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Your Bi-Weekly Bright Idea Update from RealSupport!

We strive to keep our clients updated on the latest and greatest when it comes to marketing and technology. Below are this weeks "Bright Ideas"...

Manage your online reputation with Yelp - what is it and why do you care?
There are many opinion websites out there but Yelp has thrived while others have generally petered out. According to their site, as of February 2009, more than 20 million people visited Yelp in the previous 30 days. As a Real Estate Agent or Broker, Why Do YOU Need to Know About Yelp?

AmericanTowns.com - A Great Resource
AmericanTowns.com is a site that provides community information and more importantly local events, seminars, etc for specific towns. Consumers can search by town, then by date, type of event, venue, etc. It is a really great resource for agents and can be used in a several different ways...

Press Release - Agent Credits Real Estate Virtual Assistant Team for Open House Success
Here at RealSupport, we send out a monthly press release to a number of different media outlets and recommend this to all of our clients. This month, we featured a client of ours who had an exceptionally successful open house and was surprised to receive several offers above asking price after RealSupport’s effective online marketing of the property had been completed.


Until next time,

Carrie, Erica, Jen, Lori, Megan & Chelsea
RealSupport Inc. - Providing superior Real Estate Virtual Assistant services to Real Estate professionals nationwide since 2000.

Testimonials | View Our Samples | Enter a Task | Follow Erica on Twitter | Follow Carrie on Twitter | Visit Us on Facebook

AmericanTowns.com - A Great Resource

What is AmericanTowns.com ?

AmericanTowns.com is a site that provides community information and more importantly local events, seminars, etc for specific towns. Consumers can search by town, then by date, type of event, venue, etc. It is a really great resource for agents and can be used in a several different ways.

As a Real Estate Agent/Broker, How can you use it?

1. Do you host any type of class, seminar, or event? If so, you can add it to this site for free. It displays nicely with your web address and information, and appears when anyone searches for that city or particular type of event.

2. Having a community events page is a great way to add constantly changing information to your website. Become a resource for leads searching for community events and things to do! This is a great site to check when adding events to your site, and provides all the right info, place, date, time, etc.

Don’t have time to update an events page – no problem! AmericanTowns also offers a widget, that you can add to your site for free, which posts the community calendar of your choice. See the screen shot to the right for how it displays. To use this feature, simply go to your preferred town on AmericanTowns.com and click the “Add a Community Calendar to Your Site” icon. This will provide you with HTML code to add to your site! So SIMPLE!

3. You can also find and submit community videos to this site. Have you created a community tour or perhaps a video of a condo complex? If so, you can add them to YouTube and follow some simple instructions (it all has to do with the tags to you add), then your video will show up on AmericanTowns.com .

This site has proven to be a helpful resource for my clients and me so far, and I would recommend utilizing it for your own business! I encourage you to add events, research local events or just have a look!

Need a Real Estate Virtual Assistant to help you implement these ideas? Contact us today. We're a team of real estate specific Virtual Assistants and because we're in the industry working with Top Producers every day, we know what works!

Jen Miller, Marketing Manager
RealSupport Inc.
Phone: 847-705-1655 x202
Email: Jen@RealSupportInc.com
www.RealSupportInc.com
Our Real Estate Client Testimonials
Our Real Estate Marketing Samples
Our Virtual Assistant Team



RealSupport Inc. - Providing superior Real Estate Virtual Assistant services to Real Estate professionals nationwide since 2000.

Manage your online reputation with Yelp - what is it and why do you care?

Recently, I was looking for the address of a place that I was going to host a baby shower at. When I did a google search for the address, a Yelp Review came up! It actually gave me all the information that I was looking for so I didn’t even have to find the “official website” of this place. I saw there was a review so of course I read it.

This personal experience opened my eyes to the power of Yelp. I’m trying to summarize what it is and why I think you as a Real Estate Agent or Broker need to know about it, but please post comments if you have any other questions and of course share your own personal experiences too since I’m new to “Yelping”.

What Is Yelp.com?
Yelp is an online city guide made up of reviews from real people. Users can search for what they are looking for by type (tacos) or by category (Hotels) or actual business names (StartingPoint Realty). Searches are all local by city or zip.

As a Real Estate Agent or Broker, Why Do YOU Need to Know About Yelp?
There are many opinion websites out there but Yelp has thrived while others have generally petered out. According to their site, as of February 2009, more than 20 million people visited Yelp in the previous 30 days. That is pretty significant.

