How to Market Yourself with Social Media

Despite what you may think, you do not have to be a popular, hilarious, or uber-charismatic person to maintain a positive, useful social media presence. Here are a few tips for how to get there.
We talk about different social media platforms below, but you do not have to be (and probably should not) be on all of these. That would be exhausting. So we tried to let you know which platform is good for whom.
Here's the bottom line to getting clients across platforms:

• Be a resource, not a salesperson.
• Share your passions. Show diverse interests, not just your "business" self.
• Don't complain.
• Stay in touch with past clients.
• Listen more than you talk.

Deceptively simple! Read on to find out how to do it.
Facebook
First, you have to make the decision of whether you want to use your personal Facebook profile to market yourself or create a separate page for your business.
If you’re confused on the terminology, a profile is your personal Facebook profile. It’s the thing most people (and you) probably already use, with the privacy settings you select. A page is a public page that people can like. If you post something, the post appears in your followers’ News Feeds.
If your business is just you, as it is for most freelancers, it may make sense to use your personal profile as your Facebook presence. If you decide to use your profile, you can make your profile public and allow anyone to follow you and receive your public updates in their News Feeds (without becoming your friend). For each thing you post, you’ll be able to determine who can see it.
The pros of having a public profile:

• You only have to maintain one presence (which is time-friendly)
• If someone sends you a Facebook friend request and you don’t accept them, they can still stay subscribed to your public updates. (Now you know what to do if a client friends you: reject and let them stay tuned into your public updates.)

The pros of having a separate page for your business:

• You can maintain completely separate presences and avoid sending business-related items to your real friends.
• Pages also have analytics, so you can see how many people saw a post and interacted week-to-week.

Who’s it good for? Every kind of freelancer.
The Do’s:

• Share interesting, relevant news articles.
• Share short tips that you think current/prospective clients would use. For instance, if you're a freelance project manager, share a 1-2 sentence "time-saving tip of the week." Always think first about what your ideal follower would want to like and share. Their likes and shares mean your content spreads farther and shows up higher in their News Feeds.
• Share recent projects and new portfolio items -- especially visual ones.
• Thank clients (by @mentioning them) and re-post testimonials clients send you, if possible.
• Share side interests. Don’t be afraid to show yourself as a real, whole person with diverse interests.
• Get involved in commenting on brand Pages (especially those you'd like to work for!). You'd be surprised who's watching.
• Follow other freelancers -- you never know when you’ll pop up in their News Feed just when they have too many projects.
• Respond when someone asks a question/posts on your Page.
• Try micro-advertising, once you get your page up and running. Spend $50 for a very targeted ad to your geographic area. Look at the likes/interests of your ideal clients/brands and target those things in the ad, so that your ad only gets seen by the people you want to see it. Here's how to run a Facebook ad.

The Don’ts:

• Be careful posting about your services in conversations that you are not a part of. Only get involved if you have something to contribute to a conversation you are genuinely interested in.
• Don't simply post on other companies’ pages with a link to your services.
• Don't complain about other clients. EVER. It makes you look unprofessional and clients will be shy of working with someone who badmouths people on social media.
• Avoid sharing overly personal information. Some details about your life are fine. The fact that you just fought with your ex is not fine. If you have a public profile make sure you check whether you’re posting publicly or just to friends before hitting Post.
• Don't sound like a business automaton. It’s all about a personal tone minus personal details.
• Don't give yourself a hard quota for amount of content to put up each day. Never share lame content just because you have to fill a slot. A rough guideline (about 1-2 posts a day, for instance) is good.

Twitter
There are a looooot of people who use Twitter wrong and don’t get the basics of @Reply and hastags before they start. First things first, learn the basics!
Once you’ve got that down, think about what you want to use Twitter for. Have no idea? Just join, set up your profile, and listen. Listen to all the people you like and admire use Twitter. Then build your voice by responding to and engaging with those people naturally. Slowly you’ll figure out what you really want to use Twitter for and what is a waste of time.

