Online Real Estate Technology

Facebook posts with images posted on a Friday morning offer marketers maximum effectiveness, according to a new white paper from social media management company Vitrue.

Image Attachments More Effective than Video, Text
Comparing posts with image attachments to those with video and text attachments, “The Anatomy of a Facebook Post” found that image posts received 22% more engagement than video posts and 54% more engagement than text posts. Video posts received 27% more engagement than text posts.

While image and video being more engaging than text in Facebook posts is fairly intuitive, Vitrue analysts found image beating video in terms of effectiveness somewhat surprising. To explain this discrepancy, they cited image being easier and less time-consuming than video for the consumer to view and manipulate, as well as the difficulty of creating a high-quality video and problems many mobile Facebook users have viewing video.

TGIF
While most salaried professionals are happy to see Friday arrive, Facebook marketers should be even happier than most. Friday is the best day of the week to launch a Facebook marketing post.

Friday Facebook posts produce 64% more shares, likes and comments than posts made on Sunday, the day of the week with the lowest engagement. Friday posts are also 13% more engaging than Saturday posts, 7% more engaging than Monday posts and 3% more engaging than Tuesday and Thursday posts.

High Noon Marks Drop in Post Effectiveness
Dividing the day into 12-hour time blocks, posts made in the morning (the first 12 hours of the day) get 65% more engagement than posts made in the afternoon, or second 12 hours of the day. Vitrue suggests this correlates with the theory that people check Facebook first thing in the morning before the day gets busy.

Consumers Like Facebook Discounts
The prospect of receiving discounts is the number one driver for consumers to like a brand on Facebook, according to a new study from ExactTarget and CoTweet. Data from “Facebook X-Factors” shows that the highest percentage of consumers (40%) is motivated to like a brand on Facebook by discounts and promotions.

Almost the same percentage (39%) is motivated by showing support for the brand. However, two other popular reasons – getting free samples or coupons (36%) and updates on upcoming sales (30%) tie into the discount/promotion motivation. Other popular drivers include staying informed about the activities of a company (34%), getting updates on future products (33%), and fun or entertainment (29%).

Education and interaction (13%) are the least-popular reasons to like a brand by a substantial margin.

IT’S no secret overseas investors have identified Australia as a growth region when it comes to buying property.

The funds are coming in not only to buy direct assets but also via investing in Australian real estate investment trusts, which are now more focused on the local property market than at any time in the past three years.

Jones Lang LaSalle research on global capital flows confirms Australia’s attraction to investors led it to be ranked seventh in the world as a destination for cross-border investment for the first half of 2010.

The report says cross-border investment in Australia increased more than five-fold, at $US1.8 billion, compared with $US319 million at the same time last year. The research reveals Britain has been the most popular destination for cross-border investment so far in 2010, with $US7 billion invested, while Germany replaces the US as the second most popular destination.

The US was in third place (from second in the first half of 2009), despite a doubling in transactions in the American market from $US2.2 billion to $US4.3 billion.

The director of international investments at Jones Lang LaSalle in Australia, Simon Storry, said the country’s ranking confirmed the view that Australia remained a destination of choice for foreign investment.

”We expect Australia to continue to be on the radar of foreign investors for the remainder of this year,” Mr Storry said.

”Commercial real estate in Australia has offered solid and stable returns and an attractive environment for investors seeking stability in their globally diverse portfolios.”

The Jones Lang LaSalle research reveals a near-doubling of global commercial real estate transactions in the first half of 2010, compared with the same period a year ago.

According to the report, total global commercial real estate investment was $US132 billion for the first half of 2010, compared with $US76 billion in the previous corresponding period and, after reaching a low of 31 per cent of total volumes in the first half of 2009, cross-border activity was back above 40 per cent, a trend set to continue.

Mr Storry said this reflected a general market pick-up, a return to the globalisation of real estate investment and a search for value by investors.

Carolyn Cummins Sydney Morning Herald

Confusion about ROI, disagreement about performance indicators

For most web users, online shopping is not a fully social activity. A few leading-edge retailers have begun allowing transactions to occur on sites like Facebook, but social media users do not typically report starting a search for a product on social sites.

