options wisely and then really spend some time on naming the page because once you pick the name there is NO changing it.

Engage your fans with active content.

Don’t use your business page as a rolling listings site. Yes, you CAN post your listings there (I do, too) BUT it should be sporadic and the interesting and engaging content needs to far outweigh the listing advertisements. Share your blog posts, take interesting pictures, ask questions, use video and be yourself. Visit your page at least once a day to see if your fans have asked you something or shared a comment.

Regarding your profile now…use those status updates wisely!

I have what I think is a low key way of occasionally including real estate into my status without it being obvious. I share parts of my day that include real estate in a personal light. For example: last winter I was showing REO property and put as my status update: “Showing bank owned properties and it is colder INSIDE than OUT, my feet are totally numb!” A status like this reminds my friends and family on my personal page that I am a REALTOR without the typical “sales pitch”.

Create lists within your personal profile to help you prioritize your sphere.

I don’t know how old you are or how long you have been in real estate, but way back in the day when I began, we used index cards. Our potential clients went on an index card in a recipe box that was segmented into A, B and C leads. The A leads were hot and you kept in touch with them most, etc. You can do the same thing only better with Facebook. Create a list of high school friends, work contacts, past clients, family…the potential is endless. Then you can create and share content that is specific to these groups making it more likely to be noticed and using your time more efficiently to target your special groups.

I enjoyed a tip I recently heard that noted that instead posting the usual “Please come to my open house” update, share content that might pique the viewers interest. Mention if the property has a lovely view, for example, post a picture of the view and say that you are hosting an open house today and enjoying the view from the deck. Think of the applications here: gourmet kitchens, fireplaces, pools, gardens….get creative!

I hope some of these ideas have prepared you to plow through the opportunities at Facebook. If you have some great techniques that are working for you, would you please plant a seed in the comments below?

Blogging is a great way to get more traffic to your real estate website – BUT – it’s work. (All good things come with some effort, right?)

The absolute worst thing a new blogger can do is to do nothing. Yet, that’s what happens to many Realtors® when they’re first getting started. While waiting to get their blog just perfect, they do nothing and, instead, spin their wheels – stuck in one place.

Meanwhile, they get frustrated, their dreams fade, and they end up giving up before they even had a fighting chance. It’s sad, especially since many of them are talented writers, are passionate about their topic, and have a lot to share with the world.

So, what can a new blogger do to avoid this from happening?

Simple. Outsource.

But, what, exactly is “Outsourcing“?

Outsourcing is just a fancy word for getting someone qualified (like a Virtual Assistant Chick) to quickly and efficiently do a job for you that you

1. don’t have time for,
2. don’t want to do, or
3. don’t have the skills to do.

But what can you outsource, and how? And, can you afford to?

All great questions. Here are 4 tasks you can immediately outsource for a modest price (and boost your blogging efforts at the same time).

1. Blog Installation and Optimization.

If you’re planning to blog, the one thing you’ll need is a web host. Why not choose a multipurpose web host that will also install your blog for you?  Both MomWebs.com and ReliableWebs.com will install your WordPress blog for you. Why would they jump through these hoops? They want you to succeed so that you become a customer for many years.  As part of their service, both web hosts will also recommend and install plugins for you for a reasonable fee.

There’s no point in getting paralysis by analysis. This is an easy decision to get over your first hurdle – actually getting your WordPress blog online and ready to roll.

2. Design.

One thing I outsource gladly is graphics. When I try to do my own, they look unprofessional and, downright tacky. When I pay a more talented professional to create my graphics, they look awesome! At Virtual Assistant Chick, we work with a couple of great designers who can make your blog look snazzy – just look around. Of course, you can also search places like eLance.com, but I’d suggest that you ask for a recommendation from a friend (or even on Twitter) before going with someone totally untested.

3. Content Management.

Keeping your blog active with fresh content can be a feat in itself. BUT – there is a big secret that bloggers use to make their lives much easier. It’s called PLR content and it’s something that I’ve also used in the past.

What is PLR content? Basically, PLR articles are written by ghostwriters and sold at a very affordable price (usually around $1-2 per article) to multiple bloggers and website owners. So, as a blogger, you can purchase these articles, and stick them on your blog. Or, as I recommend, you edit them a bit before posting them to your blog. While PLR is not totally hands-free – it can help you to get over the hurdle of having to write all of the content for your blog all by yourself.

By the way, the place I recommend you look for PLR Articles is EasyPLR.com.

Of course, you can save even more time by hiring a Virtual Assistant Chick to add original content to your blog as well.  I work with lots of writers – Real Estate writers and I even find local bloggers and article writers in my client’s home towns.

4. Community.

Do you ever hear the sound of crickets when you go to your blog? How do some bloggers get such a conversation going while others seem to be talking to themselves?  The answer may not be what you think. Another big secret of top bloggers is that they sometimes “seed” conversations with their own assistants and friends. Yes, they have commenters who are paid to come by and leave comments to keep the conversation going. Kind of cheaty, but it gets the ball rolling.

While you don’t have to go quite that far, it doesn’t hurt to be “comment buddies” with some friends and help keep each others blogs active with conversation.

Another great idea for a Real Estate Agent is to blog at a site such as Active Rain – the other agents are wonderful about commenting on each other’s blogs.

What Next?

Either get out there and blog or ask me to help you.  My team and I would be happy to supply you with great content for your Real Estate blog.  Remember, updated websites bring on the “Google Juice”.

Up until very recently when I launched my new website, twitter accounted for about 85% of my new business.  I know, I think that’s crazy too, and I wasn’t even spending more than 15 minutes there per day.  I used SocialOomph to manage the alerts I set up and to auto follow people, and tweetdeck for responding to @AprilSullivan‘s, DM’s and actual tweeting.  My blog posts are also automatically tweeted and so are my fan page updates and then it all feeds into my LinkedIn account thus connecting me to people I’d never normally be connected to.  Pretty cool, and I haven’t even scratched the surface yet.

Here is a link to a blog post I came across today by Rotorblog titled 10 Apps to Schedule Future Tweets on Twitter.  If you’re not already doing it, you need to be.  It may not bring in a steady flow of business, but if done right, you will stand out in the crowd as a true professional.

Here is an interesting post by Mike Butcher at Tech Crunch UK.  “The ability to verify Facebook users turns out to weed out the scammers.”  Quick and interesting.

Is Property Going Social?

This is another to add to the ever-growing list of tasks your VA can perform for you.

What are your thoughts?