 Homeowners and businesses are looking for House Painters and Painters for their businesses all the time. Sometimes they will ask around. But when they don't find someone through their neighbors, they will turn to advertising and marketing looking for the best person to help them with their painting job. Even if they do find a house painter through a referral, potential customers will often look for your online first before calling just to see what you are like. If they've also seen your advertisements around town in newspapers or magazines or on flyers they received, they will remember you. It will start to click and they will consider someone they recognize for their house painting. Advertising is going to cost money and you will need to set aside a portion of marketing and advertising dollars in your budget. Whether you do it yourself or you have someone help you, you need to try some things out to see what brings in leads and provides good brand awareness for you and your house painting business. PAINTING COMPANY ADVERTISING You can place an ad in the newspaper. These advertisements can vary in size and cost. They will go out to the people that subscribe to that newspaper. So if some of the neighbors do not subscribe they will not get the opportunity to see your advertisement. Just the other day I was reading the free newspaper in our neighborhood and saw two advertisements for two small handyman businesses in our area. I definitely kept those and will be reaching out to those businesses. Newspaper advertising is not dead. Local magazines are another option that is similar to local newspaper advertisements. They might be more expensive. You really need to call around and see what the pricing is and if this is a good investment for you at this time. You'll also want to ask what their subscription size is to get an idea of how many people will have the opportunity to see your advertisement. LOCAL BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS Some local business associations include directories for their members. Sometimes you can also be included in their events section if you are having a discount. Maybe during the summer? Or maybe for veterans and seniors? Call around and see if you want to belong to any of these groups as a networking option and what their directory offers are with this. CRAIGSLIST AND CLASSIFIEDS SITES Craigslist is still a great option to list your house painting business on. You can include photos, you can include your website information, your reviews from past customers. This is a great way to get the word out that you are available in their community. Remember to focus on your target market to draw in the perfect customers. If you're looking for other sites online that are similar to this, consider sites like Backpage, Thumbtack or Nextdoor. Make sure you find out the rules first so you don't post information that is outside the recommendations. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING Social Media Marketing is a great place to advertise your business. And honestly, you could just start posting and sharing your house painting business on your own business account. You can look around and find some groups where you can share information about your house painting as well. Many groups focus just on referring contractors to home and business owners looking for help. Social Media Marketing can be a super way to build awareness of your business. It’s free and available to everyone.  YOUR HOUSE PAINTING TARGET MARKET
We have spoken a lot about your target market in the past. Why? Because this is always going to be who you're aiming your marketing activities towards. If you don't want to work for certain markets, you don't have to focus on those markets. For example, I was considering house painting as my next career, I went in a little different direction because of my life circumstances, but I always figured if I go into that career I would work on specifically ranch or single story types of projects. So this would be my target market. My specialty. If somebody called me from my advertising or marketing that wasn't a single story customer I might refer them to someone else. But, I'm getting sidetracked. When I talk about your target there are many ways that you can Implement your communication with them. That's why it's so important to know who you want to work with most of the time. So let's say, I've used this example before as well, but let's say you just want to work with beach communities. Find the advertisements that reach to these types of homeowners. These types of businesses. What magazines are they reading? What newspapers are they reading? Where do they hang out on social media? How can you reach them most effectively? LOOKING FOR SOME HELP WITH ALL THIS? My job is to pick up the slack for your business in a consistent and professional way. I produce all types of backend content for your Blog Articles, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest Posts as well as the Graphics that go with them. My time for you is also spent engaging with your community and keeping your accounts active. And, if you want to be better at you Social Media, because you’ll want to do some of it yourself, I offer coaching so you can up your social media marketing skills! When I do this work for you then you can focus on what you need to focus on! The video creation of your business, the networking, the sales and the Home Service work! I've been in business for myself for over 20 years. I've mostly been in a business of one. I really really enjoy it. I've had my ups and downs, of course. I've gone door-to-door, done publication advertising and now I'm really lucky to be able to do social media advertising and marketing. I even do my networking online! I am your Content Powerhouse! Contact me and we can set up your easy package and take the backend content off your plate while streamlining your marketing for better exposure! Last time we talked about Marketing Strategy. If you want to check that out... head over after you read what Social Media Managers do on the job. Social Media Managers are busy people. Depending on the number of clients one has… they could be working part time or full time. Independent Marketing Managers (they go by many different titles) could be working from a variety of places. From a home office to an area coffee shop or even in their backyard! They will handle a variety of marketing projects for your business. From planning and reviewing your projects, training and teaching, to creating content for your blog to your social media platforms, emails, newsletters and the like! LOTS OF CONTENT CREATION TO EDUCATE YOU When they aren't creating the content for their you, their client, they are creating content for themselves in a similar fashion. Many successful social media marketers have their weekly plans and monthly plans scheduled out in advance. Similar to the what they encourage you to do as well. When they create content for your Facebook platform they mostly likely create your content for the whole month. When they write blog article content - they probably create more than just one article at a time. For example, my content creating days are spent creating a lot of content all at once. Both in text form as well as video. But also photos and graphics. If I don't produce a lot of these types of materials how in the world will I share anything helpful for you?? PLANNING SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT First, before I do any type of actual creation… I put together a plan of social media content. Usually I plan a year, 6 months, 3 months at a time. Then I break that plan down into monthly, weekly, daily. And then I start my day with each content plan that I have designated to create whatever content I have on my schedule. Whether I'm creating videos that day or posts for social media or writing blog articles like I'm doing right now, my process isn't always smooth and formal. Some days I create a lot of content on my smaller devices, and some days I’m at my desktop computer or laptop. Sometimes I'm on my couch and some days I'm at my desk. Some days I am able to work in long blocks of time and create a lot. Sometimes I have to work in shorter sprints because I have a number of other tasks on my plate for the day. My life as a social media marketers is filled with variety. My job isn't just to inform you and educate you with my content, but I also feel obligated to do it so it’s interesting and maybe even entertaining for you. If what I'm telling you comes across in a boring manner… you're going to turn away and move on. Think of a college professor that just gets up and lectures. That can be dull over and over. So, I try to think of ways I can keep it interesting. (it’s not always easy)  Shareable Image WHAT IS CONTENT RESEARCH Social Media Marketing specialists also spend a considerable amount of time researching and learning new things. When clients ask us questions or come up with new ideas that haven't been executed before in their marketing, spending time online researching and asking their social media network these questions can help a marketer come to quick solution and provide you with the best answers. My day starts with my favorite…. And your’s... coffee!! I sit down and spend probably the first hour or 1 ½ reading the news. I read about what’s going on in my field. Social Media, Marketing, news about the Tools and Marketing Platforms I work on. I keep a bookmarked folder of the top sites I follow and I catch up with that most mornings. (Sometimes I watch videos) I also sneak in learning. As an Social Media Marketing specialists I must always put learning in my schedule. If I’m not learning a new project - like right now I am learning Facebook Advertising for Agencies, So I can do more than boost posts and more than just run my own ads. Honestly, I want to master it. It’s quite the process - so this is going to take some time. We have to set aside this time during our day and weeks. I want to learn new tools, new tactics and strategies. There is always more things to learn. Some specialists go to conferences, webinars, schools and workshops. It’s certainly something we all do to stay smart in our industry! WAYS TO NETWORK I also spend a considerable amount of time online networking, mingling and engaging. Social Media Marketers and Managers are engaging with people that have similar businesses to them, people that they're interested in having as clients, people with similar passions in life, people in their industry. We look around whichever platform we are on for like minded individuals and companies we are interested in and try to strike up a conversation. Similar to the way you would at a party or networking group. Often it’s just fun - even though we are working. Good social media experts have a network of other experts at their fingertips. I belong to a number of other paid networks I mingle and network with so I stay on top of the most current social media news, social media tips, and social media platforms. I also meet super amazing and inspiring people. It’s a fun part of the business for sure! Social