The Do’s:

• Spend your first week 90% listening, 10% tweeting. This will give you time to adjust.
• Think carefully about the information that appears at the top of your profile. Consider tone and what you want to link to (blog? website?). Include social proof, or awards, accolades, etc.. Think about including a quirky or fun fact about you to lighten the more business-y stuff, like "Expert Brow Furrower."
• Follow past and current clients. When you see something exciting that they're up to or a good press mention, @mention them your congratulations and good wishes.
• Follow other freelancers as well, especially if they share useful info. Occassionally share information that's useful to them too, like -- oh I don't know -- stuff from @freelancersu. They're super smart. ;)
• Retweet or quote the tweets of people you would like to work for. (People have gotten jobs from being consistently nice to brands on Twitter. Yes really.)
• Follow the Twitterers you admire, so that you can learn their techniques when they pop up in your feed.
• Create Twitter Lists if you don’t want to follow thousands of people but still want to see what they tweet occasionally.
• Take part in Twitter chats in your field. For instance, see this ginormous but incomplete list: http://tweetreports.com/twitter-chat-schedule/. These are conversations you are invited to no matter who you’re connected with. Just be careful to remember that people are following you who are not involved in your chat, so don’t overdo it.
• Involve people in your process. Show people the behind-the-scenes. You’d be surprised how many people are interested in what it’s like to be you.

The Don’ts:

• Don’t overuse hashtags. They’re only funny if they’re used sparingly or, you know, ridiculously.
• Avoid jumping in on a trending topic you have no relation to, just to get “seen.”
• Don't post angry customer service tweets to companies -- Twitter is not the place. If you’re using your Twitter as part of your business presence, it’s actually not a good place to be angry at all. Posting how much you wish X politician would die is going to turn off at least half of your potential customers.
• Be careful about inserting yourself into a back-and-forth conversation you are not a part of.
• Don't use your client-facing Twitter only to talk to your friends. This is not terrible, but constantly taking part in conversations that isolate the majority of your followers won’t inspire people to follow you.
• Don't complain about clients. Ever. Seriously -- ever. Even if you are 100% in the right and your current client is a tool. The prospective client who is interested in hiring you and sees that will not appreciate it, since they don’t know the backstory.
• Don't send your tweets to Facebook.

LinkedIn
Hate “social media” and only want to target other business-minded peeps online? Then LinkedIn is for you. The great thing about LinkedIn is that you can spend a good amount of time setting up a killer profile and connecting with the right people, and then you can (mostly) leave it be.
However, like the other social networks, if you want to spend time getting involved in groups, reposting blog posts, and keeping in contact with old business clients, your efforts can go a long way on LI.
Who’s it good for? Everybody. But if you only pick one, this is the one. Especially good for freelancers who don’t really like social media, but still want to throw social media a bone.
The Do’s:

• Add a high-quality, clear photograph. That fuzzy photo of you with your mom will not do.
• Add all your previous jobs, with a short description of each. Key word being short. No one cares about the details of every single project you’ve done.
• Use keywords in your short profile description. Companies do search for freelancers on LI. Don’t just say “freelance developer.” Say “Freelance Full-Stack Ruby/PHP/Java Developer and Teacher.” Clients will search for specific terms.
• Upload portfolio items. This is especially important for tech and visual creative folks.
• Fill in skills & expertise. This is literally the easiest way online to get other people you’ve worked with before to recommend you in a way that’s visible to boatloads of people and pretty painless for them. Just do it. Can’t get other people to recommend you? Then go around recommending other people you’ve worked with (who you genuinely recommend).
• Connect with all previous and current clients. If they’re an old client, send them a quick message to catch up. This is a great way to remind old clients that you exist!
• Follow all the brands you used to work for.
• Use the LI job boards. It costs a bit to put a job listing on LI, so you can be more sure that the companies are high-quality clients who won’t stiff you.
• Get involved in local networking chapters. Just search something like “Los Angeles Designers” in the search box and lots of stuff will pop up.
• Connect with people you’ve met (and connected with meaningfully) on other social networks. Send them a quick note that says, “Hey, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you on Twitter, and I’m hoping we can connect here, too.”

