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5 Simple Twitter Tips for Real Estate Agents

May 20, 2014 By

Twitter is not just a tool for posting selfies and oversharing. It is a valuable tool for business owners. Twitter is a noteworthy resource for increasing brand awareness, sharing pertinent information, and generating business. Use Twitter to generate leads, to position yourself as a thought leader, and to ultimately close sales.

Helpful Terms:

-Profile: Your profile consists of your photo, bio, and location. A good bio explains what you do and what you are interested in – a challenging feat with only 140 characters!

-Handle: You handle is your Twitter username. Shorter handles are usually better due to Twitter’s 140 character limit.

-Timeline: Your timeline is a chronological list of all of the tweets written by the people and brands you follow.

-Mentions: If you write a tweet that contains someone’s handle, but you don’t start the tweet with that handle, then it is called a mention. A mention is visible to those who follow you.

Example: Did you read the lastest @Century21 blog post? It has lots of great tips for first time homebuyers! [link] #RealEstate #Advice

-Replies: If you start a tweet with someone’s handle, it is called a reply. The only people who will be able to see it in their timeline are people that follow you and the person or people that you are tweeting to. If someone clicks on your profile they will be able to see both your mentions and your replies.

Example: @Century21 I also recommend that homeowners light the fireplace or candles at open houses to make the home inviting. #RealEstate

-Retweets: Whenever you retweet someone else, their tweet will appear on your profile and will be visible to your followers.

-Favorites: A favorited tweet is the equivalent to a Facebook “Like.” Favorited tweets won’t appear on your timeline, but others can view what you favorite by clicking on the “Favorites” tab on your profile.

-Hashtags: Hashtags are keywords used written with the # symbol to track and find specific topics, phrases, events, and more. Click on them to see what other people are saying!

Here are five beginner tips to get you started!

1. Write a descriptive profile: What do you want your audience to know about you? Use this space to give a short yet clear description of who you are and what you do.

2. Use Twitter search for social listening: Use social listening as a focus group. Learn what other realtors and potential clients are talking about. This will also help you to determine what you want to discuss when you start Tweeting. You may want to search terms like: real estate, realtor, interior design, home, sell your home, moving, and homeowner.

3. Use relevant hashtags: Now that you’ve learned about what people are talking about, join the conversation! Write Tweets about new listings, blog posts you’ve written, articles you’ve enjoyed, and tips for other agents. You can use the same search terms as hashtags. For example: #realestate, #interiordesign, #home, #sellyourhome, #moving, and #homeowner. Search hashtags by clicking on them in someone’s tweet or entering the hashtag into search (#realestate).

4. Follow and engage with industry influencers: Twitter makes it easy for you to learn from others in your industry. You can find people to follow by using search or Twellow. Twellow is essentially a Yellow Pages for Twitter! Click categories and choose a category you are interested in.

Once you choose a category, you’ll be able to see a list of people that you might be interested in following. Read the person or brand’s bio, see their follower count, and look at their location. If you like what you see you can follow them directly from Twellow!


5. Share relevant content that is not your own: A good rule to follow is the 80/20 Rule. According to the 80/20 rule, 20% of what you share should be related to your brand and 80% should be engaging with other brands, influencers, and Twitter users or sharing content that is not your own. Share your listings, blog posts and resources on your site 20% of the time and focus the rest of your time on engagement and sharing other industry relevant news. This approach will not only help you learn more, but it will also help position yourself as a thought leader.

Now you are ready to set up an account! One added benefit is that this approach will help you to reach Millennials. Millennials use Twitter for news, tips, resources, and conversation. Millennials are also often first time homeowners and, if you market yourself on Twitter effectively, they are likely to turn to you when they are looking to buy a home.

 

Stay tuned for more social media tips and advice.

 

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CENTURY 21 Real Estate Affiliate Offices Recognized In Real Trends 500 Ranking

April 30, 2014 By

Today, CENTURY 21 Real Estate LLC is proud to announce that 36 CENTURY 21® affiliate offices have been recognized in the 2014 REAL Trends 500 list. The annual report from REAL Trends identifies the country’s largest and most successful residential firms as ranked by closed transaction sides and separately by closed sales volume.