media and the internet, changes constantly. And the platforms that we are working on often do not produce announcements that changes are happening. Often times we get this information because of problems we run across. Or if we hear about it while we're in one of our networking groups. It's essential that we have these groups to communicate amongst. When you're on your own and do not have a network of other social media marketers, you can easily get lost and confused as to why things are happening. One of the best things a social media marketing specialist brings to the table in order to help you the best is their background of Networks. It's like you get a whole group working for you because a large group of knowledge comes to the table not just one persons. MARKETING SMALL BUSINESS So maybe that's a long way around to telling you how a social media marketer spends their day. SMM's spend a considerable amount of time staying educated so you don't have to. And SMM’s spends a great deal of time bettering their skills and honing their skills to bring you the best quality product so you can spend your time providing the same for your clients. ALWAYS ON THEIR PHONE! When you see an Social Media Marketing specialists on their phone, they're probably not screwing off and playing games. They're probably writing, engaging and networking, putting out fires. I like to call my phone a device. Because really, it’s my little computer that I can take with me in my pocket. For example a little while ago Facebook and Instagram kind of seized up both at once. As an SMM I kind of just rolled my eyes and moved on to something else to let this hiccup pass. But, everyone was talking about it. Clients were wondering what was going on with their accounts. It was all the chatter. It’s important your marketing manager is always within reach of their device - because it’s actually a tool for work, not a toy. AT THE END OF THE DAY Social Media Marketing Specialists are very busy. While many of them do work-from-home they certainly aren't laying around with their feet up eating bon bons and watching old reruns of Magnum… nope not at all, I swear. They spend very little time screwing off online or otherwise. They are at their computer working (and taking care of their family). If you want to talk more about how I spend my day working to be an expert for your small business, please contact me here or message me on Facebook or Instagram. I love to chat with small businesses about their marketing. I love to help guide them and consult with them about making their marketing more focused so they can build a great following and gain exposure! HOW CAN I HELP YOU? My job is to pick up the slack for your business in a consistent and professional way. I create all your backend content from your Blog Articles to your Facebook Posts. This way you can focus on what you need to focus on! The video creation of your business, the networking, the sales and the customer work! I've been in business for myself for over 20 years. I've mostly been in a business of one. I really really enjoy it. I've had my ups and downs, of course. I've gone door-to-door, done publication advertising and now I'm really lucky to be able to do social media advertising and marketing. I even do some networking online! I am your Content Powerhouse! Contact me and we can set up your easy package and take your backend content off your plate. Let’s streamline your business marketing for better exposure!  HI! I'M JENNIFER. Thanks for following and reading the Ultimate Marketing for Home Service Professionals here at Voiyoo! I'm here to make life easier for House Painters, Landscapers, Electricians, Plumbers, HVAC Techs and House Cleaners - working to guide your online marketing to create more brand awareness and engagement. Together we will direct your message across online platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube as well as with your Content Planning, Strategizing and Creating - like Articles for your Blog! I can also train you with these platforms to make it easier for you to upload and get more engagement! Check out the rest of the website: Voiyoo Social Media Management Find Me Around the usual Hangouts & Message Me on Instagram or Facebook! It would be so fun to work together! Last time we talked about some budget tools for your business office. I showed off some of the goodies I like to use. Check it out here. This time we are going to talk about your marketing strategy and what I did to plan mine out. Do you have a marketing strategy for your Home Services business, yet? And, what does that really even mean, anyway? When I was just starting out and taking my social media management program, I had no idea how to come up with a strategy. Or how I would pull it off once I managed to pull one together. (I really didn’t even know what strategy meant for marketing!) After more studying, trial and error and really just learning the platforms the best I could, I began to naturally develop a strategy by combining what I had learned and what I had tried. What I liked and what I found effective. And, this is how you can develop a marketing strategy for your business as well! You want to layout something to start with, of course. With the best of your ability or maybe with some coaching advice, you want to put up a strategy on your calendar and then experiment with this strategy. Try what you have laid out. Make notes mentally or even physically write out your conclusions and make adjustments from the info you have gathered. Make a monthly assessment and pivot or continue on with what you have concluded from your notes. HOW TO DO SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING First, I started with my goal. I was new and wanted to build a fan base. This is often the best place to start - online or off. Build your brand awareness and create your business visibility. I also wanted to become more of an expert in my field and I wanted to share that. Because this is what marketing is: Sharing and Educating. Sharing who you are with the world and educating your community. Educating them about who you are, what you can help them with and what they need to know, and how you can help them get what they want. How they can make their dreams and goals come true because of what you can share with them! Honestly, I’m still in this stage. Building and building. Not sure you ever stop this part. Because you are always building your business, right? THE THINGS I TRIED From here, I analyzed what direction I want to go in. As a Content Creator and Social Media Manager, I needed to review all the social media platforms that I could. Work with the platforms for a period of time and then either embrace them or move on. I dove into Facebook on my Business Page and LinkedIn first off. I jumped into Instagram and started my video channel on Youtube while also learning and building my Pinterest page. And, I am a blog article writer. So, I created this Blog and have built it up over the last year. I would like it to be bigger as well. And, now that I know more and don’t have to learn some of the preliminary marketing areas, I can spend more time implementing them! So, this is pretty exciting! It’s my 1 year anniversary of sorts of when I first I dove in and stared learning. Trying. Experimenting. It’s an enormous endeavor to do all of this at once. And, I forgot to even mention... Twitter? Care to follow me over there? @jennvoiyoo THE BEGINNING MARKETING STRATEGY I remember speaking with a potential client at one point about how they should construct their strategy. What should they be doing and where in the beginning? I didn’t really know and I couldn’t actually tell them anything except “go with the platform you enjoy the most. Learn it well and expand on it as you get better.” That’s not bad advice. It’s a great place to start. But, now, a year later, I know how to expand on that info greatly. Because I have a giant amount of info stockpiled. And, because, it’s not really just about where you enjoy being. What you already know from working on the platform already is great, of course. It is a great direction to start from! SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS FOR BUSINESS It’s about learning where your ideal client is also mingling around. It’s about where your target market is hanging out. Where your avatar is spending their time. So, while it’s about where you might be comfortable, if your niche client isn't there…. You’re just having fun and wasting time. (fun isn’t really a waste of time - but we’re here to make a living!!) So, this for me was the hard part. And, it’s actually something I always analyze. I often work on a platform for a certain amount of time. Diligently with a serious plan. If I get some interest form my niche, then I stay and try to develop that more. If I don’t I move on and spend a large part of my efforts somewhere else. Like I mentioned earlier, if you want you can keep a chart and record some of your analytics to make it more decipherable. A good example of this is Facebook. I came in at a time when Facebook had made a huge shift and it wasn’t easy to get a following any more. (Aww… remember the days?). So, my efforts didn’t lead to much return. I made note and moved on pretty quickly from here. I will return with a better plan later. But, for now, I wanted to learn and not struggle. I needed to also get some wins to keep it interesting. I am starting to build a community over there now and would love to have you join me! @voiyoosocialmediamanagement  Pin the image above to Pinterest for easy reference for later!! PINTEREST So, from here I built up my Pinterest skills. I studied it and took a program for Blogging better and Pinterest Promo. I built my follow up in a few days to 8k? 12k? It was a good size in just a very short time. But, I was also reviewing statistics about what Pinterest really was and the turn out it had for my clientele. It was small. It’s also more of a search engine now than it used to be, so I will keep a presence on there, but it’s not really a place to gather like some other platforms. After some more learning, I use Pinterest more as a “depository” of sorts. If someone is looking for what I have to offer, they should run across what I have on my page. I like to consider it a library of sorts. Come and check it out: jennifer @voiyoodigitalmarketing From here, I moved on to Twitter. I don’t love twitter, so I didn't stay long. It’s very dense and the info moves very fast. When I want the news - I often go to twitter. I might come back around here and develop a deeper following and interest. For now, I have a presence, but not much more. Do you love Twitter? Do you get great results? Let's connect: @jennvoiyoo YOUTUBE AND BLOGGING Youtube and Blogging also started to fill my day. These are both still high on my list. They aren’t really social media platforms, but they are an excellent part of any marketing plan. You can both educate your public and start getting some ranking with SEO. YouTube is also a search engine. The second largest. So, another large library like Pinterest, but just video. And, you can leave