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! 

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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!  

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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!