The Don’ts:

• Don't try to connect with people using the generic connect message. If you really want to connect with someone (especially an old colleague), spend the time re-introducing yourself and saying why you genuinely want to connect. If you just met someone at a networking event, remind them where you met them.
• Never lie or exaggerate your jobs. This should be a no-brainer, but it must be said. This is public information available to all of the people that know exactly what you did at a certain job.
• Careful not to misspell things. Think of LI as your most important resume.
• Don't use the words “creative,” “effective,” “extensive experience,” or “proven professional.” (Don’t use them on your resume, either.)
• Don't recommend people you don’t really know, just so they’ll recommend you back. Trust us, there is nothing creepier than getting recommended by someone you don’t really know for a skill you know they don’t know you have.
• Try not to forget to update your profile for several years. Just because this can be a low-effort platform does not mean you should forget to tell potential new clients about the great new gig you have.

Pinterest
Pinterest is the social network you should use if you a) sell physical products, b) are a designer/technologist, or c) are a blog writer. That’s because Pinterest is essentially a photo and photo-of-product sharing platform, best suited to crafty people, chefs/edible product entrepreneurs, artists, illustrators, tech-enthusiasts (sharing photos of new tech is popular), and bloggers who can share their header image of interesting posts (how-to’s are especially popular).
If you have a product you want to sell, nothing converts browser to buyer better than Pinterest. If you already blog for your business, try to develop a few boards related to your niche -- and a couple related to side interests -- and see what happens.
No matter what kind of freelancer you are, it’s important to make sure your website is Pinterest-friendly simply by adding the Pin button and other easy measures.
The Do’s:

• Spend time setting up your boards. This is the most important thing you’ll do. Often people won’t choose to follow all of your boards, but will just follow boards that interest them. Make sure the idea behind the board is shareable, the title and subtitle are short and well-thought-out, and you populate it with good starter content.
• Think about your subhead, not just the picture.
• Pin other people’s stuff more than your own. This is about cultivating a board, not posting all of your stuff (that’s what your website is for).
• Think vertical. Tall photos look better than fat ones.
• Use Pinterest for stuff that doesn’t fit into your niche, but you’re still interested in. An author can start a naval ships catalog or a style board. This is a great way to show people your diversified interests.
• Link to your website in your profile. The more traffic your page gets, the better. More traffic, more linkbacks = higher search ranking.
• Use Pinterest to get inspired. Pinterest is just a repository of interesting/cool/pretty stuff. It’s a great time-suck but also fun to browse through if you’re stuck.
• Pin a coupon for your freelance services. Great way to get new clients!

The Don’ts:

• Careful with subheads that are too long. This is about photos, not text.
• Don't overpin. Just like the other social networks, too much of a good thing is not a good thing.
• Don't pin only your own work. Share the love!
• Try not to create an unorganized board. If it says it’s about how-to tips for writers, don’t post a picture of a sunset. If you want to make a diverse board, set expectations in the title and regular content.
• Don't repost images straight from Google search. That’s lazy pinning. Pursue the source of the image so you can credit them.
• Don't post low-quality images (if possible).

Google Plus
Just like Facebook, Google Plus allows you to make a profile, connect with friends, and create posts for them all to see. At first glance, it will most likely seem like a poor substitute for Facebook. In reality, there are a lot of advantages to using Google Plus.
The Do’s:

• Make a profile and post often. Regular engagement with Google Plus helps with your Google ranking for websites and pages. +1’s (Google Plus’s equivalent of “likes”) will have a positive effect on your SEO ranking, so keep posting!
• If you’re a blogger, link your Google Plus name to your blog.
• Upload a photo. This is especially important for Google Plus if you’re a blogger and connect your Google Plus profile to your blog, because your headshot will appear in Google search results.

• Host a Google Hangout. Google Hangout is a free video chat service -- Google’s version of Skype. It also allows you to share documents, scratchpads, images and YouTube videos with other users. The Google Plus "Hangouts on Air" feature, a live broadcasting service accessible to anyone with a web browser, is useful if you’d like to present something to your audience
• Categorize your friends! One useful function of Google Plus is the ability to group your friends in a much more user-friendly way than Facebook.
• Write longer posts. Twitter limits you to 140 characters and people will hate you on Facebook if you post more than a sentence. Google Plus is friendly to longer posts and they occur regularly.
• That said, you are allowed to post the exact same content you post on Facebook to Google Plus. They are mostly different audiences.

The Dont’s:

• ​Try not to start a Google Plus profile and then never do anything with it, like just about everybody else.

Is a cloud-based brokerage the right one for you?

