Blogging Effectively By Building Consumer Loyalty And Minimizing

Blogging Effectively by Building Consumer Loyalty and Minimizing Risk By Doug Devitre e-PRO, CRS, ABR, GRI

“People only change when the pain not to change exceeds the pain to change.” Dr. George Lucas

Information Source % of Buyers Real estate agent 84% Internet 84% Sign 59% Print newspaper 50% Open house 48% Magazine 31% Home builder 24%

Just the Facts “39% of home buyers were 1st time home buyers.” 2007 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

Just the Facts “65% of 1st time buyers are between the ages of 18-34.” 2007 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

Consumers Want Information NOW! • Text messaging • Email • Blogging • Podcasting • YouTube • Twitter

What is a Blog? • Web log • Online newspaper • Articles = posts = entries • Reverse chronological order • Interactive • Allow for responses

Why Read Blogs? • Be the first in the know • Learn and analyze new statistics quickly • Make decisions faster than the competition • Respond to hot topics quickly • Receive information anywhere

Why Consumers Will Read Your Blog?

Why Consumers Will Read Your Blog? Relevancy Time sensitive Frequently asked questions Communicate Explain complex ideas Kept in the know Accurate Information You Are the Expert!

“50% of Internet users in the US regularly read blogs.” eMarketer (May 2008) http://technorati.com/blogging/ state-of-the-blogosphere/

“On average, bloggers use 5 different techniques to drive traffic to their blog.” Technorati (2008) http://technorati.com/blogging/ state-of-the-blogosphere/

“72.5% of people in the US regularly go online.” InternetWorldStats.com http://www.gstatic.com/youtube/ engagement/platform/autoplay/advertise/ downloads/YouTube_InTheKnow.pdf

“25% of REALTORS® post to their own blog for business purposes.” 2009 REALTOR® technology report http://www.realtor.org/wps/wcm/connect/ 54d719804f2807aca5f1e74e813808c1/2009+Tech +Report+-+v1.pdf? MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=54d719804f2807aca5f1e74e8 13808c1

“More than 90 percent of home buyers 44 years old or younger used the Internet as a source of information during the home buying process.” 2008 National Association of REALTORS® Proﬁle of Home Buyers and Sellers

Example RSS Feeds • Blog • Comments from blog • YouTube videos • LinkedIn network update • Twitter status update feed • Slideshare of new presentations • Flickr photostream of new photos • FriendFeed of status updates • Google Calendar of new events

Blog Example

Features of Blogs •Title •RSS Feeds •Post •Widgets •Page •Categories •Comments •Plugins •Permanent •Membership links

Why www.WordPress.com • Create self hosted blog • 100% customizable • Embeddable widgets and IDX feed • Built in RSS feed • Pages, posts, and multimedia • Authorized users upload content • Easy to use

Selecting a Blog Title • Title should represent you, area of expertise and niche • Five words or less • Google “real estate blogs” for examples

Keys to Creating Intriguing Entries • Must benefit reader, not author • Relevant information to real estate • State opinions or facts from other resources or websites • Time sensitive information • 200-500 words

Links • Links highlight your favorite websites • Link your website to your blog • Link your blog to your website • Link individual pages in your website

Conversations • Comments track existing conversations between author and consumer • Dialogue critical for success • People receive answers to important questions • Never answer questions twice

Top 10 Mistakes Bloggers Make 24

10. Blog About Themselves • Consistent self promotion does not work. • Do not always blog about listings. 25

9. Do Not Include Picture With Each Entry • Pictures tell a story • Included in other social media • Make words you write more interesting. 26

8. No Multimedia • Videos? • Audio? • PowerPoint? 27

7. Categorize Blog Posts • Categories are mental file folders that store blog posts. • Engaging names for categories • Store posts in correct category 28

6. Insert Tags to Entries • Tags are keywords that identify each entry. • Tags make entries easier to find. 29

5. No Hyperlinks • Embed hyperlinks into entries: – your website – other blogs – documents – online articles 30

4. Inform Others About Blog • Print advertising • Email communication • Daily conversation • Email signature • Social media 31

3. Never Respond to Comments • Comment on others’ comments • Commenting shows you care • Comments clarify questions 32

2. Not Enough Value • Consumers want high content • Relevant information • Targeted to a specific niche 33

1. Do Not Update Often • Write 2-4 times a week • Form a team of authors • Hire a ghost writer 34

Frequency • The more you blog the better you get • Stay on top of hot topics • Creates credibility.

