Will it, won’t it…?

Will Google+ gather enough momentum to rise to the dizzy heights of the popularity of Facebook and Twitter…?

Some interesting facts here about Facebook that we’d like to share with you all…

Way out in front…Facebook, of course, but just look where LinkedIN has climbed to! Are YOU using LinkedIn for YOUR business?! You ought to!

We love Twitter here at Consortia Marketing, and thought we would share this interesting ‘facts & figures’ infographic for you, all about this rapidly growing social media tool.

One of the true innovators of our time, and will be sadly missed. RIP.

Jeff Brown

Two concepts that will thicken your wallet

While some real estate professionals focus on the shiniest gadgets or trendiest conferences, there are two simple concepts I use to immediately increase my batting average and I’ll give you a hint- neither involved a gadget or a light up pen from a vendor booth.

My batting average skyrockets when a client is in their cocoon of comfort (that zone in which they’re most relaxed and more or less free of significant anxiety). Have you ever wondered where some of the screwy reasons for not doing things come from? You’ve taken them to a land far, far away and deposited them on an unfriendly planet. You may even be doing so unintentionally with their best interests in mind, but let me tell you from sad experience that your good intentions don’t matter a whit when they’ve left (read: been forced out of) their own personal Kansas.

I’ve lost count of the number of clients who’ve acquired much less than they could have, even when using very conservatively prudent guidelines. Yet, due to their personal comfort zones, they simply cannot pull the trigger. You must let their sense of tranquility rule the day. It is their money, their lifestyle, and their potentially sleepless nights – not yours. What you’ll observe over time, is that they’ll see it differently when two major factors are brought into play.

Concept one: establishing trust

First and foremost, clients must know that you’ve got their back — period — end of sentence — no debate — case closed. People use agents to buy their family home or to invest for retirement for just two main reasons with trust being paramount. If they know in their hearts that you have their backs and their best interest as your marching orders, your relationship will be, at least for many, a new experience. Once they understand that you’re not going to let them do something silly (or worse, guide them there), trust grows tremendously. How do you do that though?

One way is to supply answers to questions they wouldn’t have known to ask in a hundred years. In essence, you show clients where the booby traps are hidden. If they ask a question with an answer they won’t like, give it to them straight up. It will shock them, because most folks in our business are too busy making everything seem like milk ‘n’ honey. Once clients know that your answers will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing’ but, they’ll relax like you’ve never seen before. Yeah, we humans want to hear what we want to hear, but when it matters greatly to us, what we really pine for is the unadulterated truth, warts and all. Once I learned that lesson (boy, was I stubborn), my day to day dealings with clients blossomed like a meadow on a spring day.

Concept two: undeniability of expertise

Your expertise must be unquestioned, but relationships don’t start out that way too often, do they? You must establish your superior knowledge and expertise calmly and with deliberate purpose. Have you ever noticed how doctors don’t get all excited when explaining why we’re wrong or misinformed about something? They don’t need to because they know what the heck they’re talking about, right? So do you. Grandma pounded into me as a child and teenager that whenever I began raising my voice, she’d calmly intone, “Point weak, shout loud.” You must always know that your point isn’t weak, it’s ‘what is.’

One of the most valuable lessons I was ever taught by one of my mentors was that truth doesn’t need to be sold. It needs to be disseminated, then supported by empirical evidence.  Put yourself in your clients’ shoes- is it any wonder they’re a bit skeptical about what they hear from most real estate agents? It’s not that as a group agents aren’t trustworthy, because in my experience, most are. It’s that most agents simply don’t trust naked truth; they believe it must be dressed up to look its best. What they sometimes (most of the time?) don’t understand, is that truth, when dressed up to look better, isn’t the whole truth anymore. People know that. You lose. There goes their comfort level.

The takeaway:

If you’re able to consistently demonstrate your superior knowledge and expertise, while giving them the straight unadulterated facts, your credibility will skyrocket. These concepts sound so simple, but are so rarely put into practice.

A useful piece here for all UK estate agents as a reminder, although it may come across to some as ‘teaching grandma to suck eggs’. But it could be a timely reminder in these challenging times.

Over the years we’ve covered the art of search engine optimisation (SEO)  here in some detail. From understanding what search engine optimisation is to creating content which attracts lots of links, we have advice that can help.

The thing is, we have so many blog posts now that it’s not that easy to find the key bits of SEO advice you need. That’s why we’ve decided to bring together six of the best SEO articles we’ve written – so you can find out everything you need to know about getting your website to rank highly on search engines like Google.

• Why you should bookmark Google’s keyword tool
  Google’s keyword tool has been around for years now, and it’s one of the most valuable tools you can use when you’re trying to improve your site’s rankings. Why? Because it can tell you what people actually search for online, helping to make sure you optimise your website for the right phrases.
  Learn about Google’s keyword tool >
• Top six examples of link bait
  Link bait is anything on your website that attracts lots of visitors and encourages other people to link back to your website. Because the number of links that point at your site have a huge influence on its rankings, link bait is a great way to climb the rankings.
  See how to write your own link bait >
  
• Big mistakes in SEO writing
  Writing optimised content isn’t rocket science, but there are some basic rules you should stick to – and some key mistakes to avoid. For a start, content is king, not your keywords – so always keep the people who’ll be reading what you write in mind.
  What not to do when you write for your website >
• Six questions to ask an SEO consultant
  It can be a good idea to bring in an expert to help improve your website’s search rankings. But there are lots of people out there who call themselves SEO experts – the trick is spotting the good ones. It’s vital to ask the right questions.
  What to ask an SEO consultant >
• What on earth is Google PageRank?
  There’s a lot of confusion about what Google’s PageRank actually is. Some people reckon it shows you how your site ranks in Google. Others reckon it’s meaningless. But actually, the truth lies somewhere in between.
  Find out what PageRange means >
  
• How to label your images
  Every element on your website matters, and images are no exception. Labelling them accurately makes your images more likely to show up in image search tools like Google Images – and that means you’ll get more visitors to your website.
  Read about labelling images for SEO >

What are the key tips you’ve learnt about SEO? Share them with us in the comments.

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Eric Says:  Some great tips here, so I thought I’d share them with you all.

Enjoy!

Advantages for twitter users

The performance post for twitter is a cool way to recap your last week for your followers and friends.

• It’s for free. You can do that with your “forever free” twitter account.
• It contains the changes in your key twitter metrics. We will only post positive changes (e.g. a growing number of followers).
• The “My week on twitter”-post is published at the beginning of the week automatically (only for authorized accounts and if you choose so).

Sign up now and try it for free!

Examples for the perfomance post

 

 

What else TwentyFeet does for you:

• Detailed analysis for your web and social media profiles with historical charts.
• Get nudged if your metrics change significantly.
• Aggregated stats in one place and an easy-to-use interface.
• Your overview for twitter, facebook, YouTube, bit.ly, Google Analytics, Myspace and more.

Start with TwentyFeet now!

Useful links for existing TwentyFeet users

• How to activate the performance tweet
• How to deactivate the performance post
• More examples for recent performance tweets

Interesting tool! Track your ‘improvements’ in all your social media activity.

Shared by Natalie Bevins in Xchangeteam Group

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