Social Network - In Theaters This October
Grab your popcorn! Have you heard the news? There is a new “Facebook Movie” hitting theaters – The Social Network is set to release into theaters on October 1st. According to Wikipedia, this movie will be similar to the book The Accidental Billionaires, the film focuses on the early years of Facebook, which was founded in 2004.
Check out the trailer:
The film, possibly better known as “The Facebook Movie,” tracks the early days of the site that would grow to become, hands down, the biggest name in online social media.
“You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies,” the trailer reads.
In all seriousness – let that number sink in: 500 MILLION. Just to put that in perspective – it took 13 years for television to reach 50 million viewers! It’s taken Facebook barely 5 years to get to 500 million! The impact that Facebook has had on marketing – especially in the real estate world has been extraordinary!
I know I’m a social media nerd, but I’m really looking forward to this movie! What do you think? Will you see it? Leave me a comment below!
Special Thanks to: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News for bringing this to our attention.
Jul 10
1
Hooked on Facebook!
I’ll admit it. I’m hooked on Facebook. I somehow missed out on the whole MySpace craze (thankfully, visiting a MySpace page now just makes my eyes hurt) – but Facebook has me hook, line and sinker.
Recently on the Being BOB Blog, I wrote a post about taking social networks seriously, where I implied that you should be thinking about marketing your listings in the places where your target markets are these days. Believe me, that is rarely in the classifieds sections of the local newspaper anymore.
Now, industry social networks like ActiveRain are great for connecting with your peers; but let’s face it, consumers aren’t hanging out there. If you’re looking for buyers and sellers, in this day and age you need to be a little more creative.
This got me thinking on how you can take this idea and use social networks like Facebook to really power your business.
Here’s how:
1. Encourage past clients and new clients to ‘friend’ you or ‘add’ you to their networks. Include links to your profile in your marketing materials, business cards etc. Build a brand new online “sphere” (like the old “farm”).
2. Creating Groups – This is the most obvious way to use the site. Create a “Central New York Home Buyers” group for example and help first time buyers with their questions. Leverage your expertise to become the expert for the group.
3. Creating a unique Group is also a great way to keep in touch with business networking contacts you meet – maybe it’s at a local Chamber of Commerce meeting or even at a Real Estate conference. You can engage in post conference discussions, share information in a neutral open forum that doesn’t demand the intimacy of an email or telephone contact.
4. Shares – You could use Facebook to market properties to a select group or share properties with your friends. A handy bookmarklet lets you add external links to your Shares. You could add a link to a property from your own site, even add a listing etc.
Think about it, you could have an exclusive group of Realtors in your market, maybe it’s even inside your branch office, and you could share great listings with each other even before they hit the MLS.
5. If you’re a blogger, add your RSS feed to your profile. Facebook lets you add a Blog feed to your notes. You could find new readers and even drive traffic back to your blog by sharing your posts with your network.
Using social networking to your advantage is just another piece in the puzzle as you promote and expand your business. Clearly, you need to be where your customers are. I think that maximizing your exposure on social networks like Facebook is going to be increasingly important to small businesses – especially in industries that are already so network-dependent like real estate. Unfortunately, due to the fleeting nature of these sites, the trick is going to be to stay on top on where everyone is. The real danger is arriving too late and finding your audience has already moved on.
Jul 10
1
iPhone 4: What you need to know
Have you heard all the hype about the new iPhone and don’t know if it’s for you? MacWorld.com answered some frequently asked questions about Apple’s latest smartphone that could help you decide.
You would think an Apple-built smartphone would be old hat by now. After all, this is the fourth consecutive summer Apple will try to capture our hearts, minds, and disposable income with a brand new phone. Surely, after the first couple launches, we should pretty much know what to expect.
Credit to Apple, then, for keeping the mystery and excitement alive. The iPhone 4, unveiled Monday by Steve Jobs at the Worldwide Developers Conference, is nothing like a well-worn sequel to Apple’s previous smartphones. Instead, Jobs bills it as “the biggest leap since the original iPhone.” And after getting some face time with the iPhone 4, we’re inclined to agree.
