I am new in real estate, and have been doing a lot of research of the tools and programs that real estate agents use for marketing and prospecting. Used in social networking, applications used directly on websites, and real estate coaching like Mike Ferry or similar.

what you consider are the most important tools, programs, applications, etc to use for marketing?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions! :)

blog
website w/ idx (mls listings)

I totally love Facebook - brought me two huge sales this year

Anyelina,

I would recommend that you get familiar with the home buying programs offered by the State of Florida and then blog about them. Then go to Trulia, Zillow and sites like that and post back links to your blog. Your phone will ring and ring often (almost to the point of annoyance).

http://www.floridahousing.org/Home/Housi...tAssistance.htm

http://www.floridacdc.org/affordable.htm

Perky Realtor: Oh definitely Facebook is my first site to promote my business! :D

Greene: Thank you for the great advice with the home buying programs! but I don't know what you mean with "post back links to your blog", with trulia and zillow...

Do you see my website links below? Those are back links to my website and blog.

There is no "best tool." Marketing is a process; it involves a variety of tools, mediums, and strategies. Some agents may find that 90% of their prospecting comes from online, while other agents barely even know how to work a computer. Search around the forums for some ideas, and then start to consider which strategies would work best for your business and your target market.

Thank you Green for your great suggestion!! :)

Do not get lost with all the tools out there. Real Estate is still a face-to-face business.

"There is no 'best tool.' Marketing is a process." - Well said, Kristi. I agree that if you are better at personal relationships then you might want to focus on word of mouth recommendations and in-person networking, whereas if you know computers well and want to play the numbers game a more online approach works better. What works for other people won't necessarily work for you!


...hope this helps

Anything different from door knocking and cold calling, sounds good to me!

Anyelina, you may want to look into Jennifer Allan's Sell with Soul book (on Amazon.com or at her website, SellWithSoul.com )

She has a very good system for working your Sphere of Influence (People who know you and know you sell real estate) without irritating them.

Also beware of overdoing it on Facebook - the key to success there is being subtle.

Thank you Perky! actually I bought her book before reading your last comment! what a coincidence!

I love her book, and I agree on all what she says!

I was also thinking on marketing on facebook, but what do you mean exactly on being "subtle"? not being pushy is what you mean? or how exactly? thanks a lot for your advice, I really need it because I am planning marketing on facebook. :)

Yes, not being pushy. Set up a business (fan page) and be sure to "work it" by posting relevant real estate and local info / tips/ etc there. Keep personal stuff on there to a bare minimum.

ALSO create a personal profile. Here, you make the occasional reference to your business but the profile is mostly for interacting w/ your friends (and going to their walls and doing the same.) Treat your personal profile as more of a backyard barbecue, party, wedding reception, etc. It may be OK to make the occasional remark about business but most of the discussion on there should be personal...fun...interesting to your readers.

Perky is absolutely right about setting up both a business/fan page and a personal profile. Although you should keep personal stuff on your fan page to a bare minimum, and vice versa, it's ok to post a request on your personal page for your friends to "like" your fan page. As long as you do so every once in a while, it won't seem like you're pushing your business onto your friends. Instead of trying to separate business and personal, use your personal online network to facilitate your business online network.

That's precisely the approach I've been using with my Facebook accounts. My goal is to be present just enough that people will remember that I'm in real estate when they need to produce that information, but not be there so much it's offensive or annoying.

I try to post a variety of topics, some related to real estate but some also related to leisure and other "lifestyle" type stuff in and around my area. This 1) is often more interesting to people than a bunch of boring market activity statistics, and 2) shows that I know what's going on in my community.

Has it been successful? Within my existing sphere of influence, absolutely. Outside my SOI...not so much, yet, but the number of "fans" of my business page who I don't already know is slowly growing, and it takes time for those relationships to mature to the point of an actual business transaction.