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Tips for Top Agents: Setting up Your Free Zillow Agent Profile

Following our conversation at this month’s sales meeting, I’ve attached a guide and information about setting up your FREE Zillow Agent Profile.

Thanks to special agreements between Zillow & LBAR and Rector Hayden, listing agents are always listed first (before ANY paid premier agent accounts) on their own listings.  The downside to this is that if you have not created a free profile on Zillow – your icon will have no photo, no ratings, and no updated contact info.  Your profile may look less professional than that premier agent beneath you, and you could be missing out on some leads.

Setting up your Zillow account is easy and relatively painless.  You may even already have a Zillow account, and you just need to make certain it is a Professional account (versus a regular consumer account).  Once set up, the profile will automatically be updated according to LBAR and RHR data.  This includes past transactions and current listings!

Click the link below to see the PDF about setting up your FREE Zillow Profile.

RHR Guide to Free Zillow Agent Profile

Next week, look for a follow-up guide about your REALTOR.com FREE profile, as well as syncing your profiles with Trulia.

This guide will also be available on HUB under Marketing Resources > Agent Marketing Tools > Agent Success Guides.

If you have any questions – do not hesitate to ask!

Thanks everyone!

June Laves and your Marketology Team!

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Tips for Top Agents: Content Creation & Curation

Let’s talk about content.  One of the best ways to build your online brand reputation and instill a sense of trustworthiness is to BE the expert resource online.  Provide the information that everyone needs.  Start the conversations.  Answer the questions.  Many industry professionals are leading the pack or maintaining their business because they produce content that sets them apart from their peers.  They are DIFFERENTIATING themselves by developing original thought and discussion.  This can be as simple as a monthly newsletter or letter – to as complex as weekly blog posts with coordinating social media posts.

You know how to buy and sell a house, right?  So let people know that you do!

Creation: the planning, forming, and production of something of use.

The following list can be used in many different marketing practices (facebook posts, blogging, vlogging, e-mails, letters, website content, it’s endless).  Remember, when providing an item of value (your content) cultivate an action as well.

  • Talk about the actual steps to buying and selling a home or other processes.
    • title examples: “25 Tips to Selling Your Home in the Lexington Market – There’s More to It than Putting up a Sign.”
    • resources: On the RHR HUB (your source for information and tools as a Rector Hayden Agent) are digital copies of our Buying Journey and Selling Journey brochures.  These documents have a simple timeline of the process with key steps.  You can share this content, or some of this content when you post.
    • Call to Action:  “Want a copy of the Selling Journey? Contact me with your name and e-mail address – and any selling questions you may have!”
  • Why do Mortgage Rates Vary?  What’s the current rate?  How do I find a lender?
    • title examples: “Why a Mortgage can be customized to your needs.” or “Best Questions to ask a Potential Lender.”
    • resources:  Rector Hayden Mortgage’s very own Aaron Mason is an expert in ALL matters of home financing.  He can provide you with great content and information.
    • Call to Action:  “We can talk about your financing needs and then meet with our in-house lender if you’d like!”
  • Areas of Interest / Market Activity
    • title examples: “The Best Places to Eat in the Beaumont Neighborhood.” or “The 5 things you’ll LOVE about Richmond, KY.”
    • resources:  Over on Pinterest, Rector Hayden has boards for each key metropolitan area in our service radius – with links to information on restaurants, tourism, and more!  Or, take your own photos and videos, write your own guide.
    • Call to Action: “This Neighborhood can’t be beat – and your Beaumont Home is waiting for you!” Then link to a page of beaumont home search results from your site!  Or, give people an opportunity to sign up for a Market Watch report for a zip code or area!
  • What does a good transaction feel like? 
    • title examples: “Three things to avoid at Closing!” or “Dotting Your i’s and Crossing Your t’s!”
    • resources: Talk about the same things you tell a client when you prep them for closing (you do prep them, right – and go and hold their hand, yes?).  THEN, share a client’s testimonial.  Chances are if they client was really satisfied with your help – they’ll write a whole letter for you to share about why they chose you.  Or, maybe even do a quick video interview!  Ask them what you could even do better – why they trusted you…
  • Why Zillow’s Zestimate isn’t an accurate representation of your Home’s Value
    • title examples: “Why is My Home’s Zestimate not the True Value?”
    • resources: Run a comparative analysis on a current listing and talk about the discrepancies between your listing price and the Zestimate.  Discuss local effects on pricing, or home interior effects on pricing.
    • Call to Action: This one is a classic – guide them to ask you for a free analysis.  Soon, Rector Hayden will be releasing new tools for our agents to create detailed comprehensive reports that compare multiple estimates (kind of like running a credit report and receiving multiple scores).  This will be a great conversational tool.