What makes the iPhone 4 so special? How is it different from other iPhones? And how exactly can you get your hands on one? We take on all these subjects—and more—so that you’ll have all the answers to your iPhone 4 questions in one convenient place.
What’s new about the iPhone 4?
There are a number of new features in Apple’s latest iPhone—Steve Jobs’s proclamation that it’s a big leap over its predecessor isn’t just marketing spin. Leading the changes in this release is the high-resolution 960 by 640 pixel “Retina display,” which boasts four times as many pixels as the iPhone 3GS. Other marquee features include the ability to record high-definition 720p video with the built-in camera on the rear; a second front-facing camera primarily geared toward video chatting; and faster, 802.11n wireless networking.
All of that sounds intensive. Surely it takes a hit on battery life?
In fact, Apple claims that the iPhone 4 has better battery life than its predecessor, as the company was able to find the room for a higher-capacity battery coupled with the more energy-efficient A4 processor powering the iPhone 4.
The specs on the iPhone 4 call for up to seven hours of 3G talk time, 14 hours of 2G (EDGE) talk time, 300 hours of standby, six hours of 3G Internet use, ten hours of Wi-Fi Internet use, ten hours of video playback, or 40 hours of audio playback. Just for the sake of comparison, an iPhone 3GS promises up to five hours of 3G talk time, 12 hours of 2G talk time, 300 hours of standby, five hours of 3G Internet usage, nine hours of Wi-Fi browsing, ten hours of video playback, and 30 hours of audio playback. So to summarize, iPhone 4 users can expect to talk for two more hours, browse for 1 more hour, and listen to ten more hours of music than someone using an iPhone 3GS.
Do I have it right that there’s now glass on the front and back of the iPhone?
Yep. Apple’s using what’s called aluminosilicate glass, which it says is what you’ll find on helicopter and high-speed train windshields. It’s supposedly 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic, and features a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating. Which means it should actually be less susceptible to scratching than the original iPhone’s metal back.
You mentioned two cameras. Is either one better at taking pictures?
Apple has made a number of changes to the camera system on the iPhone, both in hardware and in software. The iPhone’s primary camera—the one mounted on its back—now has a 5-megapixel sensor, up from the 3GS’s 3-megapixel sensor. However, Jobs made a point of saying during his keynote that megapixels aren’t everything when it comes to taking pictures. For one thing, Apple kept the pixel size the same as before, rather than trying to cram more pixels into the same amount of space. The company also built in something called a “backside illumination sensor” that Jobs said gets more of the circuitry behind the sensor, allowing the sensor to grab more light—which should result in better pictures, especially in low light. And for those times when you really need them, there’s now an LED flash and a 5x digital zoom, as well.
The front-facing camera on the iPhone 4, however, is just VGA quality—640 by 480 pixels—but it should still be handy for self-portraits and the iPhone 4’s FaceTime video-chat feature (see below).
And one of those cameras also takes better video now too, right?
Yes. The iPhone 4’s rear-facing camera can shoot 1280-by-720-pixel video—also known as 720p HD—at up to 30 frames per second, compared to the iPhone 3GS’s 640-by-480 pixels.
Won’t shooting such larger videos eat up all the free space on my iPhone?
It will definitely take up a good amount of room, although Apple hasn’t said just how much. But, for example, if the iPhone 4’s HD videos were to use the same data rate as the 720p movies and TV shows Apple offers on the iTunes Store, that video would require less than 2GB per hour of footage. (If you’re shooting that much footage on your iPhone at a time, you might want to invest in a stand-alone video camera of some sort.)
So what will I do with my movies after I’ve shot them?
Just as you can now, you’ll be able to copy them to your computer, or trim and share them from the iPhone itself. But Apple is also releasing a $5 version of its iMovie consumer video-editing application for use on the iPhone 4. Christopher Breen goes into more depth on how that’ll work, but suffice it to say, you’ll have more editing controls than the trimming features currently available to iPhone 3GS videographers.