“CENTURY 21 System members understand that building long-term relationships, and delivering high-tech, high-touch professional services are keys to driving real estate sales success,” said Rick Davidson, president and CEO, Century 21 Real Estate LLC.  “We are extremely proud of the independent C21® offices and sales associates represented in the REAL Trends 500.”

The brokerages recognized by transaction sides in the ranking include:

The brokerages recognized by sales volume in the ranking include:

Congratulations to each office that who made the Real Trends 500 list. You are truly Smarter. Bolder. Faster.

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CENTURY 21 JR Gold Team Realty Hosts Charity Fundraiser

April 25, 2014 By

Earlier this month, Johnny Rojas, broker/owner of CENTURY 21 JR Gold Team Realty, led a team of agents, supporters, family and friends in a Casino Night fundraiser to support children with autism and related learning disabilities.

The event was held at the Rockleigh Country Club in Rockleigh, NJ. “By coming together to raise money and awareness for autism, we really feel as though we are able to give something back to the community in a meaningful way,” Rojas said.

Funds were donated to the Valley Regional Programs PTO. The PTO provides programs and services for children that are not covered by the annual school budget or tuition. The donations from CENTURY 21 JR Gold Team Realty directly impact local families by providing critical program support.

Rojas and his team are very passionate about serving the community. He shared, “We are incredibly proud of what are team has done to support autism awareness through fundraising. Not only are we hard at work helping families find the perfect home, we are also ensuring that families will have access to community support should they need it.”

Connect with the CENTURY 21 JR Gold Team Realty office by visiting their website.

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Attend ICSC ReCon In Las Vegas

April 25, 2014 By

The CENTURY 21 Commercial® team is headed back to Las Vegas once again for 2014 ICSC RECon. Conference attendees can meet the team at the brand’s booth (number N 243U) in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center from May 18-20th 2014. This is a great opportunity to make connections across the country with developers, retailers and investors, to learn and to generate business.

We sat down with Thayer Morgan of CENTURY 21 Commonwealth Commercial in Watertown, MA to learn more about why agents and brokers should clear their schedules to attend.

C21: What is the primary reason Commercial agents and brokers should attend ICSC?

TM: Three words: Build your business.

C21: What will CENTURY 21 Commercial be doing on site?

TM: The brand has a professionally designed booth at the show. We set up appointments with retailers, investors, hotels and more to introduce them to the brand and the properties we currently have available. These appointments can help attendees make their plans for the entire year.

C21: Does this conference help slate deals for longer-term projects?

TM: This conference is an investment in your future. You will meet construction companies, investors, developers and more. If you have a piece of land that could lend itself to development, this is the right place to explore that. Everyone goes to this show to do business. This is not the kind of conference where you go to pick up pens!

C21: Anything else you’d like interested agents and brokers to know?

TM: People may be worried about the cost of travel and registration. What I say to that is, every time I have come to this event, I’ve left with enough business that more than covers the cost of the trip. You meet people from all over the country. The referral potential is endless.

This year you can join ICSC as a CENTURY 21 Affiliate which will allow you to register for RECon at a pretty heavy discount if you do so before April 30th 2014.

C21: Thank you for all the details on the event, Thayer. For those interested in connecting with Thayer now or at the conference, you can reach him at (617) 383-8329.

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CENTURY 21 Triangle Group To Open Downtown Office In Raleigh, NC

April 11, 2014 By

The CENTURY 21 Triangle Group is expanding, now offering clients the opportunity to work with the team in an office in the heart of downtown Raleigh, NC. We chatted with Tim Steele Lehan to get the details on the team’s new location and what this second office will provide for current and new clients.

C21: Exciting news about the new office. Where exactly is it located?

TSL: It is right in downtown Raleigh, in the Bank of America building, on the main drag.

C21: How will this office differ from the first location in North Hills?