The real estate agent’s recipe for a successful cloud-based business By Gill South (inman.com)  Key Takeaways Doing well as a cloud agent takes the right mindset and mental toughness, according to Derrick Ruiz. Choose your first cloud brokerage based on the right leader, training and access to an online community. Cloud brokerages are not for new agents; they should start with the real thing first. Los Angeles broker Derrick Ruiz is grooming his 12-year-old-son to be a real estate agent. Kenneth sees his dad working from his home office, never wearing a suit and coming out to say “hi” when he and his sister come home from school. “I don’t have to commute to work; I can help with the Little League stuff; my professional life and family life are all enmeshed. I could be barbecuing in between writing a presentation,” said Ruiz. “We go look at properties, I take my camera. Real estate is a really good lifestyle if you do it right.” The real estate veteran of 30 years makes a good financial argument. “We make more than lawyers and doctors now — I’m working on a deal for a 16-unit apartment building for $5.5 million and will make a $275,000 gross commission, while the trust lawyer on the deal is earning $6,000 to set up the trust,” noted Ruiz. The author of the new book, “Cloud Agent: How Real Estate Agents Can Combine Cloud Technology With A Powerful Mindset To Produce Extraordinary Results,” Ruiz is enthusiastic about how his life has changed since he took his business completely to the cloud, working from home full-time and joining the cloud brokerage eXp Realty three years ago. He was previously with Keller Williams for seven years. The cloud mentality of doing deals Ruiz likes the immediacy of his work now. “Last night I had a call from a buyer who wanted a flier sent to him on a property. “ Ruiz sent off the marketing package, which gave him the property’s cashflow figures, expenses and taxes via his phone. The investor was standing at the for-sale sign at the time. Later that night the buyer texted, saying he wanted to make an offer. “That’s the the mentality of being in the cloud — for me, there is no way go back to working in an office,” said Ruiz. Choosing your cloud brokerage wisely “I left after another eXp associate showed me the idea of working for a cloud brokerage. I saw a big opportunity creating revenue share and attracting other agents to eXp Realty,” Ruiz explained. Take care choosing the right cloud brokerage, warns Ruiz, something he talks about in “Cloud Agent.” “Since joining eXp, there has been a proliferation of virtual offices or cloud brokerages — I get pitched to all the time.” He writes: “I do not understand how a 100-percent broker can afford to provide the proper technology infrastructure and training by only collecting a transaction fee.” “At eXp, we have a virtual office where we conduct training and interviews — you need to get an avatar set up and it’s like you are walking around in a (virtual) office meeting,” he said. It’s very collaborative, he added. The campus-like platform used by eXp Realty came from a gaming engine from University of California, San Diego. Ruiz is hopeful the book, published by Black Card Books in Ontario, will help himself and fellow eXp Realty agents “attract” more to the business, which is on an aggressive expansion path. “Part of the reason I wrote this book was to create a tool that my fellow agents could use to attract other agents to their team,” Ruiz explained. “I’ve offered my colleagues a greatly reduced price if they buy in bulk so that they can send the books out to other agents they want to attract.” EXp Realty’s growth EXp Realty has a seven-tier revenue system for agents who are successful at attracting new people. Glenn Sanford,  eXp Realty CEO and chairman, also formerly from Keller Williams, said: “Last year at this time, we were around 650 agents; now we are 1,400-plus agents. We’ve doubled in size and will double again over the next 12 months.” Currently in 41 states, he expects to be in 50 by the end of the next 12 months and has set a target of 10,000 agents by 2020. Sanford has strongly endorsed “Cloud Agent,” writing the foreword in the book. “Derrick is pioneering — he’s just a powerhouse of information. He understands the business of prospecting — it’s really a mindset book,” said Sanford. Sanford wrote in the book’s foreword: “We now live in an uber-connected world and physical brick and mortar businesses are fading in value in favor of the cloud, but none of this means anything without the proper mindset.” Delve deeper than the financial package at your cloud brokerage Ruiz, who has been averaging $10 million to $15 million in production a year and is at $8.5 million year-to-date for 2016, warns against moving to a cloud brokerage for its tempting 100-percent commission splits — yet limited support. “I know the agents who go to these cloud brokerages who compete on price — they are not productive; they are complainers,” he said. “I have done discount earlier in my career — and the clients that you attract are focused on saving commission and are the worst clients you could ever have. They also have unrealistic expectations.” The split at eXp Realty is more like 80/20, said Sanford. “Because we invest a lot in the agent experience. We have 30 people who are willing to do anything to help the agent do business — from their marketing, building a website, training. We have got all of the trappings of a solid bricks and mortar operation,” he said. There is also dedicated lead generation expertise. Sandord adds that the virtual office allows people to “come into a space with their avatars and they get that social piece in. In my opinion, that’s a big value add of bricks-and-mortar — agents can be social. And real estate agents, by their nature, are social beings.” EXp Realty provides all agents with a Regus HQ blue card membership so they can operate out of a shared physical office space environment if they prefer. Ruiz, however, is not interested in any kind of office outside his home. As far as he is concerned, all he needs is his phone. “Every single one of my files is on Dropbox — I can access every single piece of data that I own via the iPhone 6+,” he said. He writes: “When I worked in a busy Keller Williams office, there were constant interruptions and requests. Office and agent leadership meetings, birthday parties, requests to speak at those meetings, visits from the copier repairman … not to mention the occasional drama between agents and staff.” The busy real estate office is changing, he added. “When you walk into a bricks-and-mortar brokerage office there may be 10 people out of 150 who work there. Most agents are probably working from home or at a coffee shop. So if you’re already one of those agents who works from home, you might as well be with the cloud brokerage,” he said. Cloud brokerages are not for new agents New agents should start with a regular brokerage for the first two or three years, where they are introduced to the real estate business and are immersed in the culture, said Ruiz. “It’s not