Who can I talk to using the FaceTime video-chat feature?
At the moment, the only people who will be able to use FaceTime are iPhone 4 users. Previous iPhones won’t support the feature, and Apple hasn’t indicated compatibility with other video-chat systems such as Skype or iChat. However, the company has said it plans to make FaceTime an open standard, which would allow other handset manufacturers and makers of other devices to implement the feature.
Can I use the new FaceTime video-chat feature anywhere on AT&T’s network?
Unfortunately, no. The iPhone 4’s FaceTime video-chat feature currently works only when both iPhones are connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi, though Apple did say it was hoping to expand the feature to cellular connections in the future. (For the purposes of this discussion, “the future” means “sometime after 2010.”) You’ll also need to be able to place a regular phone call—to initiate the connection—so we presume that you’ll need to have a cellular data signal, as well.
Why is there a second microphone on the top of the iPhone 4?
That second mic, near the headphone jack, pulls double duty. It’s used for FaceTime video calls, but it also works with the main microphone on the bottom to provide noise cancellation (or, as Apple calls it, noise suppression) to dampen background noise while on phone calls.
I like playing games—is the new iPhone for me?
In addition to the accelerometer found on previous iPhone models, the iPhone 4 sports a three-axis gyroscope. That should provide for better motion sensing of user acceleration, angular velocity, and rotation rate. And that should make for better games, although developers will need to do some work on their games to take advantage of the gyroscope/accelerometer goodness.
When does the iPhone 4 go on sale?
Apple says that the phone will be available on Thursday, June 24, in the United States, Japan, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Customers in those five countries will also be able to pre-order the phone from Apple’s Website—or the Website of each country’s respective carriers—starting on June 15. Sales in additional countries will be rolled out in waves throughout the summer, with the iPhone 4 scheduled to be available in 88 countries by the end of September. Starting on June 24, you’ll be able to buy the iPhone 4 in Apple and AT&T’s retail and online stores, as well as in Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and (apparently) RadioShack stores.
How much will the new iPhone 4 cost me?
The 16GB model costs $199 and 32GB model costs $299. You’ll need to agree to a two-year service contract with AT&T to get an iPhone 4 for those prices.
But I already own an iPhone. Does that affect the price?
It could. AT&T customers can take advantage of the $199/$299 pricing if they’re eligible for an upgrade. (There’s also an $18 upgrade fee.) But it’s possible you might qualify only for what AT&T calls an “Early Upgrade”—most likely if you’ve bought a new phone sometime within the past few months. In that case, you’ll pay a steeper amount alongside re-upping your AT&T deal for two more years: $399 for the 16GB model or $499 for the 32GB model.
How can I find out if I’m eligible for an upgrade discount?
You can check your upgrade availability using the AT&T Wireless Website, but the easiest way is to send an empty text message to *639# (*NEW#); within a few minutes you’ll receive a text message from AT&T explaining your eligibility. (If you’re eligible, the message will read, “As a valued customer, we can offer you an upgrade with a new 2-yr commitment and an $18 upgrade fee” or something similar.) Both text messages are free.
Maybe I don’t want to sign a contract. What then?
In that case, you’ll want to opt for AT&T’s no-commitment pricing—meaning you don’t have to sign a two-year contract. You’ll pay the full, unsubsidized price of the phone: $599 for the 16GB model or $699 for the 32GB model.
I heard AT&T changed its data plans recently. How does that affect the iPhone 4?
New customers will choose between a plan that provides 200MB of data for $15 per month, or a 2GB plan for $25 per month. If you’re an existing iPhone customer, you can opt for one of the new plans, but AT&T says you can instead choose to stick with your current plan—the one giving you unlimited data for $30 a month—even if you upgrade to the iPhone 4. These rates are only for data, and are in addition to what you pay for voice and text-message service. For more information, check out ourfrequently asked questions on AT&T’s new data plans.
