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How to #Hashtag

April 1, 2016 By

The (#) is an ever-evolving symbol. Some may remember it as the pound sign. Others may think of it as the number sign. A small number may even know it as the octothorp. Today, you know the sign as a hashtag, a social media feature that may benefit your online marketing presence as a real estate agent. In this article, you’ll learn the basics of hashtag use, including which platforms suit them best and the difference between trending and custom tags. You’ll also hear about the dos and don’ts of hashtags such as the pitfalls of overuse and tagging without research.

What are Hashtags?
A brief refresher: Hashtags serve as keywords in a search function. You can identify one by the pound sign (#) followed by a word or phrase, as in #RealEstate. When used this way, hashtags group pieces of digital content on social media that share a common theme to create searchable topics. So, a search for #RealEstate on Twitter gathers all recent and popular content with that tag in one location for you to view.

Which Platforms Support Them?
Hashtags may be used on any social media post, but only on certain platforms. Instagram, Twitter, Google+, and Vine are all ideal because users can easily search for content and receive a list of posts containing a particular tag. Facebook has a similar search function, but doesn’t work as well due to a high number of private profiles. In turn, this makes tagging less prevalent on that network. Hashtags are not supported on Pinterest, Snapchat, or LinkedIn, so avoid using them on those sites altogether.

How Do I Label Content?
All hashtags should follow a certain format, and each platform has different guidelines for them. When using ones that contain multiple words, as in #RealEstate, do not separate them with a space, punctuation, or symbol. This means that signs like the ampersand (&), dollar sign ($), and even the pound sign itself (#) should not follow the hashtag. While there is no actual limit to length, six characters are optimal . Stay away from longer tags, as they’re harder to read. In terms of number of hashtags, you may find more engagement on Twitter with just two. You can add more on Instagram posts, since the platform allows up to 30. However, it’s not recommended to use such a high number because they may make your post seem cluttered. On Facebook, however, your content may actually fare better without any hashtags at all, due to their unwieldiness within the platform.

Which Hashtags do I Use?
Since the basic function of hashtags is to reflect the content of the post, consider descriptive terms. For example, a photo of a loft in Boston might have the tags #Boston and #loft in it. As a realtor, you may want to incorporate industry terms, such as #Property, #ForSale, #JustListed, or #DreamHome to reach others interested in real estate. Make sure to search for the hashtag before using it to avoid obscure or even controversial topics. A seemingly innocent phrase may not be so. Try a search for your local area (#Boston, #Springfield, etc.) plus #RealEstate in order to find popular local tags your potential clients use. You could also utilize tools to find popular hashtags in your area, but only use ones relevant to your content. Your loft photo won’t benefit from the popular hashtags #foodie or #love.

Now that you know the ins and outs of hashtags, you can start using them like a pro!

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Facebook Tips for Real Estate Agents

September 12, 2014 By

Facebook has become a worldwide social media phenomenon. As of June 2014, the network has 1.28 billion monthly active users. Use these tips to build your following and, ultimately, help generate new business.

1. Post helpful content: Some may think that a professional Facebook page would be used simply to promote yourself and your work, but similar to our Twitter tips, that’s not the case. Offer your followers something that they won’t get from another real estate agent. You are an expert in your field so show it; post helpful tips about buying and selling homes and other resources. This will show that you care about your followers and are a thought leader.

2. Complete your profile: Before a Facebook user clicks “Like” they will check your profile to make sure the page is qualified and worthy of appearing on their news feed. Don’t skimp on any section of your profile, from website and contact links to locations – it’s important not to leave anything out.

3. Use pictures and videos: Users respond better to photo posts; 93% of the most engaged posts on Facebook are ones that contain photos. Posting photos of a listing or posting infographics can boost your engagement and keep followers coming back to your profile.

4. Join real estate groups: Connecting with others in your field is always a good idea. Take advantage of the wide range of users and do some online networking. Join real estate agent groups to network and learn something new. The only way to grow and exceed your own expectations is to learn from others who may be more experienced. Networking through Facebook can lead to new clients, agencies or even a mentor.

5. Schedule your posts: You’re not always going to have time to be on your Facebook page constantly updating your status. Use the Facebook scheduler tool to schedule posts in advance. It’s reported that the highest engagement time is between 1pm and 3pm and that engagement is 18% higher on Thursdays and Fridays. Consider scheduling your posts for these times until your page has been up long enough to determine the days and times for the highest engagement.

Use these best practices to promote your business on the most popular social media network. If you want to learn even more about growing your social media following, read our best practices for Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

 

Recommended Reading:

-Tech Talk: 5 Apps for Real Estate Agents

-6 Simple SEO Tips for Real Estate Agents

-Home Office Essentials

-Productivity Tips for Working From Home

 

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Instagram Tips for Real Estate Agents

August 22, 2014 By

Instagram is a social media platform that allows people to share and edit photos. More than 100 million people use Instagram every month, making it a valuable space to engage with potential, current, and past clients. Use Instagram to showcase listings, promote your personal brand, and generate leads.

