How To Make Facebook King in Your Real Estate Marketing
August 31, 2011 by Harmon Enterprises · Leave a Comment
Interested in Facebook marketing for real estate? Check out a free reply of the Facebook is King webinar featuring our very own Stacey Harmon. She joined Jimmy Mackin and host Chad Hyans of IMSD in an hour long training for ActiveRain University. Although platforms like Google+ are tempting, learn why Facebook is still where the most immediate business opportunities are (it’s still definitely king in real estate social media marketing) and gain insights into best practices for success. This free webinar was presented by Internet Marketing Specialist Designation and ActiveRain University - great tools for strengthening your real estate marketing knowledge.
Get in front of your competition. IMSD certification give you the training and systems you need to win in the world of online lead generation [and access to great webinars just like this one!]. Harmon Enterprises is a proud affiliate and can get you $200 your IMSD membership fee with the code HARMON. Sign up today.
Agent Reboot San Francisco Presentation Recap
July 19, 2010 by Stacey Harmon · 1 Comment
Photo credit Agent Reboot via their Facebook Fanpage
I had a great time presenting with Heather Elias at the Agent Reboot conference on Monday, July 12th in San Francisco. Inman News did a recap of the day and included several quotes from our presentation (you’ll need to be an Inman Premium Member to view the full article). Our presentation slides along with a description of some of our main points are below:
We centered around three main concepts for Realtors to Manage Your Content and Reputation on the Web. For each concept, we provided case studies which illustrated the concept, and followed that up with tools that are useful in executing the concept. The three concepts we presented were:
- Concept 1: Have a Hub and Spoke System
- Concept 2: Monitor Your Online Presence
- Concept 3: Be Consistent
Heather served as the case study for the hub and spoke system. Her hub is her blog and our point with this concept is that you need to have a central place on the web where you are constantly referring people to to learn more about you. For Heather, this is her blog, which is the preferred approach as you own the content on your blog and control the hosting environment. However, a LinkedIn profile, or Facebook Business Page can also act as a hub to your system. These options come with business risk however as you are playing in LinkedIn and Facebook’s sandbox and you don’t own the content. You are at the mercy of their Terms of Service. It can be a risk, but those sites can still be used as the center of your strategy and where you link back to from all of your online activities.
We also advocated monitoring what you do. Social media and digital marketing vehicles offer a world of analytic and statistic options. Both Heather and I utilize Google Analytics, Google Alerts, and Facebook Insights to gauge the effectiveness of our online activities. I also advocate email marketing and when you use providers such as Mail Chimp, you have access to reports which detail out the success of the messages you send.
Finally, whatever online activities you choose to participate in (and you don’t have to do all that Heather does – a few select vehicles when properly utilized can yield positive results), be consistent in what you do from both a branding perspective, and a username perspective. Heather does a great job of this in carrying her online visual brand through to her offline materials as does Walter Burns with his Living on the Hudson brand. Heather also has been creative in choosing a username that is unique to her area LoCoMusings (short for Loudon County Musings) and she uses that across multiple channels to represent the real estate brand that she has been building.
The next Agent Reboot will be in Los Angeles on August 5th. It’s a great day full of outstanding information from qualified presenters. More details and registration can be found here. Hope to see you there!
Announcing AgentApplause.com – The First “Enterprise” of Harmon Enterprises!
January 11, 2010 by Stacey Harmon · 1 Comment
Seeing a need to give real estate agents tangible examples of how others, just like them, are implementing marketing into their real estate business plan, Harmon Enterprises has launched Agent Applause, Real Life Real Estate Marketing Examples In Action.
The site showcases real examples of real estate marketing in today’s market. It highlights the interesting, the innovative, the creative, and the good. While there will certainly be multiple examples of social media marketing (showing how agents are using blogging, facebook, twitter, and other social networks to market themselves), the site is not limited to digital marketing techniques. It highlights modern marketing – both online and off – and is designed to be a portal for an ever evolving array of practical marketing ideas in the real estate industry. There are multiple ways to keep up with Agent Applause. You can:
- Visit the site and browse what is new
- Subscribe in your RSS reader
- Subscribe via email and get new applause automatically emailed to you
- Follow Agent Applause on twitter
- Fan Agent Applause on facebook.