  1. You will get organic search engine optimization and more traffic to your website: I have found that recently Yelp is coming up VERY high on the search engines. Among other things, because Yelp is all text and changes/updates often, the Search Engines LOVE it. Once your Yelp listing is found, the user can then click through to your website, thus allowing you to capture the lead and create traffic to your website.
  2. Reading reviews is what we do and it does impact our decisions: In general, I believe that our society is bombarded by advertisements and we have become so skeptical. I believe that because of the internet, we have all become little researchers... looking up everything we do or purchase to see what other people thought about it. When ordering online, I personally WILL read the reviews of a product (since most websites now offer this) and those reviews DO impact my final decision. No matter how much advertising I’ve seen about a product, if I’m ordering it and I see it has several bad reviews, I truly wouldn’t buy it. This is where we are as a society... we rely of other’s opinions and because these opinions are so readily available, they truly impact our decisions.
  3. Free exposure for your events and offers: If you host buyer/seller seminars, get them onto Yelp for FREE! If you don’t host buyer or seller seminars/events you should consider it ! Yelp also let’s you post Offers. A few that come to mind that you could create are “Free Comparative Analysis of your Home” or perhaps a “Free VIP Buyer Program - Get the Latest Listing Fast, Automated & No Obligation.” This is a huge community of people that are using Yelp as a social outlet, so DO take advantage of this large audience.
  4. Yelp Discussions: Worth mentioning but not as important as the three above is the conversation page on Yelp, better known as Yelp Talk. This page allows people to converse about any topic. I found a few Real Estate related conversations that would be relevant for an agent to respond to (and thus get more exposure and possible leads out of). However, I hesitate because I know Trulia offers this type of message board and it becomes addicting and I have never really heard of it paying off. I guess you could get creative about utilizing this section... What about a post like “I’ve got a buyer looking for a residential property in “whatever neighborhood”, if you live here and would consider selling, let me know”. Hmmmm, that might spark some interest?!?
  5. Free iPhone App for Yelp: For those of you with an iPhone, I need not say more... There is a free app available to iPhone users that connects them with Yelp and all the reviews. This is a powerful application that is widely used by iPhone users.


How to Get Started on Yelp...
You can be on Yelp as a Reviewer or a Business (or both). For the purpose of this blog post, I want you to get your business up, so here is how you can proceed. No time to get this set-up? RealSupport can help. Ask us about our services. This is the type of project we handle for our clients all the time! If you are a techie like me and you want to proceed on your own, here is what you need to do:


During both steps above, you’ll be asked to sign up as a Business Owner and you’ll also be asked to confirm your connection to the business. After your all set-up, you’ll want to be sure to populate your listing on Yelp with as much information as possible. They allow you to upload a photo/logo, add change your contact information, add content about your services, and links to your site. Fill it ALL in, the more content and information the better!!

In Addition:
You can also post sponsorship ads (like pay per clicks) if you want to use your advertising dollars on this popular site. You may get more bang for your buck here than a large site like Google.

They also provide a Yelp Badge, which is very cool. You can display this on your website, email signature, etc. I think this would be very powerful since it shows how many stars your Yelpers have rated you.


Need Help?
If you’re not up to the task, please contact RealSupport. We can help you set-up and manage your Yelp Business Owner page. In this day and age, it is so important to take control of your online reputation and take advantages of these well traveled sites. Call us, we can help!

Carrie Gable, President
RealSupport Inc.
Phone: 847-705-1655 x200
Email: Carrie@RealSupportInc.com
www.RealSupportInc.com
Our Real Estate Client Testimonials
Our Real Estate Marketing Samples
Our Virtual Assistant Team

RealSupport Inc. - Providing superior Real Estate Virtual Assistant services to Real Estate professionals nationwide since 2000.

Exciting Announcements & Your Bi-Weekly Bright Idea Update from RealSupport!


We strive to keep our clients updated on the latest and greatest when it comes to marketing and technology. Below are this weeks "Bright Ideas"...

Special Announcements:

We’re excited to introduce you to our newest team members. They have been in our extensive training program for the last three months and they're fully trained now. Their photos and profiles are below, enjoy!

Chelsea Laliberte, Listing Coordinator

Chelsea joined the RealSupport Inc. team in February of 2009. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Integrated Communications with a concentration in Public Relations from Roosevelt University in Chicago. While studying, Chelsea worked in two real estate offices where she developed a strong interest in real estate, particularly the marketing aspect. Chelsea made many lasting first impressions and built invaluable relationships while greeting guests, operating the switchboard and sustaining office cohesion. She was also responsible for creating weekly newsletters, flyers, brochures, and postcards.

With a genuine interest for Facebook and other Social Networking websites, Chelsea quickly fell into the role of our “Social Networking Guru” and has since created several “how-to” videos and educational write-ups for our clients. Her ideas and insight are often contributing factors when organizing and planning for our Social Networking webinars.

Chelsea’s extremely passionate and talented at writing, allowing her to dream up amazing ad copy for our clients listings. Prior to joining RealSupport, Chelsea had embarked on an 6 month position in London. She considers her experience there to have been life changing and feels blessed to have lived in such a beautiful, historic and vivacious city. Chelsea explains that her travels have shaped her outlook on life and contributed to her positive, determined and open-minded attitude. Chelsea’s personal interests include spending time with her family and friends, reading and listening to music.