comments and follow like social media platforms - so I enjoy the connections. Visit the Voiyoo Channel And, lastly, Instagram. This is the one I have enjoyed the most. It’s easy. It’s fun. And, you can build a following as well as build relationships and a community! What’s not to love?! Well, I do still need to give this platform a good review for my business. Because, while I have had the most fun on Instagram, I have to stick to my plan and analyze weather it’s going to be a good fit for my business. I have stayed on Instagram the longest, because of the items I listed earlier. It sure makes it a great fit in many aspects. It has also allowed me to try other types of marketing that I wouldn’t have been able to do anywhere else, because the other platforms were so hard to build following that was real. A following that became my people and my community. So, needless to say, I probably won’t be leaving Instagram. But, do I expect it to get me any business on a large basis? Right now, I’d have to say no. However, in the scheme of things, it has been a short period of time. In the marketing business we call it warming up your audience before you start to tell them what you have to offer. So, now that I have been on the platform for a bit, I will start to offer what I can to help my audience. I will put building my audience here on Instagram at the top of my list. I will strategize this platform more to expand on my current following and see if I can build some leads on here as well. You can find me at: @voiyoojennifer And, then there is LinkedIn. This is the next place I will head. I started making some connections over here when I first got started. I built on communities and connections I had outside of the virtual world. But, I got pulled away when Instagram became so fun! But, now I am ready to wander over there again, order a drink and get very well acquainted. I honestly don’t know what to expect. I hope it will be as awesome as Instagram. You can do a lot more on the platform than before I started. Video and posting articles is newer! And, the audience that’s on LinkedIn tends to be older and more serious about putting business first. This might just be the place where my marketing shines and I make some more great connections! Let's connect there, too! @voiyoosocialmediamanagement OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS Ha!! I don’t do snapchat,Tik Tok yet, the separate messenger platforms for business, or any of the chinese platforms. If you think of any you love that I have mentioned - please leave a comment to share that! REVIEWING While I have been experimenting and learning I have also been reviewing my competition. I have learned to call them my peers, my warrior collaborators and my peeps. Yep - we still use this word. I have also been paying attention to what the statistics say so that I can evaluate the direction I need to be going in. SOME BASIC OUTSIDE ANALYTICS It’s important to look at your analytics, but it’s also important that you include basic info about the platforms and processes as well. The youth of the American world hangs out on Instagram the more than the older groups. Is that my clientele? The older crew that’s more settled, hangs on out Facebook more. Even if you see some people say they are leaving, Facebook still draws the biggest crowd. YouTube is just huge for everyone. This is important to know and take note of! WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA IS BEST FOR BUSINESS? I need to know what to tell MY target market when they ask me where THEY should be. Because it might be different than where I should be. I am a social media marketer, not a painter, plumber, electrician, cleaner, or HVAC tech. It’s a daunting task to do all of this and build your business at the same time. But, I have learned a great deal and I can pass that on now. I know stuff. And, I know how to do stuff. I also love to share it! At the same time that I was constructing my strategy and learning the platforms for my business, I learned how to write for this blog. And, get better at it. This article (yes, I like article better than post and I’m gonna use it! No apologies right?) is about 1500 words and it took about 2 hours to write and edit. I started off last year by staring at the page. What the heck am I going to write about? I also had a blog for a long time, as an artist (before this). But, I didn’t do it strategically. This time I took a course to be a better blogger and how to develop that skill more. I learned how to do keyword research and some SEO applications. I learned better strategy. WHAT’S THE POINT My whole point is I’ve developed a good size marketing plan and strategy by sketching one out first starting with a preliminary jumping off point. Then, I learned and experimented. Analyzed and pivoted as necessary. I didn’t realize it would take so long! But, being a Social Media and Content Manager is harder than it used to be. The Social Media Platforms make you jump through more hoops to just get seen. That’s not something just to brush off. You need to know that developing your marketing plan can take time. I also explored as much as I could get my hands on in a years time. I need to know as much as I can so that I can guide you and offer you the best advice. As a Home Service Professional or Small Business Owner, I do not think you need to be everywhere. Absolutely not. A LITTLE REVIEW From there here these are the questions I answered to find out my strategy: 1. Throughout my trials I kept my focus on the goal I laid out at the beginning: more exposure and more awareness? 2. Where should I be to get the best exposure? 3. Where should I be to reach my audience? 4. What should I do to grab attention and warm my audience to me and my brand? And, that’s basically it. Have you laid out your strategy? Do you have a good firm plan set for you Marketing? HOW CAN I HELP YOU? My job is to pick up the slack for your business in a consistent and professional way. I create all your backend content from your Blog Articles to your Facebook Posts. This way you can focus on what you need to focus on! The video creation of your business, the networking, the sales and all the rest of running your business. I've been in business for myself for over 20 years. I've mostly been in a business of one. I really really enjoy it. I've had my ups and downs, of course. I've gone door-to-door, done publication advertising and now I'm really lucky to be able to do social media advertising and marketing. I can even do my networking online! I am your Content Powerhouse! Contact me and we can set up your easy marketing package and take your backend content off your plate to help streamline your marketing time for better exposure!  HI! I'M JENNIFER. Thanks for following and reading the Ultimate Marketing for Home Service Professionals Blog here at Voiyoo! I'm here to make life easier for Painters, Plumber, Electricians, House Cleaners, HVAC tech and other Home Professionals. Working to guide your online marketing to create more brand awareness and engagement. Together we will direct your message across online platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube as well as with your Content Planning, Strategizing and Creating! Check out the rest of the website: Voiyoo Social Media Management Find Me Around the usual Hangouts & Message Me on Instagram! It would be so fun to work together!  Ha! Who is that appearing in a purple wig and tie?? TOOL # 1 MY PHONE(S) I used to use a tiny inexpensive Samsung phone when I first got started. It was what I have and really small compared to what I have now. I think I shocked the TMoblie guy that I could even use that little phone for what I do for a living! Ha!! Since then I have updated, but I stayed on a budget. I saw no reason to spend more than I needed. 2 or 3 years from now ya gotta do it all over again anyway! Ha!! I invested in a LG Stylo. And it’s awesome. Especially for being in the lower price point. It has a big screen, runs fast and even has a built in stylus. It takes good video and photos. Fantastic! I hope they continue to make this series… I've been very happy. I also keep my old phone and my husbands old phone around to use as a camera, take videos etc. It’s nice to just have them laying around and ready to go!  TOOL # 2 MY STAND UP DESK Love this thing too! Yes! It is an essential part of my office set up. I looked at a number of options: adjustable platforms that you put on top of an existing desk, a makeshift desktop made from items you already have, and lots of expensive crank type or electric type desks. And then my husband stumbled across this beauty! He found it at Costco and it's awesome. It's electric… so that’s really wonderful. It's white - so it goes with my office furniture. It's sturdy and was inexpensive! What is not to love?! I stand for my morning work and sit in the afternoon (or when I am writing a lot)  Pin the image above to Pinterest for easy reference for later!! TOOL # 3 APPS! I try to keep it to a minimum when it comes to apps. I will try some and if I don't love it I will quickly uninstall. You can easily fill up your devices with apps you wind up not using. So which ones do I love? Well, the one I'm working on right now is from the Google series which I'm sure a lot of you use. It’s Docs and I like to write almost exclusively on it. I write my blog articles on it. I right my Instagram posts on it. I use it for client work. I really use it all around for just about all my longer writing. The main reason I work with this platform is because it’s super easy to share with clients, too, who are already using this platform. And, it easily syncs with all of my devices. Another favorite reason is the fact that I can use the Speaking Tool and speak all my blogs articles before I edit them. Fantastic! I also love the the Plain Notebook App that came with my phone. It wasn't anything special. I didn't download any particular app. I like to keep my hashtags on it for easy access. Sometimes I'll even jot down a post in there. And, I also keep our weekly/monthly meal plans in here. I find it’s easy and it works great on a budget! I use Dropbox for my image and video storage, Google Sheets, and Google Calendar, Quicktime and iMovie for creating YouTube Videos, and an app called Randomness. This one is actually a favorite freebie I had a hard time finding. It creates random passwords in various sizes. Love this thing! It will also let you make other decisions by rolling the dice, flipping a coin and more. Fun! And that actually kind of sums it up for your basic business type of apps. Most were included with my computer or phone. If you’re working on a budget - you don’t need to spend much to get a great set up. When it comes to social media and posting content and adjusting my images and video, I use buffer to schedule and kind of plan out my my posts for Instagram. It's easy and it's free for small numbers of accounts. If anybody has any questions on using buffer on your devices, please reach out I'd be delighted to give you any information I can. I also use a variety of video and photo apps. This is probably the largest