Or, you can supplement your content and posts with resources from elsewhere! See below…

Curation: the selection, maintenance, collection of resources to be used as reference and source for rhetoric.

Curating is – basically – sharing a link to someone else’s article and talking about it.  Here are some great examples of sites to share content from…

  1. www.facebook.com/RectorHaydenRealtors
  2. https://news.rhr.com/
  3. https://www.pinterest.com/rectorhayden/
  4. www.trulia.com/blog
  5. www.zillow.com/blog
  6. http://www.realtor.org/news-and-commentary
  7. www.visitlex.com
  8. http://www.kentuckytourism.com
  9. www.commercelexington.com
  10. #RealEstateNews on Twitter
  11. http://www.activerain.com

 

BONUS TIP…

Have you heard about Canva?  Click the link below to learn how easy it is to make your own graphics / images / flyers / and more – for FREE using this great tool!  Endorsed by June Laves – so you know it’s handy!!

https://www.canva.com/about

 

Thanks for checking in Team!  Hope you all are doing well as we transition in to fall.  Remember, Tech Training classes are every Thursday and Integrated Marketing/Social Media class is once a month (usually the 4th Tuesday of the Month).  But, you can also come in and talk with your support staff about what we can do to help you!

Ta ta!
June Laves
859-317-4703
junelaves@rhr.com
Now on Skype: junelaves@rhr.com

 

Ready for some more tips on content your should be sharing?  Check out our other blog posts:

5 types of content all agents

facebook for realtors

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Toolbox – Setting up Your Professional Facebook Page

photo 2As a real estate agent (and any independent contractor / small business for that matter) you NEED a professional Facebook page.  It’s FREE – and the benefits are great.  This post is going to walk you through why you need one and how to get started!
The content from this post is from a Rector Hayden REALTORS exclusive social media seminar that is done yearly for agents at Rector Hayden.

Why You Need a Professional Company Page
Instead of only a personal page…

1.  It Keeps You Legal

Facebook Corporate will remove your account and ban you from using Facebook if you are actively running a business through a personal profile page.  Facebook clearly states in their agreements (which, I know, no one reads) that your personal profile is strictly for personal communication purposes and networking – that business related posts should not exceed 30% of the content you share through your personal page.  By keeping yourself compliant you also benefit because it allows you to focus and separate your work and personal spheres (see tip 2).

2.  Allows You to Focus on Real Estate

It allows you to focus on real estate. This narrows down your postings to information that is of specific interest to your real estate clients. You can even monitor what personal items you want people to see (if any). If you were to use a Personal Profile page, you’d have to update a myriad of custom privacy settings in order to have your page functioning safely.  While doable – it isn’t easy and takes a lot of time.

Having a separate business page keeps your personal information safer, especially things like vacation photos, or other content that is not relevant to communicating with your consumers.

3.  Keeping Current Matters

A bit of a real estate pun if you will…  Keeping Current Matters is a great website with tons of helpful articles on current trends in Real Estate.  AND, it’s correct that being current is very important.  With the rise of millennials and technophiles into  our home buyer market, it is vital to utilize the tools that reach them the best – and show your client that you are aware of new marketing strategies.  When you utilize Facebook to post your real estate listings it demonstrates that you are actively marketing beyond just your website and the MLS.

4.  Promoting your personal brand

It shows you as an expert in the real estate field and helps to separate you from your competitors. All you have to do is post about topics or questions people often ask you and link to your own site or other sites that might resolve those questions.

5. Boost Your Search Results

Having a professional facebook business page will assist you in google search results – or location based searching.  Your facebook professional business page will categorize you as a real estate agent serving in this area, making your information much more likely to show up in search results than someone without a facebook business page.

