Video hosting and marketing experts at Wistia.com recently released this informative article on how to get your video viewers to take action after viewing a video. While you may think it’s logical that someone who’s watched a listing video or virtual tour of your home will naturally pick up the phone or fill out a form to contact you, the addition of specific calls to action can have a dramatic increase in the effectiveness of your video marketing.

We encourage you to read the entire article, but if you’d just like the highlights, here are the top five tips for driving engagement with your videos:

1. Include a clickable link at the end of your video.
2. Offer some incentive for video viewers only.
3. Ask for (and listen to) viewer feedback with comment forms.
4. Link to more information sources from the video (downloadable PDF flyers, MLS info, blog posts about the neighborhood, etc.)
5. Encourage people to share the videos with social networking widgets (for Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

Read the entire article online here:

How To Get Viewers to Engage and Convert With Your Online Video

http://wistia.com/blog/how-to-get-viewers-to-engage-and-convert-with-your-online-video/

Walkscore.com is a useful tool which allows you to determine the “walkability” of any address. By entering in an address, you can instantly find out how well a particular property scores in terms of shopping, dining, schools, basic needs, and more.

From the website: “Walk Score’s mission is to promote walkable neighborhoods. Walkable neighborhoods are one of the simplest and best solutions for the environment, our health, and our economy.”

Use of your listing’s Walkscore can enhance the value of the property. Walkscore offers the following points for discussing Walkscores with your clients. A home’s Walk Score is important because:

• Walkability and public transit are associated with higher home values
• Transportation costs are the 2nd largest household expense
• Commute time and places to walk are two of the most important criteria for home shoppers
• A home’s location (location efficiency) is often more important than the building’s energy efficiency

For extensive information on how real estate agents can leverage Walkscore, check out this guide provided by the company. It just might provide you with an additional marketing edge in your community:

Learn More About Walk Score

http://www.walkscore.com/professional/real-estate-professionals.php
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“To endure is greater than to dare; to tire out the hostile fortune; to be daunted by no difficulty; to keep heart when all have lost it… who can say this is not greatness?”

William Makepeace Thackeray, (1811-1863); novelist

Our greatness resides in the moment we are certain we cannot possibly go on, yet we press forward despite our doubt. Thackeray was a novelist and essayist, and knew a great deal about what it took to make a sustained effort. In describing his efforts to earn a living as a writer to support his wife and three daughters, he often referred to his work as “writing for his life.”

Those of you who have been in real estate for the past few years may feel as though you’ve been “selling for your life” through a particularly trying time in the market. Certainly there have been months when you have entertained abandoning your business for a new start, but you are still here, checking in with us each week, learning a tip or two, and hopefully finding the way to “keep heart” where others quit.

Some of you may be thinking today that there’s no way you can keep heart for much longer. While I can’t speak to the particulars of your market or your finances, I can offer a little hope for those of you who don’t want to throw in the towel today, but are feeling particularly low: Just get through today.

It’s not always necessary that you take the long view when it comes to your spirit or ability to endure. Sometimes getting though the very next task is all that is required. Ask yourself: What is the next good thing I can accomplish. Do that. When you’re done with it, ask yourself again. If you pile enough of these up, you’ll find that you can make it through the afternoon, the day, the week, and before you know it… the year.

When the long walk is too dark, focus on your little circle of light. Surely you can find your way to greatness.

Here’s to your continued success,

Scott Levitt
President, Oakley Signs & Graphics

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[Learn how My Real Helper gives you the content, action plans, and coaching you need to earn small wins every day.]

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While you may be urged at every turn to “dream big” and “set grand goals,” there’s an increasing amount of research that what motivates us on a day-to-day are the small wins of incremental progress.

Dan Pink’s interview with Harvard business school professor, Teresa Amabile, reveals a number of interesting insights which agents and brokers can apply to their daily business to improve satisfaction and foster a progress-oriented environment.

Some interesting highlights from the interview:

“Our research showed that, of all the events that have the power to excite people and engage them in their work, the single most important is making progress — even if that progress is a small win.”

“Our survey showed that most leaders don’t understand the power of progress. When we asked nearly 700 managers from companies around the world to rank five employee motivators (incentives, recognition, clear goals, interpersonal support, and support for making progress in the work), progress came in at the very bottom.”

“Setbacks have a negative effect on inner work life that’s 2-3 times stronger than the positive effect of progress.”

To read the whole interview, check out Dan Pink’s blog post here…

Why Progress Matters:
http://www.danpink.com/archives/2011/08/why-progress-matters-6-questions-for-harvards-teresa-amabile

In addition to this fascinating interview, the website Tiny Buddha also offers this helpful article on how not to be overwhelmed by your to-do list and score some small wins every day:

How to Decide What to Do Now:
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/overwhelmed-by-your-to-do-list-how-to-decide-what-to-do-now/

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Have you ever noticed that though the internet gives people a free forum to express their ideas and opinions 9 times out of 10, they use it to complain?

If you want to differentiate yourself online, one of the easiest ways is to use it as a channel for praise. Praise what you like and ignore what you don’t. There’s no value in expressing negativity online, while there’s a considerable upside to singing the praises of others.

What’s more, it’s a great marketing strategy for your business. It’s no secret that people like to work with positive people. A great way to spread your positive image is to go out there and use all of the web tools at your disposal to shower praise on the businesses and people you support.

Become a testimonial machine! Make a list of all of the small businesses in your community that you support. Where do you love to eat out? Is there a local fishing shop you support? Bike store? Who are those “Main St. USA” business owners that make you proud of your community?

