Think of yourself as a community service media outlet.

Curate a Twitter feed of local non-spammy Twitter accounts. Help people out by spreading their message.

Look for influential people on Twitter. Reach out to them using Klout and LinkedIn.

Check out breakingburgennews.com. Agent helps people to promote their business and causes.

Create a social media marketing agency and help people use social media to promote their own business.

Have a curation site that brings together all sorts of local news. This is called a micro-channel strategy. For example, sport, food, wine. Link to where the content is coming from.

Real estate agents are well positioned to build a community news service strategy. Doing that employs a no-sell approach.

Consider the shared economy approach.

You don’t do business with a consumer until they decide to business with you. The decision maker is the consumer.

People want real information, more than just your products and services.

Personal marketing. It’s all about:

• Content
• Empathy
• Empowered consumers
• Relationships

It’s all about being trusted. Your niche market is your community.

Look at your business if you’re trying to run for mayor of your community. You’re a public servant. You’re job is to run with issues that are of concern your community.

Make your site all about the community. Pick up on causes, write reviews.

People aren’t going to find your website because of your real estate, they’ll find it because they were looking for something else. But it’s the second page visits that’s important i.e. people are starting to look for real estate, About Us page.

You’re real goal in online marketing is to not piss people off.

Success formula

Your community + Unique Content = Niche Marketing

Connect with @ScottSchang

I’m writing this post on my iPad. Why? I want to check out the experience using that and the WordPress iPad application. So far so good.

Of course the keypad on the iPad is far from ideal. It makes typing a little slower and, for me a little less intuitive. It’s a but harder to get into any sort of writer’s rhythm. That said it’s not too bad.

To make life a little easier I’ve attached a Bluetooth keyboard. It’s much better to type on although mistakes must still be corrected using the touchscreen. It’s a fair compromise.

Saving the post as I go is quick and easy. There’s a save button at the top right corner of the screen that allows me to save a local copy on the iPad.

Adding an image isn’t quite so easy. For a start the can only be sourced from the a photo album on the iPad. That’s not so bad but there’s no way to edit the image. The only alignment option is left-align so centering isn’t possible. It’s hardly ideal. Another problem with inserting an image is to wait for it to upload. Tapping back into edit mode too early causes the image to be lost. Adding another one in proved too difficult so I abandoned the task. On top of that as I saved this section the app fell over for the second time. Footnote: after it fell over I had another go and succeeded, this time I inserted a large image. It will probably be too big for the page.

What’s not available on the iPad is access to any of the rich features of the WordPress dashboard. That includes access to creating post thumbnails – a feature of this WordPress theme – and customising the SEO options.

I usually add a Tweetmeme button on my posts by adding the Tweetmeme [tweetmeme]. If this works a green button will display to the right of this paragraph. If not then you’ll see the word tweetmeme inside two square brackets.

What the iPad/WordPress app combo is good for is taking notes at a conference. Saving locally is a big plus because it avoids problems with losing notes as a result of a lost internet connection. In that sense it’s similar to using Evernote, only Evernote has lots more options.

One glaring omission is I can’t insert a hyperlink using an editor. It has to be done manually and that involves knowing a little HTML and how to insert a hyperlink.

As with many fledgling applications it’s important to save early and often. As I typed that last paragraph I lost some work when a dialog box popped up asking if I needed help with inserting a link. My first attempt at using it failed, the second worked.

My next task is to publish this post and share it on Facebook and Twitter. If you hear screams from Perth’s southern suburbs you’ll know it didn’t go according to plan.

Clicks are where the money happens.

Drive traffic to your site using:

• Google Adwords.
• Social media.
• Pinterest.
• Email (MailChimp, RSS to email plugin).

Website is a salesperson.

Importance of site design. Make it look reputable.

The Man From Mars Rule. People need to know what you do within 3 seconds.

Lead people to where you want them to go. Make the font easy to read.

Make pics professional.

People read in an F-shaped pattern. Use the short-long approach. Use alternate short and LNG paragraphs.

Don’t make me think – Steve Kruge. People want to be lead, they don’t like too many choices.

Users become ad blind. People are blind to billboards because they see too many. Be clear about what you want people to do on your site.

Social advertising cuts through banner blindness. Friends like, and therefore endorse content. Social queues double the click through rate.

