Goal Setting for 2015

Have you set your goals for 2015? After taking the 6 Personal Perspectives of Leadership class last week I really believe setting goals is crucial in becoming successful. Not just 1 or 2 goals a year, but weekly, monthly and yearly goals.

Here are 3 tips on goal setting for 2015:

1.       Start to make goals for your personal life, business, and finances  

It is important to set goals in every aspect of your life – not just in your business. To give a broad, balanced coverage of all important areas in your life, try to set goals in some of the following categories or in other categories of your own, where these are important to you:

·         Career – What level do you want to reach in your career, or what do you want to achieve?

·         Financial – How much do you want to earn, by what stage? How is this related to your career goals?

·         Education – Is there any knowledge you want to acquire in particular? What information and skills will you need to have in order to achieve other goals?

·         Family – Do you want to be a parent? If so, how are you going to be a good parent? How do you want to be seen by a partner or by members of your extended family?

·         Physical – Are there any athletic goals that you want to achieve, or do you want good health deep into old age? What steps are you going to take to achieve this?

Spend some time brainstorming   these things, and then select one or more goals in each category that best reflect what you want to do. Then consider trimming again so that you have a small number of really significant goals that you can focus on. As you do this, make sure that the goals that you have set are ones that you genuinely want to achieve.

2.       Once you have your BIG Goals for the year -  get smaller ones for the month/week

Start with what you want to accomplish in the next year. Then once you have decided on that write down the goals you would like to set monthly to reach your annual goal. Then go into weekly goals to be able to make the monthly goals. Here is a spread sheet from the 6 Personal Perspective Leadership class that really helps you break all of your goals down.

3.       Have SMART Goals

A useful way of making goals more powerful is to be SMART.

·         S – Specific (or Significant)

·         M – Measurable (or Meaningful)

·         A – Attainable (or Action-Oriented)

·         R – Relevant (or Rewarding)

·         T – Time-bound (or Trackable)

For example, instead of having "to have more closings" as a goal, it's more powerful to say "To have 18 closings by October 3rd, 2015." Obviously, this will only be attainable if a lot of preparation has been completed beforehand!

When you set clear, passionate and definitive goals you will find that this process naturally increases your desire, passion, and motivation to become the best “YOU” you can be. The process of goal setting naturally focuses your awareness not only onto your future, but it also redirects it internally on to yourself. Goal setting will help you identify both your strengths and weaknesses, as well as possible unfulfilled desires that have been in the back of your mind for years.

If you have not taken the 6 Personal Perspectives of Leadership class, I highly recommend it. It really helped me become aware of exactly what I want in the year of 2015 and how I can get there.

If you need help setting your marketing goals for 2015 CONTACT ME  or sign up for my BUSINESS BUILDER CLASSES starting in Jan 2015! 

Digital Marketing Trends and Predictions We See For 2015

What’s in store for digital marketing in the upcoming year? What trends will stay the same and what new ones will we see? Digital marketing has transformed over the last few years becoming very important in creating an online brand experience.

Here are 7 digital marketing trends and predictions we see for 2015.

1. Rise in Content Marketing

The importance of content marketing strategies will continue in the upcoming year. The rise of creativity and more relevant and inspiring content will be the basis of what marketers will use. Instead of relying on tested solutions, companies will pay more attention to customer experience and client-oriented information. Real Estate Agents with blogs are expected to generate 67% more leads per month than those that don’t have blogs. High-quality and relevant content will be key to digital marketing of the future.

2. Wearable Technology

Closing the gap between the online and offline experience will be a big step in the future. New “Smartwatches” and "iGlasses" will be tremendously popular. This will create a completely new kind of environment and we will have to keep up with its rapid development in order to stay in touch with the changing needs of consumers.

3. Analytics Will Bloom

We already use a few different analytic tools in order to see how our customers at Keller Williams interact with the agent’s websites. The importance of SEO and other analytic systems will rise in 2015 because internet use to find new Real Estate is expected to rise by 60%. Marketing automation technologies are predicted to grow by 50%, which means marketing data will become easier to understand and faster.

4. VIDEO VIDEO VIDEO

During the last few years, the use of video marketing has been steadily growing. Videos are perfect to show your personality, virtual tours, testimonials and more. It really connects with the customer and show how creative you really can be which is impossible to achieve with text or images only. With video you can do visual storytelling to help draw in your clients.  In 2015, Real Estate Agents will continue to add videos to their websites and generate leads through YouTube. Those who take advantage of this will definitely receive more leads.

