Video from the International Builders’ Show – Day 1
Great day at the International Builders’ Show. There is a lot of positive energy in the halls. I was able to ambush a few great folks on the first day.
Tim Costello, CEO of BHI (newhomesource.com and the newly formed Builders Digital Experience) who shared some great new tools available for builders (plus his story about driving Betty)
Jeff Shore talking about opportunities for builders to rethink their strategies for 2010 and overcoming addictions to “b-backs”
Finally, the good people at Graphic Language have a new “revolutionary marketing tool for homebuilders, real estate folks, and their agencies to broadcast, propagate, manage, and track new home listings online” that they are launching at the show – newhomefeed.com (Robert O’ Shaughnessy can explain)
Stay tuned for more videos coming as fast as I can upload over 3G…
Podcast: Interview with Sarah Yaussi from Big Builder on Blogging, Twitter and Content
Tune in for the full interview with Sarah Yaussi as we discuss blogging, Twitter, and Social Media goodness. Learn how you can create valuable content and spread it out amongst all the appropriate networks. We explore what this means for homebuilders and tips on how to use effectively. You can also view the follow-up article she wrote below the podcast player. Enjoy.
A big fat “thank you” to Sarah Yaussi, the Executive Editer 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/
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?
Guest Blog: Sell Your Music
By Steve McAuliffe, MIRM, CSP
How many of you have seen the movie Rocky? Were you motivated? Did it make you feel good? Would you have been as motivated if there was no music?
Music plays a big part in our lives. Relaxing, Soothing, Motivating, Energizing. It reminds you of the good times, good friends, and beautiful places.
It comes in all forms, from classical to hip-hop to electronic, and effects each of us in different ways.
Any time a new community or neighborhood is about to be announced there is a lot of new information to digest and share with your potential buyers. Let’s be reasonable. You can’t learn everything overnight and even if you did, you wouldn’t have the time to formulate the information in to a concise and meaningful presentation.
That leaves us with our Music! People will buy your music before your words. What they are really listening to is your excitement, your belief, and your conviction level.
And this is true whether you are at the beginning or end of a project. Whether you are a hostess, secretary, sales professional, design coordinator, receptionist, or manager.
It’s your unique brand of enthusiasm. It’s a burning desire from within that people want to be a part of.
When you walk into a room you either brighten it or dim it. If you brighten the room, that’s part of this desire that is burning within you. People see it. They want to be a part of it. People are looking for someone to believe in… someone that believes in them. It comes down to just becoming aware. Keep your awareness level up and be aware of the energy you are portraying. I can’t emphasize this enough. Successful people are defined by their music, by their energy, and by the enthusiasm they show. I’m not saying to go overboard and become giddy. I’m talking about the ability to simply portray a relevant message.
Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Successful people live out of their comfort zone. Successful people play where the opportunity is.
Some of the wealthiest people in our industry stay intelligently ignorant. What I mean by that is they don’t get caught up in all the latest sales technique fads and concepts that are constantly being lobbed at them. Focus on your music, the rest will come.
Time For Band Camp!
Steve McAuliffe, MIRM, CSP, is Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for JMC Communities in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is past-president of the Contractors and Builders Association of Pinellas County, life director of the Tampa Bay Builders Association, director of both NAHB and FHBA, and licensed Florida Real Estate Broker (president of JMC Realty, Inc.). Steve served on both the IRM and NSMC Board of Trustees and served as chair of the MIRM Designation Promotion Committee for two years. A past SMC chair for FHBA and CBA, he has received NSMC Silver Marketing Director of the Year and MAME recognition over the years along with the John P. Hall Award at the 2003 SEBC.
www.jmcdev.com, www.twitter.com/SteveMcAuliffe and www.SteveMcAuliffe.wordpress.com
