Blogging Basics as told by Sarah Yaussi from Big Builder
A big fat “thank you” to Sarah Yaussi, the Executive Editor of Big Builder for her participation in the Blogging lesson in the Social Media Boot Camp series. She also did a great wrap up and agreed to re-post here. Be sure to let her know how awesome she is by leaving a comment and following @bigbuilder on Twitter
Last week, I participated in an online seminar called “Social Media Boot Camp: Blogging – Building Your Home Base.” I was invited as a guest speaker by Mike Lyon of http://www.doyouconvert.com/ fame, who hosted the event. (I still love that he called me a social media ninja, although it means I may have to start dressing the part.)
I thought the topic of blogging was a particular good one because it seems as though builders are starting to catch on to the idea that blogs are an effective search engine optimization tool. Now, let me just talk about SEO for a second. Even though I can’t see you, I know some of your eyes are glazing over at the term. The kindergarten-level explanation is that a blog, like other social media outlets, can help your name pop up higher on the list of possible matches when someone does a Google search for something generic like, say, “new homes in Dallas.” (For a much more detailed and yet easy-to-read explanation, I suggest checking out this blog post; it does a great job explaining it all in plain English.)
But being able to stack the deck in your favor when it comes to search results is just one benefit to a blog. Others include:
- Simple to implement (there are many user-friendly templates)
- Low cost (some blog hosting services are free)
- News focused (fresh content drives Web traffic)
- Authoritative (looks very professional)
- Highly interactive (comment features are king)
- Spread easily (think RSS feeds)
Given this rather long list of benefits, I’ve been noticing a lot of builders launching blogs, both separate from their corporate Web sites and integrated into their existing sites.
But with a growing number of builders sold on the blog idea, “now what?” seems to be the big question. Many builders seem to be struggling with the content part of the equation–what to post, how often to post, how much to write, what kind of voice to have, and so on. If that sounds like you, let me share with you some of the advice, suggestions, and ideas that were doled out during the seminar.
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What’s the best blog format? While some of the seminar participants used Blogger, most liked using WordPress. We built http://www.housingcrisis.com/ on a WordPress template and have been pretty happy with it. It’s not too hard to figure out how it works, and there are a ton of different template styles and themes. (A word of caution here: Some of the coolest looking blog templates require an enormous amount of content, so you may want to rein your imagination in to make it more manageable.)
- How often do I need to post? That’s a good question, and there’s no right answer. But remember that search engines absolutely love all that is fresh and juicy content, so the more often you post, the more likely you are to have success in driving traffic. Me personally, I’m trying to step up my blogging to two to three times a week. It’s a far cry from some of the best bloggers who post multiple times a day–one of my faves is Calculated Risk, who at the time I wrote this post had posted five times on his blog–but I think that’s a good goal given that my day job has a few other responsibilities. The bottom line: Content gets moldy fast, so new posts a couple times a week are probably the way to go.
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What should I write about? I totally feel you on this one. There are definitely times when I open up a new Word doc, and it sits there blank for quite some time. And I’m sure it’s worse for people who aren’t naturally prolific writers. But that’s really where I say, “Loosen up!” Your next blog post is not your opus. (I have to remind myself of this all the time because as a journalist my natural tendency is to write stories with facts, figures, and quotes in them, and you don’t have to do that with a blog. A blog is more about personality and perspective, in my mind.) The shelf life of a blog post is so short that it doesn’t have to be a masterpiece. I liken a blog post to a paper cup; you use it once and then throw it out. Of course that doesn’t mean they should be messy and riddled with typos and grammatical errors. It just means stop stressing and get typing.
As for topics, there are a million things to write about. Here are eight ideas that are a little more imaginative than “home for sale”:
- Real estate/home building
- Local economy
- Green building
- First-time buyers
- Financing
- Local events
- School districts
- Your employees (I think this is a good one that is hardly ever used)
We covered off on a lot more, but I think that’s pretty much the meat of the session. As a follow-up, I asked participants to point me to some of the blogs they were working or thought were good examples. Take a look!