section selection of apps that I have. I don't know of one app that does everything when it comes to video and photos. A lot of them do different things and you pick and choose from the techniques you like. I've written an entire article on many of the apps that I love and use for Instagram and that friends who are also in the industry love. You can find that over here as a featured article on the Social Media Managers School Website. ( I was honored to be chosen to write this piece and I think you'll find it super helpful when you're looking for Instagram apps)  TOOL # 4 MY PLANNER I actually designed my own planner. And, it actually took me maybe a year to design and create it to work the way I need. I knew some of the direction I wanted to take it in but it took some… you know… molding and finessing and redoing and adjusting and actually just last week I finished the layout for it! It finally came together and I absolutely love how it eases my life! I find my job is complicated and complex. It’s also time consuming and can get messy quickly. I needed something so when I come to my desk in the morning I didn’t wonder “no what should I be doing”. That drove me a little nutty. It includes a breakdown for my entire quarter, week and day. It also includes a breakdown for each of the platforms I'm on, the articles I'm writing, the videos I’m doing, etc. And in the back it also has a bunch of different sections for things that are important to my business like strategy and services that I provide information on. It also has a nice plastic folder that I attached to keep papers and magazine clippings that I come across and collect overtime that I want to create content about. I stuff all that in there because otherwise it's just collecting dust on my desk and getting shuffled around…. And you got it… driving me nutty! I love to work on a budget and I love to reuse items that I have. I will give you a brief overview of it I'm going to go more in-depth with this planner in another article and probably a short video series. But it's like a planner on steroids. It’s a 3 ring binder with a zipper - so nothing falls out when I take it with me… wherever! I have it section off as I need and I reuse old manila file folders as dividers. I think the whole thing cost about 30 bucks.  TOOL # 5 A LITTLE WORKOUT EQUIPMENT My Stay Fit Tools! I now keep some workout equipment at my desk. For many years I had a job where I was physically active all day. And when I decided to switch careers after 20 years, I found that I gained like 10lb in the first year! And I could not get rid of the weight the traditional ways that other people were getting rid of it. Or through ways that I had in the past. I couldn't stay as fit as I had in the past. I found it very sad and had to take what I call... drastic measures!! So I bought myself a mini elliptical - I guess you call it a stair stepper. I have my can of bush beans - the one pounder that I use while I’m just standing around reading at my desk, watching videos, or on the phone. And I got this this lovely set of massagers for your feet! Cuz I'm standing a lot at my desk and I do use my stand-up desk at least half of the day. It's nice to take care of your feet because they are so important. There’s a wrap up of some of my favorite business and office tools. We didn’t even talk about computer, sound or lighting equipment. We’ll leave that for another day. Come and say hi over on Instagram - tell us some of your favorite business of office tools!! WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP YOU?? And lastly, and most importantly... what can I do for you?? Honestly, what do you need help with in your business? I've been in business for myself for over 20 years. I've mostly been in a business of one. I really really enjoy it and I've had my ups and downs of course. And I've also gone door-to-door. I've done publication advertising and now I'm really lucky to be able to do social media advertising and marketing. I even do my networking online! Visit the Marketing Services Page! I'd love to help you get your Marketing all together! Contact me with your questions, suggestions, ideas, anything you'd like me to help you out with or answer. Have a great week and we'll see you next time!  HI! I'M JENNIFER. Thanks for following and reading the Ultimate Marketing for Realtors® Blog here at Voiyoo! I'm here to make life easier for Real Estate Professionals - working to guide your online marketing to create more brand awareness and engagement. Together we will direct your message across online platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube as well as with your Content Planning, Strategizing and Creating! Check out the rest of the website: Voiyoo Social Media Management Find Me Around the usual Hangouts & Message Me on Instagram! It would be so fun to work together!  SERVICE #1 - YOUR PLANNING AND STRATEGY Planning is what changed it all for me. Planning is actually quite exciting. Because this is what can be the pivoting point for your business, for your marketing, for your... whatever. When you take the time to sit down and plan out all the areas of your business, all the areas of your marketing, all the areas of your day... oh, you really start to run your own show. This is when the show stops running you! This is when your day stops going haywire. This is when you get a grip and you get a handle on running your business. Exciting! This is one of the best ways I can help you. I talked with a lot of people who spend their day scrambling, not knowing which direction to go in. Panicking that they're not doing the right things. Feeling overwhelmed. Maybe even wondering if they are cut out for this running your own business thing. Planning together is something I'm really great at. And I love to help you put together your plan and a schedule and a strategy to move you forward in your business. To move your goals ahead. Maybe just to figure out your goals. We can meet for a consultation and see if this is a great fit and move you forward! I talked a lot more about this last time. Swing over and check out that article, too! Very helpful. SERVICE # 2 - YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING & MANAGEMENT Your social media marketing. First of all you know you need to be on “there”. You know you need to have a Facebook page. Maybe you're considering Instagram and YouTube? I know what a realtor should have as their main focus when it comes to social media. I spent the last year actually studying this for your industry - Real Estate. I found that a great way to start off is to stop being everywhere, stop thinking you need to be everywhere, stop trying to learn every darn thing. Start with one platform... like many people talk about. And I recommend you start with Facebook. It’s the platform with the most active followers, still. You've probably got something going on there already…. So we can tinker with this and make it better. We can make it more focused and set up for your business. Then we can move into a number of other platforms that I think are important for Realtors. Instagram for one. YouTube for another. And while it's not social media technically - blogging can be very vital and important for Realtors. Some people think Blogging is a dead art. But, blogging can help boost your credibility and experience as an expert. I love to start Realtors off with a good platform and marketing review. Always start from where you are and build on that. What is it that you need? I can give you good tips. I can give you good guidance. Check out the page that talks all about Your Social Media Management Needs!  Pin the image above to Pinterest for easy reference for later!! SERVICE #3 - YOUR CONTENT Your content. Your content is pretty much the basis for everything you do. When you have a good bunch of content in your content coffer, you have all you need to draw from. This is your knowledge this is what you are sharing with the world what you know. This is what you can constantly talk about in your marketing. So just think, you have no content, you've written nothing, you're talking about nothing, you've posted no pictures about anything. You have nothing going on. What do you share with your people? What do you tell the world you're good at? What do you tell your community you can help them with come up? Can you see where I'm going with this? If you want to talk to your community…. About how you can help them with their home sale or purchase. What's going to make them believe you? What's going to make them think you know what you're talking about? What’s going to make them like you? Being able to provide content for your clientele is actually a gift. Think about it 10 - 15 years ago you had to send out a postcard with a little bit of information on it and nice picture, maybe a house that you sold in the area and that was maybe it. Billboard. Door to door. Maybe a newspaper article or a ad? That's great! But now you can really expand on that. Now you have these platforms where you can tell the world all these great things you can help them with. That’s so awesome! They have been waiting for you to share your knowledge. And now you have a away to do that. So, I hope you'll take advantage of that and set aside a bunch of time to create it and share it. I can also help you with your Content Creation. Once we start working on your strategy and your planning we can get together and plan your content. You won't again be scrambling or wondering at the last minute what the heck you're going to write about. Or when. It's probably one of the easier plans you will make. Cuz you probably have a lot of ideas! If you just took the time to sit down and write them all out - just the ideas - and then you can build on them later. Maybe you don't have time to do any of those things cuz you're really cranking out a lot of other marketing or showings. I can help you behind the scenes writing content and posting for you. Let me help you pull it all together! Visit The Content Creation Page for more information! SERVICE # 4 - SOON TO COME... YOUR FACEBOOK ADS And soon to come… Social Media Advertising. Just think about it as any other kind of advertising. It might not be in the budget to run something on TV or on a bus stand or even in a newspaper. But with social media ads like Facebook - you can get more for your buck. You might have even tried running Facebook Ads for yourself, but not had much traction. You might have had other people in your brokerage that have explored Facebook ads and come up short. I can help you get a better handle on this. It seems easy… just push the boost button, right? But there is a lot of stuff in the background that we can review. Help get you better coverage in your Market and better hone in on what works for you. Sometimes it takes a specialist to guide you in the beginning. Soon, I will also be able to offer this Facebook Advertising service to you. I am working towards my Facebook Advertising Master Certificate with Andrea Vahl. It’s an intense course that only opens a few times a year. I will come away with this skill so I can provide you with top-notch Facebook Advertising. Please inquire and let me know if this is something you will be interested in… in the near future! WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP YOU?? And lastly, and most importantly... what can I do for you?? Honestly, what do you need help with in your business? I've been in business for over 20 years. I've mostly been in a business of one. I really really enjoy it and I've had my ups and downs of course. And I've also gone door-to-door. I've done publication advertising and now I'm really lucky to be able to do social media advertising and marketing. I even do my networking online! Visit the Marketing Services Page! I'd love to help you get your Marketing all together! Leave me your questions below, suggestions, ideas, anything you'd like me to help you out with or answer. Have a great week and we'll see you next time!   