With that list in mind, look for opportunities to express your support for them online. Get on Facebook and record a video testimonial with your webcam. Write a post on your blog describing who in your community makes your year brighter. Put together a simple PDF document that you give to clients, listing the businesses in your community you love and why.

When you project this positivity and enthusiasm for your community, you’ll receive the positivity in return. Genuinely marketing for others is a powerful tool.

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WorkFlowy.com is perhaps the simplest and most intuitive “to do” list manager we’ve ever come across. If you have multiple projects you’re juggling (like multiple listings, for example), and you want an easy, fast way to track outstanding issues, questions, and “open loops” that are floating around in your brain and need to get organized on paper, WorkFlowy.com is the way to go.

With a completely free account, you can begin organizing all of the thoughts floating around your brain in no time flat. Be sure to watch the introduction video before you sign up, and then check out the “how to use” video after you’ve opened your free account.

WorkFlowy works directly in your web browser. All lists you create can be simply exported and saved on your computer. Bravo to this San Francisco tech team for making such a useful, free tool!

Try it out:
http://www.WorkFlowy.com

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“Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.”
–Ancient Proverb

In a booming seller’s market, it takes almost no effort at all to make your way in real estate. Indeed, in the last (and some would say: reckless) “gold rush” market, it seemed that anyone with a real estate license tacked to the wall could make a good living without the slightest bit of sales and marketing skill.

Of course, when the market tanked, who were the first to see their ships sink?

A common saying in sales is “bad habits come from good times.” When the money is easy, little effort is made to invest in education, training, prospecting, or technology upgrades. People cultivate poor client relationship management habits and frequently fall out of touch.

In a tough market, the converse is true: We develop our best habits when times are hard.

What you learn and practice during these times will serve you well when the market turns. Now is the time to double down on your client relationship skills, improving personal productivity, and learning new technology. This way, when the gold rush mentality returns, you’ll have the good habits and hard-won knowledge to outperform the masses.

Take today’s rough seas as the best lesson you could possibly have in sailing through to prosperous times. On days when it seems that nothing works and times are lean, remember that today’s adversity is teaching you what a boom market can never teach. Invest in yourself and form good habits now.

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Regardless of what your buyers and sellers hear in the national media, we all know that real estate markets are localized economic systems with complex factors influencing pricing, inventory, and trends.

So how do you know if your market has hit bottom, is still sliding down, or is showing signs of recovery? What key indicator should most influence your opinion?

According to the talented real estate mind of Bernice Ross, there’s one simple, precise indicator: How many months of inventory are on the market. Here’s Ross’ opinion on market health:

More than 8 months inventory = “rocky buyer’s market”
Between 7 – 8 months inventory = “bottom may be behind you”
Less than 6 months inventory = “good news, early signs of recovery”

To determine “months of inventory” use this equation:

Months of inventory = (total # of active listings)/(average # of monthly sales over the prior 12 months)

Do you use this metric? What other metrics do you use to judge the health of your market?

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The convenience of mobile devices also comes with risk. As you check-in, text, share photos, and increasingly run your business from the road, you may inadvertently expose private information or make yourself more likely to be a victim of a crime.

Here are four things you should be aware of as you use new mobile and social technology that might spare you expensive or embarrassing lessons:

1. Beware of how often you “check in” through social media.

Apps like Foursquare and websites like Facebook allow you to “check in” when you’re out and about in the world, effectively broadcasting where you are… and where you’re not. Be especially sensitive to checking in from airports and locations far from home. Enterprising thieves can use this information to target your home or business.

2. Beware of the photos you’re sharing.

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, what are your pictures on Facebook saying to friends, family, clients, and co-workers? Just like checking in when you’re out of town, vacation photos posted in real time can inadvertently let people know you’re not home. Also: Is what’s happening in Vegas really staying in Vegas if you’re tweeting those photos of a wild night? Your professional image could be damaged if you inadvertently share something publicly you’d meant to remain between friends.

3. Remember to log out of public computers

If you’ve ever checked your email in an internet cafe or hotel computer, did you remember to log out? Closing a browser window isn’t usually enough. People who open the browser can often waltz right into your email account because your “session” is still active. Remember to click “log out” or “exit my account” any time you log into private accounts through public machines.

4. Protect your devices

Smart phones now carry the sort of data you used to keep under lock and key in your office. If your devices are lost or stolen, how much of your clients’ private information could be exposed through your device?

First and foremost, add password protection to your device in case it is lost. Most have a setting you can activate which forces someone enter a code before access the apps and data on the device.

Second, consider adding an app or service which will track your device via GPS if it is lost or stolen. Depending on your device, there are an array of options to help locate your smart phone if it disappears. To find an app specific to your device, try Googling (without quotation marks): “app tracks stolen [device name]” where [device name] is replaced with your brand of smart phone (iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc.).

Basic precautions can save you time, money, and embarrassing apologies!

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The next time you’re pulling your hair out over a technical support issue, you might want to try this simple trick to help you find real answers to the problem you’re experiencing:

Add “solved” to your search query. Rather than just describe your problem, i.e. “Outlook won’t sync to my Droid smartphone,” try adding +SOLVED to the end of the search. Many tech support message boards use “[SOLVED]” to close threads on technical support issues.

One other trick is to use ~solved instead of +solved. Using the “~” (the tilde) tells Google to not only look for “solved,” but also synonyms for solved, such as “fixed,” “resolved,” etc.

Getting great results from Google is usually a matter of writing better queries. Here’s a helpful article on ways to improve your search skills, straight from Google:

http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=136861

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[This productivity tip provided courtesy of My Real Helper.]

In the market for signs soon? We’d love to earn your business!
Please be sure to visit us at: www.OakleySign.com