Facebook ads have a 68% higher recall.

FB ads to introduce a business to friends of friends.

How to set up an ad.

Showing ads only to friends of the fans of my page improves the click through rate.

The best ad Heather’s ever run took people to a landing page on her site.

What’s your goal. Be specific.

Consider advertising your listings using Facebook ads.

Use different campaigns for each outcome.

Analyse the results from your campaigns.

We’re already ready to buy. Problem with social media is the party never ends. The agendas behind social media aren’t always what’s best for us.

You don’t have to be the first to jump onto a new social network. Do what’s important and don’t just chase the trends.

Decide for yourself what will work for your business model.

Social media platforms are tools, not strategies. Have a business model, a business strategy, not a social media strategy. Tools help us to achieve strategies.

Possibilities that are promised social media don’t equate to real needs.

Ask yourself if you could use this right now. If you have to make a change be sure there’ll be a payoff.

Be willing to dump social media in favor of real conversations and doing the basics.

Don’t be seduced by new toys if it’s not going to add real value.

Focus on the people you’re with and don’t be distracted.

Ask and do:

• Do I have a business plan?
• Develop one that will inspire you and that will inspire you to use technology in inspiring ways.
• Avoid edge cases.
• Be willing to say no.

Here’s a handy presentation from Atim Ukoh, Director of Social Media at Webtech Dezine.

The key points include:

• Include your full name and image.
• Add a keyword rich headline. That’s good for SEO and helps LinkedIn deliver more relevant content.
• Update your work history, especially those that are relevant to your current work.
• Network with your school and work alumni. They know you and are probably comfortable with you.
• Customise your public URL and consider including your city.
• Ask for recommendations. I say give recommendations. Give before expecting to receive.
• Join groups and answer questions. Be helpful.
• Add updates, they stand out because so few people actually post stuff directly to LinkedIn.
• Get your mobile phone working and add people on the go.
• How to Use LinkedIn to improve your real estate business

  View more presentations from WebTech Dezine

  

  ]]> http://peterfletcher.com.au/2011/12/29/how-to-use-linkedin-to-improve-your-real-estate-business/feed/ 1 http://peterfletcher.com.au/2011/12/27/2012-the-year-of-speed/ http://peterfletcher.com.au/2011/12/27/2012-the-year-of-speed/#comments Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:05:42 +0000 Peter Fletcher http://peterfletcher.com.au/?p=2592
  
  

  

  2011 was the year of Jacob’s Ladder. It resulted in me being fitter than ever before. That felt great but leaves the question of what’s next for 2012.

  I recently spotted a post on LinkedIn by MariSmith (@marismith) in which she asked the question “What’s the one word that will define your 2012.” It resonated with me and ever since I’ve been thinking what word would define my 2012.

  At first I thought Speed. That would give me a reason to improve my reaction times (for boxing), my leg speed (for running) and the speed at which I do business. All have merit. I could set individual challenges for each and all would improve parts of my life.

  For example, speed at work might mean reducing the time it takes for us to respond to new instructions to act. That speed would translate into more customer satisfaction.

  Speed alone though is an empty promise. Sure we could serve people quickly but would that, on it’s own, improve customer satisfaction? The answer is, of course, no. Yet mixed with values such as respect, trust and generosity it becomes a kind of guiding mantra. In other words our work is guided by our values and done at speed.

  I later thought I could use Strength. Although I like the idea of being strong physically it doesn’t work for me at work or at home. I don’t see myself as a ‘strong’ leader but rather one who leads through consistency of values and purpose.

  I then came up with Giving. In fact I tweeted that this was *the* word for the year.

  Peter Fletcher – @peterfletcher
  Inspired by @MariSmith the word that’s going to shape my 2012 is Giving.

  My thinking that Giving would guide me to serve others and be generous with my time and resources; and it would. Yet as much it would do that Giving misses something that’s important: my life as an athlete. I thrive on being an athlete and I love the feeling of existing on the limit of what I believe is physically possible.

  So I’m sticking with Speed.

  Here are a few goals that could come out of Speed.

  1. 10 laps of Jacob’s Ladder in 25 minutes. That’s really hard!
  2. Acknowledge new Instructions to Act within 5 minutes. Not within 24 hours, not the same day, within 5 minutes. In other words, instantly!
  3. Do a 2k time trial in 6 minutes. Is that fast? I’m not sure.
  4. Notify clients within 3 minutes of settlement taking place. Referring agents within 5. It’s all about instant!

