In 2011, we produced a total sales volume of $176,033,906.
Last year we did $232,071,135, an increase of 31.8%.

In 2011, our producers earned total commissions of $3,442,299.
In 2012, our producers earned $4,680,922, an increase of $1,238,623 - 35.98%.

In both years, our most active month for closings was June.
February, March and April are our most active months for listings by a pretty good margin.

28 of our agents had over $2,500,000 in production last year, 16 of you produced in excess of $4,000,000, 11  did better than $5,000,000 and our top four producers surpassed $13,000,000 in sales for 2012.

In the entire MLS, we ranked 4th in production overall while our average sales price was the highest of the four by far.

In our core market we ranked 3rd and again we maintained a considerable lead in average price among the three top companies.

Under Debbie Veteto's initiative, our Corporate Services Program continues to become a force to be reckoned with in Birmingham. With 45 community tours from 10 Corporate clients, 2011-2012 has produced 10 closings and 14 renter to buyer conversion clients. In 2013, Debbie has conducted 13 community tours of Birmingham producing two buyer clients referred to agents, one in Homewood and one that recently closed in the Mountain Brook office and she is currently working with three renter prospects who will be converting to buyers next year.

In 2012, Pam Nickoli's, Relocation Services, office oversaw 225 incoming referrals, 87 of which were corporate listing opportunities. Pam's efforts resulted in 95 closings for us last year, a conversion rate of 42%.

And maybe best of all, 20 agents joined our ranks since 2012: Misty Wade, Frances Robinson, Holt Rast, Roxanne Lamb, Jennica McMillian, Barbara Williams, Russell Kurtts, Walter LaGroue, Sarah Sams, Peter Northcutt, Roger Conville, Krisalyn Crye, Jackie Gray, Jonathan Hogan, Natalie Innerarity, Harry Greenburg, Dan Goff, Cynthia Zanaty,  Liza Roitman and Reba Myer.

I'd say we're doing pretty well and we're off to the best start we've had in many years.

What is Twitter? Twitter is a social media platform, or micro-blog, that allows you 140 characters or less for your messages. People can follow along and reply. Of course with every social media system, there is terminology you need to know.

General Twitter Terminology

• Tweets: status updates that are 140 characters or less
• Username: your account name with the @ symbol in front
• Followers: The people that read your tweets
• Following: The people whose tweets you are reading
• Timeline: Home page where your read tweets from those you are following
• Retweet (RT): Sharing someone else’s tweet
• Direct Message (DM): a private message sent on Twitter. In order to send/reply to a message, that person must be following you
• Hashtag: a keyword or topic marked with #

To see the entire Twitter glossary, click here. I’m sorry but I simply cannot cover everything.

Tweets, Followers, Following, and Timeline

When you type a sentence or two into a new status, that is called a tweet. If you visit someone’s profile, you’ll see two types of tweets:

• General Tweets that is public and seen by every one
• Direct Tweets (replies) that are messages to another user.

Direct tweets will start out with a Twitter username, then the message. For Example, if you want to message LAH on twitter you would put the @lahrealestate the follow up with your message. (@lahrealestate your company is awesome #realestate)

Your followers don’t typically see your direct tweets in their timeline unless they are following both you and the person/business you are tweeting. However, if they visit your profile, they can see these tweets in addition to your general ones.

When a tweet contains your username, it is referred to as a mention. Mentions can be a direct reply or can be a general message (such as someone sharing your link). The difference between your mention and interaction page is interaction lists all ways people have interacted with you, such as new followers, favoriting a tweet, or retweets. Mentions are simply tweets that mention your username.

Hashtags

One thing you’ll notice on Twitter is # followed by a word (#RealEstate, #Listings, #JustinBieber). These are called hashtags, which are keywords or phrases that categorizes tweets. 

