Real Estate Web Design and Marketing Blog

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One of the most important aspects of a successful real estate website is solid hyperlocal content. You would be amazed at how many people search for homes in specific neighborhoods or condo buildings

The neighborhood entrance

I know it’s cliché but it’s an important shot. This will help home buyers more easily find the location of the neighborhood should they later want to venture out and take a drive through that neighborhood.

Homes

It’s important to photograph a few homes but don’t go overboard. Let’s face it, showing the fronts of a dozen homes that all look the same doesn’t sell the neighborhood. Mix things up by showing the various architecture types and styles of homes. Keep things interesting by photographing the different homes from various angles.

Common Area

Walking trails, bike paths, play grounds, etc. Remember to sell the “lifestyle” that comes with living in that particular neighborhood.

Amenities / Clubhouse

Many people choose neighborhoods based off of its amenities. With this in mind, make sure you feature all of the various “extras” that are available to people living in the neighborhood.

Neighborhood Site Plan

Site Plans help provide potential home buyers with an overview of the neighborhood. Typically a quick phone call to the builder is all it takes as they will be happy to receive the “free advertising” in exchange for the Site Plan. While your at it, ask if they have any additional photographs that you could use on your web site.

Capture Photographs, Not Snapshots

Now that you have a good idea as to what to photograph, here are a few tips to help move your photos from “snapshots” to professional looking photography.

Get There Early or Arrive Late

The time of day plays a big part in how your photos turn out. Evenings produce long shadows and warm colors helping to add character to the photograph. Early morning also has great diffused lighting and helps capture those still moments just after the sun rises.

Frame and Perspective

It’s often difficult to truly capture the perspective in a flat photo. With this in mind, place something in the foreground to add depth to the shot. A simple low hanging tree branch may be all you need to do the trick.

Photoshop Is Your Friend

Even those less than stellar photos can come to life with a little help from a photo editing software such as Photoshop. Just remember, you want to accurately depict the neighborhood so don’t go overboard. Adding a little extra green to the grass is fine, but removing unsightly telephone poles and powerlines is another!

Peak Season

Spring and summer are a great time for photographing the great outdoors. Flowers are blooming, the grass is green and the neighbors just finished their spring cleaning! With this in mind, there is no time like the present to get out and photograph a few neighborhoods!

Bonus Tip

Like so many blog posts that I write, this topic came from a my inbox. Kari Mullins of Peoria Home Office asked me for a few tips on photographing neighborhoods. Instead of simply emailing her back, I decided to write this blog post. So the next time you’re faced with writer’s block, just take a look in your inbox. It’s likely overflowing with blog post ideas!

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What a privilege it was to be invited on the Tamara Dorris Blog Talk Radio Show on Wednesday, March 24th. Over the next 2 post I will share with you my notes from Tamara’s show. I thought it would be helpful for you to have access to this Neighborhood Marketing Plan for your little corner of the world.

1. While it’s awesome to get those great keywords like city name real estate (example-Dallas real estate), too many real estate agents overlook neighborhood keywords (long-tail searches). And the reality is that people who are searching with those neighborhood-centric keywords actually make stronger, more qualified consumers. Why? Someone searching for “Dallas real estate” is just browsing (tire-kickers) in broad generalities while someone searching for homes for sale in the Dallas neighborhood of Preston Hollow are looking for - well, homes for sale in Preston Hollow. There’s a strong probability they may be 30-60 days out instead of 18 months.
2. If a RE Pro will provide this unique, SEO keyword-rich indexable content it will offer so much search power for the site owner

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For all of you who are here from Active Rain to read the rest of the story, welcome to the Dakno Real Estate Marketing blog! Thanks for making the click.

What I Thought Would be a Wasted Afternoon!

With Brad standing in line at the passport office I figured my afternoon was going to be totally unproductive. I walked up to the barista at the Starbucks and placed my order, “grande’ mild blend and a slice of iced lemon pound cake”. She rung it up and said “your bill has been taken care of”. In bewilderment I said “really”. She said “yes”. I wondered who could have performed such a random act of kindness.