impossible [to start off in a cloud brokerage], but there are so many lessons you learn being at a real estate office, day in, day out,” he said. As cloud brokerages become more prevalent, newbie agents will be partnered up and become part of a virtual team, said the broker, who says he has trained a lot of agents. Ruiz is a big believer in training, no matter what level you are. He advises readers to make sure their cloud brokerage takes training seriously, offers in-house trainers and runs classes regularly. EXp Realty runs 25 to 30 hours of classes a week. “We have weekly training in the virtual office space with dedicated trainers,” said Sanford. “Also, agents around the country who have specialized expertise will often do training in the cloud office as well.” Visitors are welcome, added Sanford. Agents interested in joining can visit and be active on the eXp Realty campus, including sitting in on meetings. “One of our core values has been total transparency for the industry — we let you walk in and attend a meeting. You can attend anything on campus, talk to our agents about onboarding.” It appeals to the millennial, Sanford said. Staying connected with local agents though working in the cloud Of course, real estate is a social industry, and relationships with other agents are important — but cloud agents can make it work. Working with a cloud brokerage does not negate these activities, said Sanford. “In a lot of cities, agents are getting together almost nightly for something or other,” he said. The eXp “agent attraction” program gives eXp Realty agents financial benefits from socializing with agents from other companies, too. Ruiz recommends that cloud agents start a local Realtor Facebook group, if one doesn’t already exist in their area. He writes: “I belong to several. Even though I work from home and don’t talk to many agents in person, these keep me in the loop and connected to what’s going on in the market.” They share pocket listings, buyer needs, advice and referrals for vendors. He is also on the KW Alerts email list. Tech is good, but you still need the fundamentals Though an enthusiastic techie — who cites some of his favorite cloud tools as Top Producer, Skyslope, and NotaryCam — Ruiz is an advocate of traditional habits, like cold-calling and always working on building the client database. “There is nothing like picking up the phone,” he said. Ruiz, who specializes in selling multi-family apartment buildings, spends time finding long-term owners of apartment buildings and other people who are more likely to be thinking of selling. He writes in the book: “Agents, you better get comfortable being uncomfortable; otherwise go get a corporate slave job.” Ruiz is a big fan of writing thank-you notes. Older clients, especially, remember and appreciate them. “Thank-you notes have made me hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said the broker. EXp Realty provides all agents with a Regus HQ blue card membership so they can operate out of a shared physical office space environment if they prefer. Ruiz, however, is not interested in any kind of office outside his home. As far as he is concerned, all he needs is his phone. “Every single one of my files is on Dropbox — I can access every single piece of data that I own via the iPhone 6+,” he said. He writes: “When I worked in a busy Keller Williams office, there were constant interruptions and requests. Office and agent leadership meetings, birthday parties, requests to speak at those meetings, visits from the copier repairman … not to mention the occasional drama between agents and staff.” The busy real estate office is changing, he added. “When you walk into a bricks-and-mortar brokerage office there may be 10 people out of 150 who work there. Most agents are probably working from home or at a coffee shop. So if you’re already one of those agents who works from home, you might as well be with the cloud brokerage,” he said. Cloud brokerages are not for new agents New agents should start with a regular brokerage for the first two or three years, where they are introduced to the real estate business and are immersed in the culture, said Ruiz. “It’s not impossible [to start off in a cloud brokerage], but there are so many lessons you learn being at a real estate office, day in, day out,” he said. As cloud brokerages become more prevalent, newbie agents will be partnered up and become part of a virtual team, said the broker, who says he has trained a lot of agents. Ruiz is a big believer in training, no matter what level you are. He advises readers to make sure their cloud brokerage takes training seriously, offers in-house trainers and runs classes regularly. EXp Realty runs 25 to 30 hours of classes a week. “We have weekly training in the virtual office space with dedicated trainers,” said Sanford. “Also, agents around the country who have specialized expertise will often do training in the cloud office as well.” Visitors are welcome, added Sanford. Agents interested in joining can visit and be active on the eXp Realty campus, including sitting in on meetings. “One of our core values has been total transparency for the industry — we let you walk in and attend a meeting. You can attend anything on campus, talk to our agents about onboarding.” It appeals to the millennial, Sanford said. Staying connected with local agents though working in the cloud Of course, real estate is a social industry, and relationships with other agents are important — but cloud agents can make it work. Working with a cloud brokerage does not negate these activities, said Sanford. “In a lot of cities, agents are getting together almost nightly for something or other,” he said. The eXp “agent attraction” program gives eXp Realty agents financial benefits from socializing with agents from other companies, too. Ruiz recommends that cloud agents start a local Realtor Facebook group, if one doesn’t already exist in their area. He writes: “I belong to several. Even though I work from home and don’t talk to many agents in person, these keep me in the loop and connected to what’s going on in the market.” They share pocket listings, buyer needs, advice and referrals for vendors. He is also on the KW Alerts email list. Tech is good, but you still need the fundamentals Though an enthusiastic techie — who cites some of his favorite cloud tools as Top Producer, Skyslope, and NotaryCam — Ruiz is an advocate of traditional habits, like cold-calling and always working on building the client database. “There is nothing like picking up the phone,” he said. Ruiz, who specializes in selling multi-family apartment buildings, spends time finding long-term owners of apartment buildings and other people who are more likely to be thinking of selling. He writes in the book: “Agents, you better get comfortable being uncomfortable; otherwise go get a corporate slave job.” Ruiz is a big fan of writing thank-you notes. Older clients, especially, remember and appreciate them. “Thank-you notes have made me hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said the broker.