Can I give my old iPhone to a friend or family member?
Sure, although the usual caveats apply: if he or she wants to use it as a phone, that person will have to sign up for AT&T service (or, in other countries, with a compatible carrier). Otherwise, your friend or family member won’t be able to to make phone calls, send or receive text messages, or use cellular data service. Note that, depending on where you currently are in your AT&T contract, your old-iPhone recipient may be required to sign a contract with AT&T to get service.
Will my existing accessories work with the iPhone 4?
Cases definitely won’t fit—the iPhone 4 is narrower and thinner than the iPhone 3GS—but most audio and power accessories that connect to the iPhone’s dock-connector port should work. Accessory makers will likely provide, in the coming weeks, more information about compatibility, and we’ll of course be testing various accessories as soon as the iPhone 4 is available.
What will the actual upgrade process be like?
If things work the way they have in the past, you’ll just connect your new iPhone to your computer and go through the setup process for transferring an existing phone number. AT&T and Apple are likely to have more information as we get closer to the iPhone 4’s ship date.
Will I be able to transfer my existing iPhone data, like saved games and files, to the new phone?
Most likely. When you sync your iPhone with iTunes, a backup of all your settings and data are made. You can usually restore this backup onto a new device. However, since the iPhone 4 will require an updated version of iTunes, make sure you download iTunes 9.2 and then sync your existing iPhone with your computer one last time before the switch, to ensure that you’ve backed up the most recent version of all your information.
Posted on Jun 8, 2010 11:26 pm by Macworld Staff, Macworld.com
Jun 10
30
Days on Market or Showings?
What’s a better indicator for a quick sale?
When I was an agent, I remember sellers always asking me: “What’s a better indicator of when our house will receive an offer: average days on the market in our neighborhood, or the number of showings?”
Based upon my training this is how I often answered:
Average days on market in a neighborhood doesn’t mean much, it depends on how the houses are priced. Let’s say the neighborhood has very similar homes–same approximate age, size, lot size, condition, etc. And let’s say that the market price for these homes is $300,000.
If all the homes are priced around $375,000 and have an average days on market is 200, then the houses are overpriced. But if yours is on the market at $300,000, it probably would sell reasonably quickly.
Here’s another example: Three houses are on the market. One was priced at $300,000 which sold in 20 days. One was priced at $325,000, and it sold in 100 days. One was priced at $350,000 and has been on the market for 180 days. You could look at the averages: Average sales price of $325,000, average days on market 100 days, but that really doesn’t tell you much of anything. What you need to know is that houses sold quickly at $300,000. They take quite a while at $325,000.And they may never sell at $350,000.
So, days on market really is just a function of price and marketing.
For my money, the number of showings was a lot more relevant. You can assume that most of the people viewing a property are looking for homes that meet the general description of that home (number of beds and baths, etc.) in that general price range. To use the example above, the people who are going to be looking at those homes probably want to spend between $300,000 and $325,000 on that type of house. So, a lot of showings mean that your home is attractively priced for what it is and where it is. Few showings mean that your home is overpriced.
So, if there’s nothing wrong with a home (some terrible odor, or backing up next to a freeway that isn’t apparent in the listing), the more showings you have, the more likely it will sell sooner. It’s all a numbers game. I know many agents who have various rules of thumb, such as: An offer should come in for every 10 or 15 showings. Obviously, the number varies. But you get the idea. If that’s not happening, then there may be some problem with the house that people don’t find out about until they’re actually looking at it.
So, the number of showings is a very good indicator while average days on the market in the neighborhood is a very poor indicator.
And….what’s the very best way to get more showings? Pricing the property right!
Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this topic.
Jun 10
30
Building Your Personal Brand
Nobody likes someone who is an ego-maniac. However, a lot of real estate agents get a bad rap, because some agents think that to build a great personal brand, they need to talk about how great they are. This is very put offish for many people – especially your Gen X and Gen Y clients who are slow to trust and quick to judge anyone who calls themselves an ‘expert.’
