Who says you can’t leverage New Media Marketing to get old media coverage?

Believe it or not, new media is a hot topic right now and journalist are always looking for good stories on it.  Recently (as in a few days ago) we were able to leverage a story that happened on Facebook to get front page coverage in the Orlando Sentinel.  Check out these photos and then I’ll tell you how you can use similar tactics to get print coverage in your area.

Orlando Sentinel | August 10th 2010

Front Page of the Sentinel

Can you see the value this can bring to your business yet?

Getting a story on the front page is great, but when they mention you by name it really does something for your credibility.  But, there’s even more…

Story continues on the back cover

Here’s where it got really interesting.  On the back cover they continued the story, the reporter (Mary Shanklin) really dove in and helped me out here.

Let me explain the 4 arrows:

1. I’m quoted saying, “I do talks..” (That’s a plug for my speaking business)
2. Photo: Hey, it’s me! (not to mention the same photo I use on the social networks)
3. She mentions “Real-TechGuy” and goes even further saying that I consult business’ on how to use Social Media
4. BONUS!  She even mentions my Real Estate brokerage.

Some thoughts on Old Media

Hey, no matter how much we want to do everything online, not everyone is here.  Getting old media exposure not only helps build your brand, but it’s a HUGE credibility booster.  People that may not know who you will become interested in you and knowing more about you.

I know I’m down on old media and print marketing all the time…but this is totally different.  Running a classified ad may not (WILL NOT) get you this kind of exposure, however when you make news….people notice.

Get some Old Media

You have to think about everything that you’re already doing to find out what may be news to your community.  Look, it doesn’t have to be front page news, it just has to be something that your community would find interesting.  Then (I recommend outsourcing this) create a media list and start submitting press releases.  Yeah, pretty simple but VERY effective.

Some Quick Tips for you

• Make sure you have a press kit handy for reporters (including contact info, bio, and photos.)
• Add a tab to your website for press releases (I’m in the process of doing this)
• Get your story straight (make sure your branding and your messaging match)
• Make friends in the press (then they’re more likely to help you)
• …and last but not least- Do something fun and interesting once in a while.  It’s good for your health

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfcvndI9QN8[/youtube]

Has this new fangled New Media “thing” got you so confused you don’t know whether you’re coming or going?  Don’t worry, you’re not the only one.

This week Doug and I have planned a very special session where we’ll answer your most burning questions about using New Media marketing in your real estate business.  Whether you don’t have the time for this stuff or you can’t figure out which tools are most effective, we’ve got your back.

Some of the biggest questions about using New Media so far

OK, so when’s the big show?

We’ve planned a great Radio program for you on Thursday March 18th, 2010 at 1pm EST.  In this show we’ll answer some of the most common questions from above as well as some new questions from our live audience.  Click on the box below to join in.

Listen to Real-techguy on Blog Talk Radio

Join the conversation

If you’re question isn’t on this list, then you should leave it in the comments section.  We will do our best to answer every question completely on the show, but if we don’t get to it (and it’s original) I will email you a response.  <—-That’s like free consulting.

Today I want to talk to you about the New Media for REALTORs series I wrote last month, specifically What was the Point?

I’ve been telling you FOREVER that online marketing is all about the words you use, but if you’re like me you think talk is cheap.  So rather than tell you again How Important Keywords are, I thought I’d reveal exactly what I did and why I did it.

Why New Media for REALTORs?

When I started the New Media for REALTORs series I had three goals in mind

1. To inform REALTORs how to leverage New Media for their marketing
2. To take over the front page of Google for my chosen keywords
3. To show you how easily you can take over keywords in your area

Recently I noticed the buzz term “New Media” coming into play a lot.  If you’ve been around long enough you know this is the third iteration of this term.  It started out with Web 2.0, then went to Social Media.  I’m betting that by next year we’ll have forgotten the term social media and we’ll be phasing out the term New Media for something cooler….. Like just plain old “Media.”

When I started chasing after this long tail keyword I hadn’t even used it in this site at all, so this was ALL new to me.

The Plan to take Over the New Media for REALTORs Space

First I did some keyword research on the term “New Media for REALTORs” and found there wasn’t enough search volume for Google to have any data on it.  Then I went to google and typed in the phrase and found there were about 1,200,000 sites that came up with that term with only the first ten results being really relevant.

After the initial research I put together a game plane to take over which included:

• Nine blog posts with the keywords in the title
• Five Videos with the keywords in the title
• Six photos with the keywords in the title

(are you noticing a trend here?)

By the third day I was already showing up on the first page of Google because of one of my image tags.  See for your self by watching the video “How to Use New Media for REALTORs: Day 2 Photos.”

The Results of the New Media for REALTORs series

You can easily see the results of the series by typing the keyword phrase into Google, but just in case you’re lazy here’s a photo of the results at the time I’m writing this:

Google search for "New Media for REALTORs" as of 6:42 am 1-27-09

As you can see, by using a combination of videos, photos, and blog posts we’ve taken over the front page of Google for the keyword phrase.

