Are you online? Or do you just have a website?

The world of real estate marketing has changed forever. And for the better.

Running ads, installing boards, printing fliers and having a website are still valid methods of marketing properties and attracting listings, however opportunities abound for the smart Agent who is willing to roll his or her sleeves up and enter the world of Web 2.0.

“Web what?!”, I hear you say. Don’t worry too much about the fancy name, Web 2.0 is simply the current incarnation of the internet that enables people and businesses to become much more involved via communication, collaboration and sharing of information. You simply need to know this…The web is no longer a static medium that allows you to post information in the hope that the right people will find it.

What today’s Internet allows is an amazing opportunity to interact with your Clients and prospects like never before. Here’s how:

YouTube: Google own YouTube. Google believes that videos enhance your Internet experience. So any business that uploads videos to YouTube will be looked on favourably by the world’s most popular search engine. And that’s got to be a good thing. Here’s some ideas of what you could upload:

• Tours of homes.
• Selling tips.
• Buying tips.
• Suburb overviews.
• Staff introductions.

Twitter: A simple way of getting your message out there in 140 characters or less. Twitter is a great way to share what’s happening in your business and industry, to enter conversations that others are having about your industry and to connect with prospects and others who are interested in what you do and have to offer.

Podcasts: These are simply audio programs that can be downloaded from your website or Apple’s iTunes store. Podcasts are a great way to position yourself as an expert and provide your prospects with valuable information. Once again, topics could include buying and selling tips, suburb overviews or special guest interviews with local personalities.

Google Adwords: There are two ways of rising to the top of Google. One way is to do everything within your powers to ensure your website is key word rich and highly search engine optimised. The other is to use Google’s pay-per-click advertising service. Basically, you ask Google to run your ad on the right hand side of their search results when someone keys in a search phrase relevant to your business – For example…Homes for sale in (insert suburb).

LinkedIn: There shouldn’t be an Agent in the world that doesn’t have a profile on this highly effective networking site. Over 45 million business people use it to exchange information, ideas and opportunities. It’s simply a great way of building your online personal brand.

Now, I don’t expect you to race off now and start doing all of the above…I know for some of you what I’m proposing is quite alien. However, the wonderful thing about all of the above marketing channels is this:

• When combined, they have a significant effect in building your online presence, so that when prospects do a search for a business like yours (and they do) you will rise to the top.
• A presence in everyone of them by default leads back to your website.
• They’re free…the investment is generally one of time, not money.
• Using them will put you way ahead of the game. And afterall, isn’t the idea to create a brand that’s so irresistible that it makes competing with you far less desirable? I think so.

So, are you online? Or have you just got a website?

Twitter’s unexpected downtime today gave me some much needed time to reflect.

It made me think that hey, what if it never comes back up again? How will I reconnect with that wonderful tribe of followers I’ve established over the last 8-months. I’ve established some seriously valuable relationships with folk I’ve never met, and have no other contact detail for other than their Twitter ID. The first thing I’m going to do when it’s back up is bookmark (Delicious) all their sites.

Then, in realising Twitter was down I thought who do I go to to get the low down? Immediately I thought of Mashable (Peter Cashmore)…he’ll know. And sure enough, he had a post ready and waiting.

Now, this blog post you’re reading isn’t about Twitter being down…It’s about getting you to ask yourself this key question …”What are you the go-to-guy (girl) for?” In what circumstances do you want prospects and clients to think of you? In Peter Cashmore’s case he’s positioned himself as being the expert on all things social media…If I want to know something in that sphere then I go straight to him (well his website anyway).

For me, I want to be known as the go-to-guy for when a business wants to make themselves irresistible.

What about you…what do you want to be the go-to-guy for?

Many Clients ask me if they should be utilising the various social mediums available to them.

As long as they’re up for providing ongoing content, and they (or someone within their business) has an inkling about how to find their way around the web, then my view is GIVE SOCIAL MEDIA A GO. And here’s 12 reasons why:

1. To engage in conversations with their customers. (Do we need any more reasons?!). Assuming we do then…
2. To attract prospects.
3. To provide customer service (answering questions, giving advice).
4. To gain information on our competition.
5. To exchange information with others who know more than you.
6. To extend your reach globally (this may force you to develop a new offer).
7. It costs nothing but time (compare that to other marketing channels).
8. It’s fun (nothing wrong with that!).
9. It’s measurable and accountable (compare that to advertising, sponsorship, direct mail).
10. To attract quality employees, suppliers.
11. To attract media attention.
12. To position yourself as an expert…or at least someone who knows what they’re talking about.

Let’s create the ultimate list. Why do you believe businesses should use social media?

Too many business owners and marketers get carried away concerning themselves with where to place their message, when they really should spend more time getting their message right in the first place.

I couldn’t count the amount of times I’ve heard over the years new Clients say to me “Tim, I’ve got to get a website…I should have a blog…I need an ad in such and such magazine…I should be on Twitter.”

“Should you?” is my usual response. “Why?” Or “Porquoi?” if I’m in a French kind of mood.

The reality is…all of the above-mentioned mediums are best viewed as simply channels…ways if you like…of getting your message to market. And some may be right for your business…others may not be. I know it’s the fun and ‘sexy’ side of marketing…getting the website or the ad…but ‘sexy’ doesn’t sell (sex does! But that’s another blog post in itself).

So…let’s play real life for a minute. A Client of mine asked me this week to set them up with a Twitter account.

“Porquoi?” I asked.

“Well, I’ve been reading about it everywhere,” came her reply.

“So?” I asked (I’m a fellow of few words).