Personal branding – the art of packaging and presenting yourself has become so vital to both career and business development – especially as a real estate agent.
Here are some simple strategies that real estate agents can use to instantly set themselves apart from the pack:
Craft a Compelling Pitch
You need to be able to clearly define yourself, and sum up precisely what it is you do, in 30 seconds or less. When in doubt, make a simple bullet point list of the skills you excel at. Ask yourself: How do I see myself? Your pitch needs to be brief, to the point.
Take Control of Your Your Name
Input your name or your business’s name in Google, and see what comes up. It’s vital that the majority of results that appear – especially the first ones, all speak to the same clear message. You should not only own a website with your personal name as the domain (a given, right?!) – you should also have profiles on all major social networking services (Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn) under the same name. Even if you plan to do nothing else on social media – as a minimum – set up your profile.
Create Strong Branding Platforms
Personal branding is about establishing yourself as someone that brings unique, indispensable real estate services and skills to the table. You need to create platforms (blogs, Facebook pages, online video channels, etc.) that can help broadcast your skills and experience to as many people as possible. All of these platforms should also be stamped with your signature name, logo and imagery. Once built, it pays to pump out content through them that illustrates your expertise.
Be Generous with Your Time
Acts of kindness and generosity serve to generate goodwill and help build invaluable relationships and contacts that can pay off immeasurably. Charitable work presents great opportunities to establish trust, grow your personal/professional network and make a positive impact – you never know when it might lead to a vital mention or referral. Go above and beyond the call of duty. It doesn’t just speak to personal values and work ethic. It also presents a prime opportunity to demonstrate your expertise.
Accessibility is the Name of the Game
Whether using blog posts, tweets or your professional Facebook page, accessibility is the name of the game. Not only do people need to know you’re out there – they also need to know where and how to reach you, that you’re available to connect as needed and will respond to requests for outreach in a timely fashion. This doesn’t mean having to broadcast your personal information to the world or staying up until 3 a.m. responding to 200 e-mails . But it does necessitate that you not build too many layers of insulation between yourself and incoming queries, and be respectful of acknowledging people’s questions and feedback (even if it’s just through a series of blog posts).
The bottom line: If you want to be a go-to real estate agent, you’ve got to earn people’s trust. That means being genuine, listening and responding quickly!
Bonus tip #1: At some point you will want to work with a professional designer or your broker’s marketing department to help create your brand for you – i.e. your look, logo, imagery, etc. Don’t take a short-cut! Using their expertise will help save you time and money in the long-haul!
Bonus tip #2: Be respectful of your brokerage’s brand and image. Although you are independent, pay attention to style guides and/or branding standards your brokerage has published. There are so many ways to differentiate and brand yourself but still stay within your brokerage branding guidelines.
Would love your comments and feedback – please leave me a comment below!
Jul 10
2
It’s not about YOU, it’s all about THEM…
How many times do we read about our peers’ accomplishments–their sales volume or their ‘Top Producer’ status within their own firm or that of the city or nation’s list of top agents? Agents and other service providers tend to ‘tout’ their monetary worth rather than selling themselves with what they can offer their clients.
My father was in the service (USAF) and then ‘retired’ and went into business. I remember all my life having the mantra ‘the customer is ALWAYS right’ being hammered into my brain. When I left banking and went into real estate, those words resounded with me because I knew that I had to adjust my banking mentality to one of complete customer service (in real estate).
New to the business, I would read each and every real estate advertisement, flyer, postcard or letter that was sent to my home by other agents and thought that the ‘Top Producer’ thing had to be a short term goal for me. I would not stop until I achieved that status so that I could “boast” about it just as other agents did. That old customer service seed that my father planted had led me to recognize that customer service, regardless whether the customer is right or wrong, is most imperative in our business.
I’ve read numerous articles and blog posts about how our business is NOT a service industry. How is it NOT? We’re dealing with customers/clients and we’re providing a service to them day in and day out–we’re sharing our knowledge and our expertise with them in order to help THEM achieve their goals.