When you click on the hashtag word, you will see a list of tweets containing the same keyword. Hashtags are also used in tweet chats. A tweet chat is when a group of people get together on Twitter at a certain time and talk about a certain topic. For example, every Sunday night at 7 pm, a group of us gather to talk about #SundaySupper. If you go to Tweet Chat and typed in the designated hashtag (in this case #SundaySupper), you can follow along with the tweets. Usually the chat host will ask a question and everyone tweets back with an answer. It’s a great way to tweet with those who share the same interest.

When a hashtag becomes very popular, it will show up in the trending list as a trending topic. This means a whole bunch of users at that moment are using that hashtag.

Twitter Tips for Realtors

1) Provide home buying and selling tips
The key to effectively marketing on social media is to establish your credibility as an expert in your field. This encourages clients to choose you based on your vast knowledge of the industry and the recommendations you have received. Giving home buyers and sellers advice that they can use, builds your reputation and solidifies their trust in you.

2) Connect with people in your industry
Twitter is a great way to keep track of what the top producers in your industry are up to. You should definitely pay attention to the marketing strategies that they are implementing. Mention them in relevant tweets as well so that they know who you are.

3) Answer and ask questions
Twitter is also a great way to connect with potential clients by asking community related questions and responding to questions people are already asking. This shows that you are not just on Twitter to promote your business, but also to help those requiring your specific skill set. Search Twitter for questions being asked about real estate in your territory.

4) Use # hashtags and @ mentions
You can mention another Tweeter in your Tweet, and alert them of this mention by adding @ followed by their twitter handle in your tweet. Mentions (@) are a great way to get the attention of Tweeters you want to notice you. If they follow you the mention (@) will also appear on their public profile giving your Twitter account additional exposure. Make sure that you mention them in Tweets that are relevant to their account and industry. Hashtags (#) are a great way to connect with tweeters who are interested in the topic you have hashtagged. For example if you add the hashtag #newyorkcondos to your tweet, then anyone searching for New York Condos on Twitter will find your tweet.

5) Branding
Always remember that Twitter is just one element of your web marketing strategy. You need to make sure that your Twitter account connects to your website/blog/other social networks (which should act as the central hub for all your social media networks).

One of the major objections about social media is finding the time to understand and utilize it. Diving into social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter can be a little daunting and time consuming. However, it will take time to get familiar with these networks as well as engage your audience.

Does the following sound familiar?

1. “I don't have time? ” 
2. “You expect me to do all this on top of my normal duties?” 
3. “I would post on facebook, but I'm too busy, and I don't know how to use it.”

… and so on.

I am not going to lie to you. Social media does take time. In fact, time is going to be one of your major hidden costs of doing business and engaging your audience on the Internet. And for some of us, that time could be wasted if we are not careful.

You need to watch where your time goes to ensure you’re spending it efficiently and with the desired impact. Here are five tips to help you.

#1: Spend Your Time Intentionally

Consider a face-to-face networking event. Do you spend all of your time speaking to one person at that event about the weather, or do you spread yourself around a bit and find new and interesting people to connect with? Are you just hanging out or do you direct your efforts toward a precise tactical aim or specific goal?

You need to know what you are doing and how you are going to measure your success.

How does this help you find time? Well, most businesses and individuals already allocate time for marketing, networking and research. If you know that your social media activities come in under one of those headings, and your efforts in social media are going to achieve equal or better results to other things you could do under those headings, then you are equipped to carve out time to try social media instead.

#2: Carve Out Time Where Social Media Is More Efficient

What if your social media efforts allowed you to no longer have to pitch, write proposals or go to sales meetings. Or never cold-call / send postcards for your business.

How much time could you save if you didn’t have to do this kind of sales lead generation or closing?

In my previous job, I would have to spend more than six hours in a car just so I could go to one 30-minute sales presentation competing with several other companies with very little differentiation between us. Not only was it soul-destroying and a colossal waste of time, it was actually very ineffective.

I am not saying you will be able to 100% replace your old way of doing things with social media right away, and I would not suggest that is wise even if you could. But you should be able to take an hour or two out of a week to test social media and see how the results look. In fact, combining approaches usually works best, as each technique and medium compounds the results of the others. Reaching prospects through a multi-channel approach is normally much better than the sum of the parts.

