Archive
Real Estate Website Myths: BUSTED!
With the return of real estate this past year there have been website companies popping up left and right all offering the “best real estate websites” online. Despite the success of the internet as an advertising platform many real estate professionals still have preconceived notions on what can and cannot be done – much less what should be done – and unfortunately this can cause a lot of myths to be created and a lot of relationships to be destroyed.
We here at Tour Real Estate have had a singular focus for over the last decade: providing great, effective, real estate websites. So before lending an ear to the myths you’ve been hearing, or straight up falling prey to some fast talking smoke blower, consider these top real estate website myths and allow us to put your fears at ease.
A Website is Going to Change Your Life.
Uh, no. We stress this strongly in order to be fully up-front with our potential customers. A website is a tool. Nothing less, nothing more. If you do not use that tool by customizing it to your market, and advertising it to your sphere it is still fully functional but you simply can not expect to see amazing results. Like much else in life you get out of your website what you put IN to your website – this also means leveraging the visibility of your website by social and real world networking.
You Are Stuck With the Search MLS Provides.
In many systems this is true. It comes in pre-canned, framed in, and fairly awkward. The way we do things here at TourRE is a little different: We take the raw feed from MLS, reformat it, optimize it, and push it out to your website in a dynamic fashion. This allows us to provide custom searches instantly for out clients like: Today’s New Listings, REO Homes, HUD Homes, Searches by City, and just about any other criteria you will find in MLS itself.
The Free Site from my Brokerage Is Just as Good.
Big no to that. The old adage of you get what you pay for is true! That’s not to say you can’t have a free site and possibly even get some use out of it. A simple, free website is certainly better than no website at all. However we generally caution people to just be aware of what they are (or aren’t) getting as part of that deal. Most freebie websites offer very little customization or control – meaning that to your visitors and to search engines you look exactly like a million other real estate sites out there. What incentive does that give potential client to choose YOU?
Having a Website Takes Too Much Time.
You’re not a geek, you want to be moving real estate, not punching buttons – we understand that. No website is ever going to be brilliantly effective if you just set it and forget it, but thankfully our websites are very easy to get setup with very minimal effort. Once there the functionality of the site largely takes care of itself – your listings, your offices listing, and the entire MLS is automatically pulled into your site without any effort from you. We still recommend using the large number of additional marketing tools we provide at least once a week; for those who are really interested into taking their online presence to the next level we can gladly provide guidance and consulting.
It’s a Nightmare to Get Help.
Most other web companies are from out of state, and then have call centers in other countries. To even change your name or contact info you could be waiting weeks to even hear back from a tech. Tour Real Estate is proudly located in Idaho’s beautiful Treasure Valley. Our system allows you to control most every piece of text on your website; if you don’t have the time, or just can’t figure it out our customer service can’t be beat. We reply quickly and resolve issues fast. When you call us you’ll be talking to a real live person who can generally get your request taken care of immediately.
We excel at what we do because we care. We excel because we’ve chosen to focus on doing one thing, and doing that one thing very well, for over the last decade. If you’re unhappy with your current real estate web presence – or don’t yet have one – we’d love the chance to talk with you in order to show you how we can help you. Visit our website, or check out any of our social media portals below to find out more!
Social Media Tips for REALTORS®
The world of social media can be a daunting place. It’s hard to know who to believe, or even what works from what you research on your own. The way is wrought with fast talkers and smoke blowers ready to promise you the moon and stars – and hopefully you’ve not had your taste for social media spoiled by them. If you’ve heard the hype and seen the success stories and are ready to start making use of social media we’ve got a few tips to help you get on the fast track.
First, let it be stated that social media is not the silver bullet for all your website ails. It is merely another tool to apply to your overall digital strategy. It is not guaranteed to boost sales, traffic, or leads; at it’s very core is merely another advertising medium.