5. Personalize Everything

Interaction with content will continue to grow. By offering personalized content Real Estate Agents will be able to increase the number of sales, and inspire clients to talk to other people they know about using them, and to stay longer on their websites. Personalization is expected to become a widely adopted practice in 2015, leading to the growth of 1-to-1 marketing.

6. Online Ads

Today, people spend their time during work and free time online which gives marketers great opportunities for targeting and tracking options that are unavailable in offline advertisements. Internet advertising is predicted to rise by 10% in 2015. Mobile ads are expected to grow by 48%! It is important to understand that you will need to spend money to receive more money in the future. With increasing your online ad spending you will see the results in lead generation. Targeted ads are considered twice as effective as non-targeted. By using Facebook and other social media website advertisements you can really tap into your target market or “farm” area you are trying to sell to.

7. Go Mobile

The importance of mobile will grow in each and every aspect of business in 2015. People use mobile devices all day long and in various contexts, allowing us to target them no matter what time of day or what they are doing. Some believe that the mobile web will become bigger than desktop usage in 2015.

In order to stay ahead, make sure when you are slower this month to catch up on your online recognition. Make a plan for 2015 on what you would like to accomplish. Once you have done this and you know the exact target market or “Farm” area you want to reach feel free to CONTACT ME and we can go over what you need to do digitally for 2015. 

For more Real Estate News & How I Can Help You: CLICK HERE

#DidYouKnow Facts About Google

#DidYouKnow the prime reason the Google home page is so bar is due to the fact that the founders didn’t know HTML and just wanted a quick interface.

#DidYouKnow one of the biggest leaps in search usage came about when they introduced their much improved spell checker giving birth to the “Did you mean..” feature.

#DidYouKnow the name Google was an accident. A spelling mistake made by the original founders who thought they were going for ‘Googol’.

#DidYouKnow 15% of Google searches each day have never been searched before.

#DidYouKnow if you go into Google Maps, click on the satellite view and zoom out as much as possible you can see an amazing view of earth with real time shadows. You can see real time clouds if you zoom in twice.

#DidYouKnow Should a U.S. Google employee pass away while under the employ of the 14-year old search giant, their surviving spouse or domestic partner will receive a check for 50% of their salary every year for the next decade. 

#DidYouKnow Google has a new program that will actually plan your wedding - Google Wedding.

#DidYouKnow Google has acquired more than one company every week since 2010.

#DidYouKnow 96% of Google’s revenue comes from advertising alone.

#DidYouKnow Google employees don’t have to walk more than 150 feet for lunch or a snack.

Google’s influence on the digital marketing world is immeasurable and their influence touches just about every channel that we marketers work with on a daily basis. I hope you found at least a few of these facts as interesting or new and continue to understand the importance of Google and SEO with your marketing plans. 

For more Real Estate News & How I Can Help You: CLICK HERE

7 WAYS TO INCORPORATE GRATITUDE IN YOUR MARKETING

This is one of the best weeks of the year in my opinion - short work week, lots of "Happy Thanksgiving" greetings as I go about my day, and four days of family, friends, food, football and fun to look forward to. With Thanksgiving this week I thought a blog on how to create marketing content with gratitude would be the perfect way to start off the week.

Instead of always focusing on how to get more from everyone, Realtors should also spend time considering how to show thanks for their clients, vendors, partners and fellow realtors they work with. Appreciation can be a valuable marketing strategy, especially when it's done sincerely.

Thanksgiving week offers the perfect opportunity to share our thoughts on how to show gratitude within your marketing.

Saying "thank you" is one of the most powerful things you can do as a business. While so much of your day communicates "what we do" as a company, showing appreciation speaks loudly to who you are and how you are viewed as a Realtor, which is a huge role in your success. Here are 6 ways on how to do just that.

1. Thank you for your interest.
Your business will encounter people you may not feel inclined to thank. Thank people for their interest in your company and be honest about their chances of engaging with you at this time. Whether on the phone, through an automated email or in person, be sincere and upbeat. These people get so many rude brush-offs that they will appreciate and remember a fresh approach.