Megan Quinn, Listing Coordinator

Megan joined the RealSupport Inc. team in February of 2009. A graduate of Columbia College in Chicago with a Bachelors of Art in Marketing Communications and Public Relations. Prior to joining RealSupport, Megan worked for a successful rental real estate property management company where she would maintain the master database of clients and write copy for email marketing campaigns. She would also handle the design, implementation, copy writing and production of the companies newsletters and marketing presentations. Her creative online and print marketing efforts significantly increased traffic and showing appointments at all properties.

Before diving into the real estate world, Megan was a Marketing Assistant for a reputable software company. There she was responsible for all trade show and event planning. She also coordinated several direct mail campaigns including email blasts and postcards. In addition, Megan also composed copy for marketing materials and wrote compelling press releases.

Her invaluable experience in marketing, accounting, fundraising, public relations and executive-level support aide her in providing superior services to our clients. Megan was born and raised in the Chicagoland area and she enjoys traveling, volunteering, working out, yoga, and spending time with her family and friends.



How can YOU attract more buyers? Are you setting yourself aside from your competition? Here are a couple ideas...
Frustrated? Running out of ways to attract quality buyer leads? Maybe you just need some fresh ideas!


Why We Love (and HATE) Automatic Syndication!
For those of you that are not familiar, syndication has become all the rage with MLS’s, websites, you name it. The way it works is you enter your listing onto one site, let’s say your MLS. Your MLS then “feeds” it (or sends the listings automatically) to several other sites. Click here for some pros and cons...

Do you have PR contacts? Here’s a little secret to get several queries (reporters LOOKING for sources) in YOUR Inbox daily!
Whether you or your Real Estate Virtual Assistant are writing your press releases, you are probably wondering if you’re sending and/or submitting them to the best places or websites. Are they getting picked up and are you getting the exposure you deserve? How would YOU like to know what the reporters WANT or NEED to write about?

Until next time,

Carrie, Erica, Jen, Lori, Megan & Chelsea
RealSupport Inc. - Providing superior Real Estate Virtual Assistant services to Real Estate professionals nationwide since 2000.

Testimonials | View Our Samples | Enter a Task | Follow Erica on Twitter | Follow Carrie on Twitter | Visit Us on Facebook

How can YOU attract more buyers? Are you setting yourself aside from your competition? Here are a couple ideas...

Frustrated?

Running out of ways to attract quality buyer leads?

Maybe you just need some fresh ideas!


Idea #1: Turning Renters INTO Buyers... Here's How!

Target RENTERS! RealSupport can design a custom 12 week postcard campaign targeting renters in a specific area of your choice. We would send out 1 card a week to the same group of renters for 12 straight weeks. Most renters are sick and tired of making their landlord rich, but don't think they can afford to buy a home... These cards will hopefully convince them otherwise and after receiving your cards for a consistent 12 weeks, ideally, the next step would be to contact you for more information. Bonus!! You can talk about the $8,000 tax credit! Now that's enticing!!

Idea #2: Host Educational Home Buyer Seminars!

Several of our clients have started to host (FIRST TIME) HOME BUYER SEMINARS.

These seminars are typically hosted by a real estate agent (you) and a mortgage broker. They are meant to inform the first time home buyer of the process and steps involved in buying their first home. Refreshments and snacks are typically offered. Clients are hosting these seminars either in their office, at a restaurant, a library meeting room, etc.

It's a casual NON-THREATENING way to get buyers in the door and make them feel comfortable working with you.

The marketing that we find to be most effective for these seminars is postcards and Craigslist ads. The Craigslist ads are re-posted weekly by us with the upcoming dates and locations. Our clients are also of course listing the seminars on their website as well. Free information on a topic they're already interested in. You've immediately become an expert in their eyes and they're likely to work with you vs. Joe Agent who just hopes they'll call and doesn't feel the need to educate his buyers.

Need a Real Estate Virtual Assistant to help you implement these ideas? Contact us today. We're a team of real estate specific Virtual Assistants and because we're in the industry working with Top Producers every day, we know what works. Let us put our experience and expertise to work for you while helping you take your business to the next level!

Warmest regards,
Real Estate Virtual Assistant - Erica Parpan


Erica Parpan, Operations Manager

RealSupport Inc.
Phone: 847-705-1655 x201
Email: Erica@RealSupportInc.com
www.RealSupportInc.com
Our Real Estate Client Testimonials
Our Real Estate Marketing Samples
Real Estate Virtual Assistant Team


RealSupport Inc. - Providing superior Real Estate Virtual Assistant services to Real Estate professionals nationwide since 2000.