TO TUBE OR NOT TO TUBE : SAVE TIME AND GAINING CREDIBILTY

I recently read a great article  by Chaibia Sarhou  found in the The Niche Report Issue 002/Feb 2012 about you Tube and wanted to discuss these tips and how I use You Tube. I have added my own tips and comments to the key points she outlines to use YouTube as a key marketing tool.

As many of you are now noticing that you can find almost anything on YouTube.  Some people seem to forget about it since everything is geared to today’s Social Media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.  There are over 3 Billion views per day and hours of content being uploaded daily.  Making a Videe of yourself is great way to connect to your target audience.  Buyers are no longer just using Listing sites for look for houses but using You Tube to search videos and extended tours of homes they may potentially want to see!  So why not have a video about you and the service you provide pop up as potential buyers are searching for homes. 

This is also a  great marketing tool for potential listeners.  People who are looking to Sell their house can see your face, hear your voice and understand your words.  This lets people hear about your qualifications before contacting you. I’m sure you have spent many hours meeting with clients not qualified or just price shopping you to compare you with other agents.   This cuts into your productivity times and costs you time and money.  Let the qualified buyers come to you!

It’s easy to make a video.  You can use your smart phone or basic software you can put on your computer.  The most important thing is to market your video and be seen by optimizing your video so your videos can be found when your prospects are looking for you content. 

WHAT TO PUT IN MY VIDEO

Think of 10 questions that prospects most often ask you.   You can create a new video for each question explaining in-depth the answer, resources for prospects to view to do research of their own and relevant info that will have them coming back to you for future advice.    To add more videos you can create a video on 10 pieces of advice you would offer to your client.  Make them personal too! Try to show your personality but still see you a Sales Professional.  Many times you will be answering questions that prospects would not event hing of asking.  Its like you’re getting into their head. 

Testimonials are a huge thing!  So why not make a video testimonial.  Think about objections or fears someone may have when deciding to work with you? Some fears maybe commission, trust or experience level.  Make a list and ask your clients to address these.  So the next time you meet a new prospect their objections maybe addressed.  You can do the same with referrals, partners and anyone you are working with to spread you business.  Have others tell their feelings about working with your and their experiences. 

CREATE A CHANNEL

If you haven’t gone on a set up an account do so. It’s easy and if you use Gmail or have a google account then you can sign on using that and create a profile. 

Optimize the Name on Your Channel:  Go a keyword search to see what people are searching for in your industry such as ” tips for selling your home” or you could brand your name then use your REAL NAME.

Optimize Your Title &  Channel Tags: Use the keywords that you want to be found throughout your title, tags, and description.  You can also search what others are doing in the same industry for examples on what they are using for their keywords.

Make sure your channel is visible:  This will allow others searching to find it.

Branding:  Your channel can be custom designed for your branded presence.  Make it stand out!  Remember there’s thousands of competitors out there!

Allow Comments: Always allow comments.  This gives you feedback positive or negative.  Positive can be  just as powerful as testimonials.  Negative comments will help you correct mistakes or change things to make your channel better.  Take it as constructive criticism and encouragement to tweak things to make your business grow and be more successful!

Auto Play Video:  Make sure to have your featured video play automatically.  That will increase the number of views each time someone clicks on your channel and more views mean a higher ranking in Google.  Ass you featured video on your websites. I framed my video about myself on my home page of my website.

OPTIMIZING YOUR VIDEO

Title: Always remember to put your primary keyword in your title.  A very cool trick to make this more effective is to write your main keyword, adda colon then rephrase it.  (example: Home buying Tips: 10 Things to look for When Buying a Home)

Description: Start with your URL. Make sure to add HTTP://.  YouTube will hyperlink it for you so you get traffic to your website.  Explain what your video is about and put keywords throughout the description.  The more content in the description.  The more content in the description the better.

Tags: Include key words that make sense and are most relevant to your video.

Category:  This is less important, so go with anything that has make sense.  For Real Estate use Education.

Post a Bulletin: Post something and include a link to the video. This will post on the homepage of all your subscribers, bringing them back to your video which gives you more exposure to your videos.

You Tube is aSocial Platform: Post you videos to your blog.  If you use word press post them periodically as an extra source to share your videos.  If you have Facebook add the app to your page and it will stream your videos.  Just make sure not to overload you Facebook account with videos. If you have someone who likes you business page and is also a friend on your personal page they will get the post twice. You can also add your videos to Twitter and Linkedin. Don’t forget to add a link on your personal website as well. This will give maximum exposure to your videos.