How To Use Snapchat Geofilters To Market Your Real Estate Business

The newest marketing tool for Snapchat users is the introduction of geofilters, which are highly underutilized for how incredibly versatile and useful they could be for businesses.
Geofilters can be used to market your real estate business. If you’re not familiar with the term, let’s break it down into its parts for an easy explanation, before we examine how you can use geofilters for your real estate business.

What is a Snapchat Geofilter?

A Snapchat filter is a skin that can be placed over any Snapchat photograph. Users can add backgrounds to their photos, add funny hats to their selfies, or, in a popular new filter recently, give themselves a feminine makeover with a flower wreath for their hair.
Snapchat Geofilters are filters that are only available when a Snapchat user is in a specified location. For example, if a local pub wants to advertise their game day sale, they can upload a custom geofilter to Snapchat. Then, any time a group of patrons Snaps a photo while at the pub and adds the filter, all of their viewers get a small nudge to come join the fun.

Who Uses Geofilters?

Snapchat geofilters are a very simple way to use social media for advertising, relying on the farther, more diverse, and wider reach of clients rather than your own.
Snapchat’s archives of geofilters show that the feature has been used by sports teams on game day; by airports; by universities during rush week; and by scores of towns and cities all across the world. It’s an easy way to simply let the world know that your location, or event, exists, all through a personal tour guided by their friends and favorite Snapchat users.

