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Next Stop – Providence, Rhode Island

One annual real estate conference down and four more to go for the Union Street Media team! This week, the NHAR Conference in Portsmouth, NH gave us a great opportunity to visit with current clients, connect with other industry vendors, and enjoy some fresh seafood.

Next stop:

Providence, Rhode Island for the MAR Conference on Wednesday and Thursday of next week. Although there will be a “Tech Tutor Corner” set up we’re hoping you’ll stop by our booth if you have any questions about your site or it’s features. We’re also happy to give you feedback on questions about social media, QR codes, or other forms of internet marketing.

NHAR Recap: At NHAR, we were thrilled to engage with over 40 REALTORS at our presentation From Lawn Signs to Social Media.  Although John Merse, our Marketing Manager and the presenter, could not accurately identify Freddie Mercury, he did offer some valuable insight into current internet marketing strategies and how to align them with more traditional forms of marketing. For those of you who couldn’t make it, here are the main takeaways:
  • When writing content and thinking about your overall search engine goals, focus on attainable keywords that are specific to your market. By focusing on the people who are actually looking for your services, even if you get less overall traffic, the “qualified” visitors to your site will improve.
  • Social media can be a beneficial and useful tool in your Internet Marketing arsenal, but try and focus on mastering one platform at a time without diving into all five at once. Also, you don’t need to see a slew of “Likes” or comments for your post to be effective. Social media platforms often act as referral sites – drawing additional visitors into your site to engage with its tools and search for listings.
  • Review sites like Yelp and Google Local are important to clients looking for a trustworthy, knowledgeable REALTOR. Make sure you utilize these review sites and monitor bad responses. Remember – a bad review is an opportunity – when you know someone had a negative experience, you can act on it.
  • Data should play an important role in making decisions regarding your internet marketing strategy. Make sure you have a working knowledge of tools like Google Analytics so that you can keep an eye on how effectively your site is reaching and engaging your clients.
  • Spend well, not more. Print ads still have a place in most marketing strategies but you may see more return on a Pay Per Click campaign or search engine optimization, which will boost exposure and site traffic. If people begin their real estate search online, then you want to reach them early in their search process, instead of relying on traditional outbound marketing outlets.
MAR Highlights

Although we won’t be hosting a presentation in Providence, we’re excited to hear from some other speakers, including Deb Agliano whose Don’t be a Twit – Social Media Etiquette course promises to be a fun, informative take on proper communication through social media tools.

We will have a booth at the conference where we’ll be highlighting our improved mobile platform, offering a sneak peek at our brand new detail and list views, discussing recent (free) system wide upgrades, and reviewing new options for agent sites. Hoping to see some current clients and new faces next week!

Special thanks to the following clients for coming by our booth to say hello at the NHAR Conference: Antonia Andreoli and Cindy Westover of Galloway Services, Vanessa Stone of Vanessa Stone Real Estate, Alan DeStefano of Granite Group Realty, Alan DiStasio and Linda Rosenthall of Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty, Ted Bateman of Exit Realty Leaders, Antonella Bliss and Rose Robinson of Coldwell Banker Wright Realty, Joy Tarbell and Suzie Laskin of JtRealty Lakefront to Mountainside, and Deborah Booth of Century 21 Highview.