YouTube Tricks & Cool Mashups

By Drew Burks

It’s 11:30 p.m. as I’m writing this, my baby boy is finally sleeping, and all is quiet… and I just remember that I promised to submit a this blog post for YPN tomorrow.

I must admit, I am feeling a bit panicked… you know that feeling of being behind, with time running out quickly.  I have one concern as time ticks by quicker and quicker, what am I going to possibly write about that can add value to our readers at the last minute?

So I figured I would surf the internet to see what I could find.  I rarely surf the internet, but I just spent the last 15-20 minutes doing so and I found some pretty cool stuff that I found interesting and some even helpful.  So allow me to share:

Three YouTube Tricks

1.  Cut to the chase & link directly to the relevant part of a video.

Have you ever found a video on YouTube that has something cool or funny you would like to share, but hate that you have to watch the first 4:10 minutes before you get to the part?  With this simple trick you can link people to the specific point in the video so they don’t get bored during the first few minutes.  You can send them a link and have the video start at 04:10?  All you have to do is add #t=04m10s (#t=XXmYYs for XX mins and YY seconds) to the end of the URL.

2.  Autoplay an embedded video.

Normally, when you embed a YouTube video, the player is loaded and sits there waiting for the play button to be pressed.  You can make the video play automatically by adding ‘&autoplay=1′ to the url part of the embed code. Read more

Mark Your Calendars and Be There, Ya’ll

By Maura Neill

Sure – the economy’s tanked, your market stinks, and money’s tight. I get it. But pull yourself up by your bootstraps and get on down South, ya’ll, for two of the best events you’ll attend all year.

If you’re like me, you’re carefully planning where and when to spend not only your money but also your time. These two events will transform your business – and they’re more than worth the money you’ll spend to get there. And these ain’t your momma’s real estate conferences – from events held in bars, karaoke nights, and live Twitter feeds teaching you almost as much as the speakers themselves, you’ll come away with more information than you bargained for — and that’s a good thing!

March 25-26 – RETechSouth – Atlanta, Ga.

www.retechsouth.com

The RETechSouth Conference and Expo is in its third year and is the largest real estate technology conference in the Southeast. Join the thousands who have traveled to Atlanta “to learn the latest technology tips, engage in discussions about how to enhance their business, talk with vendors about how to improve their products, network with the smartest people in the industry, and of course party together!”

Firsthand, I can tell you – it’s amazing. As technology continues to change our industry, the top minds in the real estate and technology worlds come together for what has to be the coolest real estate event of the year. It’s the brainchild of Brad Nix (@bnix), broker of Atlanta’s Maxsell Real Estate, who can teach you more over drinks than you could learn at a “regular” real estate conference. Read more

Opera Browser Coming to iPhone

By Travis Broadwater

If you want to browse the Web on your iPhone or iPod Touch (or the upcoming iPad), the only option is the built-in Safari browser because Apple, until now, won’t approve other browser apps in their iTunes store.

Opera, hoping that Apple will change their policy, has developed a version of the Opera Mini browser for the iPhone and they’ll showing a preview of this iPhone App during the Mobile World Congress that happens in Barcelona next week.

An email from Opera PR says:

“We are thrilled to offer journalists and partners an exclusive preview of Opera Mini for iPhone during the year’s biggest mobile event,” said Jon von Tetzchner, Co-founder, Opera Software.

Safari vs. Opera for iPhone

According to a Reuters article, Opera claims the Opera Mini for iPhone offers up to six-times faster download speeds than Apple’s own browser, and up to 10 times smaller data traffic.

The Opera Mini for iPhone will only be shown to members of the press but Apple will have to approve the app for everyone else to experience Opera on their iPods and iPhones.

That may not happen anytime soon as Opera is yet to submit their Opera Mini iPhone App to the Apple App Store for approval.

Travis Broadwater is with Kennen & Kennen REALTORS® in West Virginia. Visit his Web site: www.TravisBroadwater.com.

Out With the Old and In With the New…

By Lincoln Crum

We’ve all heard this statement enough over the past month as we’ve entered a new year and a brand new decade.  There’s a ton of talk, within our industry about new trends, technology, updates, Web2.0 and now 3.0. Lots of “new” speak these days.

