A lot of you know that I just spoke at Inman News Real Estate Connect in New York and I have to tell you that it was an amazing experience. After the presentation, a lot of people approached me and thanked me for inspiring them to do things differently and to go above and beyond and not settle for average.
Because I was asked to share the presentation, I decided to do it here at Agent Genius. The whole concept of New Media is that you can take a small idea and make it great. There are no rules when it comes to Internet Marketing and the more creative and open you are, the better. As long as you are genuine and have no hidden agenda, there are no boundaries.
Official Launch
The first thing I will share with you is that you must complement, link and find a balance between your online and offline marketing efforts. I’m not just talking about the obvious, like including your blog and social media efforts in all your print advertising (a lot of us have done away with the majority of print due to the high costs and weak results). I’m talking about doing an official launch of your efforts, your blog and your brand.
You can achieve this with a press release (both online and offline). We had a professionally written press release done when we launched Miamism.com and sent it not only to the local media (small and large publications, news channels, magazines, etc), but also to PRWeb where it was picked up by a lot of different sources.
We’ve also found that press releases are helpful when you change something in your marketing, whether it’s a fresh new look to your blog, announcing a new team member or even an upcoming speaking engagement. It’s official, local media channels are now looking to local bloggers for content.
Expect good and bad press….it’s part of the equation – but always remember that the way you react to that press will set you apart from your competition.
Identify your sphere of influence offline &
reward them using your online influence
When you go to Realtor School (for the record….i am not trivializing this, although I should), the first thing they teach you is to hit your sphere of influence. In my opinion there are good ways and bad ways of doing this. You can choose to just mail them hand written cards from here to eternity, you can call them and remind them what a wonderful Realtor you are, or you can be different.
So why not use your online influence to help others? We started with restaurant reviews of places where we know the owners and they take time to engage us (very similar to the way we do business). We took photos of with the owners, made fun posts and later asked them to include simple window clings with our website somewhere in the entrance to their establishment.
We are also constantly looking around to see who can benefit from our online presence – our pediatrician, a new local business, local photographer…..you name it. We help them and expect nothing in return.
New Media gives you the power to connect with your community at many different levels and in the words of Benn Rosales (who I thank for letting me attempt to fill his shoes at Inman) -
By using social media we are able to create what we call “the bowl” – we’re able to actively help others, and in return, they very often pay it forward.
….stay tuned for taking your brand to the next level
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Consumerism, Geo-mapping columnist
Marketing columnist
Thank so much for sharing your presentation Ines. I bet NY was awesome.
Ines,
Thanks for the tips. I am getting ready to launch a local addition to my blog and these are good ideas!
Ines, you were awesome in New York and you are awesome here. Thanks for sharing your experiences…I find these real-life examples to be extremely motivational. The only problem is, between you and the rest of the speakers last week, my to-do list has grown to a mile long! Not complaining. I just have to really sit down and create a plan before I start doing things willy-nilly.
Thanks, again, and it was great to meet you IRL!!!
Wonderful message.
I followed Inman from afar and wish I could have been there in person.
“We help them and expect nothing in return.”
Wouldn’t the world be a much better and very different place if everyone took that position?
Ines… you killed it at Inman. I know you have very little time to prepare, but it didn’t show. Why? Because you know your shit. It’s that simple. Well done.
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Monika – I’ll keep sharing….it’s only right – the real live audience was just a small part of it…and yes…..had a BLAST!
Marvin – glad to be of help, just know that there are no rules and you can think outside the box.
Lisa – thank you so much, it was so great to meet you and hang out with you. I love leaving these conventions feeling empowered, especially when the rest of the world seems to be so negative. May your list get shorter.
Mike – the world would definitely be a better place, thank you.
Jeff – I can’t tell you how cool it was to present right after you and then share Q&A’s together….maybe we can make this a habit
Ines,
Good practical information and tips are always hard to come by. Thanks!
I soo wished I could attend ICNY. (or was it IheartNY?). One question – were people Twittering in the audience like at Jeff’s performance in Orlando?
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Hi Gretchen – too bad you couldn’t make it….great stuff. People were definitely twittering in the audience – I found a lot of it afterwards – go take a look at the hash tags and you’ll get a good laugh.
Ines – I don’t know if anyone combines the local and personal with the online as well as you do.
I keep learning from the best here..thanks for sharing your insights from Inman!
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Paula, you are too kind – I’ll keep sharing…..it’s what I do best
What a great post! You’ve given me insight into how I can take my web endeavors to a whole new level. Cheers!