About Lake County, IL

If you’ve been searching the internet for marketing tips lately, then you most likely know that this year, video is poised to become imperative to your online marketing efforts. As real estate virtual assistants, we make it our top priority to stay on top of the latest marketing trends and recommend the best ones to our clients. Video is going to be such an important part of marketing in 2012 because it is more personal. A potential client could get a sense of who you are, your personality and your level of professionalism, all based on a short video that you would post online. It’s an engaging and interesting way to put yourself out there, and since people are starting to respond more to video, you will find that this method of marketing will drive more traffic to your website.

One of the best parts about using video in online marketing is that there is a free platform for posting your informational, community and marketing videos in one place. I am, of course, referring to YouTube. While several real estate agents that I know of have a YouTube account, very few actually use it to its full potential. That’s why I thought I’d share a few quick tips on how you can maximize the use of your YouTube account and take your video marketing to the next level.

Connect YouTube with the rest of your social media sites. Now, you can connect your YouTube account to your Facebook page and Twitter account. This is a powerful tool because it will automatically put your videos on your social media sites, giving you even more online exposure. It also allows people to view your videos directly on a page where they can interact and comment on what they see. The best part is that as you upload, you can select which videos will go on your pages, so you can choose which you want to share and which you’d rather keep on your YouTube channel.

Customize your captions. Make your videos stand out by choosing what font, size and color you want your captions to have. You obviously want whatever caption you have to be keyword-rich, but you can tweak them to better match what colors are in your video. This is a great way to make your video marketing material stand out and look more professional. You can also adjust font size, so you can adjust that based upon who will be viewing your videos. For example, if you work with a lot of older clients, then you may want to make the font larger.

Use the “trends dashboard”. “Trending” doesn’t have to be limited to Twitter. YouTube’s trends dashboard gives you a look at what content is most popular right now, and it will keep you up-to-speed on the latest viral videos. This will give you an opportunity to get inspiration. You can see what viral videos are getting watched and take a few ideas for your own marketing videos. It’s a way to use what works for your own gain. Of course, you will still want to keep your videos professional, but you can use the trends dashboard to be creative and come up with some ideas that are fun, as well.

If you put effort and thought into your videos, you will find that they are a great way to get your brand exposure and to drive traffic to your website and social media sites. As your real estate virtual assistants, we feel that it’s important to be innovative and different in your marketing strategies, and using video is another way to put yourself ahead of the curve. We also would love give you some more ideas on how to make your videos great! Best of luck with your video marketing, and remember to have fun!

Sarah Kay
Social Media and Copywriting Team Leader

As you can tell by my photo, I'm not the most technically adept individual...but every once in a while I do learn a new thing or two.

This past weekend, I was going over some market data with a fellow real estate appraiser and he introduced me to free program called JING. Oh wow, is this program cool...especially for someone like me who doesn't do so well with many different types of programs which have data / graphs / charts etc that are not easily printed out or copied and pasted.

So, if you get a chance, take a look at JING. Essentially it is a screen capture tool that allows you to do whatever you need to without getting constrained by margins/formatting/scale etc. Based on the current appraisal of a Lake County successful restaurant, I was able to capture and reference graphs directly from the US Census website as well as FEMA (of course providing appropriate source references) but OMG...this program sure is easy and powerful.

if I did this right, they even have their own screencapture link where you don't have to send the 'media' can just send a link to minimize bandwidth....http://screencast.com/t/8icT01uGh

or you just cut and paste.....Voila:

ok, enough about a non-real estate topic...back to real estate

Michael Hobbs, PahRoo Appraisal & Consultancy

Buffalo Grove Realtor will help you find your dream home

As a very active Buffalo Grove Realtor, I have helped many families relocating to Buffalo Grove not only with finding a new home, but also by providing valuable information that will help them settle in and learn more about this wonderful community. As a life-long resident of the Chicago Northwest Suburbs, I’m excited to be able help you with learning about Buffalo Grove and hope that this Buffalo Grove area website will help you get a feel for Buffalo Grove and all that it has to offer.

As a full time Buffalo Grove Realtor from Coldwell Banker, I always have a pulse on the new listings, sold listings, price reductions, etc. This week, I will be listing a Buffalo Grove home for $299,000 in the Kildeer School District 96. This spectacular Buffalo Grove home will feature 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, newer updated gorgeous kitchen and baths. Please call me and I will provide you with all the details. If you would like more information about the schools, shopping, and recreational activities in Buffalo Grove, please click on my Buffalo Grove website

If you are looking for homes in the Buffalo Grove area, please search for homes here

The above post Buffalo Grove Realtor will help you find your dream home was written by Judy Greenberg at the Coldwell Banker Office at 350 Half Day Road in Buffalo Grove

If you would like more information about the Chicago Northwest Suburbs,including Kildeer, Libertyville, Buffalo Grove, Lincolnshire, Long Grove, Vernon Hills, and Lake Zurich please do not hesitate to call me at 847-602-5435 or email me at info@buffalogrovehomes.com

My websites, www.movetolonggrove.com , www.buffalogroveareahomes.com, andwww.vernonhills.homes-for-sale.com will provide you all the information regardless as to whether you are a potential buyer or seller!

Lake Forest's January Property sales were 8, down -20.0% from 10 in January of 2011 and -55.6% lower than the 18 sales last month. January 2012 sales were at their lowest level compared to January of 2011 and 2010. January YTD sales of 8 are running -20.0% behind last year's year-to-date sales of 10.

The Median Sales Price in January was $530,500, down -28.1% from $737,813 in January of 2011 and down -27.3% from $729,750 last month. The Average Sales Price in January was $862,000, up 7.0% from $805,563 in January of 2011 and down -10.6% from $963,889 last month. January 2012 ASP was at highest level compared to January of 2011 and 2010.

The Total Inventory of Properties available for sale as of January was 261, down -4.4% from 273 last month and down -23.0% from 339 in January of last year. January 2012 Inventory was at the lowest level compared to January of 2011 and 2010.

The January 2012 Months supply of Inventory of 32.6 months was at its lowest level compared with January of 2011 and 2010. A comparatively lower MSI is more beneficial for sellers while a higher MSI is better for buyers.

The average Days On Market (DOM) is how many days the average Property is on the Market before it sells. An upward trend in DOM tends to indicate a move towards more of a Buyer's market, a downward trend a move towards more of a Seller's market. The DOM for January was 106, down -42.7% from 185 days last month and down -62.0% from 279 days in January of last year. The January 2012 DOM was at a mid range compared with January of 2011 and 2010.

The Selling Price vs Original Listing Price is the average amount that Sellers are agreeing to come down from their original list price. The lower the ratio is below 100% the more of a Buyer's market exists, a ratio at or above 100% indicates more of a Seller's market. The January 2012 Selling Price vs Original List Price of 87.8% was up from 76.9% last month and up from 77.5% in January of last year.

The number of New Listings in January 2012 was 33, up 120.0% from 15 last month and down -38.9% from 54 in January of last year.