Then there was silence…I’d got her! I’d asked the right question and she didn’t have an answer. (Not really…I’m not harsh!).

Then I chimed in and told her the facts…nothing negative…just the facts about needing to constantly update, the need to have a breif and stick to it…the need to respond in a timely manner … blah blah blah.

“Oh…That’s not my style…I need something less demanding”, she said. We then went on and identified five mediums that were much more suited to her, her business and most importantly her customers.

Now this post is not about or anti Twitter…anything but (I love Twitter as a marketing channel)…It’s a post about spending more time focusing on what to say, not where to say it. Message first. Medium second.

What do you think?

(Author’s note: If you’d like to learn about how this applies to Twitter then register for my upcoming Webinar).

So I ran a webinar on Twitter and Business today….Click here to view it.

It goes for 30 minutes (plus 15 minutes of questions) and you can view it below.

Why’s it worth watching? Mmmm…well it shares with you some key concepts that, if you spend a moment understanding them, will enable you to develop a mindset around Twitter that will allow you to make your tweeting work hard as an effective sales channel for your business. That’s all!

I also give you practical HOW TO’s on ensuring your tweeting looks right and stays on brief. Enjoy…and please feel free to share the love and RT this link.

Here’s the webinar link again.

Every now and then I invite another small business owner to share their personal marketing experiences, tips and tricks. Today’s guest blogger is Jeri Wilson, owner of Hawkeye Business Services. I came across Jeri on Twitter where she was offering her Followers a commission for referrals. I love seeing small business owners using Twitter to sell…not blatantly…not every tweet…but a little offer amongst some tips and updates is a good thing. Jeri does just that…although at the time of writing, I think she’d twitted just one too many Ping.fm tunes! Ah well, trap for young players!

If you’re a Bookkeeper or Accountant this is a must read. If you’re stuck for some ideas to get more customers it’s also worth the next five minutes of your life. To anyone who says Bean Counters aren’t creative…Jeri just proved you wrong. Check this…

“You must believe in a product completely before you can start to market it. If you are passionate, confident and knowledgeable about your product, understand how it has benefited you and be able to explain clearly how it will benefit others, then you will be on the right track to successfully market your product. The key to the success is showing people the real you. Don’t try and change yourself to be something else, people won’t believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself.

I work in an industry that is based solely on trust and the most successful marketing tool is word of mouth from happy customers. As a bookkeeper, the quality of my work, my professionalism, simplicity and ability to handle client affairs with complete confidentiality is what makes happy clients. One of the most useful tools for a bookkeeper is being able to simply describe to clients how bookkeeping works and what the information means to them and their business.

The bookkeeping industry is flooded with undertrained bookkeepers that do not provide quality service for the price they are being paid. With an average bookkeeper, in some cases the client would have been better off saving their money than having a bookkeeper because the bookkeeper had no idea at all. The most difficult hurdle that I currently face relates to the potential client not knowing whether I am a good bookkeeper or an average one until they give me go.

For new clients, I provide a free initial consultation to review their current bookkeeping system and advise any improvements that need to be made for their bookkeeping system to provide them with the relevant information and meet their expectations. The clients can then either:

1.    Take my free advice and use their own resources to improve their system
2.    Use us to train their staff how to implement and manage the bookkeeping system
3.    Use us to review what they are doing periodically to ensure they are on the right track
4.    Use us to complete some or all of their bookkeeping tasks

In order to get the clients initially, I offer commissions (from 2.5% to 10%) to family, friends and colleagues who refer new clients to Hawkeye Business Services. Imagine earning up to $5 per hour for every hour someone else works on your friend’s bookkeeping. It benefits everybody: the client, the referrer, the bookkeeper and Hawkeye Business Services.

I am also very passionate about helping other people who have to do bookkeeping (whether they are professional bookkeepers or not) to be able to understand what they are doing when recording their transactions and be confident that the figures they are producing accurately reflect how their business is performing. That is why I am developing a Bookkeeping Training Network for people who want to learn and be confident in their bookkeeping skills, as well as a Bookkeeper’s Start-up Kit for those who want to move into bookkeeping professionally.”

Thanks a gazillion Jeri…So readers…Which of Jer’s ideas are you going to try?

I’ve been using Twitter since December 2008…You can find me here @TimboReid

I use it to share my marketing tips and tricks with small businesses and charities.

I try to stay on brief...’cause I think that’s important…but every now and then I’ll let my precious Followers know what I’m eating or how I’m feeling. Afterall, it’s a social —-> media, right?!

But it’s also a channel to market…and don’t let anyone tell you it’s not. In the past three months, I’ve gained over $3,000 in business directly from Twitter…from Followers who’ve watched me, read me, RT’d me and PM’d me…they then developed enough trust in me to give me some work.

How great is that…marketing cost $0! Well, not if you factor in my hours spent tweeting…but I’m not going to do that because in using Twitter I’ve also built a valuable asset…a database of nearly 2,000 Followers. “How’s that an asset?” I hear you ask. Well, those Followers:

1. Share valuable information with me.
2. Point me in the direction of websites and businesses and people that can help me with my business.
3. Answers questions.
4. Act as a quick poll.
5. Sell on my behalf.

Now that’s what I call an asset. Could I sell it? Probably not…Can I make it work for me…oh yeah! I see no reason why the rate of work I get from Twitter increases in direct relationship to my following.

So, whenever someone tells you that you’re wasting time twittering…just agree…then walk away rubbing your hands together and quietly laughing “Muwahahahaaha!”

Tell me, how are you using Twitter to add value to your business? Have you made any money from it?