HI! I'M JENNIFER. Thanks for following and reading the Ultimate Marketing for Realtors® Blog here at Voiyoo! I'm here to make life easier for Real Estate Professionals - working to guide your online marketing to create more brand awareness and engagement. Together we will direct your message across online platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube as well as with your digital marketing: Newsletters, Emails and Blogging. Check out the rest of the website: Voiyoo Social Media Management Find Me Around the usual Hangouts and Message me on Instagram!  5 STEPS - HOW AND WHAT TO PLAN WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR MARKETING Have you been planning your marketing in large batches or just scrambling at every last minute to get whatever you can out there?! Well, stop that. Make a plan and get past the scramble. # 1 - WHY PLAN Number one, why you should plan your content and social media marketing? Because if you don’t your marketing has the tendency to get messy. It’s not only messy, but it tends to be inconsistent, hard to keep up with and unintentional. Which is the real reason you are marketing in the first place. To have an intention with your marketing activities. To have intention with your business actions. We are here to serve! You have goals and specifics you are targeting. If you doing your posting and content creating on a whim, you’ll have a hard time aiming at your goals and you have a hard time tracking what your doing to find a good fit with your process. Planning what you marketing will help you stay on track, help you be more organized and help you reach your essential purpose and clientele. Who can pass up planning after all that?!  #2 WHAT TO PLAN Figuring out what to plan is your next step. Assembling your marketing ideas and processes is going to depend on your marketing plan in general. I’m guessing you’ll be working on your blogging, but you want to also work in your social media marketing, any email or newsletters to your plan and schedule. What else were you considering? Write these all down. I like to use one spreadsheet and then break up each area into a separate sheets. So, when you pull that document up it’s all easy to access in one plan doc. I also like to work within a theme or topic for each month. Not everyone likes to plan their content this way. But, it is one option. And, I love it! Many of the big brands do it this way, too. If you’d rather go a different direction - you can plan your content by weekly plans and topics, quarterly, etc. If you think of something else, leave a comment - we’d all love to hear other options to think about! So, you have these working ideas settled on and in a nice document. Let’s talk about putting everything together in a good, easy to follow marketing plan. #3 HOW TO PLAN YOUR MARKETING I recommend you start with a free planning method for your content. I like to use Google Sheets and Google Docs. If you’d like to expand into a different program when you’re ready to expand there are a number of different planning programs you can explore… maybe Evernote? Or to get more complex you can venture into Trello or Asana for project management. Today, I am going to discuss planning today with Google Sheets and Docs as an example. But, these tips can transfer to any layout. First you want to layout your Sheet to fit these sections along the top of the Sheet:
Now, you can probably see where this is going… You can even add more to the list above if you’ll find it will help you plan and keep track of what you’re going to build. After you have these headers in place, you want to plan for at least 3 months at a time. You can do more if you want to of course and I like to start at the beginning of the year (or the end of the year - wink wink). But, plan 3 months at least and it will help you stay organized more than if you just do 1 month at a time. Setting aside precious planning time is hard enough, huh? This is a nice starting point for your thought process and what you want to plan in order to market what is special about you. These plans will give you something to build on over the year. Decide what you want to do, write about, photograph and coordinate it here. What will your theme for each month be? Here is where you’re going to decide on when to publish your content. This is where you layout all the details to what is in your theme. When you are laying out your blog theme content - expand on it to include a Blog Outline. I also tie this in with my blogging doc. From my spreadsheet I like to move the basic theme and blogging outline to my blogging doc. Then, everytime I sit down to write - everything is already laid out like a book index and I just build on that. #4 TIE IT ALL IN If you have a plan, you’re executing the plan there is no reason why you shouldn’t also be consistent with your writing content and with your marketing. Making your plan is going to really solidify your process. It’s going to pull it all together and focus your aim and time with your digital marketing. Planning is what is going to change your world. It’s going to change how you look at your business and your marketing. Your day will flow better and who doesn’t want that!? And, when you aren’t working on it on a schedule you’re probably feeling guilty. So make sure to put this on your calendar and stick with it. #5 WHEN TO POST Now that you have a plan for 3 months at a time, you can just pull it all together and then schedule it. Yes, it will certainly take time. If you have looked at when is a good time to post already, go ahead it schedule your posts and content. If you haven’t looked into when are good times to post for your community - this will take a little time as well. You can research it a little online, but in the end, you want to try out times for your posting - especially on social media platforms. Post and see what happens. Look at other people in your industry and see what times and days they are posting for a starting point. Make a bunch of notes and after a few months review your numbers or what you’ve discovered and take that into account when you are posting! It depends on what you are creating and building of course, but this is important to work on and take the time to plan. This is what you have to offer to your clientele. This doesn’t need to be a waste of time if you plan and you focus on your plan. Focus on your intention. CONTENT PLANNING WORKSHEET And, below you'll see I have included a content planning worksheet to help you get started. You can change it up as you need to. It's and easy way to get started! HAVE FUN! AND, IF YOU NEED HELP! If you are ready to get started but really just don’t have the time, or your ready to get started but can’t figure out this confusing social media messy stuff - reach out to me! I’m super delighted to help you out! I can get your pages started for you and let you run the rest or I can help you from start through engagement! Please, reach out and say hi! You can message me on Facebook or I’m around the other Social Media Hangouts, too! 
Hello Realtors! I know this has been on your mind, and we are just going to get right into it and chat about... Keywords! Keywords! You might be wondering what the heck they are in the first place and what are you supposed to do with them after you have some. But, I have mentioned them in the past and said I would do a full article about Keywords so you could understand better what they are.
Like I summed up in my article, How to Start Your Blog for Realtors, and the YouTube for Realtors Post, Keywords are the words that relate to your industry. “They are the content words and ideas around your specific industry, niche of that industry and your location.” WHAT ARE KEYWORDS? Keywords are what connects you with people searching for what you have to offer! Keywords are what people use when they are searching for stuff...like you...online. So, when you are searching for, say...a new TV…. what do you type into the search bar at the top? Those are your keywords or long keyword phrases: “Samsung, Flat Screen, TV”. See… easy! So, now you know what a keyword is (and a long keyword phrase - all of those together). How do you collect some for yourself? Where do you look to gather up some good keywords for your business? I have broken up the process into stages. From Easy to more Difficult. 
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EASY
First, to get started, do some brainstorming to get a list of keywords that you just think of based around you, your business, your community and your industry. Sit down and take a minute and write down all the words or phrases you can think of that are tied to your business. For example, I am working with a Realtor from Tampa Florida and a good start for her Brainstorming Session would be Keywords like: Realtor, Real Estate, Tampa, Florida, Homes for Sale, Other Towns in her area like St. Petes, Clearwater, Brandon (consider where your focus is to weed out area towns or suburbs that don’t match for you). Take the time to think of all the words you can related to your business. You should be able to come up with a decent list. EASY part 2 From here, it’s time to expand on your starter list from step one. And, you can start by going into the URL Search Bar to see what gets searched for. How do you do this? Just like when you search for what new TV to buy from the above example. This time type in “Realtor Tampa Florida”. Now, see what shows up underneath - like a menu of other searches. These are keyword searches that are popular... that other people have looked for. That other people have clicked on. Write all of these down. You can see an example below: 
You might want to skip the “scott kennedy realtor tampa florida”. But, write the other ones down.
EASY part 2 CONTINUED
So, That’s not the only place you want to look. Think about where else can you search for stuff? These are the other places you will review the keywords - the same as we did in the google search bar. So, places like: YouTube, Different Search Engines can even give you different search results, Some more examples below:
You might want to stop here. You might have a pretty good list and that might suffice for now. If you want to move forward and do more research, continue down through the remaining article!
