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Find Out Why You Should Use Pinterest For Real Estate

February 29, 2012 By

There’s a new power emerging in the world of social media and it’s perfect for real estate. I’m talking about Pinterest. No, I’m not kidding. Pinterest is the fastest growing social network in the world, increasing its users by 145% since the start of 2012. If you ask us at PowerUP Social Media, it’s time to throw your real estate business on the bandwagon.

Pinterest, which is promoted as an online pinboard, reached 10 million unique visits faster than any other website in history, and it’s popularity continues to grow. In fact, more people spend time on Pinterest than Twitter or Google+. Only Facebook and Tumblr get more social media time than Pinterest right now. I know I’m cramming a lot of numbers down your throat, but this is also really interesting: Pinterest is already generating more referral traffic to websites than YouTube, Google+, and LinkedIn COMBINED. It’s no wonder people are jumping into the Pinterest mix.

Some of the top names in the world of real estate (HGTV is one of the biggest players on Pinterest right now) are among those onboard. Like I mentioned before, Pinterest and real estate are perfect for each other, and I’m going to tell you why:

Pintrest is very simple, it’s 100% photos (check out Style House Realty for an example), and if used properly, it allows people to know more about you (your likes, dislikes, etc.). That’s great for real estate professionals because it allows you to build an instant bond with clients or business partners without ever having a real conversation (and it gives you talking points once that real conversation happens).

Pinterest also allows you to showcase the area you’re servicing. Take Raj Qsar for example. Raj is a real estate professional in Orange County. He features Orange County Eats, Orange County Lifestyle, Orange County Kids, among others on his Pinterest board. Raj is showing two things here: that he loves the area that he lives in and no one knows Orange County better than he does. If I’m looking for a real estate professional in the OC…that’s a guy I want to lean on. He sold me on Pinterest.

You can learn from this post even if you’re not on Pinterest. You now need to keep in mind what image or images you use in your real estate blog (or whatever you write about). If there aren’t images (or good images), then your post isn’t “pin-worthy” (since the social media site is all about pictures). If Pinterest continues to grow, and your blog isn’t “pin-worthy”, you’re missing out on backlinks and referral traffic to your real estate blog/website.

I would love to know how you’re using Pinterest for real estate. You can reach me on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, or email me at tim@powerupsocialmedia.com. I’d love to add other great examples to this post (or future posts about Pinterest).

We aim to make real estate professionals the best they can be through social media at PowerUP Social Media. We’re staying on top of the latest trends and letting you know how they can be used in real estate. Visit our website or enter your information below for more great real estate social media tips!

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Facebook Timeline: Learn More About Your New Profile

January 10, 2012 By

Say goodbye to your old Facebook profile. You don’t have to bid farewell just yet, but you’ll have to soon. That’s because the world’s largest social network is shifting to the new Facebook Timeline. It’s a new profile that is completely different than the one you already have. Everyone is talking about the Facebook Timeline, but not everyone completely understands the new profile. Check out this video to learn more about what your Facebook profile is going to be like in the near future:

Like I mentioned in the video, the Facebook Timeline profile is available to everyone, but you don’t have to make the change yet. The key word in that last sentence is YET. Everyone will be forced into using the timeline profile down the road. I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of change, but in this case we all have to accept the inevitable. When you take that approach, you might actually get excited about some of the new features (like I am).

I would love to know what you think of the Facebook Timeline. If you think it’s terrible, let me know. The same goes for if you love the new profile. You can leave a comment below, connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, or email me at tim@powerupsocialmedia.com.

And, don’t forget to check out http://PowerUPSocialMedia.com for more killer social media tips (especially if you’re a real estate professional — that’s our specialty). You can also enter your email address below to receive three free social media video tips, and get all the latest from PowerUP Social Media in the future!

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Make The Most Out Of PowerUPSocialMedia.com

October 29, 2011 By

If you’re a real estate professional and you’re trying to learn more about social media — CONGRATULATIONS! I say that for two reasons: 1) Social media is FREE marketing and every real estate professional should be utilizing it. 2) You made a wise choice by turning to PowerUP Social Media for advice. That’s what we’re here for – we specialize in social media for real estate!

We offer a ton of social media tips, covering Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google+, but you can find much more than that at PowerUPSocialMedia.com. We share tips that will explode your online presence, tools that you need to be using every day in your real estate business, killer resources for real estate professionals, and much more. We offer a lot, so I created this video to help you navigate the site. Learn how to make the most out of PowerUPSocialMedia.com!