How Can Consumers Access Your Blog? • RSS reader • Subscribe by email • Direct email communication • Facebook • Linkedin • FriendFeed • Conduit Tool Bar 36

RSS Reader • Google Reader • Yahoo Reader • Newsgator 37

Subscribe by Email • RSS delivers blog post to email automatically when published. • www.FeedBurner.com 38

Direct Email Communication • Locate hyperlink of blog post • Copy hyperlink to the clipboard • Paste hyperlink into an email message 39

Facebook • Import blog RSS feed into the notes section of your Facebook application settings. 40

Linkedin • Copy and paste blog RSS feed into Linkedin application. 41

www.FriendFeed.com

Add Social Media Proﬁles

Available Social Websites Choose frequently used

Friend Feed RSS Feed 45

www.Conduit.com 46

Favorite Links • Each blog has favorite links of other blogs or websites – www.YourName.com – www.YourCompany.com – www.YourCity.com – www.CitySchools.com – www.HUD.gov – www.ASHI.org

Categories • Which topics will you write about the most? • Which geographic regions do you represent? • What areas of real estate do you specialize?

Permanent Links • Each page = web page • Each post= web page • Each category = web page • Each tag = web page • RSS feed = web page

My First Experience Blogging Don’t give up yet. It takes time to learn…

Risks of Blogging • Negative Comments • Lose control over the message • Neglect • Misinterpretation of blogging culture • Presenting incorrect information

Negative Comments • Damage reputation • Hurt credibility • Others may be offended.

Lose Control Over the Message • Don’t get caught saying – I didn’t mean that – I didn’t think they would respond that way – I can erase it later – No one will see this.

Neglect • No new information for repeat visitors • Responding to comments is crucial • People may not return.

Misinterpretation of Blogging Culture • Focus on expertise NOT self promotion • Showcase hot topics, NOT your resume • Extreme opinions may cause more harm than good.

Presenting Incorrect Information • Lying will damage your reputation • Facts can be found other places • People will find out if you are lying.

Class Exercise Risks of Blogging

Ethical Issues in Blogging • Embracing diversity • Avoiding stereotypes • Fair housing • Code of Ethics

Embracing Diversity • Are you able to write about all the cultures that make up a neighborhood?

Be Cautious About… • Race • Color • Religion • Sex • Familial status • National origin • Disability

Fair Housing • Discriminatory acts • America One Principles • Steering • Equal Professional Service Model

Code of Ethics • Divided into three sections: – Duties to clients and customers – Duties to the public – Duties to REALTORS® Are you following the Code of Ethics in your blog?

“Such interests impose obligations beyond those of ordinary commerce. They impose grave social responsibility and a patriotic duty to which REALTORS® should dedicate themselves, and for which they should be diligent in preparing themselves. REALTORS®, therefore, are zealous to maintain and improve the standards of their calling and share with their fellow REALTORS® a common responsibility for its integrity and honor.”

$19.95/ month VIP Membership $199/ year • 5 videos weekly that explain how to use tools you already own specific to real estate. • Weekly Downloadable PowerPoint presentation to edit, share, and use to present in your office, association, or workshops. • Monthly Webinar that explains advance concepts in real time allowing for question and answer specific to individual needs and video/audio archive of entire session. • Recent Blog Posts reminders of new thoughts, ideas, and concerns on the impact technology has on real estate. • Updates on Event Recaps of live sessions Doug Devitre presents at conventions, workshops, and seminars that include video, pictures, viewable PowerPoint presentations, handouts, etc. 64

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Blogging Effectively By Building Consumer Loyalty And Minimizing

by Doug Devitre

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