DIFFICULT
So, this step might be more difficult if you aren’t too techy or just can’t sneak in some more time. And, you can certainly be set with the Keyword list you already have with your Brainstorming Session and your Search Engine Research (Two Steps Above). But, if you want to look more in depth at what you competition is using and what is going on in your industry, you’ll want to explore other Realtor’s Websites. Here are the steps to try this out:
In Firefox you can get there by clicking Tools > Web Developer > Page Source
Now you will see a whole bunch of code in a new window. This is the behind the scenes code that runs this website. Kind of fun just to see this. These are the workings of what makes websites work! Did you ever think you’d ever see this?! Who even knew this existed, right?!
So From here you want to try and find the keywords that this website is using. You’re going to look for these words first: <TITLE> <META NAME=”DESCRIPTION” CONTENT=”...”> <META NAME=”KEYWORDS” CONTENT=”...”> When you locate these, note the Keywords that are in this row of words. Now, on that note, these are the technical instructions to find these Keywords and Phrases. I find, if you just start looking around in the top section of the code, you are going to get a good idea of what their Keywords and Phrases are, without really focusing on Title and Meta Names. I did clip an example for you from Realtor.com’s website for you to see what that looks like. I did squish up the browser page so it made the image smaller: 
So, you can see the above, this is a Keyword phrase that Realtor.com uses for their Tampa, Fl site. Now, you can also scroll down through the code page and see a lot of the other text they are including on their page that are in their Keyword List.
Take note of these words and add them to your list. If they don’t really fit into your business feel free to leave them out. For example…. Realtor.com might include a lot of different city names in their list. But, you shouldn’t need to fill in a list with all of those. “The picture alone, without the written word,
MORE DIFFICULT
Now, it can get much more Difficult from here. You can sign up for Google Ads and start using their Ad Keyword Searches to get more detailed into what people are searching for. This type of search can drill down to other keywords that can be more refined for your business and service. You can visit other Keyword Tools like: The Bing Webmaster Tools, SERPs.com, UberSuggest. But, I think you’ll be good with the list you’ve come up with from the 2 or 3 easier steps at the beginning for great Real Estate Business Keywords in your market. And, this is your Keyword List. You can easily start with the first couple of steps and build on it as you have time. STORAGE You can easily just toss these words in a nice Spreadsheet for easy reference. Maybe keep them in a list on your phone for easy posting reference, too. WHAT TO USE KEYWORDS FOR? And, what do you use these words for anyway? Keywords are the words you will use to structure your marketing content around. These are the words and topics you will write about, post about, include in your marketing promotion. We will go more into this in the future. Because you went to the trouble of making the list, now you want to use the list!! AND, IF YOU NEED HELP! If you are ready to get started but really just don’t have the time, or your ready to get started but can’t figure out this confusing social media messy stuff - reach out to me! I’m super delighted to help you out! I can get your pages started for you and let you run the rest or I can help you from start through engagement! Please, reach out and say hi! You can message me on Facebook or I’m around the other Social Media Hangouts, too! FOLLOW VOIYOO & JENN OUT AND AROUND SOCIAL MEDIA! Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • LinkedIn • AboutMe • YouTube • Pinterest
PLANNING YOUR GOALS AND TASKS
First, we need to talk about your small business task planning when we talk about Marketing Time Management. Making a plan or many plans, is vital to keeping your business moving towards your goals. Because your goals are the aim! So, set aside some time each week to write out your Marketing Plans. You are going to need to have plans for your:
HOW TO MAKE THE TIME So, how in the world do you do that? You’re already busy as...you know what. When are you going to have the chance to fit in the Marketing!? I recently listened to a quick video from Chris Ducker, the online time management and business guru. He said something I found profound: “In order to say yes to something, you have to say no to something else.” This is huge!! I mean… take a minute and think about that. Cuz, I’d really like to say no to the junk I don’t want to do any more and yes just to the stuff I want to spend my time doing! Don’t you?! And, while that probably isn’t always possible, or maybe your results don’t always line up with your plans, you need to think about what matters to your business and what can bring you results. Review what you have on your Marketing To Do List and start scheduling it out so it becomes routine and it becomes a habit and it stays important. Because Marketing can get you leads, and what else do you want?! The leads, the leads! Back to your planning. Above are 4-5 main areas to keep on your calendar, scheduled and committed to. Staying consistent and routine will get you results. Only showing up when you feel like it will get you... blah! “In order to say yes to something,
SCHEDULING BRINGS YOU RESULTS
Let’s relate planning your Marketing Duties to something else in your life like planning your meals or exercising. Both are probably something you do everyday. Ok, eating probably is. And, you probably don’t have pizza or cereal every meal. Maybe you even plan your meals for the week? And, you always need to do these things… especially eat. And, you do it at the same time every day. And, this is the same way you can work in your marketing. You can do it at the same time everyday, until you make it a habit. Again you need to be religious about your schedule and make sure to adhere to it and then it will come more natural. And, you will always do such and such at 1pm after lunch and that time is scheduled in your calendar. Make sure you take the time then to schedule your marketing and keep that timed appointment with yourself... because it’s important. Maybe you need to make it something more fun so it has more incentive. Try bringing in a little reward to keep your plans top and center. For example, decide, this is when I get to have my fun latte or other favorite snack and sit down for an hour or two every afternoon and engage with some social media folks, build content and do some Marketing Scheduling. Or, maybe the treat is afterwards. Treats can help you create a feeling of fun and specialness while you tackle a project you may not really want to do much of. 
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MAKING SCHEDULE ADJUSTMENTS
So, this is your basic to do system. You made your plan…. you made your list, you put that list on your calendar, you showed up for those appointments and through this you moved forward with your goals and plans. After you have a basic habitual plan down pat and have been working with it for a while…. Now you can mess with it and monkey it all up. You know it needs to be accomplished and it “nags” at you every day from your calendar. But, maybe it HAS to be moved for another important doctor appointment or your son’s afternoon meet up with the teacher’s meeting that you absolutely can not miss. You’ve already ingrained in your mind that your marketing is important and it brings in your leads, but you’re now able to tweak your calendar and understand it won’t get lost behind. It’s forefront in your mind. So, make an adjustment to your calendar, but continue to keep your marketing in an important slot. When you make adjustments you might need to do your Marketing when you are out and about. Don’t just use the time standing in line to shop and review the latest celebrity news. Take this “down time” as a spot on your schedule so you can sneak in some marketing and not fall behind when you are at other appointments during your scheduled marketing time slot. Here are a few tips to do your Social Media Marketing on the run: Stick to a stricter time allotment. For example, now you need to leave your computer and go stand in line at the school or wait in the doctor’s office…. This is a perfect time to check on your feeds and comments for any engagement you received. The next place time you have a break in your day you can do a handful of comments or questions to engage with some of your followers and people you follow. I know people are going to think you’re glued to that little machine, but they aren’t working for themselves and they can just stick it. You’re building relationships and leads people! So, yes, you will need to juggle a little to get it all done in a day. But, the beauty is, now you can. Now you can have more freedom because of the plan and schedule you laid out. You can sneak it all in when you need to adjust that schedule to fit in those thing that are also important during the work week! You just can’t build a successful business without good plans in place and without a good execution system guiding you. TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS TO KEEP YOU ON TRACK And a few random time management tips to make your Plan Work: 1. If you aren’t using a timer to keep you on track… start today! I actually use a time at my desk and a group of timers on my phone. Acting like a bit of an assistant…. “Next Task! Next Task!” 2. Back to the phone and apps… use it. Use them. They can be helpful to help make your life easier! One app, not work related, but that I love is “Our Groceries” app. It’s awesome. You can create different shopping lists, so you can keep track of what you need at different stores right at your fingertips! You can keep some recipes in a nice list so you can access them on the fly. And, it stores your last grocery items so you can quickly add them to a new list. No more lists forgotten on the kitchen counter, no question as to what that recipe needed? It’s something I organize closely so that this part of my life is much easier. 4. You might also like a time tracker app and sort out the way you actually spend your time so you can budget your schedule a bit better. 5. Maybe you are ready to farm stuff out. And, it doesn’t have to be work related. Maybe just have someone come by and help with your yard work or your window washing, in order to free up some more of your time. I have friends that are enjoying the meal in a box products a couple times a week to make their life easier! 6. Consider Block Scheduling. Sections of your calendar where you do certain types of things. Marketing between 9 and 11 am every day. And, then you use your timer to work out the tasks you have on your list and keep on your list to get as much done as you can in your time allotment. When you build your plan and your system you a signaling to the universe that you are serious and this is real. Writing your tasks into a calendar guides this business and keeps it moving forward! Congratulations! This is a big step to bringing your Real Estate business results! AND, WHEN YOU ARE READY! If you are ready to get started but really just don’t have the time, or your ready to get started but can’t figure out this confusing social media messy stuff - reach out to me! I’m super delighted to help you out! I can get your pages started for you and let you run the rest or I can help you from start through engagement! Please, reach out and say hi! You can message me on Facebook or I’m around the other Social Media Hangouts, too! FOLLOW VOIYOO & JENN OUT AND AROUND SOCIAL MEDIA! Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • LinkedIn • AboutMe • YouTube • Pinterest