  I don’t need to go on anymore. Speed is the new word.

  2012 is going to be the year of Speed!

  

  ]]> http://peterfletcher.com.au/2011/12/27/2012-the-year-of-speed/feed/ 0 http://peterfletcher.com.au/2011/12/27/2011-the-year-in-a-post/ http://peterfletcher.com.au/2011/12/27/2011-the-year-in-a-post/#comments Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:29:47 +0000 Peter Fletcher http://peterfletcher.com.au/?p=2579
  
  
  

  Michel Foucault

  2011 was the year of Jacob’s Ladder. At the start of the year I set a goal of climbing Jacob’s Ladder 5000 times. That goal was completed in early November. It defined me and set a very clear mandate for every day, every week and every month.

  I also set a goal of a daily blog post. I was on pace for about 2 months and then fell away. One of the issues I struggle with is what I’m going to write. I get started and then can’t figure out what I want to achieve, what I want to say and then it all falls apart.

  One post in particular brought me undone. It was a long and well thought out post about the future of real estate data. Unfortunately it took me days to research and even longer to put what I wanted to say into words. Instead of publishing I thought and worked on getting it right. In the end it was a post that achieved some kudos from some key players from the industry but it cost me about two weeks of posts.

  During my recent uni studies my blog was used as a research tool. It was where I kept all my research notes so you’ll find articles about the hupomnemata, technologies of the self and the death of god. I loved it but once I finished my studies I started thinking that I needed to blog for Google juice and write what my audience wanted.

  The problem with doing that is that often I don’t want to write for other people, I want to write for myself. I did that during my studies and it changed the direction of my honours thesis. It introduced me Jeremy Crampton (@jeremycrampton), who, through a pingback on a post about Foucault’s theories on power relationships, alerted me to his book and created in me a drive to analyse the dismissal of Heather Armstrong using Foucault’s theories as a tool kit. So without this blog I would have written a very different honours thesis and wouldn’t have experienced the joy of months of immersion in French philosophy.

  What’s been valuable about this blog – and blogging generally – is that it’s been a place for me to get my thoughts in order. As Crampton put it so well,

  Now the content of the post is unremarkable and not especially exciting, but the author remarks that this is a post designed to help him think through some issues. It’s not the content, it’s the process (emphasis mine).

  So this blog is going to (continue to) be a public hupomnemata, a public place for me to record what I’ve learned and a way for me to take actively take care of the (my) self. It’s a place for me to record what I’ve learned from my daily experiences. Although some of what I learn will be about social media and digital strategy it will also include what I learn from personal experience, such as what I learned from leaning into the pain.

  This strategy will have its costs. For a start it will be difficult for Google to work out what my website is about. Is it about social media, digital strategy or Michel Foucault? Google will find it hard, almost impossible to work out.  It’s going to cost me traffic.

  Then there’s the readers or subscribers. Those who subscribe to my blog wanting posts about digital strategy will be disappointed when they’re presented with articles (like this one) about Michel Foucault and the hupomnemata. If you could name the top blogging sins what I’m doing would be close to the top of the list.

  But I’ve decided that having a space to remember and reflect is far more important than worrying about readers and traffic. If this blog becomes a window into my mind then so be it. If it helps me become a better thinker, even better.

  And I’ll end this post without a clear conclusion. That’s because I wasn’t sure what it was that I wanted to do with it in the first place.

  Photo credit: The Magnet Magazine

  

  ]]> http://peterfletcher.com.au/2011/12/27/2011-the-year-in-a-post/feed/ 2 http://peterfletcher.com.au/2011/12/05/anatomy-of-a-facebook-fan/ http://peterfletcher.com.au/2011/12/05/anatomy-of-a-facebook-fan/#comments Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:43:28 +0000 Peter Fletcher http://peterfletcher.com.au/?p=2574
  
  

   

  The following infographic from MoonToast shows how data flows through Facebook. What’s especially helpful is how the different types of fan engagement work to surface page content.

   

  

   

   

  

  ]]> http://peterfletcher.com.au/2011/12/05/anatomy-of-a-facebook-fan/feed/ 0