 HOW TO SELL YOUR VIDEO

You need to be able to grab the viewers attention or they will just simply go to the next video.  Having great content is key!

Include in Your Video: Put a Call to Action in all your videos.  Your call to action should tell your views what you want to do next. It can you be your phone, visit your website, or download a report, etc.  Display your website address along with your phone number at the bottom of the video. 

In the Description: Include a hyperlink (by adding HTTP://) to your website.  The link will turn blue and people will be able to click on it to go directly to your website.

 

CREATIVE TRICKS

Some agents have found creative ways to get video testimonials.  One trick was a suggestion to get a cheap video camera mail it to the client through snail mail with a video asking them to send a video with you showing the home to them and uploading and emailing it back to you.  They can keep the camera as a gift.   You can also put a copy of your video on a disc and mail it with letter to potential clients. In the letter thank them for taking the time to watch it and include your contact info for them to call you. 

 

 

OVER 23 Years of Service let Linda Licastro be a name you Trust!

Linda Licastro has been in the Real Estate business for over 23 years and has helped a lot of home buyers and sellers during this time. Customer satisfaction is her number one priority. She has had a successful career and is also the Owner and Broker of her own Real Estate office RE/MAX Home Connection located in Montville Twp. NJ since 2006. She has received many awards honoring her achievements in Real Estate such as RE/MAX Platinum and NJAR Circle of Excellence GOLD Award in 2011. She prides herself on customer service, integrity, market knowledge, communication, negotiation, closing preparation, finding her clients the right home, marketing homes she has listed, and overall satisfaction of her clients. Additionally, her clients would recommend their family and friends to use Linda for any of their Real Estate Needs. The help to her clients goes way beyond the closed transaction!

DON’T KEEP IN TOUCH STAY IN TOUCH!

It seems today many Realtors today are working on referrals.  When you first start out in Real estate you work hard for your first sale. You have to learn to work the ropes to get a customer base through cold calls, FSBOS and sending mailers to a farm area. As you establish yourself people learn to your name and recognize your face on the local ads so leads come easier. Now as the years pass you have seen the trend in the Real Estate market. There’s more competition and with today’s economy the Real Estate market has gone down.

So how do you stay on top? You build your business on referrals.

According to the NAR Profile of Home Buyers in Sellers in NJ, over half of the buyers find their real estate agent through a referral or a website.  And while traditional referral methods are still proving to be successful, in today’s age of online communication, many agents are reevaluating their networking and referral strategies to keep up with the latest trends and technologies.

So how do you stay on top and get plenty of Listings and Sales in such a tough market? Referral is the answer.  I wanted to share some key Tips to getting Referrals by using social networks and incorporating new technologies.

Expand Your Horizons!

Instead of just adding contacts in your database through calls generated by your advertising and marketing use the social web.  Many social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and Linked in have software to find past friends. Take the time to check out your friend’s friends to see if you have something in common with them. You can start a conversation based on common likes and expand your sphere of influence.  Your common interest will establish a new friendship which can turn in to new business or a referral. Because you took time to get to know new people they will remember you and when they know of a friend, relative, co-worker moving they will remember to give them your name.  Many groups are created on these social sites.

Meet people that similar interests by joining a group on one of these Social sites. Take time to read the posts other members post and respond to them.  For those who use Outlook there is software that can detect online profile from people who send you emails. I recommend Xobni.  This is an easy way to see if anyone sending you email has an online profile on Facebook and Twitter.  It makes it easier for you to look them up and see if you have a common interest and you may want to network with them.

 

Share Meaning Content!

 

The best way to prevent others from wanting to hide your content or unfriend you is to make sure you post something of value.  When you post things on your wall make sure that you try to include helpful tips that someone else can use. If you like a particular product mention it on a post and why you liked it. Someone else may find it interesting try it out and contact you for recommending a product they didn’t know about before but they found useful.  There you have now established a relationship with someone new.

Show You’re Interested!

Even if you don’t want to admit it we all like to be liked! Take the time to read what other people post and click the like button so they know you are interested in what they like. If you have a new client and you know you have similar interest them to friend you on Facebook or Twitter. Take a few minutes to see what they are posting and what there friends are posting. You never know if your client maybe talking behind your back about being dissatisfied about your services and tell all her friends which could be in the future new business for you.  Just commenting on a post with a simple “I hear you or I’ve been through that” can mean a lot to someone.

Helping Hands!