Still, they do use social networks and other tools like Twitter to discuss brands and products and to get advice and feedback from friends and family on potential purchase decisions—and retailers have noticed.

According to August 2010 data from Aberdeen Group, more than half of retailers felt they had been pushed into using social media because more consumers were using it as a primary shopping vehicle. The second-largest pressure causing them to adopt social media marketing was increased use by the competition.

Social networks are a clear winner of retailers’ attention. The top social media tools used by the retailers surveyed by Aberdeen included social networks (85%), microblogging (51%) and blogging (43%). In Q1 2010, the e-tailing group also found that social networks were the top community or social tool retailers used or planned to use in the next year; Facebook fan pages specifically were cited by 91% of respondents to that survey. Four in five used or planned to use Twitter, 72% blogs and 71% Facebook Connect. The e-tailing survey was conducted before Facebook introduced its “like” feature, which has also been widely adopted by retailers including Levi’s and Sephora.

But like many marketers in other industries, retailers don’t yet have a clear picture of what social media success will mean. The top key performance indicator respondents to Aberdeen’s survey looked at was the quality of consumer insights they gleaned from social efforts, followed closely by number of repeat visitors and quality of new sales leads.

The report noted that some disagreement on key performance indicators is to be expected, since their usefulness is likely to differ from retailer to retailer. “Retailers would be wise to explore which KPI provides the most value to the retailer, and use accordingly,” the report said.

THE sale of a Karrinyup home without the owner’s knowledge by a Nigerian scammer has prompted an investigation by five government agencies and a warning to real estate agents to beware of fraud.

Roger Mildenhall, 64, was living in South Africa when his $485,000 Perth property was sold in June by someone posing as him.
The money is gone, but WA’s Registrar of Titles Bruce Roberts said Mr Mildenhall would be able to apply for compensation for his losses.

The Commercial Crime Division of WA Police, Consumer Protection, Landgate, the Real Estate and Business Agents Supervisory Board (REBA) and the Settlement Agents Supervisory Board (SASB) have joined forces to investigate the fraudulent sale and consider measures aimed at minimising the risk of a repeat occurrence.

Similarities to an attempted fraudulent sale of a West Perth apartment in 2008 will also be studied as part of the extensive review.

REBA Chairman Mark Cuomo said real estate agents had reported several other cases of attempted fraud recently and the number could rise.

“The fraud attempts might increase after the success of the Karrinyup case,” Mr Cuomo said.

“All real estate agents must now be increasingly vigilant against these types of scam attempts and carry out extra checks to verify an owner’s identity, particularly those who are selling local property while overseas.

“It would be an effective fraud-prevention practice that, if a property owner changes their postal or email address, they should send a confirmation to the old address to make sure the new address is genuine. Similarly, if phone and fax numbers change, try the old number to double check.

“We would also suggest to agents to ask questions of absentee owners that only the real owner would know, perhaps about the last sale or characteristics of the property.”

“Agents could also consider asking for selling fees up front, as scammers will most likely be discouraged from pursuing the sale or will make up excuses as to why they can’t pay them.

“The onus, however, is on the agent to exercise due diligence in these situations and to be extra vigilant. It is imperative that agents adequately manage the risks involved in these sales, and, ultimately, if there is any doubt, they should report their suspicions to the proper authorities and not proceed with the transaction.”

Officer-in-charge of the Major Fraud Squad Detective Senior Sergeant Don Heise said both these cases involved scammers from Nigeria with possible collaborators in South Africa.

“It appears there was an interception of the landowner’s mail in South Africa, where the fraudsters stole his identity and falsified a number of documents. These were then sent to the relevant real estate agent in Perth,” Det Snr Sgt Heise said.

