I just finished listening to a wonderful session at #VREBC by my good friend Jeff Turner in which he spoke about "The Lost Art of Listening." I wanted to share with you my takeaway from his session.

The one thing that I got out of Jeff's presentation was that while many want to use social media platforms for their business, they do not really know how. Many have progressed past the point of understanding that social media is more than just broadcasting. However after understanding that principle, many get distracted by the social aspect and miss the purpose that they originally joined a network.  People who are in business and join a social network do so for two reasons:

1. To build relationships with potential consumers and build a strong following that will not only use their services, but also refer others.
2. To connect with consumers who may not already be aware of the business and increase their revenue by reaching new clients.

In order to achieve these two things, you must be listening to what consumers needs are.  However, many businesses get lost in the listening stage.  Many who start on these networks immediately find all their friends, family, coworkers, & others in the same industry.  When this happens, a level of distraction takes place as the media platforms take on more of the social aspects and less of the media/marketing purposes.  Once this takes place, many throw in the towel on the social media platforms & immediately say they do not work.  When in essence, that isn't the case, the real thing that happened was that the you the business have lost focus and are no longer using the network for what you originally signed up for.

So, how do you stay focused on your original vision for which you joined a network?  Simple, Listen with purpose to your consumers.  There is always at least one consumer who is looking to spend money in your industry and needs your services/products.

Each and every social network platform has some sort of way of tracking what the users are saying, asking and needing. Our job as a business is learning how to use these tracking devices effectively and listening intently to what consumers are needing. Use things like tweetgrid, facebook search and many other programs to find your prime consumers by listening with intent to what consumers are saying about keyword terms that are applicable to your business.

Here is a sample tweetgrid that someone who is a real estate agent in Myrtle Beach might set up:

There are 9 different categories of terms that someone who is looking to either buy, sell, or rent a place in Myrtle Beach that I can track simultaneously and connect with that consumer.  Some of these terms include: "Myrtle Beach" and "oceanfront", "need more space" or "for sale" and "Myrtle Beach".  These are all common phrases that someone who needs to either buy or sell a home would use when speaking on twitter.  I am now listening with intent to what others are saying that could be possible consumers and connecting with possible business opportunities and not just friends in the same industry.

Once you master the ability to listen with purpose to consumers, your whole outlook on social media sites will change dramatically and you also start seeing an increase in your return on investment into your social media strategy.

So in closing, if you are not listening intently on the social media platforms, you may want to focus on the reason you are there & begin listening to what your consumers are saying.

I had a great debate the other day with someone about which is better, email blasts to hundreds or writing a blog  about a listing or service you offer.  Their argument was that email blasts are more effective because you are sending something directly to your database and that it shows up directly in their email box.

So, I then mentioned,"Do you know how many of those emails I receive a day?  I would guess between 10-15 easily per day.  I get everything from commercial car wash businesses for sale in New York, to $40,000 foreclosures in Idaho.  And everything in between.  When I get them, I don't even open them anymore.  They are immediately deleted."

"But, you may send something to someone in your database that they have been looking for.  Besides you are giving great exposure!!!" was their response.  That may be the case, but if you email someone 2-3 times daily of properties for sale, you are going to annoy them to where they either set it to spam folder and never even see your email again, or they will just delete everytime they see your email address.

As for exposing a listing or service, why not write a blog about it?!? I asked.  "Well Blogging isn't for real estate, it is for socializing and wastes time." I laughed at this response.  They wondered what was so funny.  So I began to share with them something that revolutionized my business practice.  Here is how my response went:

"When you send out your email, how many people receive it in your database? 300? 400? And of that couple hundred, how many actually read it and reply back with interest?  Maybe 1% if you are lucky? So each time you email you might get 2-3 inquiries.

Did you know that when you blog that post you can be more effective?  First, all those that are really and truly interested in receiving your 15 mass mails per week will subscribe to your blog as well.  So those people will already be able to see the property there.  Along with that, if you target your post to the right keywords, things like google alerts & abilities to set up RSS feeds that will pick up the post and send it directly to someone who is looking for a specific term.  This group of people is much larger than your database.  Added into all of this is the fact that every post you write will help to build your internet presence and give you worldwide exposure to everyone who is searching for what you are selling, I think it is a much better solution.

Even better than all of these items is this...you pay $19.99 a month to have your email lists stored & sent from a mass email company like constant contact etc.  You can have a blog to do much more for a whole lot less.  How much less?  How about free!"

So now that I shared this, which is better?  Mass Email or a Blog? You be the Judge!

Jeremy Blanton- Myrtle Beach Real Estate Expert

Yesterday I was out on a listing appointment and I began sharing with the couple how we market their property, our strategies in selling their property, and what price to list at. We were the third agent the couple had interviewed for listing their property. Since I knew ahead of time they had already interviewed other agents, I knew we would have to use something to wow the buyer in our presentation. So, earlier that morning while I was sitting in a Doctor's office with my grandparents, I started writing to my twitter account about my dislike for Hospitals & Dr.'s offices. And that is when it hit me!

The bright flash almost blinded me as the lightbulb went off in my head. I had my new WOW! factor for my listing appointment. So, when we sat down, began our presentation, I shared my normal stuff about writing blogs, posting on websites, etc. Then I pulled out the big gun and shared my newest marketing idea.

I said to the sellers the following:

"One of the newest pieces of techonology will allow me to begin marketing your property on the internet where more than 80% of all buyers begin their search before I even pull out of your driveway."

The sellers eyes lit up like Christmas trees. Of course with a bit of hesitation Mr. Seller asked, "How will you do that Jeremy?"

"Well, it is a rather simple process...You see my cell phone has a built in camera. I will be taking a picture of the outside of your home with it. Then, I will upload the picture instantly to my an internet server with the caption, "Just Listed, $329,900 and the address." Because I have been actively a part of several real estate networks, your home will be instantly seen by hundreds possibly thousands before I even return to my office!

While these sellers are hesitant on making any decision, I feel confident they will be contacting us in the next few days to list their home because of this feature that nobody else has offered to them.

So, how do I offer this service?!?

I am Glad you asked. It is a rather very simple process.

First, I will use my Blackberry Curve to take the photo.

Then through Flickr's mobile uploader, I will upload the picture to my Flickr Account.

Then, Twittergram will automatically pick up the photo and place it in my twitter account instantly exposing the new listing to the world.

You don't need a blackberry in order to do this either. You can use any cell phone that has a camera and internet access. Both Twitter, Flickr, Twittergram are all free services available to anyone for use. Try this on your next appointment and see if it doesn't help you WOW the sellers into choosing you to sell their home!

I found this wonderful site the other day and wanted to share with all my Activerain friends.  It has some great features for making flyers, widgets, posts for your listings.  It is extremely easy to use, and even better, it is FREE!    I have used it now for about a week with just one listing to see what I would think of it.  Well after the first week, my one listing has already been viewed 371 times.  Some other great things:

• Gives you HTML codes to post flyer on Craigslist.
• Gives you HTML code to post flyer on Kijiji.
• Gives you HTML code to post flyer on Backpage.
• Create a Slideshow
• Post to Facebook.

As we all know in the real estate market, to be successful, it is all about exposure.  So check out this site today!