2. Thank you for visiting.

If someone visits your website and fills out a form, make sure they get an immediate thank you email with some valuable information – set them up on a 12 direct campaign, for example. Make sure to follow up in the timeframe promised, whether it's within 48 hours or by the end of the week.

3. Thank you for your time.

Whenever someone grants you a meeting, they are giving you precious time. A quick "thanks for your time" is not enough. Within a day or two or a prospect giving you a sales meeting or a new colleague meeting you for coffee or lunch, send a handwritten thank you for the time. Since so few people do this, the gesture will be remembered.

4. Thank you for the referral.

Referrals are the greatest gifts you will receive in the course of your business. Treat them - and the people who give them - like gold. We advise clients to send personal thank you notes to anyone who gives them a referral. If the referral turns to business, a small gift of thanks is appropriate - flowers, a gift card, a bottle of wine, for example.

5. Thank you for the great job.

You pay your assistants and expect them to deliver good work. Taking it one step further, however, does a lot to build goodwill and nurture a long-term relationship. For your best vendors or partners, a referral or introduction into a new business is always appreciated. You could also post an endorsement on their LinkedIn account or link to their site from yours.

6. Thank you for your help.

As a realtor, you work with many other realtors every day whether it be in the office or out on the sale. If a sale goes smoothly make sure to explain how thankful you are for their work and hopefully to work with them again in the future.

7. Thank you for your business.
Your clients have paid you the highest compliment by buying from you. The best way to thank them is to make them glad they did, by delivering optimum quality and service at every turn. But don't forget to simply say thank you whenever possible as well. Some natural points of contact for a thank you include when a client signs on with your firm, when you send them a bill, when you close out a project or during the holidays. Even more powerful is an unexpected thank you - how about a phone call, lunch, or gift when it's least expected, just for being a client? Client appreciation events are a huge way to thank them. We are having a Client Appreciation day for Christmas which some Keller Williams Agents are giving away Trees and Wreaths to their clients for the Holidays. This is a way to get your thank you’s out to everyone you have been meaning to talk to and hopefully return some business as well.

Now it's your turn. Get out there and show your clients your gratitude which in turn will create more business! 

For more Real Estate News & How I Can Help You: CLICK HERE!

Seven Tips To Revitalize Your Brand

Revitalizing your brand is not often easy and means assessing where you came from, where you are now, and where you want to go from there. The best way to totally revitalize your brand is to start back at the very beginning. Here are tips on how to help you create the brand you want. 

1. Know Your Brand Inside & Out 

What are the core values of your business/organization? What are some key words, short phrases, and descriptions that best depict what you do or want to be doing? What is its purpose? What is your brand promise? Before attempting to rebrand your business, you must fully understand its motives and inner workings.  Your brand has a personality because in Real Estate your brand is YOU and how you want to come across. Without a good knowledge of how you want to represent yourself, how can you expect to sell it to someone else?

2. What Is The Purpose Of Your Work? 

Has this changed over time? What was it when you started and what is it now? What makes you unique and different from other Real Estate Agents? What role do you provide in your partnerships with others? This information is what becomes your new mission statement or tagline.

3. What are your goals?

What do you want to accomplish over the next 1 to 10 years? Think big and keep referring back to your core values. Being reminded of what you value and what will keep you interested in your work are the same things that will be engaging to other people. Make checklists of your goals. Asking yourself these questions is the beginning of a new strategic plan. 

4. Understand Your Consumers

To improve your branding, you’ve got to know your customers.  What are their demographics? Have these people changed since you began in Real Estate? Establishing your target market and how you want to communicate your brand are essential for successful branding. 

5. Match Your Strengths With Their Weaknesses

Now that you have a firm grasp on your company’s purpose and a better understanding of its consumers, it’s time to bring the two together.  How can you as a Real Estate Agent help this particular customer?  What makes you different? Consider how you want the audience to feel when they think of your brand.

6. Look The Part

Consumers are exposed to thousands of marketing messages per day.  These messages are all around us in all different forms (billboards, signs, newspaper ads, online pop-up ads, labels, commercials, direct mail pieces, etc.).  Not all of these messages we absorb because the brain can only process so much at a time.  Naturally, many marketing messages will go unnoticed. Therefore, it’s crucial that your branding be as eye-catching and appealing as possible.  Visual design serves as a first impression.  Consumers choose brands based on their credibility.  Design can say just as much about your credibility as the valuable content you produce and goods/services you provide.  Fonts, colors, imagery, and textures you are using can have an effect on how you come across. They can help you create a new visual language and identity. 