So check out AgentApplause.com and even better, submit an agent who should be applauded. There are some great marketing examples out there. Let us know about it and help further the conversation and recognition of those agents who are doing it right.
Google Your Way to Discount Code Savings
December 27, 2009 by Stacey Harmon · 1 Comment
Sometimes it is the simple ideas that make using the internet fun and bring about those “ah-ha” moments. Harmon Enterprises constantly works to illustrate these opportunities for Realtors. In the case of today’s post, Realtors certainly can benefit, but so too can anyone who uses the internet to buy anything.
This is a little nugget that I’ve been using for years, and I recently casually shared with a friend. Her enthusiastic tweet response a few days later made me think it might be worthy of a post:
So, the tip is simple. Anytime you are shopping on line, and in the purchase process you see a box that says “Discount Code” or “Coupon Code” or “Promotion Code”, open up a new browser tab or window, go to Google, and search “the name of the site you are on” + “discount code”.
So, for example, when you notice a “Promotional Code” field as part of the process to sign for a credit monitoring service (a great service by the way, particularly for people who are shopping on the internet):
Leave the screen up that has the promotional code field, open a new browser tab, go to google, and type in “MyFico.com discount code” and see what comes up:
One of my favorite sites that often comes up is RetailMeNot.com which is a “coupon community” where users can post coupons and discount, and report on how reliable they were. The coupons are presented grouped into “Current Special Offers”, “Active Coupons”, and “Unreliable Coupons” For MyFico.com, you can find up to 30% off!
Jot down the code you find, go back to the window where you are purchasing, and apply your savings coupon. Cha-ching! It works more often than not and saved me a bundle over the years. And, who isn’t happy to save a buck or two…especially this time of year?
Keep in mind, if you don’t see the coupon code box, you can still to google the product or service you are trying to purchase. Often times there are affiliate marketing programs out there and you can find a link from a blog or 3rd party website where you will pay less by clicking through from that origination point.
For those of you who are looking to buy a domain name, or looking for web hosting (any Realtors out there looking to start a blog?), be sure to apply this technique. It has always worked for me with GoDaddy, and hosting companies like Blue Host and Host Monster get cheaper than their already affordable rates.
Happy on-line shopping!
Facebook Tools & Tricks at Virtual Real Estate Bar Camp January 4th
December 22, 2009 by Stacey Harmon · 3 Comments
On January 4th, 2010 Virtual Real Estate Bar Camp will have a repeat performance with a new lineup of speakers, and Harmon Enterprises is participating. Our topic is Facebook Tools and Tricks – Separating Personal from Professional. Here is the session description from the event website:
Control who sees what! @StaceyHarmon will orient you to the Facebook tools that allow you separate your personal from your professional life and effectively use Facebook for business development as a Realtor. The session will cover applying Facebook’s newly updated privacy settings to your profile; grouping your friends, clients, and prospects into lists; and assigning permissions to status updates and photos. She’ll also show you the basics on how to create a Business Fan Page in order to further build your professional persona on Facebook.
It is free to attend Virtual Real Estate Bar Camp which is a full day of webinar presentations by some of the movers and shakers in the national real estate social media scene. There will be four separate webinars, or “rooms”, running concurrently and each presentation lasts 45 minutes. All you need to do is have internet access and pre-register in order to get the login information for each of the rooms. The full schedule can be found here and if you have an interest in hearing more about how social media can help build your business, you are encouraged to attend. What better way to kick off a productive business year?!
Virtual RE BarCamp Summary:
Website: www.VirtualREBarCamp.com
When: January 4, 2010 from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm PST
Cost: Free but you must register to receive webinar login information
Schedule: As speakers are confirmed, the event calendar is updated
RE BarCamp SD – It's Almost Here!