Social media isn’t marketing. It’s prospecting. It’s putting yourself out there. It’s making yourself known, and available. Social media allows your potential customer to find you and interact in a conversational way rather than via a promotional one. So it’s important to: Be Interesting. Be Relevant. Be Rememberable!
Not sure what to say to get the conversation part of things going? Listen first! Keep an eye on what topics are trending in your industry, locally, or across the country. Listen to what your customers are interested in, then get to work. Otherwise, you are just shooting in the dark.
Be Persistent. Social media success is made up of the things you do every day. Every day. That means you need to be in there posting, working the system, nurturing followers on a daily basis to see the best results. Considering many systems have algorithms in place to limit your visibility to fans post frequently is often the best way to insure your posts get seen.
Don’t make it all about real estate. Yes, you are REALTORS® yes, it is part of your job to advertise listings – BUT – one of the biggest mistakes we see real estate professionals doing in social media is posting nothing but links to their listings. Sure, it’s fine to link to that Just Listed property, but look at it from a potential fan (who may not even currently be in the buyers market)…are they going to be interested in seeing 15 posts a day that just advertise your listings…or would they rather enjoy more diverse content that might include local event info, home fix-it tips, or other information…? EXACTLY. So, make your content about more than just hyping that next listing.
Use pictures. Social media is a very visual platform, because we as humans are very visual creatures. Text based information posts are great but be sure to mix it up with some good visual content as well. Now, that doesn’t mean just post pictures – unless you are on Pinterest – but be sure to include pictures now and again, with some good “hook” language to describe the image.
Social media isn’t about selling to the people you’re connected with, it’s about connecting with the people you’re selling to. Keep the relevancy of your content focused on the interests of your fan base to see the most success; be sure to keep at it!
TourRE: New Virtual Videos
We here at Tour Real Estate Inc are constantly striving to provide our customers with the latest in new real estate technology. As many of you already know video is the big hot button item in the online world of marketing. With the advent of Google Glass and other technologies video is really becoming something you will want to make use of soon. As part of this coming trend we are looking to get your feedback on a new project we have begun. Watch the video below for more specific details and tell us what you think!
In short these new video style tours will allow you to take professionally shot photographs of your listing and turn them into a high quality video – what’s more you’re not just showing the home, you’re showing off your services as well. Every buyer or seller wants to work with an agent or broker that is set to impress; this is one way to really wow your client.
A little camera shy? Just don’t have the time to get into the studio? We also will be able to provide stand-in actors and voice overs to help save you time or for your use in case you get lock-jaw when talking to a massive global video audience.
Once produced your finished video will be available for download to you so that you can place it anywhere you like – upload it to Youtube, embed it on your website, and distribute it on any of your social networks. We give you the video so that you can be in control of your own marketing.
Want to do video testimonials, or other buyer/seller advertising? Custom real estate video’s are available! Hype your own services, produce tips for new clientele, and wow them with commercial quality video for your message.
We’d love to get your feedback on this new concept! Comment below or contact us directly to let us know your thoughts or if you might be interested in getting your own video package started!
REALTORS: Building Social Media Success
Everyone is coming to realize as more and more websites get online you really must have some way to set yourself apart from the hundreds of millions of other websites online.
One way to do this is through social media. Social media provides the most accessible, easy to use, and widest reaching platform for nearly any business model – this includes real estate. We’re glad to see so many Realtors waking from the Field of Dreams marketing mentality and taking interest in seizing their digital destinies.
It is for that very reason that we’d like to offer some good general practices for finding more success in your social media efforts.
Be Patient
Rome wasn’t built in a day – neither is any kind of success that is worth while. It
will take time, even months, to really begin to see returns from your efforts.
Be Consistent
When fans know what to look for they can look forward to it. Use whatever network you like, but use it every day for best results. There is nothing more embarassing than having someone visit your page and see that it hasn’t been updated in months.
Be Relevant
Don’t know what to say? Listen to what people in your target demographic are
interested in. If your focus is the 55+ crowd posting stuff about the hot new boy
band probably won’t win you any fans. Providing content that is relevant to your audience is the best way to gain interaction and keep fans coming back.