Being a 20-year veteran of the industry, starting when I was a teenager, I’ve seen a lot of things developed that make us better REALTORS®, especially within the realm of technology.  The key is for all of us to use the new technology and tools to enhance our business, serve our clients better and hopefully allow us to make more money.

I have a REALTOR® in our hometown who always has the newest computer, coolest cell phone earpiece, and is always talking about technology and how it has allowed him to achieve higher levels of success.  Out of curiosity, I did a little research and learned he barely closed enough deals over the past two years to stay alive.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I am knocking him a bit. But if you don’t have those good old fashioned selling skills, there’s a good chance you aren’t going to survive in this business, regardless of how fast your new laptop is.  Read more

Pants On The Ground: Beyond Your 15 Minutes

By Brian Copeland

I’m really tired of “Pants On The Ground” from American Idol.  It was a moment of time that a few cool people jumped on and then it was over.  Now, seeing the late-to-the-party-people start talking about it just makes me pull out my southern statement of, “Bless Their Heart.”  All that aside, we face the same eminent 15-minute reputation as YPNers.

Many agents today WILL SEE lacking staying power as a trend, thanks to our pop culture influences of trends and passers-by.  Here are four things to remember to ensure you last beyond your 15 minutes in this career.

Change Your Technology Talk. Technology is simply an accent or complement to what we already do.  The basic principles of listings, buyers and referrals need to stay central with technology as a secondary.  View Web strategy and social strategy with other agents and consumers as common as a TV remote.  No one today says, “I have this amazing button box that when you touch it, a magic light comes on a beam people from Los Angeles into your living room.”  The consumers are not impressed as much with your tech talk as much as they are impressed by your ability to apply the tools to the basics.  Integrate your technology plan in your listing and buyer meetings smoothly without trying to be overly impressive on the tools.  Make them a part of real estate life. Read more

Your Online To-Do List (So Important, You Should Have Done These in 2009!)

By Stefanie Hahn

What was hot online in 2009?

1. Google LOVES Facebook Fan Pages. Have you set one up for your real estate business? You should – trust me on this… no one wants to see your business on your personal Facebook page.  Setting up a Fan Page is a fast and fun way to share your business information, listings, real estate news, blog posts, photos and more with people who want to see what you’re up to in the real estate world.  Set up your page, start posting and begin gathering fans.  You should post your listings, real estate news and information from reputable sources, interesting and informative blog posts – yours or someone else’s – local blogs would be best, and post photos and videos of your listings and the areas you work in everyday.  Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages and click on +Create Page to get started.  You can build your page out before activating it for the Facebook universe.  And this is so great – Facebook gives you some basic stats on your “fans” – click on the “Ads & Pages” icon on the lower left (next to Facebook Applications) when you are logged in to see your fan page statistics.

2. Are you taking video? Why not?!!  YouTube was the second largest search engine this year.  The second!!!  You NEED to be shooting video right now.  Good thing for you it’s so easy to do these days!  Hopefully you put a Flip Video camera on your holiday wish list… the Flip cams are super easy to use and come with software that makes editing and posting online easy peasy.  Also important… invest in a tripod.  Please don’t make us queasy as we try to watch your listing video.  In this case, practice really does make perfect.  You can even practice at you own house.  Play around until you feel comfortable, turn all of the lights on, speak loudly and clearly and move slower than you think you should.  Shooting your video in segments is always a good idea – you can stitch the segments together while editing.  Once you feel good about it, sign up for a free YouTube account and create your own channel!

3. Twitter exploded in 2009. Are you tweeting your listings and more?  Twitter is a necessary evil.  You should be on Twitter and tweeting three to four times a day about your business.  Tweet your listings, links to all things real estate, what you are up too… Follow local people – many of the people you follow will follow you back if you seem interesting enough.  Twitter can grow your online network insanely fast.  Begin networking with locals that follow you on Twitter, consider attending local Tweetups in your area and take the online conversation offline at an alarming pace. Read more

Blogger in Paradise!

By Patricia Kennedy

Last week, I found myself packing for the most amazing vacation I’ve taken in years, maybe ever: three weeks on the beaches of Maui with a man who makes my heart skip beats every time I look at him, and a convertible. As I was packing, it occurred to me how Type-A I have become over the last few years. I mean, look at the stuff I brought:

1. Strappy sandals – check
2. Bathing suits – check
3. SPF 50 sunscreen – check
4. Shorts and t-shirts – check
5. MacBook Air (with contract writing software) – check
6. Kindle – check
7. iPhone – check
8. Digital cameras – check
9. Snorkeling equipment – check
10. Battery packs and chargers for items 5 through 8 above – check

With all of these miracles of modern technology, I can be away and still be connected to my clients.