TSL: The properties vary so much from North Hills to downtown. Downtown is a specific type of real estate – condos, town homes and historic properties. You need a certain quality of urban lender, local HOAs and top inspectors to handle those historic homes.

C21: Will you hire new agents to service this new clientele?

TSL: Yes, we’ll be hiring new agents for this office with downtown-specific knowledge. There are a lot of small brokerages locally, but now that we’re downtown, and we have the CENTURY 21 brand name behind us, we have more resources available to us than ever before – the strength of the website, the brand marketing tools – it gives us even more awareness.

C21: How will this new team make itself known?

TSL: The priority is to build a team of agents who can be active in the community, volunteer, serve. We want people involved in city planning, city development and city council meetings.

C21: What are the characteristics of a stellar agent?

TSL: With our office, it’s going to be a baseline knowledge of downtown. We want personality and passion. We want someone who loves where they are. Someone we don’t have to push because they are already excited. We want people who want to make this community a better place. The number one thing is someone who is hard working and has an ethical approach to everything that happens in real estate.

C21: Anything else you’d like our readers to know?

TSL: What’s fun about the CENTURY 21 brand is the teamwork. We all push each other to be better as a group. That’s empowering.

C21: Thank you, Tim. Congratulations on the new space.

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CENTURY 21 Affiliated’s Kel Svoboda Named To REALTOR Magazine’s “30 Under 30”

April 9, 2014 By

This year, Kel Svoboda of CENTURY 21 Affiliated has been named to REALTOR Magazine’s “30 Under 30” list. Kel is one of two CENTURY 21 Agents who made the roster.

We sat down with Kel to congratulate him on this honor and learn the secrets to his success at such a young age.

C21: When did you join the CENTURY 21 System?

KS:  I joined last year. Dan Kruse brought me on to takeover as regional manager. Dan was so impressive to me. He comes from a real estate family and he just has strong values. He’s a great person. He and I share a lot of goals as far as growth – the sky is the limit!

C21: How is the “30 Under 30” list determined?

KS: There is an application process. Usually the local Associations send out a call for applicants. Mine did and I filled it out.  The National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Realtor.com then screen the applicants and choose a top 50. After that, they open it to online voting and then finally, the list is announced.

C21: Do you know any of the other honorees?

KS: Actually, there is another CENTURY 21 Agent on the list, Krista Clark from Iowa. We met through this, we’re Facebook friends now and I am actually going to see her in Chicago next week.

C21: To win this type of recognition, you have to differentiate yourself. How do you do that?

KS: My real estate story is different from most people. I started at 18 years old as a loan officer. I got my real estate license at 19 years old. I have built a very well rounded understanding of mortgage, tile and real estate.

When the market crashed, I didn’t walk away. I stayed committed and focused. In fact, I started the statewide Young Professionals Network in Wisconsin. I spent a year working on that.

But the biggest thing is, for me, it’s not about the paycheck in this business, it’s about the value you bring to your clients.

C21: Who has mentored you?

KS: I really didn’t have one specific person. There are so many areas of business that intrigue me. I am the type of person who sees someone successful and I reach out to him or her to introduce myself and learn how he or she is doing it. I also try to do the same and pay that forward to the younger generation.

C21: How do you hope to transform the industry?

KS: I really hate that car salesmen reputation that can come with real estate. We have to build up the professionalism and the ethical standards. It’s all in how you handle yourself.

For example, I have two children and I want to conduct myself in a way that will have people telling my kids I handle myself with honesty and integrity.

C21: If you could tell an 18 year old thinking about joining this business one thing, what would it be?

KS: I wish I would have learned the value proposition earlier in my career. I wish I had understood the actual value of what you are doing for your client. You’re not chasing the commission when you understand the value of the services you provide.

C21: Kel, congratulations again on this distinguished honor.

To connect with Kel, please follow his Facebook page.