How to Setup Your Professional Business Page

STEP P1: Do you have a Facebook Account? IF THE ANSWER IS NO, you will need to follow steps P2 & P3 FIRST!!!!!!

STEP P2: When prompted choose “Sign up for Facebook”

  • 2a: Fill in your First and Last Name ( it does not have to be your real information if you do not want this part to be. 
  • 2b: Your e-mail address ( you’ll have to confirm you’re a real person ).  Then retype your e-mail address
  • 2c: Choose a password – one that you will remember.
  • 2d: Enter your birthday.  There are age restrictions on facebook.
  • 2e: Choose your sex (it doesn’t really matter they just use this to see how many men or women use facebook.)
  • 2f: Click Sign Up

STEP P3: The next series of options is for customizing a profile – for now you can choose to SKIP these steps, there is a small skip link at the bottom on each question.


 

step001aSTEP 1: Log in to Facebook if you have not already, We are now looking at your TimeLine – some of you have lots of posts, some of you will have none.  To create a page we have a few options.

  • On the LEFT PANEL scroll down until you see the PAGES section and click on “Create Page”
  • Or, in the footer on every facebok page you will see a “Create Page” link. If you do not see it, click the “More” link and then select “Create Page”
  • Or, go to facebook.com/pages/create

step002
STEP 2: Choose Local Business or Place

  • 2a: Choose Real Estate
  • 2b: Name – Real Estate Agent
  • 2c: Enter your address – feel free to use any of the RHR office locations
  • 2d: Use your phone number that you want leads to call
  • 2e: Click Get Started

step005
STEP 3: About Section

  • 3a: categories are phrases that identify your page
  • 3b: a description is a few sentences that describe your mission statement or specialties
  • 3c: Website link – put your link here if you have a site
  • 3d: Choosing a Unique Facebook address
  • 3e: Choose that yes it is a real establishment
bell_yelloshirtSTEP 4: Profile Picture
You can change this all the time. I recommend a professional high quality photo – either your headshot or some other good professional shot.

STEP 5: Choosing a Target Audience, and Answering Other Questions
This area allows you to choose a common target audience for your page – and will make it a little easier if you want to buy advertisements in the future.  Choose a broad geographic region and leave everything else the same.  If you aren’t interested in paying for advertising, you can skip this step and do it later.

STEP 6: Add A cover Photo  Add a cover photo by uploading your own – or using one of the demo ones from our gallery here: http://www.junelaves.rhr.com/rhnr/index.asp?p=text&id=25874&ptid=12158102

TA DA YOU’VE Created Your Professional Facebook Page!


NOW!  You need to go LIKE as YOUR PAGE – Rector Hayden REALTORS.

follow-on-facebook_03


Need More Help?  Check out the resources below!

  1.  The Prezi-tation from our seminar class is available to the public to view, scroll below or visit it at prezi.com:
  2. Download the printable Walk-Thru Guide by clicking HERE
  3. Recommended Reading:
    1. “Maximize Sharing on Facebook with Different Post Types” by Mike G.
      https://news.rhr.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2015/08/maximizesocialbusiness.com-Maximize-Sharing-on-Facebook-with-Different-Post-Types.pdf
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6 SUPER Tools from the Fayette PVA Website

If you aren’t taking advantage of the tools on the Fayette County PVA website – you are sorely missing out!

pva header

The ever amazing David O’Neill, Fayette County’s Property Valuation Administrator, graced us with a short presentation at our monthly sales meeting this week.  He showed the ins and outs of the site and some amazing content reports that you may never have known you had access to as a real estate agent!

1. Weekly Residential Sales Reports

Every Friday, David O’Neill posts to their blog a PDF report on the weekly residential sales for Fayette County.  This content is spectacular for looking at selling trends in the Lexington area week-to-week.  It also makes for great shareable content to social media – show your followers and COI that you are engaged with current data and truly KNOW about real estate happenings in the area.  Check out last week’s report here: http://www.fayette-pva.com/sales-reports/salesreport31mar-03apr2015/

1.a.  Monthly Commercial Sales Reports

For our agents focused on the Commercial side of real estate – Fayette PVA releases a monthly report of commercial sales in the area!