The great thing about social media is you can pretty much get involved anywhere and any time.

#3: Use “Dead” Time

How much time do you spend just waiting? I was recently at a conference in Las Vegas and because of the long-haul nature of the travel and the fact that I would be alone much of the time, I did a lot of hanging around and waiting, which I filled with social media.

Just think of your average business trip… What do you spend a lot of time doing?

1. Flights
2. Taxis
3. Queues
4. Departure lounges
5. Restaurants
6. Meetings
7. Hotels
8. …?

If, however, you have an Internet-connected laptop or smart phone, you can at least use some of this time to stay connected, engage with people, write some content or otherwise go from “hanging around” to being semi-productive. If nothing else, you will feel like you are not all alone in the world!

How long does it take to check your messages and send out a tweet, status update, check out a link, or answer a question? Seconds? Minutes at most?

How many times during the day do you get the odd 10 minutes where you are simply waiting?

Even at my desk I have to sit and wait, watching progress bars as something calculates, prints, renders or uploads. Those are prime “check what is happening in social media” times!
What if you find you have more than a few minutes to spare?

#4: Escape, Bulk-Produce, Store Up and Schedule

On those occasions when you have a good chunk of time, make the best possible use of that time and get a power hour of content produced.

1. Outline and write a set of blog posts to go out later when you are too busy
2. Brainstorm and create ideas, mind map your thoughts and generate headlines
3. Plan for the future, write up an editorial calendar, “most like to meet” list or line up meetings with people with whom you have lost contact.
4. Get organized and make your week more efficient with tasks, to-dos, filing and an empty inbox
5. Write out some interesting tweets to go out over the next week so you only have to check in and reply each day

One of my friends “escapes” to the coffee shop a couple of times a week and does all his content creation and planning for that week in those few concentrated hours.Being out of the office with zero interruptions (other than the constant stream of fresh latte) means he can bang out several quality items and his brain cooperates, rather than fights against his productivity with distractions and… Ooh, shiny!

#5: Just Relax

My last point is that this is not meant to be a chore. Nobody is testing you, tracking your use of time or holding you to any grading system. It should be useful and it should be fun!

Aim to build a reputation for being helpful and providing value, and most of all being a real human being. Then people will be much more forgiving and understanding. You do not need to be perfect.

If you do not post an article this week, so what? Your Twitter followers might be concerned if you do not appear for a few days, but they are not going to start saying bad things about you if you are too busy to tweet!

Consistently posting is a huge component to getting more eyeballs to your Facebook page, but there is another thing that not too many people talk about — the art of the status update.

1. Go to HootSuite.com.
2. Type the required information.
3. Click Sign Up Now.

 

 

Adding Social Networks

You can improve productivity by managing all of your social networks within HootSuite.

1. Click a social network to add.
2. Click Connect, and then type in your credentials.

To review a step-by-step process, read: Adding social networks to your HootSuite dashboard.

Adding Tabs and Streams

Creating tabs and streams allows you to perform and save advanced searches, filter for content and manage lists and followers.

1. From the Getting Started tab
2. Click Create a New Tab, and then label tab.
3. Click Add Stream, and then add content you can monitor.

To review step-by-step processes visit HootSuite Help/Streams to locate the specific process for the social network.

Composing and Sending Messages

Composing and sending messages allows you to create custom content for you to share with your selected social networks.

1. Click inside the compose field.
2. Type a message.
3. Click to select a social network from the profile picker.
4. Click Send Now.

To review a step-by-step process, read: Composing and sending messages.

Adding Apps to Your Dashboard

The App Directory is a library of third party apps developed specifically for the HootSuite dashboard. With the app directory you can add Flickr, YouTube, Tumblr, MailChimp, HubSpot and many more apps to your HootSuite dashboard.

1. From the Getting Started tab
2. Click Install Apps.
3. Click Install App beside the app you want to add.

To review a step-by-step process, read: Installing Apps.