Be Bigger than Real Estate
Make your focus not just real estate, or promoting your listings. Use the rule of
hamburger – make your content 80/20…that is to say 80% positive thoughts, quotes, jokes, pictures, or local interest posts; maybe 20% about real estate or hard marketing your services.
Be Realistic
Social media is not a silver bullet for all your marketing needs. It will not instantly make your traffic soar or bring in a flood of leads — furthermore that isn’t what it is even about. Social media isn’t about selling to the people you’re connected to, it’s about connecting with the people you’re selling to. It’s about building relationships and establishing trust online.
Have questions about how you can benefit from social media? We’re always glad to talk shop! Contact us with your questions and be sure to follow us on our social portals to stay up on the latest news and tips to help you move more real estate!
REALTORS: Does Your Website Need Help?
Our Websites Come in One Flavor: AWESOME!
We don’t fast talk or up-sell you with pricey packages you don’t need. We don’t lock you in to long costly contracts. We JUST deliver results.
For over the last decade Tour Real Estate has consistently provided the very best real estate websites and marketing tools available online. ALL of our websites are highly search engine friendly; come backed by powerful dynamic code which allows you to control your search engine visibility.
For less than the cost of a single print ad, or a few months of unreliable pay per click advertising you could have your own website online 24 hours a day 365 days a year showcasing your listings and services.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words!
( that’s like 7.148 tweets if you’re counting! )
We founded our company on virtual tours; we still offer some of the best and most affordable real estate photography services in the area.
Better Photos = Better Sales. It’s as simple as that.
A REALTOR.COM survey showed that homes marketed with professional quality photographs sold for nearly 12% more than homes with bad or no images.
We Move Real Estate – and Our Office!
We’ve Moved!
Update your address books – we’re in a brand new office here in Meridian, Idaho! Same amazing real estate technology services in a great new location!
For over a decade Tour Real Estate has provided the very best online marketing for real estate agents in the Northwest; we continue that vision today.
We have many great developments in the works for the coming year and want to thank all of our customers who have enjoyed our sterling services so far – you have helped make us great!
For payments and meeting arrangements our NEW office is located at:
Tour Real Estate Inc.
1406 N. Main St. Suite 109
Meridian, Idaho 83642
Not a Tour Real Estate customer yet? Why not!?
We provide some of the best, most dynamic real estate websites available on the planet! More than just templated websites we also specialize in custom REALTOR® websites for individual agents and brokerages. Connected Socially? So are we! We love helping real estate professionals make the most of today’s popular social networks – visit our website today to get just a taste of what we have available.
Update: Featured Listing Slideshow
Tour Real Estate Inc has just made one of our old features even better! Our standard featured listing slideshow is now even more functional! We listened to your suggestions and have now made the image a more standard size so that it will re size any image pulled from MLS and display it without cropping problems.
This slideshow update also allows users to watch the slides uninterrupted or quickly skip through them. If you have more than one listing featured in the slideshow (by entering it in your toolbox) your website will choose a random listing to display each time the site is visited – presenting your prospective clients with new images to keep their interest peaked!
We here at TourRE are constantly striving to provide you with the very best real estate technology online today. Part of that is listening to what our customers tell us is important to them; this update is just one example.
There are numerous updates in the works for several of our other standard web functions as well as great new features coming down the line even as we speak! Stay tuned to this blog (you can subscribe on the right) or LIKE our Facebook Fan Page to stay up on the latest real estate market news and our own development info.
Build Your Social Media Army
Social media is the fastest growing method for increasing your digital footprint and gaining exposure for your listings and services. More people begin their search for homes, and for qualified REALTORS® online than ever before. To reach this crucial market you need to be highly visible amidst the ever growing tide of real estate professionals online.
