3 Ways to Market Your Home on Pinterest

Posted on May 13, 2013 by The Social Guy

Pinterest has created an entirely new platform for visual marketing. How marketeers take advantage of this powerful network is a work in progress. Here are three ways you may effectively market your home on Pinterest:

1. Create a Pin Board for Your Home

It is always good to start at the beginning. Create a Pin Board with a catchy title for your home. It doesn’t have to be the actual address as viewers will be taken to whatever .com the home is hosted (the great thing about Pinterest, and I believe why it is commercially viable). Think outside the box. For instance, you may call your 3/2 suburban home on the outskirts of Springfield something like, “My First Sweet Home” or “Springtown Sweet Home”.

2. Kitchens, Kitchens, Kitchens

Besides bathrooms, kitchens are the most important room in the house for prospective home buyers, and by home buyers, I mean women, the actual decision makers. Make sure you pin the best possible photos of your kitchen from multiple angles that show the best possible attributes of your kitchen. Take individual photos of your high-end appliances and create a separate Pin Board entitled, “Dream Kitchen.”

kitchens
3. Open the blinds.

Let the light shine in as a bright, clean room invites the online viewer in to the experience. Too many listings showcase poorly lit rooms and fail to attract the online home buyer into the experience. By showcasing well-lit rooms on Pinterest, you not only highlight the best aspects of your home, but you also enable it to be shared throughout the Pinterest network. Don’t be afraid to be poetic in your description of the room. When I see “Let the light shine in,” in a description field on Pinterest, I instantly want to click on it to see other posts shared from the account.

Bonus: Clear out the clutter.

No one wants to see your collection of beer cans from around the globe showcasing your entertainment center (e.g. Man Cave). Clean it up and clear it out. More room is always better and for the hundreds of viewers that are carefully combing through homes online this Spring, they want to see brightly lit, clean, modern rooms. Pin the best rooms in the house that show off the most possible space. Space counts…big time.

Please share your best marketing Pinterest marketing secrets.

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What is a Social Media Guru?

Posted on April 30, 2013 by The Social Guy

Are you a social media guru? I hear this term used a lot to describe different types of professionals who come at social media in vastly different ways. As of this post, there is no Masters or Doctorate in Social Media Marketing, Analytics, or Business so…I decided to take a crack at what I look for in aspiring “Social Media Gurus”. Here are 10 skills (because who doesn’t love a good top-10 list) that describe what I would consider minimum qualifications to hold this WWE-Style belt.

1. Have you been working at reaching an audience with a clear, concise, well-written message for over 10 years?

2. Do you understand basic communication theory: Sender – Message – Channel – Receiver?

3. Do you look at social media networks as primary marketing vehicle to drive business?

4. Do you understand how to create a basic business plan?

5. Do you understand how to define quantitative business goals using social media?
SM Guru Dilbert

6. Do you understand how to leverage social media to drive referral traffic to a .com? No, just being a techno-wizard is not enough. You must be a techno wizard and a communication expert with a solid understanding of basic business principles…think cash flow, P/L, ROI.

7. Do you understand how to track and measure digital leads from social referral traffic down the funnel through lead generation to conversion?

8. Are you capable of working collaboratively within an organization from top-to-bottom to enable everyone from leadership to the sales force to drive business objectives through a cogent social media strategy?

9. Are you familiar with the major platforms (Facebook, G+, Linkedin, Twitter and YouTube) plus emerging platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram, Videolicious…

10. Do you understand how blogs and other digital content may drive SEO on Google and Facebook? No, being a well-read blogger in one vertical is not enough.

And, the bonus question, do you have case studies that clearly demonstrate ROI?

Social media isn’t just a kids’ game anymore, and writing a book that rehashes 20th century communication theory positioned as 21st century thought leadership is a bunch of hullabaloo.

By the way…I just love Dilbert!

Please weigh in and let me know your thoughts on what it means to be a Social Media Guru.

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(Video) C21 PR and Social Media Highlights 2012

Posted on April 12, 2013 by The Social Guy

In 2012 we had an incredible year promoting the industry’s most respected real estate brand.  From the Super Bowl to our sponsorship as “The Official Real Estate Company of U.S. Soccer,” C21 has set the bar with regard to putting its agents in front of the largest audiences possible and leveraging paid, earned and owned media.

Check out our video summary:

Through the efforts of C21 PR and Social Media, and the leadership and vision of Bev Thorne, we managed to earn over 2.59 billion media impressions. It was an incredible year and if you’ve been following our brand over the last few years, then you know we’re not stopping to take a breather…it’s full-on, peddle to the metal excitement for 2013!

Check out “CENTURY 21 Revs Up Its Marketing” for a peek at what’s ahead for the most recognized brand in real estate. We’re going to the Indy 500!

SMARTER. BOLDER. FASTER. - It's Our Time!SMARTER. BOLDER. FASTER. – It’s Our Time!

This just in…I’m pleased to report that our SimCity Social Campaign earned an Audio Visual Arts (AVA) platnium award from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). It feels great when your work not only achieves its business objectives, but also earns industry recognition!  Reported by Inman News.

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5 Reasons to Step Away from the Smartphone for a Week

Posted on April 1, 2013 by The Social Guy

 

 

1. Clear your head.

2. Spend time with the ones you love…really spend time.

3. Laugh, love and linger.

4. Imagine new things.

5. Remember why you love what you do.

Pirates Spring Training 2013

Bonus: Dream of the Pirates winning the World Series after watching them win a Spring Training Game…

Just kidding. It is April Fools Day after all.

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Does PR Support Social or Vice Versa?

Posted on February 22, 2013 by The Social Guy

Public relations has been transformed by social media. As news media evolved to digital distribution platforms in the early 2000′s the value of a well placed article via traditional public relations efforts also evolved. No longer was a call to the local beat writer to arrange a lunch with your CEO or CMO the most effective way to ensure your story / angle received coverage in the next day’s paper. Digital media created an entirely new ecosystem of opportunity for pr practitioners and the introduction of social media only widened the field even further by creating a new universe of prospective syndication networks by which a message might reach its intended audience. The question I have is how has this paradigm shift in the media landscape effected the value of news.

Combining the explosion of “media” outlets with social media syndication has made it more challenging to reach a large audience through one interview, news release or advertisement. The Super Bowl and other iconic media appointments offer a unique ability to reach a massive audience and that has been the strategy for Century 21 Real Estate, but we have also selected targets that have the potential to earn media well beyond the activation date. Take a look at some of the best work we achieved in 2012 and 2013.

Maximizing ROI on paid intiatives is key to the pr/sm function and it always has been for pr, but the definition of ROI is changing. I often hear my peers struggling to make sense of this new reality, but in my mind today’s media environment has exponentially increased demand for talented communication professionals. The role of the PR professional has now morphed from corporate executives employed by large corporations to that of community manager or consumer engagement specialist. There are many more opportunities for talented flaks now than there were 10 or 20 years ago. The overlap between paid, owned and earned media opportunities in the digital space has created a void that today’s mass comm graduate is ideally suited to fill.

So, does PR support Social or Vice Versa? Yes, but it is not that simple. Interactive, sales, training, HR, Marketing and Operations all have a stake in PR and Social Media. Figuring out how all these stakeholders can play in the same sandbox and achieve their own individual objectives while at the same time achieving the overall corporate objectives is the true goal of the modern communication professional.

Sender – Message – Channel – Receiver “Same as it ever was.”

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