To make life even easier, I’ve added quick links below to take you directly where you want to go!

SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS & TRAINING

Facebook Tips
Twitter Tips
YouTube Tips
Google+ Tips
In Other News

RESOURCES / WHO WE ARE

Resources
Our Story

SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING FOR REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS

PURE Training

OTHER POPULAR PAGES

Must Read Books
Is Social Media A Fad?
FREE Real Estate Social Media Training Videos

If I didn’t make it clear in this post, PowerUP Social Media is here to make real estate professionals the best they can be. Be sure to check out everything we have to offer on PowerUPSocialMedia.com and sign up below to receive even more real estate social media tips and training!

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Edit Your Real Estate Videos For FREE On YouTube

October 25, 2011 By

What if I were to tell you that you no longer need expensive editing equipment or software to create awesome real estate videos? You’d want to know more, right? Luckily for you, that’s what this post is all about. You can now quickly and easily edit your real estate videos on YouTube for FREE. Here’s a video showing you how!

It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that! With just a few clicks, you can have your real estate videos looking better than ever for FREE thanks to YouTube.

The YouTube video editor is especially useful for real estate photo or video slideshows. I’ve seen too many real estate videos on YouTube that have beautiful pictures or clips of properties, but there’s no music to back them up — they’re only visual (I’m sorry, but that’s boring). I think it’s great that real estate professionals are using YouTube (if you’re not — find out why you need to sign up immediately), but they can make their videos pop even more with music, cool effects, or titles (learn how to easily add titles to your YouTube videos for FREE).

There is a more advanced way to edit your real estate videos on YouTube, but I’ll show you how to do that on another blog/video. I want to take you through this one step at a time. If you’d like to jump ahead without me and investigate the more advanced YouTube video editor (it’s totally encouraged — don’t let me hold you back) — click here.

I would love to hear your success stories, so please leave a comment below or email me at tim@powerupsocialmedia.com. If you like the above video, please feel free to give it a thumbs up on YouTube.

Our goal at PowerUP Social Media is to make real estate professionals the best they can be through social media. Visit our website and sign up for our mailing list below to receive more awesome real estate social media tips. If you’re ready to launch your real estate business to the next level, be sure to check out our PURE Training program. It’s guaranteed to launch you to new heights!

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Filed Under: YouTube Tips Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Learn How To Use The Google AdWords Keyword Tool

October 21, 2011 By

There are a ton of free search engine optimization (SEO) tools on the internet, but there isn’t a resource we use more often at PowerUP Social Media than this — the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. You might be asking, “What in the world is that?” Well, stop asking the question and start getting answers by watching the video below. If you need even more incentive, the Google AdWords Keyword Tool is guaranteed to boost your real estate website/blog (if used properly)… 

The Google AdWords Keyword Tool is very simple to use, it’s highly effective, and absolutely free. You can’t ask for more than that. We honestly use the Google AdWords Keyword Tool every single day for blog posts, finding domain names (we have another video dedicated to that), titles for YouTube videos, or anything else we post on the internet. You should be doing the exact same thing for your real estate business. Once you target your keywords, you’ll see your website climb the search engine rankings.

The Google AdWords Keyword Tool is one of several free tools offered by Google to help you with your online presence. Check out this post where we introduce you to several other free Google tools that will help boost your real estate business. These are all resources I wish I would have learned about years ago, so be sure to take the time to investigate these awesome tools (and find out how they can help YOU).

We’re here at PowerUP Social Media to help real estate professionals be the best they can be online. Visit our website and sign up below for more great real estate social media tips and training!

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Use A YouTube Bulletin To Communicate With Subscribers

October 17, 2011 By

Videos, videos, and more videos. That’s probably what comes to mind when most people think about YouTube. The reality is much different. YouTube is a community just like any other social media platform. The more subscribers and friends that you have on YouTube, the more views, likes, and comments (all are great for YouTube ranking) your videos will get. That means communication is key!

One of the best ways to reach out to your followers is a YouTube bulletin…

A YouTube bulletin is an update you send from your channel to your subscribers. You can tell your subscribers about a video you’re working on, or maybe include a link to a video with a comment about it. When you post a YouTube bulletin, it appears in the recent activity module on your subscribers’ channel (that means their subscribers and friends can see it as well) and on your own channel.