The best way to help someone is to answer a question.  You may see a question posted on the wall of a group you joined. If you know the answer or can provide helpful advice then answer the question.  Become a useful source on real estate blogs, websites and professional networks will give you great creditability.  Some sites may give you a rating.  If you can provide both useful advice and answers people will rate you. Then when someone is in need of Real estate advice or a possible business lead they will go to you. Everyone wants to ne recommended to someone who gets 5 star rating over 3! Think of a movie when you go see it many times you read the reviews. If a movie get 2 stars over 5 you are more likely to go to a movie that received 4 or 5 stars. Many would feel they same about hiring a realtor that is highly recommended then just picking a realtor randomly and hire them to sell their home.

                       Visit my website: http://www:licastroteam.com

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/lindalicastro

Check out my Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/lindalicastro

 Check our my video:  http://www.youtube.com/user/linlicastro?feature=g-upl

Easy Fixes for 4 Household Problems

Spring is in the air! Remember this Sunday the 20th is the first day of Spring! With Spring comes Spring Cleaning.

Here are 4 common problems and their solutions! Here are some solutions provided by professional carpenter Lynda Lyday. Squeaky stairs, leaky faucets, or oil stains in the garage? Learn how to fix common household problems so they don’t turn off buyers.  Problems like squeaky stairs and oil stains on the garage floor can be quick turnoffs to buyers. But these common household troubles need not hold your listing back—particularly if they’re relatively easy for a do-it-yourselfer to fix.  While it’s always best to bring in an expert to correct big problems, Lyday provides these tips for capable home owners who want to try their own hand at a solution.

 

Problem #1: Oil Stains on Garage Floor

 Solution: “You can remove most of a stubborn stain with a bit of elbow grease and scrubbing. First, remove the surface oil by sprinkling some cat litter on it to soak it up. Then clear away the cat litter and focus on the stain.Make a paste of hot water and dry dish or laundry detergent. Use a stiff bristle scrub brush to scrub the area with the paste. Hose the area and let it dry. Another method is to use a product such as Spray ’n Wash on the stain for 10 minutes, along with a dry detergent. Your last option is to spray on some oven cleaner. Use this sparingly, wash it down thoroughly, and keep children and pets away from it.”

Problem #2: Leaky Faucets

Solution: “Most faucet leaks can easily be fixed with a rubber washer, an O-ring, or seals—depending on what type of faucet it is. By fixing the problem yourself, you can save a good bit of money since plumbers can be expensive and will charge you a standard fee even if it takes only 10 minutes to fix the problem.”

Problem # 3: Nail Pops

Solution: “Nail pops are a problem across the country. The term comes from the nails that hold the drywall to the studs actually popping out through the face of the drywall. This is from either a house settling or the wood studs drying out over time, squeezing the nail out of the wood and pushing it through the drywall. The fix for this isn’t terribly hard, but it’s tedious because there are up to 32 nails in a 4-foot by 8-foot sheet of drywall. My suggestion is to pound the nail through the drywall to the stud. Then, just above it, place a drywall screw to hold the drywall to the stud, and finish it off with a few coats of spackle or joint compound. Finally, seal and paint it. Most home-improvement stores also sell nail pop kits that can make this job easier.

Problem #4: Squeaky Stairs

Solution: “The most common problems that occur in a staircase are the treads (horizontal surface of the steps)  coming loose, which causes squeaking. Also common are the spindles or balusters coming loose. If you can get underneath the staircase, fixing the treads is easy. You will need to attach an L bracket from the underside of the tread to the stringer (the long piece of wood that connects the treads and runs diagonally up the wall). If you can’t get underneath the staircase, you’ll have to make the repair from above. Squeaky stair kits are available that allow you to make this fix even through carpet. Otherwise, you can secure the tread to the stringer with a trim screw.”

Easy Fixes for 4 Household Problems

Adapted from The Homeowner’s Manual (Que Publishing, 2006), By Lynda Lyday, ISBN 0-7897-3451-6

Off-Market Sales Come at a Price

Sellers may sacrifice market value for privacy, convenience

Wouldn’t it be nice to bypass all the marketing required to sell a home — especially people coming through at inconvenient times and public open houses — and sell directly to someone for a price you can live with, without the fanfare?

There are times when a sale off-market is appropriate.

For instance, an elderly man decided to sell his house for $1 million to a contractor he knew. He let his co-trustee know what he’d verbally agreed to and she got into the act. As a trustee, she owed a fiduciary duty to get the highest price possible for the trust. She knew that $1 million was too low.

After canvassing the local real estate community, it was determined that the house was probably worth about $1.4 million on the market. But, the co-trustee agreed that the property needed to be sold and that it probably would never be put on the open market due to health issues in the family.