Characteristics of the 2010 successful scam that could be a warning to absentee home owners, real estate agents and settlement agents are:

· Notification of a change of contact details, email and postal addresses of the property owner prior to the sale request;

· Sale was communicated as urgent for business or other personal reasons;

· Promise of future sales through the agent as an incentive to cooperate with a speedy sale and settlement;

· Documents from Notary Public in Nigeria, verifying documents and identity;

· Request for a short-term loan before settlement;

· English in some of the correspondence very basic or poor.

Commissioner for Consumer Protection Anne Driscoll said scams are now becoming more professional and more elaborate.

“The forging of signatures and the production of fake documents is, in some cases, highly professional so these scam attempts may not be so easily spotted. It’s important that all businesses have a system in place to verify the legitimate owner before money changes hands, especially if the person they are dealing with is unknown to them and comes from overseas.”

A checklist of what agents should consider includes:

· Check signatures with those that may already be on file from previous transactions

· If official documents look suspicious, have them independently verified by the issuing authority

· If a request for change of address is received for the property, send confirmation to old address as well

· If being asked to sell house remotely, ask questions about the property that only the real owner would know

· Consider a 100-point identity verification system which includes passport or driver’s licence with photograph and signature, as well as independent proof of address from employer or local council

In another fraud case originating in Nigeria, a number of Perth businesses have lost thousands of dollars in a ‘Yellow Page’ scam.

Consumer Protection earlier listed an alert on their website warning the public of a scam involving letters sent by a company calling itself “Yellow Page”.

This company advises the recipient of the letter that payment is outstanding for an advertisement for their business and demands payment of AUS $1548.00.

Police are urging business owners to be vigilant when processing invoices.

To date detectives have seized more than 1,500 envelopes destined for potential business victims and intercepted more than $140,000 worth of cheques sent back to the scammers.

Source: www.perthnow.com.au

The next social media training day, this time for real estate agents will take place in The Great Northern Room, Ellerslie Event Centre, Ellerslie Racecourse Auckland New Zealand on Wednesday the 6th of October.

The morning session is now fully booked, so the only session now available is the afternoon session commencing at 1:30pm.

You can download the flyer with all the information on the sessions Social Media Training Day New Zealand Registration Form or you can book by faxing the completed registration form to 00617 5534 1046, you can also email your registration form to amazing@iangrace.com.au.

The afternoon session is filling very fast as room is limited, so the earlier you register, the more likely you’ll reserve yourself a place.

Your speakers for the day will include Ian Grace and Mike Andrew

I’ll look forward to working with you on the day.  

Guest post by Nikki Taylor, director of ICG Recruitment and Real Estate Jobs Search.

Ever thought of saving time and money and having a VIRTUAL ASSISTANT?

Do you know what a Virtual Assistant can do for you and your business?

So you have all of your paper work piling up, your databases have contact details that are not updated , business cards need loading into your database and you need emails sent, you have a presentation you have to prepare for tomorrow, and you need to organise that business trip for next week by end of the day, alongside the things you actually get paid for in your business!

Perhaps you should consider using a VIRTUAL ASSISTANT, your very own Personal Assistant  to take over some of your non-paying to do jobs. We call them the $25 an hour jobs.

A Virtual Assistant or “your very own PA” is a self employed professional Administrative / Personal Assistant.  A Virtual Assistant works from their own remote office and this normally would be from their own home  to provide a range of virtual business support services, using technology such as phone, skype internet and email to communicate with you.

Just what can you ask a Virtual Assistant to do?

A Virtual Assistant can provide most of the same services as an onsite employee, but without the added expense to you or your employer.  You can also work with a virtual assistant on a one off project, rather than ongoing, which is perfect in those busier times.  I believe having your own Virtual Assistant means she or he gets to know how you work and starts to understand  your needs very quickly.

Some common services your Virtual Assistant should do for you would include;

• Data Entry
• Word Processing
• PowerPoint Presentations
• Travel Arrangements
• Diary Management / Appointment making

• Customer Service / diverting your mobile to assist your calls

• Event Planning
• Website Maintenance and Updates
• Database Management
• Online and Offline Marketing and Promotion
• Bookkeeping
• Mail outs

What are the benefits of using a Virtual Assistant for your business?