Sending a YouTube bulletin is quick and easy. All you have to do is follow these simple steps:

1) Sign into your YouTube account

2) Go to your channel

3) At the top of the channel (below the Search bar), you’ll see an edit channel section with various grey tabs (Post Bulletin, Settings, Themes and Colors, Modules, and Videos and Playlists). Click Post Bulletin.

4) The section will expand and show you bulletin options. This is where you’ll enter the message you’d like to include in your YouTube bulletin.

NOTE: You can include a personal note and a video link. As you fill in the text for the personal note, you’ll see a preview of the bulletin appear in the preview field to the right of the text field.

5) Once you’re satisfied with your bulletin, click the Post Bulletin button. Your YouTube bulletin will then be sent to your subscribers.

There’s a very good chance your subscribers aren’t checking into your channel every day, so this is a good way to call attention to your videos (or anything else you might be up to). If you have a solid foundation of community members and real estate professionals subscribed to you on YouTube, this is another killer way capture views (and potential clients, partners, etc.) on your video listings and much more.

We’re here to make real estate professionals the best they can be! Visit PowerUP Social Media and sign up below for more awesome real estate social media tips and training!

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Filed Under: YouTube Tips Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Get Rid Of Twitter Direct Message Overload

October 13, 2011 By

Are you tired of Twitter direct message overload? I know I am! Thanks to Twitter guru Sean Malarkey (a friend of PowerUP Social Media), there’s now a quick way to get rid of the automatic Twitter direct messages clogging your account forever. And, the great news is, you can get this done in as little as five minutes.

How To Clear Most Automatic Twitter DMs

Yes, there’s a use for Twitter direct messages, but most of them just plain stink. Most people haven’t figured out how to engage their audience with DMs, so they come across as spam. Even worse, spammers are even taking advantage of Twitter direct messages by sending virus filled links (you know what I’m talking about).

The majority of automatic Twitter direct messages come from SocialOomph.com (a very useful tool, but not in this case) and here is a step-by-step process on how you can stop them:

1) Go to http://twitter.com/optmeout and follow the account.

2) A few minutes later you will notice they are following you back.

3) Send a direct message to @optmeout  (send anything you want).

4) Go back to http://twitter.com/optmeout and unfollow the account.

5)  You’ll receive a Twitter direct message that reads like this:

“Thank you from SocialOomph.com’s opt-out service. Your opt-out has been recorded. You won’t receive further auto DMs. [link]”

Check that one off the list…

I don’t personally receive these next three Twitter direct messages very often, but you might. This is how you can get rid of them for good!

140 Games

This is home to many of the quizzes and games on the internet (including a Mafia style game). Say farewell to these annoying auto DMs:

1) Click this link –> http://lolquiz.com/optout

2) It will redirect back to Twitter and ask for you to “Allow LOL quiz access”.

3) Simply click the allow button and you’re all set.

Poll Pigeon

This is where many of Twitter’s top polls come from. It’s also another big offender of your direct message inbox. Not anymore…after you do this:

1) Click this link http://pollpigeon.com/optout/

2) Click the “Don’t send me any direct messages” button and you’ll never see another Poll Pigeon DM on your account again!

Twables / FB140

Twables has a bunch of different applications, but the most popular is an app telling your Facebook friends that you’re on Twitter.

After Sean did some serious digging and stumbling across their website, he found a way for you to remove yourself from their list. It’s a one-step process:

1) Click here –> http://www.twables.com/opt

Once you’ve taken these steps, you’re guaranteed to see less Twitter direct messages clogging your account!

We’re here to help you navigate through the crazy social media world. Visit our website and enter your information below for three FREE social media training videos. Take your social network to the next level today!

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Learn How To Drive Traffic To Your Website With YouTube

September 23, 2011 By

Among the amazing people we met at the FortuneBuilders Info Empire Event in San Diego last week is YouTube guru James Wedmore. By teaching people these simple video marketing tips that I’m about to show you, Wedmore has helped hundreds of clients get massive amounts of video views and more traffic to their websites. We learned a ton of information from him and now we want to share it with you!

First, let’s talk about why you should utilize online videos. YouTube is the third most visited website in the world and it’s the second largest search engine on the planet. It receives more than two billion video views every single day. The best part about YouTube is that it’s absolutley FREE. On top of that, real estate professionals are late to the game when it comes to video, so there’s room for you to become a trendsetter in your area.

You have to remember that YouTube is a community just like any other social media platform. You need to add friends and subscribers just like you do on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. Your audience carries no weight if you don’t engage them, so you need to keep them active for online video success.