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While attending Bloggers Connect at the Inman Conference in NYC earlier this month the thought came to mind to share the presentations by Jay Thompson and Dustin Luther with the rest of RE.net. Armed with my built-in webcam and Bobby’s new webcam he received for Christmas, I decided to offer a 2-camera configuration for the live streaming video web broadcast. Getting the word out about our live streaming webcast was easy. Because we had been sending out REBar Camp and Bloggers Connect “Tweets” with the hashtags #rebcny and #icny, I figured viewers would come. Within minutes we had about 50 subscribers watching the Bloggers Connect streaming video over Mogulus.

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It seems Twitter is all the buzz right now. My relationship with Twitter, like many, has been an interesting journey. At first, I was like so many other Twitter doubters. I even quoted the famous line of “I don’t get Twitter. Does anyone really care that I am eating breakfast or brushing my teeth?” I then decided to take another shot at it. Unfortunately, I again grew frustrated at Twitter because I couldn’t keep up with everyone’s conversations. I mistakenly thought it was because I was following too many people. Frustrated again, I set Twitter aside for a few months. Suddenly, one day it dawned on me. I didn’t have to follow every single conversation on Twitter. I simply could jump in, get a quick snapshot, reply to a few people and jump out. I finally “got” Twitter!

Inman Connect Made Me A Twitterholic!

So off to Inman Connect I went with my renewed love for Twitter. In an effort to make my life easier, I put automation to work for me. I decided to have my Facebook status automatically update based on my Twitter updates. Twitter life was good – so I thought.

From the first session at Iman, I started feverously tweeting different updates about what was happening at the conference. The Twitter community loved it. I knew because I quickly started gaining more and more followers. I thought to myself that I had finally achieved Twitter Zen.

What’s Good Content for Twitter is Not Good for Facebook

My Twitter Zen didn’t last for very long. A tip from Jeff Turner turned into a harsh reality. You see, Jeff mentioned that he’s not a big fan of syncing your Twitter and Facebook status updates because the two social networks appeal to two difference audiences. His point was proven when my Facebook friends started messaging me saying things like “What’s your obsession with this Iman guy” “What the heck is #ICNY” “Your status updates make absolutely no sense!” While the information was quite relevant to the Twitter community (since they knew the context), my Facebook friends had no interest in seeing every detail of the Iman Connect conference.

I looked back at my Facebook Wall and quickly saw what they were referring to. It was ridden with tons of updates about a conference that they had no interest in. My effort to automate my social media back fired! Needless to say, I quickly disabled my Twitter/Facebook sync and now update the two sites separately with difference (relevant) pieces of information.

Automation Isn’t Always the Best Choice

The entire point of automation is to reach more for less – basically increase your ROI. But it’s important to see how much time you are actually saving compared to the benefit of a personal touch. Let me give you one more quick example.

ActiveRain gives you the ability to automatically update Twitter every time you write a new blog post on ActiveRain. On the surface, it seems like a great feature. Right? WRONG! That’s because the Twitter update looks something like this… “Just Posted on ActiveRain – www.activerain.com/blah.” Now doesn’t that make you want to just run out and view the blog post? <sarcasm> Sure, having this automation saves you 20 seconds in having to manually update your Twitter status, but the problem is that it doesn’t compel anyone to actually click the link! What good is automation if it doesn’t increase your ROI? Instead, what if you took just 20 seconds to personally go to twitter.com and tease your blog post?

I asked Bobby (@rewebcoach) to help me out testing this. Instead of using the standard automated “just posted at…” approach, he created a personal tweet on a recent blog post. It was simple but a great Twitter tease. “Loose Lips Sinks Ships” and a link to the article was all he put on Twitter. Yet he had over 50 people immediately click to view his article. Why? Because it wasn’t the canned tweet that so many people see continually roll across their Twitter stream. In other words, those few seconds to create that personal tweet was much more valuable than zero seconds to create something that would have yielded zero results.

Automation Still has Its Place

Don’t get me wrong. I still love automation and I think it’s a great way to extend your social reach. But it’s important to make sure you understand when to use it and when not to use it. Just because you can save yourself a few seconds here and there, doesn’t mean you always should.