There are a loads of benefits of using a Virtual Assistant and include such things as;

Saving valuable time and money, allowing you time to work on your business

No office space, equipment or software required.

No payroll tax

No super, sick and holiday pay

Only pay for time on task or per project, so only time actually spent working, they can record each 10 minutes

Support on an “as needed” basis. You can your  Virtual Assistant on a full time, part time, casual basis or for a one off special project.

Ok, so just how much should you expect to pay for this kind of help?

The cost of using a Virtual Assistant can vary depending on the service required and the particular Virtual Assistant’s skills and experience. Virtual Assistants are generally paid by the hour and these arrangements need to be set up prior to the job description and requirements that are  given to your Virtual Assistant. 

But when you consider that you only pay for the time they are actually working on your job, which may only be 3 to 4 hours a week  or 5 to 10 hours a week, or even a month, to do the roles that need to be done in  administration  that you just don’t have the time to do. These are tasks that on a daily basis you say to yourself, “ I shouldn’t be doing this I should be doing what I’m good at leave this administration work to some one else.”  and you think about how much you could make per hour if you were just working on what you love and are good at, then you really need to consider this option.  Free your time up more.

Who can use a Virtual Assistant?

Almost any kind of business can benefit from using a Virtual Assistant.    ICG Recruitment want to see more Real Estate Agents and Principals using their own Virtual Assistant’s.  ICG will match you with your own Virtual PA  and the rest is up to you to delegate the work load.

How to work really effectively with a Virtual Assistant:

As you and your Virtual Assistant will be in different locations, (sometimes as remote as the other side of the country or even the world!) communication is the key part  in any Virtual Assistant / Client relationship.  You can Skype and email as often as required.

You will need to discuss things such as;

What is expected for the project, the timing, deadlines etc. So a really good and clear brief (explanation of what the job is that you want done) is essential.  Be specific and make sure both of you understand the outcome.  Indentify what sort of communication is best suited to you both e.g.; phone,  email, instant messaging, skype.  Computer programs and versions to be used that suit your requirements.  Have a  system to advise when a task is done without the micromanagement.

My Virtual Assistant – My story

I have employed two Virtual Assistants and both I have trained  face to face and the rest is based on excellent communication, via phone and skype and email   With a busy successful recruitment company for the Real Estate Industry we have been fortunate enough to obtain our latest Virtual Assistant that has also worked in the Real Estate Industry.  In our first week she was onto it and enjoying the flexibility the role gave her and I was also enjoying the flexibility that she was always available.  I do supply our Virtual Assistant  with a blackberry giving them access to emails and unlimited use of phone calls.  Our line of communication is through Email, Phone, Instant Messaging and Skype.  Face to Face can be done if needed but do think of your time and productivity and most things can be done from the computer these days. Training on new software can also be done as one can access each other’s computer.  I never go without saying a simple “ Thank You” for the work they do every day to make our life a whole lot easier.

Here are my five tips for working with a Virtual Assistant – my very own PA.

1. Be clear about what you want your Virtual Assistant to do

The first thing I did was a write down all the things I needed done that I don’t want to be doing, the things I want someone else to do, things I can delegate.  If you cant delegate then you have some serious problems getting your self a VA, you need to learn to delegate the smaller jobs that makes your job easier. things I would like my VA to do for me. So now I have the list of jobs I need to be done now and the things I can get my VA to do as she/he gets to know the role.  It was critical for our industry to have someone that understood the Real Estate Industry. Can make the role so much easier to delegate tasks.

This allowed me to find a Virtual Assistant that had skills and experience to match my requirements in our industry.

2. Communicate your personal quirks

As a Boutique Specialist so much about the way we run our business in comparison to the Corporate, we need to have someone understand our point of difference and why we like to respond to emails or communicate in certain ways.   Our logo states “its all about attitude”  and our VA needs to know all about that.

3. Be clear with instructions and deadlines

You must clearly define the task and deadline to your VA, therefore you will not have any confusion on when the job is required.  Be specific about the hours you want your VA to spend on a task. .You also need to be clear and precise and clarify the understanding of each task.   You are not there to oversee this and you do not need wasted time spent on one task. Remember, much of what you do is habit and you can’t assume someone else will think the same way you do.