2. Knowledge of Property Tax Exemptions for Your Clients

17069_wpm_hiresIf you have a past client reaching 65 years of age (good reason to keep in touch, no?) you can remind them about the Homestead Exemption!  Many agents develop repeat business and referrals by staying in close contact with past clients.  Wouldn’t you truly trust someone who kept looking out for your personal real estate needs?  O’Neill provides an in depth explanation of the exemption and how to apply: http://www.fayette-pva.com/exemptions

3. Keeping up with Local News regarding area Property

The weekly sales report isn’t the only useful chunk of info David O’Neill provides.  The PVA Blog also discusses properties that were covered in the news and links to their property records.  Anything from apartment complexes changing owners to historic milestones for older buildings – these stories make great locally focused content to share with your COI and again build upon your expertise.  See recent posts here: http://www.fayette-pva.com/property-in-the-news/

4. Report Tool – Mapping Feature, Mailing List Export

fayettepva_001

The Mapping tool on the PVA website gives you all sorts of options for targeting and reporting to a specific area of Fayette County.  It has overlays that can show you Vacant Land (you could exclude it from a mailing list), council districts, Street Address numbers, and more!   You can look at specific parcel information – or, you can look at entire neighborhoods.  The coolest part of this report generator is the polygon tool!

Click on Additional Options > Create a Parcel List By… > Polygon(s)

This tool will generate reports, mailing lists, and other data on highlighted areas and parcels you select!  This can help you exclude apartment complexes from data or lists – or include more than one area while excluding the parcels in between them!  These lists can be downloaded as .csv files, allowing you to use them for bulk mailing or advertising opportunities!*

*The only issue is it will generate contact info based on the property OWNER – not necessarily the property address.  But you can get the property address from the map.

5. Quarterly Statistics for Fayette County Property

quarterlystatsr

See and download reports straight to your computer, tablet, or phone: http://www.fayette-pva.com/quarterly-statistics

6. Property Tax Calculator

Below is a snapshot of the easy-to-use tax calculator on the PVA website.  Click to see the rates and calculator on the PVA site!

taxcalc

 

BONUS TOOL – Stay Connected with David O’Neill through Social Media!

facebook linkedin twitterpinterest

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Toolbox – REALTORS Property Resource

Whether working with a buyer or seller, many agents rely on comparative market analysis to determine a home’s true market value.  Performing these analyses can be time consuming and tricky – unless you use some of the great tools National Association of REALTORS provides for you!  NAR provides the REALTORS PROPERTY RESOURCE website.  It is an online estimate, valuation, and comparison tool for licensed active agents to utilize.

Comprehensive data, powerful analytics, and dynamic reports for each of NAR’s constituencies – Only available to REALTORS®.  No third party or public access…guaranteed! The only way a non-REALTOR® has access to the data in RPR is through an RPR report that has been created, branded and sent by you, a licensed agent. – From the RPR Blog

medium_rprscreen

To all LBAR agents (Lexington-Bluegrass Association of REALTORS) and more than likely all members of NAR, you have access to an online valuation system called RPR for free as part of your dues.

Lbar provides a shortcut to the website for you, or you can begin by going to www.narrpr.com
Log in to www.lbar.com as normal
Find the grey boxes with tools in them and search for the MEMBERS Box
Click on Resources for Members

You should end up with the following options (click to view larger):

lbarscreen005

Then click on the link for the RPR website!


If this is your first time using the RPR website, you’ll need to create an account.  You’ll need your NRDS number and contact info to get started.  You can flesh out the customization options by uploading the RHR Logo and your headshot.  (You can grab our logo via info.rhr.com).
We’ve put together a great resource guide for getting started with RPR – See the PDF here through our ISSUU account.

RPR_introductionbooklet_Page_1

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RHR Toolbox: The Rector Hayden App – IT DOES WHAT?!

As the top Real Estate Company in Central Kentucky, Rector Hayden REALTORS® strives to equip our agents with the best tools in the business.  That ranges from technology, data, seminars, guest speakers, marketing opportunities, and more!

car_001

Did you know that Rector Hayden has an App?

This App has awesome features for Agents as well as Consumers!  It truly is one of the best Home Search Apps designed for Central KY Buyers and Sellers, we aren’t just tooting our own horns! Even Non-Rector Hayden agents use this app to quickly search for property information and do on-the-spot comps!