To Your Success,

Brad Carroll
Follow me on Twitter: @dakno

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It’s something every real estate blogger dreams of, getting national exposure from the media. If it should happen to you have you considered what you would do with all that new found attention? And should you be even more fortunate to get some “link love” from the media, now that now that would be the ticket. It doesn’t happen often for most agents, but when it does don’t be caught off guard without a plan. That’s the subject of this post.

Dakno Client & Blogging BootCamp Graduate Strikes Gold

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It never ceases to amaze me how ineffective and lackluster our follow up emails can be. This is a common malady in every industry what with our casual use of email communication. It’s gotten to the point that many of us consider emailing like text messaging and instant messages. Too often emails go out filled with spelling errors, lack of capitalization, poor or no punctuation and obscure abbreviations. I say change the way you think about emails. They are permanent digital opportunities you should use to confidently demonstrate your value to you potential prospect or client.

Opportunity Wasted!

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This post is actually the result of an email response I wrote today to Dakno Blogging Bootcamp student, Dena Calivas, Eco-friendly Realtor in Jacksonville, Florida. Occasionally it happens that way. I’ll be writing an email (yes-they are this long. Have pity on the recipient!) and when I have finished writing my (War & Peace) email, I’ll look back and think, now that is blogging material! If you are “hitting the wall” with writer’s block for your blog, go back and read some of your past emails to your clients or associates. Who knows what “blog fodder’ is just sitting in your sent folder.

Please Don’t FSBO Your Brand!

In my email to Dena, I was sharing with her the importance of conveying a consistent professional message with each component in her arsenal of online and offline media. Too often I see a “mashup” of different branding elements all thrown together. Many agents will produce something for their print media, then something totally different for their website. The outcome is a hodgepodge of dreadfully unprofessional branding gone awry. What a missed opportunity to make a positive impression. Much of it is the result of what I call “FSBO” design work performed by “DIY” real estate agents armed with a Publisher application. Most are looking to save a buck. Need I remind you that you get what you pay for.

Building Trust with Your Prospects!

Remember, it really is important you communicate trust and professionalism with your online and offline presence. This is accomplished by offering to your online and offline prospects and your clients a consistent look and feel for every piece of media you offer. It starts the moment you hand a prospect your business card or the instant a visitor arrives at your real estate blog or your website. That’s what I call an “impression” moment! The look and feel of each interaction opportunity should be duplicated.

Repeated Impressions Build Trust

Remember - repeated impressions builds trust. That’s Marketing 101. To do otherwise diminishes the trust factor you work so hard to develop. That’s why every interaction must be exact. I challenge you to take inventory of the following opportunities and make sure every one of these offer your prospect (or client) a consistent look and feel based on the anchor of your brand - your website:

•    Your website (the anchor of your branding!) From it every other piece should mimic it.
•    Your blog (the design should mirror your website)
•    Business cards
•    Thank you note cards
•    Letterhead
•    Email stationery
•    Car wrap/van wrap/moving truck wrap
•    Property take one flyers
•    Just Listed/Just Sold postcards
•    Direct mail postcards
•    Listing Presentations
•    Buyer/Seller Guides
•    Relo Guides
•    CMA’s
•    Yard Signs
•    Billboards
•    Water bottle labels
•    Koozies (form insulation for cans and bottles)
•    Print ads (Homes & Land, The Real Estate Book, newspaper and magazine ads…etc.)

There are probably others I have omitted, the point being, every one of these pieces is a golden opportunity to make a positive impression and solicit a strong call to action to your audience. Call today, email today!

Last But Not Least - Measure for ROI

If you offer any of these media by all means measure each for its effectiveness. If it’s not helping propel your business, evaluate it, retool it and if necessary, eliminate it. Just be careful with your brand. Making a major overhaul of your logo and your corporate identity should be approached cautiously. Take a look at the most recognized brands. They seldom make sweeping changes unless it is the result of a merger or buyout.

Devise a Focus Group

Now might be the most opportune time to gather all of your marketing collateral and place it in front of a small focus group. Maybe your focus group is made up of a past client, a new client and other unbiased friends and associates. Provide your group with examples of each piece of your marketing material and ask for their honest opinion. It’s a great place to start. From there you can begin to reign in your brand and hone it to your target market.

Any Feedback?