November 7, 2009 by Stacey Harmon · Leave a Comment
I’m in the midst of last minute preparations for RE BarCamp San Diego…hard to believe it is almost here! Next Thursday, at the Stingaree in San Diego, the largest RE BarCamp yet will take place (we’re expecting over 500!). And next Friday, my life will return to normal :). Amongst the chaos and stress of planning for the event, I have great anticipation for the friends and colleagues, both new and old, I will see Thursday. If we haven’t yet met face to face and you will be at RE BarCamp or the NAR Convention following, please do stop and say hello. The greatest value I find in RE BarCamps is the people I get to interact with face to face.
We’ll be posting last minute event details on the RE BarCamp website this week, so keep an eye on http://www.rebarcampsd.com for the latest scoop. Back to attending to the last minute details for me. See you Thursday!
Will You Be at RE Blog World? Come See Me Speak!
September 26, 2009 by Stacey Harmon · 8 Comments
I’m excited to announce that I have been asked to speak at Real Estate Blog World, the one day industry vertical partner program preceding the Blog World and New Media Expo in Las Vegas. I will be part of a panel discussing Business to Business marketing in real estate using social media (full conference schedule here). My social media strategy and execution experience over the past year with Pango Group and their affiliated companies has given me much hands on experience with this topic and I look forward to sharing my perspective with those in attendance. And I hope that includes you! Have you registered yet?
If you are trying to decide if the expense is worth it for you, let me share my experience from attending last year. I got talked into attending RE Blog World and Blog World at the last minute by Rob Hahn, and I was very hesitant to make the investment. However, I am so grateful I did. The conference was outstanding for me for several reasons. First, at RE BlogWorld I met many of the people who are the movers and shakers in the RE.net. Those introductions helped set the stage for the fun, fast paced, and successful year I’ve had since. My work and social networks expanded in ways I didn’t anticipate. I also learned a lot - from the practical (Derek Overbey taught me about @replies and Tweet Deck for goodness sake!) to the theoretical. Also, the main Blog World & Social Media Expo was filled with social media superstars. The pioneers who influenced me and I watch on-line (people such as Lee LeFever and Guy Kawasaki) were sitting there, right next to me in sessions learning right along with me. Others like Tim Ferriss and Mike Shinoda gave fascinating keynotes on stage opening my eyes to the power of social media in businesses unlike mine. And, as Jeff Turner so eloquently reminded us at Inman Connect in San Francisco last month, innovation always comes from outside our industry. Blog World provides access to social media applications and issues across industries and is presented by the biggest names out there. For this reason alone, the conference is not to be missed.
The world of social media moves so fast. The evolution of social media within real estate has been tremendous over the past year – I’ve seen it grow immensely from one RE BarCamp to the next, and one Inman Conference to the next. RE Blog World will help those of us focused on the real estate industry to get a pulse on where things are at, what are the challenges, and help shed light on the opportunities. And, I’m fascinated to see how social media has evolved outside the real estate industry in the past year and hear the impressions and creativity of those who drive social media in their business. I’m honored to be contributing this year to RE Blog World and am very excited to see the other speakers lined up for the entire event. I got so much out of blog world last year and can’t wait for this year. I’ll see you there!
Conference Details:
- When: October 15-17, 2009
- Where: Las Vegas, NV
- Conference Websites:
- RE Blog World
- Blog World & New Media Expo
- Registration
- RE Blog World Program Schedule (I’m part of the Track 1 panel on B2B Social Media from 2:00 – 3:15)
- RE Blog World Speakers (including me!)
San Jose – Here I Come!