Downloading the Mobile App

HootSuite is available as an app for your mobile device (iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry), and can be downloaded from your device's app store.

From the Getting Started tab click Get the Mobile App.


For addition information about using the HootSuite dashboard on a mobile device, read: HootSuite Mobile Help.

What is HootSuite?

In the broaded terms, HootSuite is a social media management system.  You can use it for your business or organization to collaboratively execute campaigns across multiple social networks from one secure, web-based dashboard. In a nutshell, it allows your to control multiple social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google +, and more.

It has a user-friendly interface and the basic plan, which has fairly robust features, is free. Unlike other social media management systems, HootSuite is accessed through your web browser rather than a desktop client. There is also a HootSuite app for iPhones and Android Phones.

How Can I Utilize HootSuite?

You can launch marketing campaigns, identify and grow an audience, and distribute targeted messages using HootSuite’s unique social media dashboard. Streamline team workflow with scheduling and assignment tools and reach audiences with geo-targeting functionality. Invite multiple collaborators to manage social profiles securely, plus provide custom reports using the comprehensive social analytics tools for measurement.

Key social network integrations include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ Pages, plus a suite of social content apps for YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr and more.

What does HootSuite cost?

HootSuite offers a FREE account as well as a Pro ($9.99/month), and Enterprise (customized) accounts, with optional add-ons available. More information can be found by visiting HootSuite's Plan page.Unless you are a large organization, the Free option is all you will need.

Track Campaigns and Engage Daily

HootSuite's dashboard can help manage both day-to-day community building and one-off campaigns. For actively-managed accounts, you can set up streams for the types of content you want to monitor, including news feeds and mentions. These streams live in customizable tabs, which can be organized by account, network or content, which comes in handy for tracking campaign-specific hashtags.

Batch scheduling is another useful feature for keeping campaign updates organized. You can pre-schedule up to 50 unique messages, making your team's workflow more efficient and allowing you to optimize peak traffic times.

Analytics

The platform recently revamped its analytics feature to include a new interface and the ability to create custom reports — a necessary tool for marketers presenting campaign reach numbers to clients.

The Built-in Social Analytics reports allow teams to measure the success of campaign tactics — by tracking URL click-throughs for example — and make adjustments to achieve the highest level of engagement.

Twitterfeed

This, in the technical sense, doesn’t actually connect your Twitter account to Facebook. But this application uses updates from your main network, and pushes them out to the other networks simultaneously. This means, whenever you post from your main network, such as a blog, the message/posts from the main network is posted to your extended networks (i.e. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter).

Steps To Using Twitterfeed

1. Sign up for a Twitterfeed account.
2. Submit your RSS feed, Twitter and Facebook account.

And you are ready to have your blog posts automatically sent to your Twitter and Facebook accounts when they go live. Then you can track your stats.

BY IJAZ

Your Page is the central place to grow your business, build your brand and develop relationships with your customers/subscribers.

Create a Facebook Page

 

1. Choose a category and a Page name that represents your business.

2. Pick a logo or another image that people associate with your business to use as a profile picture.

3.Write a sentence about your business so people understand what you do.

4. Set a memorable web address for your Page that you can use on marketing material to promote your presence on Facebook.

5. Choose a cover photo that represents your brand and showcases your product or service. It's the first thing people will see when they visit your Page.

Where to find my Business Page

After creating your business page, you should see a new "Pages" section on the left hand side of your personal FB page that houses all business pages you have admin rights to. You will see the name of your business page, clicking on it will direct you to the page.

Other important details

View insights, edit your Page content, keep track of new activity and respond to personal messages from your admin panel.

Click on the Edit Page button in the admin panel and choose Update Info to add other details about your business.


+ Read cover photos dos and don'ts

You're ready to create your first post
You can create different kinds of posts on your Page including updates, photos, videos and questions. The people who like your Page will see some of your posts in their news feed.