Everyone has an opinion - what’s yours?

Until my next post,

Bobby Carroll - Your Real Estate Marketing Guide

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Recently I’ve been sharing recently with our Dakno clients and my friends over at Active Rain about the need to expand their Internet presence by exploring the awesome applications available on the iPhone. Yes, you to can begin to broaden your web presence by using the tools that power the iPhone apps.

Map It Anyway!

Even if you don’t own an iPhone, you can begin to map your properties, your favorite restaurants, your area’s bike repair shop, or any other significant location by adding it to the website called Platial. Once the business, neighborhood school or your condo building is mapped and properly “tagged”, you’ll begin to enjoy enhanced search engine ranking as well as maybe a few more site visitors who happen to click over to your blog or website to view more information from their iPhone.

Demonstrate You Are a Tech-savvy Giant of an Agent!

The next time you have a listing appointment, say this to your potential client, “Because it is my fudiciary responsibility is to deliver the absolute best home selling results by helping you sell your property quicker and for maximum value, I utilize every means available to expose your property to as many potential buyers as possible. One of the many ways I accomplish this goal is by syndicating your property on many high-traffic national websites, and I also target the mobile computing tools available on the cell phone.” Follow that by saying; “There have been more than 3 million new generation 3G iPhones recently purchased by tech-savvy consumers and many of those same consumers will utilize their iPhone to help them search for their next home. To ensure your home is visible to those users, I will upload your home to numerous iPhone application powered websites like Trulia.com and Nearby (powered by Platial.com). That way I know your home is reaching even more potential home buyers.”

If You Use Those Lines!

If you happen to mention what I suggested above and you secure a listing, by all means come back here and leave a comment. Now go map your area and dominate your market (and think about buying a new iPhone especially if you close on that listing you just secured :>).

Until my next post,

Bobby

P.S. For a slightly different take on the same topic, be sure to visit my Crystal Coast Blog - it’s your Emerald Isle Real Estate and Rental Resource!

Post Update!

Scottsdale real estate agent Heather Tawes Nelson emailed me to say she dug into Platial.com and discovered from their “Terms & Conditions” that the site doesn’t permit commercial advertising. I suggest you refrain from “advertising” your listings on Platial.com. To take advantage of the Google power and the potential additional eyeballs you could capture, I say work the “I recommend this restaurant” or “this condo building is really close to this awesome gym.” The way you play by the rules. To me mapping schools, recommending businesses and the like are fairgame. Thanks Heather for the email - good call!

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As many of you may know. Outlook 2007 shows email stationery much different than in ealier versions. This is because with 2007, Outlook uses Word to render emails. While this does make it easier to format day to day emails, it can be cause Email Stationery to not display properly.

Another “feature” with Outlook 2007 is that you can no longer simply add Email Stationery by “browsing” for your stationery file. With 2007 you must first save the file to a specific folder and then select the stationery. It’s obvious that Microsoft is trying to phase out Email Stationery because with each new release of Outlook, it’s more difficult to incorporate Email Stationery.

It’s Still Possible.

Here are the paths for saving the stationery…

Stationery (.htm)

Windows Vista
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery

Windows XP or Windows Server 2003
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery

Note that you may  have to “show hidden files and folders” in order to access the paths listed above. To do this, follow these directions…

To display hidden folders, do the following:

* Windows Vista
1. In Windows, click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

If you are using Control Panel Classic View, double-click Folder Options, and then continue with step 4.
3. Click Folder Options.
4. On the View tab, under Advanced settings, under Files and Folders, under Hidden files and folders, select Show hidden files and folders.

* Microsoft Windows XP
1. Click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Folder Options.
3. Click the View tab, and then click the Show hidden files and folders option.

Now that you can access to the folder, simply drag and drop your HTML email stationery file into the folder.

Now open outlook 2007 and select Tools - Options.
Select the “Mail Format” tab and click the “Stationery and Font…” button

Ensure that the Personal Stationery Tab is selected and click the “Theme…” button

You will now see a list of available themes listed in the left hand side. Select your Email Stationery from the list (it will be listed as the file name).

While they don’t make it easy, it’s still possible. But this leads me to wonder. Is Email Stationery dead?

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