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CENTURY 21 Affiliated Named “Best Place To Work”

April 3, 2014 By

CENTURY 21 Affiliated in Madison, WI has been named the “Best Place to Work” by Madison Magazine. We sat down with team’s leaders, Bill Kessler and Dan Kruse, to learn more about this accolade and how the Madison office has developed such a strong, supportive culture.

C21: Congratulations on being named the “Best Place to Work.” How are the winners determined?

DK: It’s interesting the way they do these awards. The magazine puts out a survey to the entire staff of our company. In order to even be considered, over 50% of your staff has to respond to the survey. The results are then judged within categories based on the size of your business – small, medium or large.

C21: Which category were you competing in?

BK: We were in the “large” category, which is 100 employees or greater. Given that employee participation in the survey is the first hurdle of consideration, we are really proud that over half of our team completed the questionnaire.

C21: Is this the first time you have been honored by the magazine?

DK: Yes. This was the first time we participated and we’re thrilled to have surpassed our industry category and won for “Best Overall.”

C21: What do you think makes the Madison office so special?

BK: The word is team. We really like a team and we are bonded together. Our staff participates in the hiring process and there’s always been a practice here that in addition to the skill set, candidates have to be a cultural fit. We try to discover, are they open to being sharing, transparent people? Are they willing to pitch in and help others?

C21: What motivates your team to continue to succeed?

BK: One of the things employees in our Madison office get behind is the opportunity for growth. If they started at the front desk and worked their way up to accounting or events manager, there has always been an opportunity to grow within the company. No matter your level, we want to give you the opportunity to grow personally and professionally. Also, whenever we do major events, we bring as many staff people as possible. They are involved in the joyful, fun part, not just the hard labor.

C21: How will you celebrate this achievement?

BK: The magazine held a party for all winners, which we attended. But the celebration is really continuing every day, as our team is now being recognized around town from their photos in the magazine article!

C21: Will you work this new title into your recruiting efforts?

DK: Our social media director has already blasted the news everywhere possible! The “Best Place to Work” accolade will definitely be part of our local recruiting campaigns. We do a monthly video for our company and next month we will feature this in our update. Being in an industry you love, with the number one employer in the area is the best case scenario for a real estate professional.

C21: Congratulations again, Bill and Dan.

To learn more about CENTURY 21 Affiliated in Madison, WI, visit their website.

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6 Simple SEO Tips for Real Estate Agents

March 31, 2014 By

Use blogging and basic SEO tips to grow your real estate business.

SEO seems overwhelming but there are simple steps you can consider taking to increase site views and,  potentially, leads.

Here are six key tips:

1. Keywords: Keywords are the terms that people will search to get to your blog. Use popular real estate terms such as: home, selling, buying, real estate, homeowner, home buyer, and real estate agent.

2. Titles: Your blog posts should have titles that make people want to click and read your post! Write catchy and intriguing blog post title and use keywords so that people know what the post will be about. A good title might be: 10 Expensive Mistakes First-Time Homeowners Make. Make it clear what the person will find when they click the link – you will be rewarded for having people stay on your site instead of leaving right away.

3. Links: You should use both internal and external links. Internal links direct readers to other blog posts or sections of your website. You will be rewarded for having a site that is seen to be relevant and useful – one way to do this is to link to external sources because doing so provides more information and context for the reader.  Be sure the reader knows they are going to an external source that you did not author.  You are also rewarded when other sites list your blog as a source and link to your posts. A permalink is a link to an individual blog post. You should have a keyword early in the title. The permalink is optimized for SEO not readers so it can be something simple like real-estate-mistakes. Put hyphens in between words.

4. Images: When people do a Google Search for images your images may come up in results. Increase your chances at coming up in search results by having detailed image titles and alt text. Your image title should be a good description of the image. For example, instead of naming the image File 1 or something generic, name it with the same name as your blog post or something descriptive about the subject matter of the image. If people Pin directly from your site the title of the image will be the caption on Pinterest. Alt text provides Google with more information about the image. Your Alt text should be a short description of the image, for example, blue house for sale.

5. Be social: Set up social media profiles for your blog or company and publicize your posts on your social media channels so that people can find it and start reading!