4. Agree on a work flow process

Spend time in the early stages of your working relationship agreeing on work flow processes. How will you share information? How will you ensure things don’t slip through cracks or get double handled? How will you issue instructions – verbally or in writing? Will you send requests as they happen or save them up in batches?

Discussing these things up front will minimise the chance of things going wrong.

5. Be willing to let go – delegate*

Yes I like to do it all myself, however time doesn’t permit.  As I have found my Virtual Assistants have worked so very well for me I now find it so much easier to delegate what needs to be done. . The most challenging thing for me was to let go of tasks and trust my VA to do a great job. I didn’t want to drive my VA crazy by always micro managing is it done etc .

On delegation – Say it with me now: It’s OK to delegate. It’s OK to delegate. It’s OK to delegate. Now if only doing it was as easy as saying it. When you’re a small business owner who prides yourself on doing everything on your own, delegation is hard. Your business is your baby and your blood; it seems unnatural to trust someone else to take over your responsibilities, I mean, surely, there’s no way they could do a task better or more thoroughly than you could, right? As your business begins to grow or you are putting in the long hours then  it’s inevitable that you’ll have to become comfortable with delegating tasks.

Having a Virtual Assistant can be a wonderful addition to you and your business. Take the time to create the structures that will support it being a great experience for both of you.

Best of luck Nikki Taylor ICG Recruitment, The Recruitment Specialists for the Real Estate Industry

If you are wanting to know more about Virtual PA’s – Virtual Assistant’s then email Nikki at ICG Recruitment Nikki Taylor now at ICG Recruitment as we are launching this as a new service to the Real Estate Industry across Australia.

Most brand managers currently use online video for marketing purposes and will increase their usage in the next 12 months, according to a new white paper from Brightcove and TubeMogul.

Most Brand Websites Feature Online Video
Findings from “Online Video & The Media Industry” indicate that nearly 85% of brand managers surveyed currently use online video on brand websites for marketing products and services. And for those not using video, 75% plan to add online video to their websites in the next 12 months.

6 in 10 Brand Managers Will Up Online Video Spending
In addition, while brands currently devote a relatively small portion of their overall marketing budgets to onsite video initiatives (50% devote less than 10%, 23% devote less than 25%, and 22% devote between 25% and 50%), nearly 60% of respondents say they plan to spend more on their website video initiatives within the next 12 months. Only a fractional amount plan to spend less.

Online Video Promotes Awareness
Two-thirds (66%) of brand managers surveyed said branding/awareness is the primary purpose of their online video initiatives. Another 21% use online video for direct response and lead generation, while 12% use it to drive e-commerce and sales initiatives.

Online Video Aids E-commerce
Many of those using online video to drive e-commerce and sales initiatives find it highly effective at increasing customer engagement and time spent on the brand website (53%), as well as sales conversions (35%). Twelve percent say online video in e-commerce helps reduce product returns, customer service calls and shopping cart abandonment.

Marketers Educate via Online Video
Video is well-used by marketers, mostly for educational purposes, according to a new study from King Fish Media, Hubspot and Junta 42. Data from “Social Media Usage, Attitudes and Measurability” indicates that 61% of marketers use video content on their own websites, while another 56% use video content on third-party video-sharing sites. This indicates that a majority of marketers are willing to sacrifice some measure of control over their video content distribution and management in order to reach as wide an audience as possible.

Marketers also show limited openness to different video platforms. Thirteen percent use video content in emails, and 7% use video content on mobile devices. While the future of email is somewhat unclear, it seems fairly likely the percentage of marketers distributing video content via mobile device should substantially grow in the next several years.

Campaigns to acquire new customers have not taken off

Social media marketing has been around for several years, and as marketers begin to converge on best practices and use the channel in more uniform ways, it is emerging that their top goals are brand awareness and cultivating customer loyalty. Conversely, customer acquisition through social media is less important.