In a previous post (brokers) we discussed how TourRE’s powerful website system can help you get all of your agents main web portals connected to your brokerage for optimal online visibility. But even if by some horrible possibility you or your agents don’t have our real estate websites there is still much you and they can do to benefit from social media.
Here’s some tips to turn your agents into a social media army:
Ask them to LIKE and/or follow your company pages and profiles.
Ask them to LIKE, share, or comment on the things your company posts.
Ask them to share a link to the company website as a status update.
Ask them to invite their friends to follow your company pages/profiles.
If they have Google accounts make sure they visit your company site and give it a +1.
Encourage your agents to post their listings and links on the company social profiles.
Get your agents to write articles for the company blog.
Offering your agents special incentives for helping to bolster the brokerages social presence isn’t unheard of either, although in all honesty by them participating in the offices online success they are truly already the recipients of a reward all it’s own.
Social media interaction from individuals is one of the biggest ways to really see results online; these social signals are gaining importance in how search engines rank your websites – what’s more, through social media you are increasing real human interaction independent of the search engines help. Every agent online makes a difference and with just a little interaction on their parts you can potentially see immense returns.
Have questions about using social media for real estate? TourRE can help! We’re always glad to talk shop and we offer some of the most affordable social media management services online today!
Brokers: Get Connected
Interconnectivity is the key to unleashing the power of the internet. Search engine algorithms are mysterious and unpredictable, social media is yet too unproven for many to trust solely for return on investment. For those brokerages looking for a solution Tour Real Estate offers this simple example of how we can leverage the internet’s greatest strength to exponentially increase your traffic and digital exposure.
Build a Powerful Network
Despite algorithm changes authoritative incoming links are still KEY to ranking well in search results.
We can connect each of your agent’s own highly optimized individual websites to your main office hub, using diverse keyword anchors to create a powerful flow of traffic.
Create and Optimize
Duplication is death. Automation, anti-productive. Search engines want fresh content for the top sites they present and your visitors demand the best online tools and features. Neither will tolerate a website that is hard to use or that works poorly.
We can provide elegant eye catching designs to envelope the sleek technological functionality of your dynamic website with us and offer some of the most comprehensive marketing tools for real estate professionals available today.
Develop Your Digital Destiny
Regardless of if we like it or not, use it or not, social media has arrived and is one of the most powerful means of exposing your services and listings to a vast – and growing – audience. We believe taking part in the social conversation shouldn’t be something that has to be cumbersome; offer extremely flexible strategies from simple consultation to full hands-on management.
We’d love the opportunity to talk with you about preparing an effective plan to help you grow towards a successful future in real estate online – contact us today in order to discuss your ideas.
UPDATED Realtor Website Function: Social Links
Due to your requests we’ve now updated our social links function in our client toolbox. Originally designed to allow our user agents to easily link out from their main websites to popular social networks, this function has quickly gained popularity among our more tech savvy users who know the importance of having everything connected.
So what’s new?
Our most recent available social networks are Google Plus and Pinterest. If you have active accounts there that you are using you can now link out to them by simply pasting your profile url into the toolbox in the proper place.
What is Google Plus?
While the jury is still out, many people jokingly refer to Google Plus as the social network that’s not there. Well, it may not be quite there YET but it is well on it’s way. With Google moving it’s “Places” function into Google Plus “Local” the search engine giants new social network will soon be playing an even bigger role on how consumers find things locally. Combine that with it’s AWESOME video chat functionality called “Hangouts” and no one can argue that Google Plus is well poised to begin a social takeover.
What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is the hottest new social sharing site. Mainly consisting of images, video is also supported, this new network encourages users to find amazing things online and “pin” them to their own digital walls. As this network is almost solely visually driven it is not only extremely powerful ( if done right ) but also very easy to get lost in.
Are you a REALTOR® with questions about social media? Tour Real Estate can help you make sense of the online world, including today’s most popular social networks. With search engine rules changing every other day man experts are suggesting that a strong social presence may be the best way to insure a stable digital presence and maintain exceptional customer service online.