7. Back it up with valuable content

You've hooked the consumer with your graphic design and photography.  Now, you’ve got to continue proving your credibility with valuable content.  Your website and social media should accurately describe your company, your services, and how it benefits customers.  Use social media to encourage consumer engagement.  This can be achieved by providing interesting daily updates, asking questions, and offering contests or giveaways.  Your blog will be a source of frequent, in-depth information on industry-related topics.  

Once you have finished going through the steps above, I think you will find you have already revitalized your brand. It is not one simple action that changes things, it is a transformation in how you are thinking about your company and then choosing words and a new visual language that "feels" in alignment. Try to stay focused on your core values before you focus on who you are trying to reach. If you stay grounded in what you value, your purpose, and goals, you will attract the right people to your community. Then it is just a matter of choosing the right marketing channels for sharing and broadcasting. If you would like more help on how to revitalize your brand contact your Marketing Coordinator!  

For more Real Estate News & How I Can Help You: CLICK HERE!

What is a #Hashtag and How To Use It For Marketing?

#Hashtags are everywhere on Marketing Materials these days. They are all over Social Media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, and Facebook. They are on TV ads, mobile ads, and pretty much every where you look now you see one. As a  marketer, you can’t ignore them. You need to know how to strategically implement these tagged topics.

What is the #Hashtag?

#Hashtags are a word, or group of words after the # sign (#RealEstate, #KellerWilliams, #Marketing).They are a way to engage your brand with your market.

What Can The #Hashtag Do? 

#Hashtags can expand your content reach, amplify your brand, target your market, get your content found, and improve your SEO.

How To Use #Hashtags for Marketing?

There are three different #Hashtag techniques you can use for a marketing campaign: Brand/Campaign #Hashtags, Trending #Hashtags, and Content #Hashtags. 

Brand/Campaign #Hashtags

Brand and campaign specific #Hashtags are tags that you make for your own business. Use them to market your brand and promotions.

A brand #Hashtag is your company name or tagline. Make a brand #Hashtag that defines your business. For Example: Nike’s signature #Hashtag is #JustDoIt. Most people know that this is their tagline. They use it all the time on all social media and a lot of other people use it as well which helps give their brand recognition.

A campaign #Hashtag is made for each of your marketing campaigns. If you have a big event coming up, you can make a unique #Hashtag to further promote it. Get people to use them, and your campaign gets extended reach. For Example: If you want to do a contest on your Facebook business page for the Holidays you could create a #Hashtag to go with all the promotion you do for it. #RoycraftRealEstateContest

Trending #Hashtags

A trending #Hashtag is continuously changing and can come and go within minutes. They are usually a Holiday, something big going on in the news, or trends that have gotten reached worldwide. When you see a trend that relates to your business, engage in it by using the tag. This could potentially get your message seen to a massive audience. Do not post too many trends or trends that are unrelated to your business because it is viewed as poor etiquette.  Twitter and Google+ show you trending topics right on their sites.  Trends on Twitter can be found on the left hand side of your computer Twitter feed. You can change the trends based on geographic location, or who you follow. Trends on Google+ are found in the “What’s Hot” section. A good rule of thumb is to check this daily to see what is trending and think of a post that could tie into your brand. For Example: #TBT #FashionWeek #VetransDay #MusicMonday #TransformationTuesday #SuperBowl #FootballSunday

Content #Hashtags

Content #Hashtags are common #Hashtags that are related to your post content. They improve the SEO of your posts and get your updates seen by your consumers who are searching for, or using the hashtag words. For example, as a Real Estate Agent you could use content #Hashtags like #RealEstate, #ForSale or #OpenHouse #NewListing #ElkRiverHomes.

If you do it right, your marketing campaign can become very successful with the use of #Hashtags. If you would like more information on how to get started on your own marketing campaign with #Hashtags contact your MarketingCoordinator.

For more Real Estate News & How I Can Help You: CLICK HERE!

HOW TO GIVE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA A HOLIDAY MAKEOVER

With the Holidays being right around the corner it is never too early to start thinking about your holiday marketing plan.

A simple and affordable way to embrace this festive time of year is to coordinate your social media channels to reflect the holidays this season. Make sure to keep it fun and engaging for all your friends to see!