Here are a few best practices for Instagram.

1. Optimize Images: Instagram is a visual platform so the most important best practice is that the images are visually appealing. Whenever possible, take photos when there is natural light and take photos that are clear and focused. One of the unique features of Instagram is the ability to edit photos. Users can apply filters and make advanced edits to components like brightness, saturation, contrast, and warmth. There is also wide variety of third party editing tools such as Snapseed and Afterlight. These apps provide even more editing tools and features.

2. Utilize Hashtags: If you caption your photo with a hashtag such as #RealEstate #Listing or #HouseForSale, your followers will able to click it and track all photos captioned with that hashtag. Using hashtags is an essential and necessary part of boosting engagement and creating a following on Instagram. It allows people to find and follow you in a simpler way. People can also search for hashtags and photos will come up in search. This is a great way to get noticed as a user!

3. Engage with Followers: Follow and engage with other users. You can find people to follow by searching hashtags that interest you. Once you’ve followed people engage with them by liking posts and leaving meaningful comments.

4. Analyze Timing: Timing matters on Instagram. There are times of the day when your community is more active. It is important to know when your followers are online so you can interact with them and, hopefully, get more engagement on your photos. Most communities are more engaged at night so consider posting pictures in the evening. You can track your most engaged time of the day by using Iconosquare, a website that analyzes your Instagram statistics.

5. Create Videos: Videos are a newer feature to come to Instagram. You can take a short video tour of your listing to give buyers a look before even entering the home. If they like what they see, they can contact you immediately to set up a time to meet. Potential clients may also be so impressed with your innovative new media skills that they will call you when they are ready to buy or sell a home.

6. Promote Posts: Share your photos on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and your blog to create maximum engagement and exposure.

7. Use Instagram Photo Maps: When posting a photo to Instagram, you have the option to add location, essentially adding it to your photo maps. The photo will show up on an actual map, allowing your followers to see where you have taken the most photos. This will allow you to show your knowledge of certain areas and neighborhoods and the exact location of any listings.

Now that you know these best practices you can apply them and grow your Instagram following. Interested in learning more about how social media can help your career? Read our best practices for Twitter, Pinterest, and SEO.

Recommended Reading:

-Home Office Essentials

-Productivity Tips for Working from Home

-Picture Perfect: How to Take Great Photos of Your Home

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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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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 Real Estate Announces USA Bobsled Team Sponsorship

September 11, 2013 By

Century 21 Real Estate LLC today announced that it is the official real estate company of the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (USBSF). The CENTURY 21 – USBSF sponsorship includes a dedicated sled wrapped in black and gold featuring the brand’s iconic logo. The sled made its debut at the CENTURY 21 Senior Leadership Conference in Miami earlier today.

“Our sponsorship of the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Team is another example of our position as the ‘Smarter. Bolder. Faster.’ real estate team in the industry,” said Bev Thorne, Chief Marketing Officer, Century 21 Real Estate LLC. “Whether it’s the Super Bowl, the Bobsled team, U.S. Soccer, or the Indy 500, we are committed to showcasing the capabilities of our sales professionals in front of the largest audiences on a global scale, and in association with world-class events.”

The CENTURY 21 bobsled will be seen during the entire 2013-2014 World Cup season. The tour includes stops in Calgary, Canada; Park City, Utah; Lake Placid, N.Y.; Winterberg, Germany; St. Moritz, Switzerland; Igls, Austria; and Koenigssee, Germany.

“We have an ambitious growth plan and this initiative will help us as we continue to build our presence in the United States and around the globe,” said Rick Davidson, president and CEO, Century 21 Real Estate LLC. “Our brokers and agents will benefit from the visibility and credibility a campaign like this will generate from real estate consumers and fans of the Games.”

“We couldn’t be more excited about partnering with CENTURY 21 for the Olympic season,” said Darrin Steele, USBSF CEO. “They are industry leaders who know what it takes to be the best, and we are proud to team with them.”

In addition to the dedicated bobsled, the CENTURY 21 logo will receive placement on all national team sleds, team jackets and speed suits. CENTURY 21 will be recognized as an “Official Sponsor” on the USBSF’s official website and in all team press releases and newsletters. Plus, CENTURY 21 is including a smaller logo on the team’s bobsleds for Easter Seals, the CENTURY 21 System’s philanthropic partner.

“We’re continually amazed by and grateful for the CENTURY 21 System’s generous support of our organization,” said James E. Williams, Jr., president and CEO, Easter Seals. “Adding our logo to the Bobsled is yet another way CENTURY 21 shows that they are Easter Seals Champions.”

Syndicated via Century 21 Blog. Source: http://blog.century21.com/2013/09/century-21-real-estate-announces-usa-bobsled-team-sponsorship/