- Peachtree Residential Properties: http://atlantaluxuryhomes.wordpress.com/
- Dealssentials: http://www.dealssentials.com/
- Zach Schabot: http://zachschabot.blogspot.com/
- Wanderings of a Wayward Online Sales Consultant: http://www.leahkaiz.blogspot.com/
- Stylecraft Builders: http://stylecraftbuilders.wordpress.com/
- NewHomesDirectory.com: http://blog.newhomesdirectory.com/
- Brookfield Homes San Diego: http://blog.brookfieldsd.com/hud-does-it-again/
- Housingcrisis.com: http://www.housingcrisis.com/
- Real Property Alpha: http://realpropertyalpha.com/
- Eastern Shore Housing: http://www.easternshorehousing.com/
Is anybody listening to me? How not to be boring online.
There has been a reoccurring question/statement lately regarding social media updates – i.e. Status Updates or the relevance of Twitter. It usually goes like this “Ok, so I understand Facebook and friends and all that stuff – but seriously, what’s up with Twitter – who cares what you had for breakfast. I don’t get it”
My new canned response is this – you are following boring people. What I mean by this is boring people offline will most likely be boring people online. It is always the goal not to be boring/trivial/mundane/commonplace with your messages.
Then – the follow up question is usually asked – “OK, so then what am I supposed to post on Twitter to not be boring or “salesy”? I have a message that I want to get out there but don’t want to be that guy”
And that is the question of the day.
Easy answer – don’t be like the parents in this Verizon commercial:
In fact – I struggle with is well. It is always my goal to write something that will get a response, be commented on , shared or retweeted.
Without dumping too much theory – let’s just look a few prime examples.
You are in real estate – you want people to know that you sell homes – you want to update your Facebook status or send out a tweet to tell the world.
Here is the lazy way: Are you thinking about buying a home? I have 3 great homes ready right now.
With this phrasing – the shields go up and everyone will go into defense mode right? No one likes to be sold. Especially in their social network “safe zone”
Now here is the creative way to say the same thing, for example: Another happy family just moved in to The Oaks – this community is filling up with great people. I love it.
Some choose to wish people good morning and tell them goodnight via twitter. Some people update their status and talk about the sandwich they are eating for lunch or what they are cooking for dinner. Some people tell others why it is so good to do business with them or their company.
No matter what you decide to post – you need to run it through the “Does anyone care what I am saying” filter and ask yourself these questions:
- Is this trivial? If I said this to someone in real life, would they look at me funny?
- Does this matter to my network of people – whether it is personal or professional.
- Will this be retweeted? Is cool enough content to be spread?
- Is this something negative, should I even be saying it?
- Will this encourage someone or give value to my network?
- If it is trivial – is it at least funny (guess it would have a humor value then, right?)
- If it has to do with a meal I am eating – is that because I am a professional chef, cooking is a passion for me, or there is some lesson others can learn from my food choice? I.E. “3rd time I was food poisoned by Asian Chef – stay away.”
Usually, if you have to justify what you are saying – then you probably should nix it or find a more creative way to say it.
Again – I am basing this on the goal of enriching and increasing your professional life. There is nothing wrong with positing updates with no significance on Twitter or Facebook if you don’t expect an outcome or results. This is just advice if you actually want an audience to notice you – in a good way, not the high school drama queen way.
Keep in mind, your digital personality is an extension of your actual personality. Just as boring people are boring offline – so are talkative people, mean people, sarcastic people, “debbie-downers” etc.
The bottom line is this. All these new digital tools are just a method of connection and communication. Those who take the time to develop valuable content and give more back to their network will always be noticed/followed/friended/retweeted/shared.
Now, I say a lot of stuff that never gets retweeted – but I do try to take my own medicine and always work to give value and entertain.
What are your thoughts – what types of messages have worked well for you? Please share in the comments below.
Sarah Yaussi from Big Builder as Social Media VIP Guest
Rock n’ Roll! Sarah Yaussi, Big Builder Executive Editor and Social Media ninja will be joining us on next weeks Social Media Boot Camp. In the live training course, we will explore Blogging – Building Your Home Base.
I have asked Sarah to share some strategies and secrets on how she continually creates valuable content to distribute across networks. A social network has little value for a business if you can’t create and distribute valuable content.
You won’t want to miss this session – Sarah is a unique professional and always has delivers killer information. See you virtually on Tuesday!
Online Sales Counselor Success – Video Post
I have the distinct pleasure of working with two fantastic people at top 100 builders.
Russ Klintworth is the OSC for Simmons Homes and Elena Mora works her magic as an OSC at Ideal Homes.
They both have high conversion rates and set a lot of appointments. Do you notice some similarities to what they attribute their success?
Thank you both for letting me interview you and post it here. Are you an OSC? What do you attribute your success to?
