5 Take Away's for RE Marketing from Inman Connect SF

Inman Connect 2018 - In the purple light of the main ballroom with my new agent friends from Danville and Hawaii!

Feeling pumped up after the 'Agent Connect' session in July, at the Inman Connect Conference 2018 at the San Francisco Hilton. The conference's top speakers gave elevator speeches and enigmatic interviews as a preview to the stuff that will be in their break out sessions. If you listen closely, and I did, you get a wonderful overview of where our industry is headed...and great marketing tips!

5 Take-aways from 'Agent Connect'

1. The most magic you can create with a client, your image and your personality is to be authentic

2. Individual agent branding will allow you to convey who you are in the digital world

3. Artificial Intelligence is hot - hot- hot! Think CRM's, predictive CRM, lead management & distribution

4. Brokerages would be wise bring in talented marketing people on board to help agents launch individual authentic brands.

5. Use tools to automate and virtual help to spread your message digitally.

In the afternoon, I took a long serious stroll through the "Start-up Alley" where the greatest real estate tech innovators share swag, video presentations, collateral and great info about why their product will work for you, the Realtor. It's up there as a favorite geek moment, since I love being ahead of the pack, in terms of what technology can be employed to help my clients grow their market share. So Thanks innovators - you make me look good. 

As a former top producing Realtor in San Francisco for 13 lucky years, I remain in love with the industry and the people in it. That's what motivated me to combine my previous career in marketing with my deep knowledge of real estate, to build a  digital marketing agency for real estate and business, from the ground up! We provide cutting edge digital marketing for Real Estate professionals from branding to websites, social media integration, ghost blogging, ongoing management and training!

Connect to consult about your real estate marketing questions. I love to share my knowledge:))

---

5 Truths to Forward your Real Estate Career

How truthful are you when it comes to evaluating your own work ethic and time management in terms of what you do to forward your real estate career?

1. I’ll do what I’ve always done.

Does that include cold calling, door knocking and snail mail campaigns? That may have worked in the past though is no longer the efficient choice for real estate marketing. Time to update how and where you spend your marketing budget and shift to the digital world.

2. There aren’t enough hours in the day.

This may be true. Check your own time on social media, could you be using that time to promote yourself? If you are promoting yourself, is your messaging clearly defined? Do prospects understand who you are and what you offer? If not, then you need to hire a virtual assistant or social media manager to do it for you.

3. My funds are tight.

It’s true, it’s expensive to be a real estate agent. Dues, desk fees, taxes, wardrobe and ever-present bills. Don’t spend money on fads or seminars, instead, make marketing funds part of your annual budget. Hire experts to create a personal brand, write content messaging and develop a winning social media strategy. Those funds will be well spent as you watch your business grow. Try to avoid automated content feeds….it’s noticeable and doesn’t have the affect of authentic content messaging.

4. I’m not sure of my market.

Do you work in a certain neighborhood but long to sell luxury real estate in another area? Do you work with buyers, have an occasional listing and wish you were a listing agent instead? Is this making your business model inconsistent? Go for profitability in your current expertise and capitalize on that, building on your success in an area of real estate where you demonstrate strength. Buyers eventually turn into sellers.

5. Yes, you’re great! Now what?

Today’s marketing focus is less on touting your success and more on what you offer clients. People trust you more when you show them WHO you are and what you do for them. Share success stories, testimonials. Take photos of clients during a key exchange. Talk about the business of real estate, trends in homes, remodeling, interiors, diy, garden tips, local news and events. Give consumers the real nuts and bolts of what it takes to own a home and live in your area. Bring value.

Take a look at where you are and want to be to fine tune your business and marketing plans. You will achieve the most growth in areas of strength when your budget is applied thoughtfully.

Erika Burke is the Founder of Scribe415 in San Francisco - A Digital Branding Agency for  branding, website development, content creation, ghost blogging and social media marketing for real estate and business professionals. She was a Top Producing Realtor in SF for 13 years, and is no longer active, but remains licensed DRE#01386234. 

#selfevaluation #realestatesuccess #scribe415 #branding #websitedesigner #contentmessaging #socialmediamarketing #ghostblogger #igotit #yougotit #2018marketinggoals #itseasierthanyouthink #makeithappen #digitalmarketing

---

Storytime...Real Estate Marketing Success Stories!