Hello Realtors! This week let’s talk about YouTube for your Online Marketing and how awesome it is for getting leads and building engagement. You know Youtube already, but do you have a channel of your own!? Now is the time, because this is easy peasy. Ok, it does take your time and energy, but you don’t need to be perfect, you don’t need to be super formal… nobody wants that anyway. They are going to be looking online for real people to use for their Realtor! They are looking for someone with great knowledge about the Real Estate Market in the area they want to buy in. (or sell in!) WHY YOUTUBE? YouTube is the 2nd largest Search Engine online. People are going to be looking for people like you - Realtors! From your awesome videos, they will see who you are, get to know your style and understand your knowledge and expertise long before they meet you in person. From here they will know you already before calling you, before meeting you face to face… because you did your introduction and promotion of you on YouTube! Ta Daahh!! Once they reach out to you, you can find out how they found you. You might be surprised… “I saw you on YouTube!” Make sure you ask them: 1. Where did you hear about me? 2. Who else are you considering? Then you can get the processes moving and meet up to start showing them some houses! (or start up their listing!) THIS IS VLOGGING WITH KEYWORDS IN MIND With your keywords in hand, do a little research as to what people are interested in. And, this is what you’re going to talk about! Remember the keywords we talked about in previous videos? Maybe I need to do some more on keywords?! This is the stuff you need to be talking about. This is the stuff your clientele is searching for on google and on youtube… this is the stuff! Start your keyword list and refer to it as you create your video library! Or how about those client questions we’ve talked about before? Remember those questions everyone asks you when you’re first chatting on the phone? Or doing a showing? A walk through? An open house? A closing?! Make a big list of these questions and start answering them… in a video! MAKE YOUR VIDEO SHORT 5 minutes? Youtube likes videos to be the longer the better. However, 5 minutes could be long enough for everyone’s attention span. My videos are usually about 5 - 15 minutes and my blog posts that go with it are also meaty. Because you, my clientele, wants to know lots of stuff! But, it's a great place to share smaller tid bits and tips! Practice and experience will give you a good idea how long to keep your video! (but, start with what you're comfortable) Make sure to relax and have some fun… a little entertaining if you can? This isn’t a Presidential speech… this is a helpful video about what you have to offer your home buying community! This is a video about your community. Relax and enjoy the process. Start your Video by Introducing yourself, asking everyone to subscribe to your channel, and like your video if they enjoy the content. Use some note cards with some bullet points or a summary on it to refer to as you shoot your video. CTA You know what a CTA is...include it!! Home buyers and sellers are going to love what you have to talk about… and they are going to want to do stuff after they hear what you have to say. Tell ‘em what you want ‘em to do… call, email, text, read more here… Or maybe you have some Lead Magnets you’d like them to download or sign up for? Give them the Call to Action so there is a follow through!  Pin the image above to Pinterest for easy reference for later!! SCHEDULE THIS STUFF! This is your job, make a point of putting it on the calendar. Remember how important this stuff is! You’ll want to stay on a consistent schedule for a number of reasons: 1. You will look professional if you work and show up in an organized and regular time period. (plus you’ll get stuff done.) 2. It will help you stick with it and produce more 3. It will make YouTube happy as well and you will get more views if you are showing up a lot. Give it some time. Follow a consistent plan with your video postings and consistent marketing timeline and you should be able to get some contacts and leads right from your YouTube Channel. Remember, Social Media and Digital Online Marketing is like gardening. You need to nurture it and love it consistently. Give it a number of consistent months of you working it for it to start working for you. LET'S TALK ABOUT SOME EQUIPMENT Let’s talk a little about Supplies & Equipment for filming your videos and some of the items I use. Thankfully, it doesn’t need to be over the top as far as expensive or quantity. You just need a few items to create a fine little system. Because if you’re filming somewhere with nice lighting already… that’s half the battle - we want to see ya! A few inexpensive things you can invest in: • A Lapel Mic - this can really help provide better sound for your Video Recordings • Maybe a small Tripod for your phone or tablet • Maybe an attachment for that Tripod if it doesn’t already come with one to hold your phone or tablet? • Lighting Options: Natural light. Or add a little selfie light and a light on a stand and that could tide you over for a while (or forever!) • Your Computer or Device - Tablet or Phone or a DSLR with Video capabilities Really, this equipment stuff doesn’t need to be extreme video techy stuff for YouTube Videos. Just order a few things on Amazon or Best Buy and you’ve got yourself a kit! AFTER THE VIDEO... COMES THE EDITING Learn how to do the editing you need to do and you can cut out those pesky look arounds, doorbell rings or dog barking and make a professional and nicely put together video! I use the easy software that came with my Mac Computer - iMovie. It’s easy easy. What are you using? Let us know below with any questions you have and I can chime in with any answers I might have about it! Make up some graphics and YouTube thumbnails in your design program to use at the beginning and end of your videos. Reuse these graphics thoughout your video collect to make them look cohesive and tie them together as your brand!! Yippy! So, YouTube is a huge search engine. So make sure you are also optimizing your channel, video and posts because people are going to search with the keywords they have in mind to research. SEO is big on YouTube, so fill out the Video, Channel & Bio areas in full! Include the keywords we have been talking about, in a strategic fashion. And, get more views with YouTube Tagging. It’s the section right in the editor under the description to tuck in short word tags in relation to what you are talking about. SOME LAST THOUGHTS While we talked about videos under 15 minutes long, YouTube will reward you if you can get people to stay on the platform for as long a period as possible. Even if they watch someone else after you. YouTube doesn’t want the people to wander off! :) Consider including bloopers or something fun at the end of your video to get people to watch to the end of your video. Also, as you move forward, consider YouTube ads if you think you aren’t getting enough exposure. It can be a bit complicated, so review your options thoroughly before jumping in. YouTube also allows for 360 Degree Videos. Perfect for your home showings! Maybe you’re phone is already equipped to create these!? When you're grabbing your phone today, make it a point to get in some video time! Build on that beginning and sneak in a little every day until you have it as a habit! YouTube video can be a big boon (blessing, godsend, windfall) to your Real Estate Marketing! SOME HELPFUL LINKS: Ring Lights on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ring+lights+for+phone&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aring+lights+for+phone Small Tripods on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=small+tripod AND, WHEN YOU ARE READY! If you are ready to get started but really just don’t have the time, or your ready to get started but can’t figure out this confusing social media messy stuff - reach out to me! I’m super delighted to help you out! I can get your pages started for you and let you run the rest or I can help you from start through engagement! Please, reach out and say hi! You can message me on Facebook or I’m around the other Social Media Hangouts, too! FOLLOW VOIYOO & JENN OUT AND AROUND SOCIAL MEDIA! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VoiyooSocialMedia/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennvoiyoo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voiyoojennifer/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/voiyoosocialmediamanagement/ Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/108816502720864408873 AboutMe: https://about.me/VoiyooJenn/