Why should this matter to you?

I know it may seem like I’m tooting my own horn here, but the fact is that you can use these very same tactics to target keyword phrases in your market.  All you need to own is a couple of good phrases to get more traffic to your site and increase your reach into the community.

Checkout some of these results:

Using this new keyword phrase brought me an additional 68 visits

Here’s where the stats get interesting.  If you look at the number above you’ll find:

• The average visit from people using this search term was over 8 minutes (which was 200% higher than most other visitors)
• The average page views were 4 (which was 96% higher than most other visitors)
• The Average bounce rate was 54% (which was 20% lower than my site average <—a good thing)

What’s Next?

I’m hoping that sharing this data has inspired you to try it for yourself.  All you have to do is a little keyword research for long tail terms in your area.  Once you find something that works you can write a series of blog posts which feature your long tail terms and if you’re feeling really frisky you can even create some videos to go along with it.

In my next post I’m going to share the strategies I used for the videos that went along with this series, so if you want to know more I recommend subscribing to my feed so you don’t miss a thing

It looks like we’ve made it to the final day of the “How to Use New Media for REALTORs” series.  Thanks for following along.

The first 7 days we talked about:

1. Blogging
2. Using Photos
3. Using Video
4. Building Communities
5. Hosting Meetups
6. Using Twitter Lists
7. “The Secret“

Today I want to wrap the series up with some thoughts to get you going.  First I’ll share some things I think you should do to use New Media effectively and then I’ll follow with some things you shouldn’t do.

Things to Do

• Remember to be yourself online, people will always sniff out a fake.
• Budget time for New Media everyday
• Use the tools that work for you
• Write it into your marketing plan

Things NOT to Do

• Don’t try to use EVERY single network
• Work without a marketing plan
• Join a network without a purpose
• Try to do it all by yourself

New media is a team sport, so building a community online is vital to your success.  Make sure you take some time to plan out how you’re going to use it in your business and what results you expect to get.

For some final thoughts on putting it all together watch this video

The last couple of Days we’ve been focussing on different tools and tactics that you could use to build your online community.

But there’s one thing that makes all this work…

YOU!

Watch this video NOW to learn more about The Secret to New Media Success.

It’s Day 5 of How to Use New Media for REALTORs, a series inspired by Chris Brogan’s “If I were a REALTOR.”

In Chris’ post he says, “I’d host Meetups and Tweetups for local residents, inviting people who were house hunting.”  I’ve found when working with folks in real estate they seem to forget the ultimate goal to their New Media marketing efforts.  Using Meetups is an excellent strategy to bring people from online into an offline environment where you have a chance to connect.

Meetups?

Meetup.com is an online network of local groups.  Although this may not seem like New Media, it’s a gateway drug.  The service allows you to either find groups that you’re interested in, or create your own.  It also allows others to join your group and even provides a system for RSVPs and messages to make communication easy.

Traditionally meetups are used to bring people from an online environment to an offline meeting, but I have a little twist for you.  Think back to day 4 of this training, you know the one about community.  In that post I quoted Chris, “I’d empower as many local businesses on the net as I could, and help them be successful.”

Using Meetups is also a soft sell way of empowering those businesses to start using New Media.

Strategy for REALTORs

One thing I’ve learned working online is that it’s hard to get people from offline to online.  I’ve found that using Meetups has been a great stepping stone to get people moving in the right direction.

For the most part people will avoid any change, that’s why it’s up to you to affect this change in your community.  The most successful strategy I’ve found for getting people to use Meetup is to do it for them (at least in the beginning.)

So here’s how you can get people to use it:

1. Start in your office:  Volunteer to post all your events and meetings.
2. Try the Chamber:  I’ve found that most Chambers have been open to new ideas, especially when they don’t have to do the work.  You offer to set them up online and they promote it with their offline marketing.
3. The Board:  If your connected with your local board (of REALTORS) you can offer to move their whole calendar to Meetup.  Again, you do the work and they promote.
4. Teach:  You can invite other REALTORs  and businesses from your area to learn how the service works and how they can use it in their business.

The idea here is to provide value to your local community, while encouraging them to use this online service.  This is the first step to breaking them in to the whole New Media world.

The great thing about Meetups is that they don’t have to be formal.  You can have them a local restaurants or coffee shop (I’ve even heard of people using local bars.)  If you talk to the managers ahead of time you may even be able to work out some discounts.  Just be sure to remind them that it’s free marketing for them.

More on Meetups

If you’re interested in learning more about Meetups and how to use them, I’ve got good news for you.  I’m going to write a series on this topic next month which will include everything from setting them up all the way to results from the campaigns I used to market.

Keep an eye out for that series in February.

Be the first to get all 8 installments of How to Use New Media for REALTORs

This was installment number three in a series of eight posts to help REALTORs leverage New Media in their Real Estate business.