LIVE BLOG: #SMMOC 8-14-2010

Due to the fact every seat is filled at SMMOC today I’ve decided to live blog this event.

Jeff Pulver founder of Vonage and the “Casting Director” of the 140 Conf is with us today.

First Discussion:

Email Marketing

What good tools are out there for email marketing?

Mailchimp doesn’t allow most uses for Realtors and doesn’t allow anyone in the mortgage field.

Some suggested iContact and Constant Contact.  (I’ve found that constant contact works ok. it’s not pretty but it will work for real estate.)

List Building

How do you build lists for your email marketing?     Start with just one person.  Use what I call the give then get then give principle.  Place free information on your site, then ask them to register to get more value, then provide more value to their email box on a regular basis.  “Don’t make them irritated they are on your list.”

Ask for constant feedback:

“Why are you here, and what do you want?” then give them what they want.

We would definitely recommend that you make your opt-in forms easy to find in as many places as possible.

Next topic:

Software to View Social Media Profiles

What are some alternatives to xobni.com ?  The biggest complaint is that it doesn’t have many features.  Consider that people want to be communicated with in the channels that are comfortable.

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I recommended Rapportive if you use Gmail.  I can’t recommend Gist it’s just too complex for the average Realtor.

Next Topic:

New Twitter Tools

[twitter]
The new Twitter button.  It’s excellent by the way!  Twitter purchased the rights for using this from Tweet Meme, they are going to refocus their business.  The one thing I suggested is you have to be careful because many pop up blockers stop the window from showing that allow the user to actually tweet out your link.

Next Topic:

Does Social Media Actually Help You Make Money?

Bill Platos from first team real estate asked why people spend so much time on social media, he wondered if it was valuable. Jeff Pulver is discussing how it becomes ingrained in your life and its part of a new line of communication.

Linsey Planeta suggests that if she wasn’t in social media channels some of her clients wouldn’t respect her as much.  Stacey Soleil demonstrated that you really need to remember that the age demographics of Twitter and Facebook are no longer “just kids.”

Social media is the new backchannel.  Companies now are hiring “listening officers” to monitor what people are saying about them on social media channels.  Jeff Pulver suggests that social media is building a worldwide community.  People are now interconnected in ways that have never happened before, whether it’s family members or people in Haiti.

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Next Topic:

Facebook Redesign Issues

Facebook is going to be redesigning it’s Fan / Like page.  Some people are frustrated by this.  Those that train on it like Stacey Harmon and Mel Aclaro are complaining that they are unable to help agents because Facebook is changing so fast they can’t keep their literature, powerpoints, and videos up to date fast enough.

Jeff Pulver suggest that the problem with Facebook is that you rely on them, they are the platform and they make the rules.  Jeff says that Facebook has some issues with changing the rules and the fact that it can’t change.  He reminds everyone that have your own presence.  He also says don’t leave Facebook if you already have a page there.  Others suggest that Facebook works for some businesses and not for others.

We definitely recommend for Realtors and Brokerages to have a page for the business but focus little on that.  You should focus definitely more setting up pages about what people are passionate about.  Few people are probably passionate about your business, more are passionate about the communities they live in and the communities in which they live their lives such as their church, social groups, etc.

Next Topic:

Security Issues

There was a question about how to keep yourself safe online, here’s what I recommended:

  1. Don’t open email from people you dont’ know
  2. Use an email program with built in virus scanning like Gmail or Google Apps
  3. Don’t visit websites that sound dangerous / make sure to type in the right spelling of a site when using the address bar (there are quite a few people who buy domain names of misspelled common sites to do nefarious things with them)
  4. Use a browser which helps you with security like Firefox or Chrome

Next Topic:

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Membership Sites Using WordPress

Loren Nason of your Local Tech suggested Wish List plugin, I like S2Member.  Both can also be integrated with Buddypress (part of what helps us power our new FaceNet product which is a blend of Intranet and Social Media for real estate brokerages, more info on that coming soon.)

We also discussed affiliate networks which we believe both of the above plugins allow.  Additionally I recommended ZFerral an affiliate program that really allow you to track where your buyers are coming from…

Next Topic:

140 Conference

Jeff Pulver is discussing his upcoming LA conference.  He’s calling for speakers if you know anyone that might be interested in speaking at the event he’d love for you to submit it here.  (I was fortunate enough to speak at #14oconf New York this year.  It’s a great event and if you have the opportunity you should definitely attend.)

Jeff is pointing out how some celebrities get it and some do not.  Some get the fact that it’s all about engagement not about broadcasting.  Those that speak to fans are the ones that know the true value.  “Live and die by the buzz.”

CEO | Director of Strategy
With over 20 years experience in the real estate industry, including being a Realtor and Broker / Owner, Stegemann brings a wealth of knowledge to this job as CEO of TRIBUS. He focuses his time on helping brokers enhance and expand their business and working with the TRIBUS labs team to consider what's next in real estate.
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