You must have a plan when you jump into the YouTube ballgame. Everyone wants to strike it rich with a viral video, but the truth is that you have to concentrate on a marketing plan for your YouTube channel instead. It’s all about your big picture strategy and what value you bring as a whole.

The biggest things you have to remember is that your videos need value, they have to engages viewers, and most importantly, they must get the audience to take action (usually by verbally leading them to your website or pushing them to a link listed in the description box).

NOTE: A link is the description box is a key to your overall online success. It adds a backlink to your website (which Google loves when it calculates its rankings) and it also leads people directly where you want them to go.

Now it’s time to get to the really juicy information! According to Wedmore, there’s a three-step process for boosting traffic with online videos. This is what he teaches people about YouTube every day. He charges people a good chunk of change for this information, but we’re giving it to you for free:

Step #1 — Video Optimization

This step begins before you record your video. That’s because it requires a little bit of research.

You have to identify the specific keywords that your ideal customer is searching for, and then you must deliver an optimized video with exactly what they want. By following this simple video marketing tip, you set the foundation for an effective strategy that gets your videos found.  

How do you know what your clients are looking for? Look no further than the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. It’s easily the best place we’ve found to do keyword research. Click here for a video showing you how we use the keyword tool for search engine optimization (you can use the same tactic for your videos).

Step #2 — Video Value

If you want your videos to bring in business, then it’s essential for you to provide a high level of content and information that’s worth watching and worth sharing.

There are specific ingredients that you must include in every video to engage your visitors and get them to take action. It’s pretty simple – you need to provide the answer that your customers are looking for when they search for specific keywords. This builds your credibility and a relationship with your clients. In turn, that quickly increases the number of views on YouTube and your website.

Step #3 — Video Aftermath

This step is everything you do to promote your video, get more views, and push your video to the top of search results for Google and YouTube after it’s uploaded.

The other social media platforms are a key to success. You need to pump your videos to your followers and friends on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+. You should also embed your videos on your blog and/or website, and use annotations to drive more traffic to your other clips. The more views and comments you get, the more likely it is that your video will fly to the first page of Google and YouTube search results.

NOTE: Wedmore actually has a proven 13-step process he uses to promote his videos. Click here to learn more about that from James himself!

If you properly use these video marketing tips, Wedmore guarantees that you’ll see a massive increase in exponential traffic, a rapid increase in sales, and an increase in business. Following these steps will also put you light-years ahead of other real estate professionals in your area.

Wedmore is now in our sphere of influence at PowerUP Social Media and you should be too. We’re here to make you the best you can be through the power of social media. You can visit http://powerupsocialmedia.com and/or sign up for our mailing list to find more great real estate social media tips. When you sign up below, you’ll get three FREE social media training videos sent directly to your inbox!

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Filed Under: YouTube Tips Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

PowerUP At The FortuneBuilders Info Empire Event

September 21, 2011 By
Beautiful San Diego, California

Beautiful San Diego

I can’t even believe how cool life is sometimes. This weekend was a prime example. The PowerUP team traveled to San Diego for the FortuneBuilders Info Empire Event in San Diego. We were surrounded by some of the brightest minds in real estate and social media for three straight days. The best part is: we weren’t just there to learn (even though we soaked in a ton of awesome information), we were also there to teach.

We’ve been able to turn PowerUP Social Media into a powerhouse in a matter of months. We started from scratch, and we’re now well on our way to turning real estate professionals into the best they can be. We have the FortuneBuilders to thank for a lot of that. Erik and Joe were mastery coaching students (Erik is now a coach himself), and they parlayed that into a successful real estate investing company in Seattle. The two created a ton of business through social networking, so that’s how PowerUP Social Media was born. We now teach real estate professionals how to master the world of social media.

Joe, Tim, and Erik on stage in San Diego

PowerUP Social Media on stage in San Diego

Our success led to this…

The FortuneBuilders now recognize us at the “go to guys” for real estate social media. That’s why they invited us to San Diego to take part in the Info Empire Event. At one point, they brought us on stage to talk about what we have to offer (our PURE Training program was a huge hit with the audience). It was one of those moments where you realize all of your hard work is finally paying off. We had hundreds of eyes on us, all wanting to learn everything we know. If that wasn’t enough, we were also interviewed for the first time over the weekend. I’ll be sure to share a link with you once it’s posted!