September 21, 2009 by Stacey Harmon · Leave a Comment
I’m headed to San Jose the first week of October for several major real estate events that should be on the radar of any Realtor or person interested in technology, social media, and real estate:
- California Realtor Expo 2009 (The annual CAR Convention)
- Tech Tuesday (Day long technology training preceding the official CAR Expo)
- RE BarCamp Silicon Valley (A free un-conference attracting the technology progressive and interested in the Real Estate business)
Here is a rundown of the great opportunities these events provide as well as some auxiliary activities I’ll be participating in. If you’re in San Jose, hopefully we’ll cross paths while I’m there (join me at a Tweetup?!):
Friday, October 1st, 2009:
- Social Media Success for Realtors Presentation: Anyone a member of SAMCAR (San Mateo Association of Realtors)? If so, come hear me speak for free (thanks to Pango Group for sponsoring me to speak)! Registration starts at 10:30. Presentation is from 11:00-12:30. It you would like to attend, RSVP via email to Julie Ziemelis, Director of Public Affairs for SAMCAR.
Monday, October 5th, 2009:
- RE BarCamp Silicon Valley: This is a free, day long event, born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. There is no set schedule or topics. Instead, the day is shaped by the passionate real estate professionals who gather and discuss how technology and social media can benefit the real estate business. Any forward thinking Realtor who is interested in applying technology to their business should attend. It is an outstanding way to network with industry elite and add be engaged in discussions that can truly transform your business. If there is interest, Andy Kaufman and I will be facilitating a session that day discussing how to use Twitter to enhance your conference going experience. Hope you can join in. The event is free, but you do have to RSVP hereto attend. Twitter hashtag for the event is #rebcsv.
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009:
- Tech Tuesday: An add-on day to the CAR Expo, Tech Tuesday is full of technology training and tips to help Realtors in their business. The twitter hashtag for Tech Tuesday is #TTCarExpo. There are some great techie agents presenting – including Ted Makel of Keller Williams, Simi Valley who is part of the opening panel titled “Text, Tweet, and Sell: A Dialogue on Tech’s Possibilities for Today’s Agents”. Other great sessions include:
- The Benefits of Blogging
- Media is the New Marketing: How to Attract the Right Attention
- Best Practices for Building an Online Presence
- Social Media and Social Networking: A Guide for REALTORS
- Tweetup at Tanq Bar (San Jose Marriott) starting at 5:15 pm: Within walking distance of the Tech Tuesday I’m hosting a tweetup. Come mingle with fellow Tech Tuesday attendees over a drink (everyone is responsible for their own food/drinks…just to be clear!). Tech Tuesday attendance is not required to join in on this one though…if you want to come on out and say hi, please do! @candacecapella, @ericstegemann, and @andykaufman will be there too. More info and RSVP list is here.
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009:
- CAR Expo 2009: California’s largest real estate trade show which draws “thousands of California’s key franchise executives, top producers and movers and shakers every year for educational networking, and professional development opportunities”. The Expo runs for 3 days (Wed the 7th – Fri the 9th). I’ll be there on Wednesday in order to check things out and see what’s hot this year at the vendor show. Twitter hashtag for the conference is #CARExpo.
A Labor of Social Media Love
June 14, 2009 by Stacey Harmon · Leave a Comment
Last year I caught wind of this free event called RE BarCamp that was being held the day before the Inman Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco. I had no idea really what it was. I didn’t know any of the people attending. But I had seen enough discussion about it on Twitter and Facebook from those voices that I watched, that I knew I had to be there.
That day changed my professional life. I was introduced to a whole RE.net world filled with smart, curious people who are interested in technology, social media, and the real estate industry. The room was filled with Realtors and pioneers who were trying new things and discussing new ways to succeed in real estate. These people saw hope and opportunity in an otherwise dismal and depressing real estate market. I was hooked. I’d found my crowd.
In the 10 months since that first RE BarCamp, I have traveled around the country to attend 4 more. Those events have taught me so much and connected me with such great people, that when I saw an opportunity to bring this movement to Orange County, I took it. I could think of no better way to give back to the RE.net community than to facilitate here in my city the event that has brought so much to me. RE BarCamp Orange County is scheduled for June 25th, 2009. I couldn’t be more excited about the collegues (many of who I now consider friends) who will be coming from near and far to participate and contribute to this event. It promises to be a great day filled with great conversations, learning opportunities, and fun. I can’t wait!
For more information on the event, or to register and attend, check out the website at www.REBarCampOC.com.