Hello again Realtors! Hope you are having a great and productive day! Today we should chat about Pinterest! Maybe it’s on your mind lately? Or maybe you didn’t even give it a look for Real Estate…. it’s just recipes and how to’s on that platform! Pinterest is flurry of all sorts of businesses and entrepreneurs with a lot to offer. You can of course look for the next cake to make for your dog, or how to bead your entire wedding dress by yourself. But, you can also find a lot of great business and marketing tips and information. So, after you have taken 20 minutes to get lost in your the Pinterest Feed and ooooed and ahhed over those awesome beach pictures - do some searching to see what other businessy type information you can find. What have you been meaning to learn? What have you been stuck on and need help with? You’ll find a lot of great places to find info on running your small business, how to market your business, what to wear and what to bring for lunch! After that - search for Real Estate Business type ideas: marketing, what to do for an open house, what to bring on your neighborhood walks. Then search for your hometown and community. See…. lots of cool and interesting stuff awaits! WHY SHOULD REALTORS BE ON PINTEREST? There are some great reasons you as a Realtor or Agent should be on Pinterest for your business. And, here’s a list of them... 1. It can help boost your SEO. Yep! More online activity can help your Google position. And, everyone is looking for more of that! On top of external SEO considerations, with the Pinterest SEO abilities that the app also offers, if done well, you and your pins will be searchable for many months! Fantastic! 2. People are on Pinterest. So, the people are hanging out there. There are about 200 million people active on Pinterest. 70 million of those people are just in the US. They are on the site often and looking for lots of different types of thing. While that’s a lot of people, when the right people find you, it’s worth all your efforts! Having your own Pinterest Page with what you have to offer and share is important. Some examples of what to share: include tips for people buying their first home, or next home. Or behind the scenes and how you spend your day helping your clients other than just putting up a listing. Now, I do absolutely think you should include your listings as well - this will give the potential clients an idea of what you have done in the past and might grab someone’s attention on what you are showing now. Your page can be a very nice promotion of you and your work…. And again, remember…. It’s what you have to offer them! 3. Being on Pinterest will bring more awareness of who you are as a brand and help establish you more as a expert in your field and community. You can be active on this platform, too, and make a name for yourself. 4. Show off your community and maybe your Brokerage. Pinterest is a great place to showcase all those great local area photos in a nice group. People come looking for info on their neighborhoods and surroundings all the time. It can be a great place to search for your the new neighborhood you want to move into as well! If you provide that for them…. They will take note! NOW, WHAT DOES PINTEREST DO FOR A REAL ESTATE AGENT So, as a Realtor or Agent, I’m not sure this is such a fantastic place to advertise your current listings for great exposure on a short time span. There, I said it. What I mean by that is - Pinterest isn’t a big collection of houses for sale. There are probably better places for home buyers to go and look. I tend to think of Pinterest as a place for ideas of what to do after you buy the house, or information on how to buy the house, or who is in that community to buy the house from, or the communities I want to move in to. Now, I could be wrong, but go and look around for yourself. Pinterest shows off the Real Estate industry and actual Realtors really well, but houses for sale seem to get a little lost. Sad? Eh, who knows… there are other places for people to actually look for houses actively. What you want to show off here on Pinterest is you and what you can do for the home owners. Remember that, what can you do for them based around buying and selling a home. On that note… let’s get started showing your community what you can do for them!  Pin the image above to Pinterest for easy reference for later!! GET STARTED ON PINTEREST! So, what do you need to do to get started? Of course it’s easy to signup!! Then, yes it can get a little more complicated. Because you want to have a strategy and not get too lost, and outta breath after wandering around looking at more of that stuff we talked about earlier. You need to make a plan and work the plan. You will need to track what you did in some form or fashion and review it on a regular basis - so you can see what worked for you and what you need to stop doing or change. Yep, no one said this being in biz for yourself was easy. Why didn’t they talk about that part?! SIGNED UP! Now, you’re signed up for your account... again with this platform, make it a Pinterest biz account. You’ll be able to track your stats with this type of account. Start with your Pinterest About Section and your Profile. Make sure to fill these areas out fully. This helps with your SEO and it’s just good business sense. Connect up all your social networks and address the security and other settings that are there at this time. It’s much smaller than some other social media platforms. You should be able to do it rather quickly. From here you are going to want to start up some of your own Pinterest Boards to feature a number of great images and concepts. The Boards are the sections where you pin information to for later and so other people can see it all in one spot. It can be pretty helpful. SOME IDEAS FOR YOUR PINTEREST BOARDS COULD BE:
The names should be short and to the point. Not fluffy and cutsie, but topics people would actually type in and look for help with. And, the above list is a small group of what you could pin. I recommend you create many many boards to supply your page. THE PINNING! From here you want to start pinning (saving) some great pins of other peoples boards from Pinterest and from blogs you read. Pinning them to the appropriate board. And, make sure to pin your own stuff, of course! Post about 80% of your own stuff and 20% from others. When you write a blog post make sure to include an image in your post that can be pinned from your readers. Pining from your blog is an important way to get your message out! ENGAGING WITH PINNERS Engage with people in your Real Estate community and other types of home related communities. Connect and comment like you do on other social media platforms. Think of it as networking and mingling. Your just touching base with other people… chatting it up. You never know who is looking for a home…. could be anybody right?! You’ll want to build on your boards and connections as time moves forward. But, don’t just build it and forget it. Schedule it when you do other types of marketing and make it a routine. Again, it’s going to take some doing to get everything set up and turned into a habit. (remember your timer) But, once you are up and running, you can spend your time just maintaining it… and having some Pinterest fun! CREATING PINABLE IMAGES When you post on your blog, make sure to include a Pinable image in each post so your readers have something to share to their Pinterest feed. A relatively easy program to build your pin in is something like Canva. It offers an easy template just for Pinterest. Make the images nice and easy to read. Make sure they tie in with your theme colors and styles, but try to make them bold so they stand out in the busy Pinterest feed. Look around your current feed and see what stands out to you… bright colors? What types of images draw you in? "When you post on your blog, make sure to include a YOUR PINTEREST SEO - HOW ARE PEOPLE GOING TO FIND YOUR PINS!? You are probably familiar with SEO for google and other search engines. But, Pinterest is really it’s own search engine, too. And, thusly it uses SEO and keyword searching to catalog pins. So, when you do a search for Pecan Pie, if a bunch of people have posted pics without including good text along with it, you might not ever get to see it. So, remember to include the keywords we have talked about a number of times already, in your image tags and in your pin itself. Instead of your Logo, include your website address and everyone can locate you from that, too! YOUR PINTEREST While I mentioned above, that Pinterest might not be the greatest place to show off current listings, if you’re looking to gain authority in your market, build community and brand recognition, then Pinterest is a sure bet to include in your marketing plan. NEED SOME EXAMPLES? There are many great Realtors and Agents on Pinterest showing off their stuff! Here are a few samples of some that I find have exceptional boards and layouts: You can also search for other Realtors and see what comes up. Vary it and check out Realtors and Agents in certain cities to get an idea of what other locations are up to. YOU CAN DO THIS! You are smart enough to do this. You probably just don’t have the time or think it’s mind numbingly boring. Just like you don’t have the time or interest to clean your own house or install your own…... Just like you do with traditional marketing, it’s certainly ok to hire someone to help you with your digital marketing. I think most successful people have a team behind them. You can do it! AND, WHEN YOU ARE READY! If you are ready to get started but really just don’t have the time, or your ready to get started but can’t figure out this confusing social media messy stuff - reach out to me! I’m super delighted to help you out! I can get your pages started for you and let you run the rest or I can help you from start through engagement! Please, reach out and say hi! You can message me on Facebook or I’m around the other Social Media Hangouts, too! FOLLOW VOIYOO & JENN OUT AND AROUND SOCIAL MEDIA! Please, reach out and say hi! You can message me on Facebook or I’m around the other Social Media Hangouts, too! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VoiyooSocialMedia/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennvoiyoo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voiyoojennifer/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/voiyoosocialmediamanagement/ Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/108816502720864408873 AboutMe: https://about.me/VoiyooJenn/
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Voiyoo
Online Digital &
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Hi! I'm Jennifer Ressmann with
Voiyoo Digital Marketing. You've been thinking about how to get more exposure for your business! Now we can make that happen. My job is helping you... The Home Service Professional with your business marketing & brand awareness. People are looking for Plumbers, Carpenters, Electricians, HVAC Techs, House Painters and Cleaners on Social Media. Make sure you're out there! Social & Digital Marketing: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Blogging, Newsletters, Email and Blog Content Marketing. Consulting and Instruction. Let's make sure you're out there and getting noticed! 😀👍 
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