Real time Real Estate success stories provide confirmation of consistency in real estate branding, messaging and social media marketing.

Here are 2 recent Realtor stories.  

Story 1

2 weeks ago, my client led a listing meeting. When the meeting ended, the client stating that he would "check her out" and circle back. Within half an hour, the prospect texted "I like what I saw and I'm ready to do business with you". My client was relieved that she led the meeting, as her website, content and social media branding were firmly in place showing any prospective client who she is and what she offers. This directly motivated the prospect to choose her.  

Story 2

My Realtor client was contacted for a luxury home listing through a business referral. The new prospect opened the conversation exclaiming how refreshing, sophisticated and direct her website and social media marketing were, that he needed go no further and would be listing several high end properties with her for sale totaling millions in business.  

Every Real Estate professional who has embarked in a scaled-up marketing program including website, content, branding and social media marketing have seen direct results, an increase in sales price point and volume of business within 6 months of launching a full scale digital marketing program - often surpassing their own expectations and concerns on how to measure marketing effectiveness.  

As a licensed Realtor with a 30+ year background in marketing, I always assure my clients to stay consistent and "Trust the process, it works!" and it does. 

Erika Burke is the Founder and Creative Director of Scribe415 and enjoys creating fully optimized digital marketing programs for business and real estate professionals. Your success is truly my measure of success.  

#erikaburke #sanfranciscorealestatemarketing #bayarearealtors #realestategroups #eastbayrealestatemarketing #winecountryrealestate #scribe415 #branding #websitedesigner #content #ghostblogging #socialmediamarketing #socialmediamanagement #igotit #yougotit #2018marketinggoals #itseasierthanyouthink #imeasy #makeithappen #commit #increaseyourbusiness #smartmarketing #resultsmarketing

---

Do I Really Need a Website?

Websites seem so yesterday. "I can run my business from social media, they give me all the tools." Not so fast!

A website is the home and virtual business card for your business with the info your prospects are looking for.

Posts relevant to your business are pushed to social media from your website. Think product listing, company culture, news and events. Users are directed back to your website, validating your business to promote engagement. (Just like this post)!!

ORGANIC SEO. Web crawlers look for valuable content and video to index for search engines. Originating valuable content from your website promotes organic SEO to improve search engine rankings.

COSTS. Costs for a website are from DIY in the $250 range, to a custom website at $1,500-$10,000. Web and SM development can happen in stages to grow as business increases. 

Branded social media set-up costs are $150-$1000 for multiple outlets.

Site and SM management costs are $50-$150 per hour or may be charged by the post.

To control maintenance costs, check for training to self manage or train an assistant, even virtually.

FIRST STEP. Consult. Connect with at least 3 web developers. Learn what they offer, timeline, deliverables, costs, extra services like branding, SM marketing and training. Get a proposal and make a contract defining the project. Your web developer may continue to be in your business life, so make sure the relationship feels right.

NEXT STEP. You will need to be involved in your website creation and social media marketing management, so earmark the time and understand that you are moving your business to the next level.

Spending your time and money interconnecting your social media with your branded website provides you with a digital media marketing presence and messaging that grows your business through exposure and organic SEO.

Erika Burke is the Founder of Scribe415-A Digital Marketing Agency for business and real estate professionals who want to grow their business.

#scribe415 #branding #websitedesigner#content #socialmediamarketing #igotit#yougotit #2018marketinggoals#itseasierthanyouthink #imeasy

---

Creativity Takes Courage

Everytime I work with a client there is that moment, that jumping off point, when I'm feeling brave and I move ahead to create a brand, website, write their content or manage their social media! It's no different than drawing, painting, taking a beautiful photograph. If you have good command of your tools, trust in your skill and most of all the desire...You will succeed in bringing your vision to life.

The best thing about working with individual Real Estate Agents, Real Estate Groups and business is watching their business grow when they put their branding, website and social media in place and begin to make it work for them. Their reach expands, their message is heard and they thrive. 

Erika Burke is the Founder, Marketing & Creative Director & Writer at Scribe415 - A Creative Agency.

---