Erin's Tech Space

URL shorteners… there are a bunch of services out there but why do you need one, and why should you be consistent with choosing one? The answer: So you can track the ROI of your time and energy spent on social media!

A URL shortener like Bit.ly will not only make your blog posts or links to other sites shorter and cleaner looking (and you can easily fit them into sites like Twitter or text message them) but the service also tracks the number of hits to that particular shortened URL. This means if you write a blog post, then shorten the URL with Bit.ly, post that link to Facebook, Twitter and email it to relevant clients, family and friends – you can track how many people you’re driving back to your site. Bit.ly will remember all of the URLs you’ve shortened and keep them in a simple, easy to use dashboard.

To recap, here are the steps to using a URL shortener to track your social media ROI:

1. Choose URL of page you want to share. A blog post, your website, a news article, etc.
   TIP: If choosing a blog post, be sure you’ve chosen the actual post you’re referencing, not the entire blog website.
2. Go to bit.ly and sign up for an account so it will remember all of your URLs so you can come back and check on clicks.
3. Paste the link you want to shorten in the shaded “Shorten with bit.ly” area 
4. Copy the shortened URL and post it to Twitter, Facebook, send via email, or however else you like.
5. Go back to bit.ly and see how many clicks you’re getting!

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Targeted marketing – it’s been a common marketing practice since people had goods and services to sell. It’s not surprising that people are different, with different needs, opinions, income levels, etc. So why isn’t real estate doing a better job at targeting buyers and sellers by the various “personas” that they fit into? It’s rare that I see marketing efforts that are specifically geared toward a particular segment of the population.

An example: If you’re on Twitter, you know that your audience is most likely to be a younger more tech-savvy group, so why not position your business that way? If you are marketing to an area that is in a higher income bracket, use materials that mimic high-end luxury items, use sophisticated vocabulary, etc.

By targeting your marketing depending on where it’s going and through what medium (Twitter, Facebook, billboard, flier, postcard…) you’re more likely to resonate with the clients you are trying to attract.

Image by laihiu via Flickr

It seems to be a hot topic for debate, which phone Realtors should use in their business and personal life. As cellular carriers have pretty much equalized price-wise, the debate truly becomes about which device best suits you and your lifestyle. For real estate pros, I can’t say enough good stuff about getting a phone that utilizes “apps” or mobile applications. Apps are easy to use buttons that you can download onto your device (and the iPhone and Droid both come with some installed already) that are guaranteed to make your life easier.

Why do you need apps beyond basic Internet browsing? The apps are great on the go and are designed to work specifically with your mobile device. An example, instead of logging into the Southwest Airlines website to check in for my flight, I could do it directly from my application with two clicks. I could also easily check flight status, get reduced airfare notifications and make car reservations. Apps also tend to be faster than most mobile browsing options and require fewer steps to complete the same task – saving you time!

So what apps should you check out? Here are some of my must haves:

• A mapping app like Google Maps. This usually comes installed already and is a real lifesaver when on the road, in an unfamiliar town or if you’re searching for something generic like “Mexican food” it will give you a list of the places closest that fit your search including phone number, website (if applicable) and directions via car, public transit or on foot.
• Mobile banking. I love my mobile banking application because it allows me to easily check account statuses, transfer funds and pay bills from my phone without ever having to log into my laptop. This is especially helpful for busy months or trips out of town when you need to pay PG&E so the lights are still on when you return.
• Facebook and Twitter. The easiest ways to keep up with these popular social networking sites are via your mobile device. Post instant updates, check in quickly, and avoid time sink holes like Farmville by using the easy mobile application that gives a basic version of the more densely populated home page.
• A photo posting app. I use TwitPic and Flickr. Use this app to quickly snap photos of homes for sale, your proud new buyers and much more to get posted in a simple couple of clicks. This will distribute your photos to the web so you can get them out to interested people. If you have the Facebook app, you can upload photos directly from your mobile device to Facebook pages – just remember that your business page should be the only page that you post open house and real estate related photos to, based upon Facebook’s terms of service.
• Yelp! This app will not only help you keep an eye on what consumers are saying about you, but also allows you to make good recommendations to buyers and sellers looking for various services or products.
• Traffic.com or other traffic app. This can save you a bunch of time and frustration by knowing whether the traffic you’re encountering is clearing up (so you can stay the course) or getting worse (so you can get off the road and grab a drink, reschedule meetings, etc.) and construction timetables, hot spots (to check before you leave your current location) and much more. The traffic.com app has an easy to use interface that works well for quick checks.