What it does…

  • ★  Browse ALL Central KY listings, not just Rector Hayden’s (Data provided from the Lexington Bluegrass Association of REALTORS)
  • ★  Easily search for properties on a map all the way down to the street levelcar3
  • ★  Draw a shape on the map and view listings inside it (get as squiggly as you want!)car2002
  • ★  Browse and Sort by price, bedrooms, bathrooms, property type, keywords, up coming Open Houses, Sold versus On the Market!
  • ★  Save your searches so you can check them any time for updates
  • ★  See nearby businesses, and search for listings closer to places of education, shopping, recreation, and more!
  • ★  Use GPS to see listings near you – Driving past a sign in a yard?  No need to type in a long vanity URL or try to send a text.  Just open the Rector Hayden App and Press the Nearby Button!
  • ★  Center the map on a particular location and see the listings in a radius!
  • ★  See details like Median List Price, Average Sale/List Rate, Average Days on market and more for mapped locations with the Info Button (great for immediate comparisons!)
  • ★  Easily send full listing information via SMS, E-mail, iMessage – even share to social media

 

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#RHRTipTuesday – Leads from LinkedIN

Hey Team!  If you attended March’s Social Media / Integrated Marketing Class, you may recall we touched on using LinkedIN as a Real Estate Agent.  This week’s TipTuesday is “crawling” with ideas to help boost your LinkedIN strategy!

If you have been using LinkedIN for a few weeks now, you may have noticed a cool feature where you get a weekly e-mail letting you know who has viewed your profile.  You can make this FREE opportunity work for you – all you need to do is “crawl” through some profiles each week and your name and face are shared with all sorts of people.  But, the best part, most of the people using LinkedIN are in your target home-owner demographic!  Most of these individuals have professional careers and are likely home buyers and sellers.

EasyAgentPro.com calls this tactic “LinkedIN Crawling” 

What is LinkedIn crawling you ask? Well it is where my computer automatically visits 400 profiles of target customers in one day. This means 400 people a day are notified that about me.  That’s 400 people that had no idea that I existed seeing my profile and maybe even my website. That’s powerful. But it doesn’t stop there. About 2-4% of these individuals will reach out and connect with you! I’ve seen this number get as high as 8%. The percentage really depends on the target audience you’re facing. -From EasyAgentPro

This blog writer uses a system to contact 400 people a day, and that can get complicated.  But even simply browsing 10-15 profiles a day could show similar results.  You could browse on a commute (unless you are driving), while waiting for a client to arrive, when you’re in line at a store, or even if you’re sitting in the restroom… (We know you do it…)  You can search and browse profiles based on interests, memberships of different community groups, schools, careers, and geographic location.

How does this generate leads? Well that’s 50 people or more a week that have seen your face, name, and REALTOR than before.  And, it was delivered straight to their inbox showing them that YOU care and are interested.  You should consider changing your LinkedIN profile to include a statement inviting others to connect with you.

You should even consider linking back with the people that show up in YOUR weekly e-mail of profile views.  Invite them to coffee or a tour of the office sometime!  You can tons of contacts to your Sphere of Influence lists this way!

For more links and info on LinkedIN for REALTORS, check out the post from March 24th’s Social Media Class: https://news.rhr.com/rhrsocialmediaclass-linkedin-for-real-estate-agents/

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#RHRSocialMediaClass – LinkedIN for Real Estate Agents

Getting Started with LinkedIN

Download the handout from class here: LinkedIN How To

Click through the presentation herehttp://prezi.com/7as5scmbpxib/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Other Resources:

  1. http://blog.kw.com/2013/08/16/7-ways-to-use-linkedin-to-build-your-real-estate-business-network/
  2. http://maximizesocialbusiness.com/how-to-use-linkedin-real-estate-business-7885/
  3. https://placester.com/real-estate-marketing-academy/real-estate-lead-generation-use-linkedin/
  4. http://theinsider.idxcentral.com/linkedin-tips-to-build-your-real-estate-business/
  5. http://sproutsocial.com/insights/real-estate-marketing-ideas-social-media/
  6. http://www.realestatemarketingblog.org/linkedin-real-estate-marketing/