The prospective buyer also agreed that the price was low. However, he couldn’t afford to pay more than $1.2 million. Both trustees thought this was an acceptable price since no commission was involved and the house had some issues. For instance, part of the house was built over the septic tank.

The buyer was a contractor who was aware of the property condition. He was also willing to let the seller rent back cost-free as long as was necessary until he found an acceptable retirement home. These concessions made the deal more valuable than the $1.2 million price, which was accepted by the seller.

The problem with selling directly is that the property doesn’t receive the benefit of marketing exposure. Professional marketing introduces a listing to a broad range of buyers through the exposure of the internet and other media.  Also realtors can see the listings to inform their buyers so again you have a larger span of exposure to the public. When a home sells without marketing, the sellers don’t know if they could have sold for more, and the buyers don’t know if they could have paid less. With proper marketing and advice of a professional sellers can see what is going ont he market and selling. Buyers can get an idea of what has sold to determine the best offer to make.

In neighborhoods where homes are more alike than different, and were built at the same time, it may not be that difficult to establish fair market value, if there have been a lot of recent sales.

In neighborhoods with a diverse housing stock and few sales, it may be difficult to arrive at a price without professional assistance. One approach would be to hire a knowledgeable local appraiser to do an appraisal on the property. However, appraised value is not necessarily market value. The only way to determine the marketability of a home is to put it on the market.

Residential real estate transactions can be complicated, especially in well-established areas with an older housing stock, disclosure requirements and local compliance ordinances. In the above example, the co-trustee was a real estate broker who handled the transaction for free. So, an experienced professional was involved in the sale and made sure that all mandatory requirements were met.

Property condition has a big impact on price. A seller who is not aware of disclosure obligations (which vary from state to state) and who doesn’t have recent inspections of the property might not provide the buyers with the information they need to determine the price they should pay. This could lead to further legal problems for seller once the property is sold.

Even in situations where the sellers don’t want to expose their property to the market, professionals (real estate agents or attorneys and inspectors) should be involved to make sure that the transaction is completed successfully and that the buyers and sellers don’t end up suing each other after closing.

Neither the buyers nor sellers get a good deal on a transaction that closes badly

PAINTING- FINDING COLORS THAT WORK WITH YOUR HOME

Complementary Colors Can Bring Compliments For Home Paint Scheme

Article by: Jim Sloan is a freelance writer in Reno, Nevada.

It’s happened to most people. They decide to do some interior painting — the living room or the kitchen–and no sooner has the paint dried than they reach a grim conclusion. The color they selected doesn’t seem to “go” with the rest of the house. Something now seems out of place, discordant.

What’s happened is that you’ve added a color to your interior painting that doesn’t fit with your home’s overall color scheme. The color clashes with the rest of house, and this throws off the whole sense of harmony in your home.

Interior Painting: Finding Colors That Work

It’s no surprise that artists, before they become great painters, often spend a great deal of time studying color. Color has a tremendous impact on how people feel. Certain color combinations, for instance, can be reminiscent of the late 1960s (think avocado green and harvest wheat) or even periods in history, such as colonial America or the Renaissance.

Interior design experts and professional home painters are no different; they have studied color extensively and they understand that the colors they suggest for your interior painting are important. These colors have to reflect your personal tastes, but they also have to work well with other aspects of your house–your furniture, your floors, even the colors outside.

Your home’s natural setting should provide your first inspiration for the color scheme–or palette–that you choose to use for your home’s interior. If you live in the forest, you might draw on the deep, silvery green of fir trees in your backyard. If you live in the desert, you want interior colors that work with the sienna and burnt oranges and shades of sage you see in the desert.

Explore Painting Services For Variations of Color

If you’re uncertain–or if you already have brightly colored floors or furniture–your painting contractor or local painting company might suggest a monochromatic color scheme, which uses one dominant color and then different shades of the same color for trim or adjoining rooms.If you’re more daring, your painting contractor or local painting company might suggest color combinations. This is where the fun begins because there are many theories on what makes colors harmonious. For example:

• Complementary colors are directly opposite each other on a color wheel, a standard, 12-color circle comprising the primary shades of yellow, blue and red. An example of complementary colors would be red and green. These color contrast with each other but they also “stabilize” each other.

• Analogous colors are in sequence on the color wheel, such as yellow-green, yellow, and yellow-orange.

Finding the colors that are right for you might take some time, but if you approach it as an adventure, you can have some fun with it. A painting contractor can help you decide what might be best for you and your home.