Cover Photos
The cover photo is the first and most prominent thing people will see when they go to your page whether it be on Facebook or Twitter. Design a cover photo or multiple cover photos and update your page to coordinate with any of the upcoming holidays or holiday promotions you are running. It’s important that your cover photo represents your business, but also feels specific to the current time of year. Around the holidays, I recommend using fall or winter colors, and incorporating traditional items such as pumpkins or snowflakes. Make this creative by using Photoshop or Publisher. You can Google free holiday pictures but I think making one with your own personal touch will go a lot further. Find a picture you like and add your name or business logo to make it more connected to you directly.

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Profile Photos
Many businesses upload their Profile Photo when they create their page, and never think to change it again. These businesses are missing out on a key asset that can be customized to reflect the mood of your page during the holiday season. As a best practice, you should always stick to an image that helps people identify your small business, but you can have some fun with it too. A simple way to give your profile picture a seasonal feel is to overlay your logo on an image.
For example: We made Maria Jondahl's profile picture a picture from Halloween. This is fun and stands out to people but at the same time is still appropriate for her business.

Social Media Content

• Do a Holiday Contest. Come up with a way to engage people on your page and tie it into the Holidays. For example: Tell everyone on your page to bring to your office a gift for Toys for Tots and to guess how many you will actually get during the two week period. After the two weeks, turn them in to Toys for Tots and count how many gifts you got. Whoever guessed how many you received will get a Starbucks gift card. This way it will motivate people towards a good cause but also pulls engagement on your page.
• Highlight Your Company’s Festive Culture. Share pictures of your office space, your business’s holiday parties, your staff’s holiday spirit, or your participation in charitable events.

• Ask Questions. Ask your fans and followers what they’d love to receive this year, what their favorite thing about the Holiday's is, what their traditions are every year, etc.

• Remind Your Fans and Followers of Your Shared Values. If your support a particular cause, like Toys for Tots, warm their hearts by sharing your story. 

• Don’t Go Overboard. Just because it’s the holiday season doesn’t mean you need to create an elaborate or cheesy marketing campaign. Share a personal holiday experience you think your customers will enjoy to help humanize your brand and show your customers it’s not all about the promotion.

The Holidays are a great time to help people connect with you on a deeper level then just doing work with you. Show them that you a real person that they can relate to. Nobody wants to do business with a Grinch!

For more Real Estate News & How I Can Help You: CLICK HERE!

10 Ways To Make Your Social Media Posts Stand Out!

Social Media trends are changing all the time but the most crucial part about crafting the post is how valuable it is to the consumer.

Here are 10 tips to make your social media posts stand out:

1.  Be Inspiring, Interesting, & Informational

A post needs to be one that that others find enough value in to share with friends and colleagues. You gain credibility by including citations and references, and by sharing your expert sources.

2.  Post to Answer Questions

Post with your audience in mind: know what their questions and concerns are and why they’re using social media. Answer questions in a post before people have to ask them. Show them you care what they think and want them to understand the importance of working with you.

3.  Write Great Headlines

Create compelling headlines for optimal social media shares. Be creative and find ways to get your point across in a short crisp way.

4.  Use Your Key Words

Use key words from your website on your social media to help with SEO. Add posts from your website on Social Media websites to increase awareness.

5.  Give Your Posts Time

When writing longer posts, give your posts a day or two to age.  This gives you time to switch gears between writing and editing to really fine tune your post.

6. Don’t Always Post About Business

Post DIY’s or fun tips about certain seasons, holidays, or other ideas your customers would find interesting. 

7. Ask Questions

Get the customer involved by asking a question or tell them to add a caption. This will help with engagement to your page.

8.  Use Quality Images

You can exercise greater hold on your readers’ attention with interesting photos, screenshots, or graphics.  Ensure they’re of high quality and relevant to your post for visually stimulating engagement.

9.  Avoid Repetition

Don’t try to force your ideas with filler content; if you’re satisfied with what you've got, stop writing. Edit after you've finished writing.

10.  Share Other People’s Articles You Like

Show that you know what is going on in the business and stay up to date with changes. Share interesting or informational posts you find online.

If you follow these ten tips you will stand out!  Your customers will love to comment and share your posts and will come to you with questions in your field because you are the expert. Now get out there and start posting! 

For more Real Estate News & How I Can Help You: CLICK HERE!