But wait. This picture is out of focus!

So often, real estate practitioners try to get away to recharge and refresh, only to make themselves crazy by trying not to lose a single deal while they are away. So, why even bother to take the trip?

Before I left, I decided that this trip would be different. I called all of my clients to let them know I’d be gone, and that a trusted colleague was on call to cover any real estate emergency that might arise. And guess what? Most of them were headed out of town as well!

I will be checking my e-mail a couple of times a day and answering my phone when it rings  — on the iPhone in the convertible. But by and large, I’ve been able to disconnect temporarily from my Washington, D.C. real estate practice. And I am really fortunate to have two highly professional colleagues watching out for me.

And, of course, it’s much easier knowing that Mother Nature dumped a couple of feet of snow on my market area, thereby diminishing any desire any of my clients might have to go look at property!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the gorgeous beaches of Maui!

Patricia Kennedy is an associate broker with Evers & Company Real Estate.Visit Pat’s blog: www.housepat.activerain.com.

Google-tastic Goodness

By Stefanie Hahn

When you work with new agents (or any agents for that matter) one of the constants seems to be that they are looking for ways to get the best of everything, and are trying to get it for free.  If I shared with you some of the MacGyver strategies I have seen over the years you would … but you already know.

So when I sit with these agents there are a few constants – the first of which is to get on board with Google.  Not the search engine Google (we can discuss the joys of that later) but the super-cool-productivity-tool-creating Google.  That’s right; the team at Google is creating all sorts of wonderful stuff to make your business more productive; and best of all they’re giving it all away for free!

Here is a rundown of some of my must-haves from the Google toolkit.  There are so many more, but this is a good starter package for you to consider before stepping into the big time:

1. Google Profile – http://www.google.com/profiles

I know I said I wasn’t talking about search, but who honestly doesn’t want to come up on that first page when their name is Googled?  We all do – and setting up a Google Profile should be the key to getting you on that coveted first page of results.  How?  Your name, a small thumbnail photo and a link to your Google Profile will appear at the bottom of the first page of results.  As a bonus, you can tie in all of your other sites, social and otherwise, as well as your photos.  If you don’t have a Google Profile yet, stop reading this and go set it up … then come back (please)! Read more

Real Estate Agent 1.0 vs. Real Estate Agent 2.0

By Dan Iampieri

Real Estate Agent 1.0 takes any listing at any price and then spends their time working on a price reduction.

Real Estate Agent 2.0 prices listings at market value, only take saleable listing and always tell sellers the truth about price.

Real Estate Agent 1.0 has no marketing plan. Unless, it is a plan to put a sign in the yard and hope the local MLS sells the home?

Real Estate Agent 2.0 is all about action and is proactive. They follow a written marketing plan that emphasizes Internet exposure.

Real Estate Agent 1.0 charges whatever commission they can get.

Real Estate Agent 2.0 has a no-hassle menu of marketing options so sellers can choose the plan that fits their needs.

Real Estate Agent 1.0 still takes pictures of their listings themselves, and puts no more than a few low-quality photos on the Internet.

Real Estate Agent 2.0 uses the services of a professional photographer and has high-resolution photographs and gets a virtual tour. Read more

Rethinking Lead Generation

By Jeremy Williams

Depending on which real estate company you are currently operating with, there is one truth that you probably have heard expressed over and over: Lead generation is the key to a successful real estate business. Without generation, the well can dry up and the next thing you know your scrambling to find that next client.

Methods of lead generation can include farming a geographic area, prospecting a sphere of influence, pop-bys, open houses, and many other tried and true methods. With the influence of rapidly progressing technology, new methods are developing that might be outside the traditional methods of lead generation.

One of the methods at the front of the industry currently is the use of Facebook, specifically Facebook fan pages. Lead generation will always have better results when you have a connection with that person. Facebook is a tool that allows you to develop and nurture that connection. Utilizing this tool properly not only will you strengthen relationships both new and old, but you will soon realize new business opportunities to keep your lead well from drying up. Read more

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