6. Content: The most important SEO tips don’t involve titles, tags, or links. The best way to increase your SEO is to consistently write original content that provides value to your readers. You will have more information that will come up in search results and you will create a loyal following of people who come back over and over to read your posts and learn from you!

 

What are your favorite SEO tips?

 

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CENTURY 21 Global Conference: Time To Win

March 20, 2014 By

On the final day of the CENTURY 21 Global Conference, all attendees gathered in the afternoon for the closing session. Kicking things off in grand style was the annual Centurion parade.

The top producers from all around the world were recognized for their achievements in the past year.

The international Centurions showed great pride for the countries they represent, many carrying flags or wearing custom made jackets, t-shirts, baseball hats, pins and more.

After the parade, Chief Operating Officer Greg Sexton took the stage to talk about the week’s theme of “Unlocking your potential.” He shared his personal health and wellness journey and touched the whole audience with his candor.

Moving into the professional development portion of the afternoon, real estate guru and beloved speaker Brian Buffini took the stage. Many CENTURY 21 brokers and agents have completed the Brian Buffini Peak Producer program and he received a very warm welcome.

In his remarks Brian spoke about what it takes to be  the real estate professional of choice in today’s market. He encouraged to the audience to imagine what could be possible if they lived their lives with no excuses.

Next to take the stage was legendary football coach, Lou Holtz. Lou gave the CENTURY 21 System five strategies for winning not only in real estate, but also in your personal life.

He spoke about the importance of trust and building your key relationships (a theme Chief Marketing Officer Bev Thorne also focused on in her remarks on Monday). He asked the crowed, “Without trust, what do you have?”

The entire room rose to the feet for a standing ovation at the close of Lou’s speech. He truly energized all the attendees and helped each person to reevaluate his or her daily goals.

In closing, CENTURY 21 President and CEO Rick Davidson asked all the brokers and agents to head home from this Global Conference and put into action the ideas, strategies and tips they have learned over the past three days.

As attendees walked out of the closing session, the CENTURY 21 corporate staff flanked the hallway waving American flags in honor of next year’s location – Washington D.C.

See you next year in the nation’s capital!

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CENTURY 21 Global Conference: An Evening Of Champions

March 18, 2014 By

Tonight the CENTURY 21 Global Conference rolled out the red carpet (well, the gold carpet) for an awards gala celebrating the highest achieving CENTURY 21 teams and producers from around the world.

Guests arrived to a flock of paparazzi snapping away on both sides of the gold, star-studded carpet.

Chief Marketing Officer Bev Thorne and Chief Operating Officer Greg Sexton played co-hosts for the evening, welcoming the brand’s top producers to the stage. A live band played popular rock songs with custom lyrics shouting out each of the top producers.

Pictured below, the number one team, the Marty Rodriguez Team.

In addition to celebrating this year’s award winners, Bev also invited to the stage, four members of the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton teams: Chris Fogt, Jamie Gruebel, Lauryn Williams and Matt Antoine.

Chris Fogt, a bronze medalist in the four man bobsled event, shared that in addition to representing USA at the 2010 and 2014 Olympic games, he also served our country in Iraq in between. He joked with the crowd, “What can I say? I like to wear a uniform to work.”

Jamie Gruebel, a bronze medalist, shared that she fell in love in Sochi and will be getting married in August. She said, “It’s so special to have competed in the same Olympic games together and now to be building our life together.”

Lauryn Williams, who took home a silver medal in Sochi, has joined an elite club of U.S. athletes. Lauryn is one of only four Americans to have won a medal in both the winter Olympics and the summer Olympics.

Matt Antoine, a bronze medalist in men’s skeleton, hails from Wisconsin and got a roar of applause from the CENTURY 21 Affiliated team who works in his home state.

After meeting the Bobsled and Skeleton team members, attendees were treated to a unique ballroom dancing performance with a touch of Vegas magic.

It was a beautiful evening of celebration. To see more photos, follow the hashtag #C21GC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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