How can Geofilters be Used in Real Estate?

There are many ways that Snapchat’s geofilters could be used for your real estate business. Here are two ideas:
During an Open House
One of the most obvious and advantageous is during an open house event. As guests and potential buyers show up for a tour and snap photos of the view or a unique house feature, encourage them to add your Snapchat geofilter to their pictures.
Their viewers may see the dream house they’ve been looking for, and know exactly where to come to make an offer.
To Farm a Neighborhood
But there are other ways a Snapchat geofilter can be used when it comes to home listings. For example, if your real estate business has a high volume of listings in a particular area, why not upload a geofilter for the area?
If a potential buyer takes a photo of a house they, or someone they know, might be interested in, and shares it via Snapchat, they’ll be presented with an option to add your geofilter, which gives them yet another way to find your company and get in touch.
And what about house hunters who are scoping out a potential neighborhood? Your geofilter could give them some ideas about the area and who to contact to live there, making them feel right at home.
Use your geofilter to show local team pride to advertise a tight-knit community or brand the neighborhood as the home of the best apple pie at the local diner.
All of these are ways to show a potential homebuyer the kind of community they want to see.
Real estate advertising is often expensive, sometimes prohibitively so. Geofilters are inexpensive compared to the total number of views they receive, and reach out to millennial home buyers, who you may have previously had trouble targeting.

How do I Upload a Geofilter?

Uploading a custom Snapchat geofilter is easy, but it does take a little foresight. Here’s a checklist that you can use to get your geofilter ready for clients.

1. Go to https://www.snapchat.com/on-demand to create your on-demand geofilter. Sign in with your account to get started.
2. Upload your geofilter art assets. Use Snapchat’s uploader to submit your geofilter. If the geofilter is rejected, Snapchat will let you know why so that you can fix it and try again.
   • Follow Snapchat’s guidelines. Geofilters can’t include phone numbers, email addresses, URLs, or any kind of social media handle. Instead, add a physical address for your open house or home listing. Even just your real estate business name would work, as its easy for users to Google.
   • Filters also need to be under 300KB in size, saved as a .PNG file, and have a transparent background. They should be 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels. Try to ensure that you won’t cover more than 33% or so of a user’s photo; fewer users will want to apply your geofilter if it covers up their image.
   • Important: Be sure to check your geofilter design for errors. Once your geofilter is uploaded and approved, you can’t make any changes. You’ll have to delete the geofilter, and start all over with the approval process.
3. Choose the dates your geofilter will be available. The maximum is 30 days, and once again: the shorter the clock, the less you’ll pay.
4. Determine where you want your geofilter to apply. Snapchat calls this “drawing a fence”. User the Snapchat map powered by Google Maps to draw a fence around the area you want your geofilter to be available. Remember, Snapchat does not allow filters to exceed five million square feet, and the smaller your range, the more affordable the price will be.
5. Check out and pay for your geofilter. Plan for at least two days, but possibly a few extra, for your geofilter to be approved. Snapchat requires at least 24 to 48 hours to accept geofilters, but you may want to give yourself some wiggle room.

Now You’re Ready

You can change the length and reach of the approved geofilter up to one full day before it goes live. Watch the metrics tab of your business account to see how often the geofilter is used, and how many views it generated.

Snapchat geofilters allow you to reach out directly to the consumers where they already are, enabling you to open your real estate business up to an entirely new crowd of potential customers.

How To Effectively Work With A Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants provide a wealth of benefits to you and your real estate company if the collaboration is executed properly. If you are trying to decide if a VA is right for you, you need to keep the following tips in mind to make sure you make the most out of your newest addition to the team.

Communicate the Duties and Responsibilities

A virtual assistant typically doesn’t require extensive training, but you will need to spend some time with them just as you would an in-house team member. Don’t expect them to come fully equipped with your systems and desires understood, you will need to communicate your needs and expectations. Creating daily lists and goals, with deadlines, will ensure the most important tasks are completed in a timely manner.

Determine the Highest Priorities

n real estate, priorities often change quickly, and this can be problematic if you don’t communicate how you want them to be handled. Provide a list of priorities over a monthly or quarterly period then have follow-up meetings to see if anything has changed and whether the goals are being met.