Successful posts are:

• Short: Posts between 100 and 250 characters get about 60% more likes, comments and shares
   
• Visual: Photo albums, pictures, and videos get 180%, 120%, and 100% more engagement respectively
   
• Optimized: Page Insights help you learn things such as what times people engage most with your content so you can post during those hours

Things to try:

• Explore the options under the Build Audience button on your admin panel. 
• Make sure to invite your Facebook friends to like your Page.
• Click on 'Invite Email Contacts' to upload your your email list and send a message asking people to like your Page.
• Promote your Page web address on store signs, business cards, receipts, emails, chalkboards and other marketing material.
• Download free Facebook table tents and stickers to promote your Page.

Top 10 most-visited real estate-related websites in the U.S. for January 2013*

Rank	Website	Total visits	Visits share
1	Zillow	44.19 million	9.17%
2	Trulia	33.70 million	7.00%
3	Realtor.com	29.32 million	6.09%
4	Yahoo Homes	26.48 million	5.50%
5	FrontDoor Real Estate	26.14 million	5.43%
6	Homes.com	17.98 million	3.73%
7	MSN Real Estate	7.17 million	1.49%
8	Rent.com	7.12 million	1.48%
9	AOL Real Estate	6.56 million	1.36%
10	Apartment Guide	5.89 million	1.22%

The 10 largest real estate listing portals are capturing nearly half of all non-mobile traffic to U.S. real estate-related websites, according to aggregate Web visit metrics compiled by Experian Marketing Services (formerly Experian Hitwise).

The top 10 real estate websites captured 42 percent of total visits in the space during January, with Zillow (9.17 percent market share), Trulia (7 percent) and Realtor.com (6.09 percent) leading the pack.

Experian, which measures total visits to a site from desktop computers, not unique visitors or traffic from mobile devices, reported a total of 482 million visits to real estate sites in January, a 12-month high.

Along with Yahoo Homes, No. 4 in January with 5.5 percent market share, Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com have filled the same top four relative spots in terms of website market share since June 2012, when Trulia leapfrogged Yahoo Homes and Realtor.com to capture the No. 2 spot, which it hasn't relinquished since.

Although RealtySouth has a great web presence, that does not necessarily mean they are producing the most traffic in home searches. Most Real Estate Companies are fighting aggregated listing sites such as Trulia and Zillow.   

Real Estate companies such as RealtySouth and ReMax do garner a lot of traffic, however, these are regional companies. Their traffic could stem from Alabama to Texas. What sets your website apart from these mega-sites, is your niche market. If you specialize in Luxury Homes in the Liberty Park area of Alabama, you are more inclined to see higher rankings from a  Google Search than RealtySouth. However, you will still have to fight off the aggregated listing sites such as Trulia and Zillow.

Potential Buyers are using the web to search for home and they are not necessarily going to any particular website to do so. Simply inputting a properties address in Google or Bing will grant you access to it's information. Usually Trulia or Zillow, if not Google itself, will have the top search result. Most people rarely look at the second result page, let alone, the second result on the first page.

Although RealtySouth and ReMax has great web presence, and a brand that is known throughout the country, that does not necessarily mean they are producing the most traffic in home searches. Their Home Search feature is easy to use...but so is Trulia's, Zillow's, or even Realtor.com.

Most Real Estate Companies are fighting against aggregated listing sites such as Trulia and Zillow, even RealtySouth and ReMax. Potential Buyers or Sellers are utilizing the web to find homes and they are not necessarily going to any particular website to do so. Simply inputting a properties address in Google or Bing search engines will grant you access to information. However, sites such as Zillow and Trulia, are normally at the top of these searches.

Note: The Experian Hitwise data featured is based on US market share of visits as defined by the IAB, which is the percentage of online traffic to the domain or category, from the Experian Hitwise sample of 10 million US internet users. Experian Hitwise measures more than 1 million unique websites on a daily basis, including sub-domains of larger websites. Experian Hitwise categorizes websites into industries on the basis of subject matter and content, as well as market orientation and competitive context. The market share of visits percentage does not include traffic for all sub-domains of certain websites that could be reported on separately.

AUTHOR:MARY BOONE