A July 2010 survey of US marketers by the Direct Marketing Association and COLLOQUY found that brand awareness was the most popular objective of social media efforts, followed by customer growth and loyalty.

A July eROI study similarly showed brand awareness was the top goal of US marketers using social media, and business-to-business (B2B) marketers reported the same to BtoB magazine and Business.com. In April, search marketers surveyed by MarketingSherpa cited increasing brand awareness and improving brand reputation as the two objectives for which social media marketing was most effective.

The DMA and COLLOQUY also looked at average marketer spending in various areas of social media marketing and how it changed over time. While marketers started out in 2008 spending similar amounts on branding, customer loyalty and customer acquisition, by 2009 customer acquisition budgets had failed to grow as quickly as the others. Customer acquisition budgets more than doubled twice between 2008 and 2010, but they still lagged behind the even more dramatic growth of spending in other areas.

The report noted that customer acquisition is a more important goal for smaller companies, which often use social media as an inexpensive marketing channel. Those companies are devoting budget to gaining new customers through social media, but by definition their budgets are small. They are overshadowed by large companies who have chosen social media primarily as a venue for cultivating customer loyalty and spend more heavily in that area.

Marketers looking to push out the most effective messages to opt-in recipients must understand how audiences differ across channels and what causes them to connect with brands. Marketing venues that seem similar may differ strongly if their users have different needs and motivations.

According to the final edition of ExactTarget’s “Subscribers, Fans and Followers” report, the differences between email, Facebook and Twitter also include their influence on customer loyalty.

Daily Twitter users who followed a brand were more than twice as likely as daily Facebook users who “liked” a brand to say they were more likely to purchase from the brand after becoming a social media follower. What’s more, Facebook fans were the most likely group to actively disagree with the question. Subscribers to opt-in marketing emails fell in the middle.

The pattern among Twitter followers, email subscribers and Facebook fans was similar when asked about whether they would recommend a brand. A third of Twitter followers said they were more apt to make a recommendation now that they followed a brand, compared with 24% of email subscribers and 21% of Facebook fans. Again, those who “liked” a brand on Facebook were most likely to actively disagree with the statement.

A February 2010 survey by Chadwick Martin Bailey also found that Twitter followers were more likely than Facebook fans to say they had an increased chance of buying or recommending the brands they connected with in social media.

These factors make Twitter followers attractive to marketers, but as the ExactTarget report notes, because of Twitter’s much smaller user base just 3% of US internet users follow a brand through the microblogging service. Those who do follow brands on Twitter are likely to be influencers in general, while Facebook users are more like the average consumer. And since Facebook users often become brand fans on the site because they are already fans in real life and want to use the brand as part of their self-image, it may be more difficult for them to actually increase their spending or advocate for the brand more than they did before “liking.”

Mobile platforms and location-based networks could take social marketing to the next level

As the increase in smart device ownership helps put the mobile web in the pocket of more and more Americans, mobile will play a greater role in all forms of content consumption—including social media.

US marketers surveyed in June 2010 by PRWeek and MS&L Group believed mobile social would have important consequences for their brand. Asked which social media efforts would have the greatest effect on their company, 17% said more usage of social media on mobile platforms and a further 12% cited uptake of mobile location-based social networking.

Another 4% said investing more in Twitter would be their most important effort. While a majority of users access Twitter from their desktop, the microblogging service is a major example of greater use of social media from mobile platforms. According to the company’s blog, mobile usage of the site rose 62% in about four months, and mobile sign-ups increased from 5% of the total earlier in 2010 to 16%.

Currently, PRWeek and MS&L Group found that few US marketers were using specifically mobile-based social media tools, but the sophistication of smart devices has narrowed the distance between the desktop and mobile for many users.

Much of the marketing opportunity in going mobile lies with the ability to use location data to bring consumers timely messages when they are already nearby and possibly considering a purchase. Social media could prove a smart avenue for such efforts; while pure location-based services like foursquare remain relatively niche, Facebook has picked up location-based check-in services, and social networking has been the single biggest driver of mobile app usage and browsing over the past year.