Let It Go – Just like the movie Frozen

It’s daunting to give up control in your business, but if you want your virtual assistant to do what you hired them for, you have to explain your needs, and back off so he or she can do it. You can always check in on certain projects, but constantly interrupting them means the work won’t get done and means that you are taking yourself away from your priorities. Once you’ve explained what you expect, let the VA come to you if there are any questions – that’s what you’re paying for.

Develop Specific Scripts

Real estate can be repetitive, but this can be a good thing. Creating scripts for certain responses will make sure your virtual assistant responds in the same manner that you would, so every client receives the same information. This is also a helpful way to make sure that someone in another state or country who may not be familiar with all the laws in your state always provides correct information.

Use Your Virtual Assistant

Handing over the reins on anything you’ve been doing yourself is difficult, but you should always consider your VA’s abilities. If they have the experience and knowledge, you should always delegate more responsibilities. This will free up your time, and make better use of your virtual assistant.

Feedback Is Important

The virtual assistant/broker relationship is unique when compared to traditional employees, but some things are the same. Feedback is the only way that your virtual assistant will know if there are things he or she can improve on, or if there are things that are done beyond your expectations. Successful collaboration has to be built on mutual respect, and providing feedback is a great way to make that happen. Make sure to ask the VA for feedback as well – there could be slight changes that would be beneficial for both of you.


Working with a real estate virtual assistant allows you to grow your business. Follow these tips, and your assistant will be a valuable asset to your team.
Give us a call today 405-928-8467 to get started!

Characteristics of a Good Real Estate Agent

There’s a big difference between a mediocre real estate agent and a good real estate agent. Knowing what separates the two can make or break a real estate career. Good real estate agents get all the clients and sales.

 

There’s a lot of competition out there in the real estate field, so it’s crucial that you do everything possible to rise above the rest. To point you in the right direction, here’s a list of characteristics of good real estate agents:


♦ Good real estate agents are good listeners. They don’t judge the client or assume what type of property they are looking for. They listen closely to what the client has to say and show them properties based on what they discussed.

♦ Good real estate agents are educated on every aspect of real estate transactions. They know how to write contracts, show property, negotiate offers and secure a sale.

♦ Good real estate agents know how to find new clients. They work hard to drum up new clients no matter how many clients they currently have. They are always calling clients, placing ads and canvassing the area for new business.

Characteristics of a Good Real Estate Agent

♦ Good real estate agents have a backup profession. They know how difficult and fickle the real estate market is and, in their free time, will line up a potential career in a related profession such as termite inspection, home inspections and appraisals.

♦ During land deals, good real estate agents stay in constant contact with the surveying company so the survey is finished quickly.

♦ Good real estate agents learn how to use the internet to their advantage. They are proficient at social media and know how to drive traffic to their website.

♦ Good real estate agents only list marketable properties and tend to work with clients who are pre-qualified and prepared to buy.

♦ Good real estate agents take floor calls in their broker’s office.

♦ Good real estate agents limit the number of clients they work with at a given time in order to give each client the time and attention they need.

♦ Good real estate agents do their homework. They know the market in their geographic area inside out, including its market trends, values, schools, neighborhoods, restaurants, pros and cons, legal issues, and any hidden gems an area may have.

♦ Good real estate agents have a vast network of connections. Their list of connections includes other real estate agents and brokers, appraisers, mortgage loan officers, home inspectors as well as potential buyers and sellers.

♦ Good real estate agents are organized. Juggling multiple clients, properties and transactions is difficult but successful real estate agents find ways to keep everything in order.

♦ Good real estate agents are aggressive but polite. They know how to competitively market and sell a house and are quick to adopt new techniques and strategies.

♦ Good real estate agents are tenacious. They never falter and they never give up until they succeed.

♦ Good real estate agents are problem solvers. They don’t take no for an answer and come up with creative solutions to whatever problems or issues they may encounter.

♦ Good real estate agents are self-motivated entrepreneurs. Although they work for a broker, a good sales agent knows they are their own boss and must be self-disciplined, focused and determined to succeed.

♦ Good real estate agents are honest. The key to a long and successful career in real estate is a good reputation which can only be earned by always being honest and straightforward with your clients.

Know that you know what it takes to be a good real estate agent, get out there and get started!