Over the course of the weekend, we were able to build relationships with some of the top people in real estate and social media. Our sphere of influence now includes Twitter guru Sean Malarkey, LinkedIn expert Lewis Howes, and YouTube genius James Wedmore. We were also able to grow our friendships with the guys at FortuneBuilders, including Than Merrill, J.D. Esajian, Konrad Sopielnikow, and Ralph Plumb.

Tim Lewis, Than Merrill, Erik Bee, and Joe Bauer

Tim, Than Merrill, Erik, and Joe

On top of those relationships, we also met some of the most passionate people on the planet. They traveled from all over the country to take part in the event, and they all want to make the world a better place. Many of our new friends focus their efforts on real estate, but others turn their attention elsewhere. One guy wants to teach folks how to get scholarship money for college, another wants to help people find dates, while another hopes to teach kids math through magic, and the list goes on-and-on. The event was a birthplace for success! I guarantee you’re going to hear about many of these people in the future.

After all my rambling (I can’t help it…I’m excited), I haven’t even touched on all the information we learned. We found out how to dominate LinkedIn, easy ways to grow your Twitter presence, how to market yourself on YouTube, the secrets to getting your website on the first page of Google, how to effectively sell, and much more. Watch for upcoming posts on all of the goods soon! These tips will help grow your real estate business, so you’ll want to stay tuned (it’s a good idea to bookmark our site right now).

Tim, Joe, and Erik in San Diego

PowerUP!

Before I let you go, I want to share one of the disappointing bits of the trip. We learned that there are too many people who don’t understand the power of social media. They might have a LinkedIn account, but they don’t utilize Facebook, Twitter, Google+ (which is now open to everyone — here are tips to get you started), or YouTube — or vice versa. I even talked to one guy who still sells over the phone. There’s nothing wrong with doing that as part of your marketing scheme, but it can’t be your lone attack. There are more efficient and affective ways to touch your clients through social media. Everyone needs to take advantage of social networking! You’re foolish if you aren’t active right now.

I’ve said this a million times and I’ll say it over and over again: we’re here to help real estate professionals explode their social media and internet presence. Check out http://PowerUPSocialMedia.com for social media tips and training,  tools that will boost your website, and so much more. You can also get three FREE social media training videos when you sign up for our mailing list below.

Stay tuned for much more from San Diego!

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Filed Under: Misc. Tips Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Free Google Tools That Will Boost Your Website

September 12, 2011 By

There are very simple steps you can take to make the most of your real estate website or blog (whether it’s already up and running or if you’re just getting started). Those steps aren’t always obvious, so Google has created free tools to help you maximize your site. These are resources we use every single day at PowerUP Social Media, and we highly recommend you do the same.

Here are the goods…

Google AdWords Keyword Tool — This tool was originally designed for pay-per-click advertising, but it’s turned into a great tool for anyone trying to maximize their search engine optimization (SEO). The Google AdWords Search Tool identifies the number of search queries per month for a certain keyword or phrase. You can also find how much competition there is for a certain keyword. THIS IS A TOOL YOU MUST USE (click here to learn how)!

Google Analytics – Google Analytics is the enterprise-class web analytics solution that gives you insights into your website traffic and marketing effectiveness. Powerful, flexible and easy-to-use features now let you see and analyze your traffic data in an entirely new way. With Google Analytics, you’re more prepared to write better-targeted ads, strengthen your marketing initiatives and create higher converting websites. This really is a must have for anyone with any type of website or blog.

Google Website Optimizer — You can make the most of your website with Google Website Optimizer. This is a free website testing and optimization tool that allows you to increase the value of your existing websites and traffic without spending a penny (you usually have to pay out of your ears for something like this). You can test different webpages with the same content, changing one or two things, and then seeing which page converts best for you. The Google Website Optimizer is a little difficult to understand a first, but it carries huge value once you get the hang of it.

Google Webmaster – Google doesn’t share many secrets about how they rank your website, but they do want to help you rank as high as possible. That’s why they created the Google Webmaster tool. Now you can now find out exactly how Google sees your site. There’s information about how Google crawls (or if there are any problems crawling), indexes and ranks your site. You can also submit a site map, instead of waiting for Googlebots to find them (this way Google knows immediately when there are changes to your site).

There are no downloads or hidden fees for any of these Google tools. All you have to do is sign-up for them, and then you’re off and running. It’s really that easy. You truly have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

We want to help you – and all real estate professionals — maximize your online and social media presence. Be sure to check out our website at http://PowerUPSocialMedia.com and/or sign-up for our mailing list below for more great real estate social media tips and training.

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