If you’re worried you’re making the wrong phone choice – take a look at TryPhone.com – a service that will allow you to try out the phone online before you buy it. This service actually allows you to virtually “press” buttons, maneuver through the various screens, etc. so you know if the phone really fits you and your lifestyle.

Image via CrunchBase

Are you trying to create leads and generate interest in your business with your blog or website? If you’re spending time and money creating content and marketing your site, but using a cheap hosting plan, you might be out of luck.

…And why is that? Google is penalizing slower websites with lowered search rankings!

In April, Google announced that your site will be penalized for slow load times. This is a critical factor for real estate and other professionals that are working hard at getting their site to the top of the page when consumers Google search for services. This will highlight just how much a cheaper, slower web hosting option will really cost consumers.

The dollars and sense of web hosting for rankings

Now don’t go blaming Google for upping the web hosting ante – those cheaper solutions have been a bad idea from the beginning.  Why? Well, ever since higher speeds have been available, people have wanted and expected to use them – meaning they don’t want to wait around for your site when they could get content instantly elsewhere. What may be a few seconds or even fractions of a second in load time translates to what feels like hours for impatient searchers. When your consumer is frustrated before they even get to your listings or other information, they’re not in the best frame of mind to discuss business and may not have the best first impression of our business.

So why so slow?

Many times slow sites are the result of cost-saving measures for small business owners, misguided advice about web hosting services as well as the lack of recognition that the site is loading slowly. Often times, users are unaware of what their site load time is because they fail to visit their site as a consumer would, and they also fail to look at their site from multiple browsers. Browsers can render pages differently, including different load times. The two browsers most frequently used are Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, others include Apple’s Safari, Google Chrome, and Opera.

Checking your site regularly for speed, ease of use and updated content can make the difference in customers sticking around the first time and coming back in the future.

Fast as fast can be, you’ll never catch RWNC!

Realty World Northern California provides free blog websites for their agents built on the WordPress MU platform, which RWNC extensively modified to integrate with the MLS IDX, among other security and performance enhancements. The colocation data facility used provides the highest performance and reliability of web content delivery for the best possible experience for your users.

All website designs are optimized for the best performance to the end users as well as perform rigorous QA testing for cross-browser compatibility – so you don’t have to worry about it and can focus on getting the best local real estate information on your site instead.

Image via CrunchBase

With all of the updates and changes to Facebook and the Internet, it’s becoming increasingly popular to “like” things. Facebook was one of the first to popularize the “like” functionality as a way to signify support or agreement with an idea or article without having to type in comments. The explosive popularity of gestures such as “liking” has spread to other pages and sites with the recent f8 conference in San Francisco and Facebook’s newest rollouts.

What does this mean to you? It means that as content, Facebook pages and people become more available online and consumer’s emotional interactions with these brands/people are quantifiable – you have to be out there to be “liked” and providing content for people to find. Making your real estate brand available to be liked makes it easier for your sphere of influence to expand your reach in the market, garnering more referrals.

The “liking” action also works when you like online content (such as news articles, videos, etc.) and show your friends and network more about your personality and give them shared topics to discuss. For example, if I “like” an article on running, I am now opening myself to having conversations with others who have that same interest, and they just might know someone who needs some real estate advice along the way!

So get involved by sharing and liking content you see online and participating in sites like Facebook and Twitter, or try blogging, so people can “like” you too!

Check out the Realty World Facebook Fan page and my personal Facebook page if you are looking for more ways to interact.