I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the #BTVSMB Social Hack on February 3, 2012. For those of you hearing about #BTVSMB for the first time, it’s the BTV Social Media Breakfast. Unlike previous #BTVSMB events, this event was setup a little differently. Not only did we get to hear from two great speakers, Richard Ting of R/GA and Liz Gerber of Segal Design Institute at Northwestern University, but we also got to implement their ideas with a team activity.
Richard Ting | Image provided by Stephen Mease
During Richard’s presentation, he showcased projects from R/GA and how Social Media played a huge part in their client campaigns. Liz’s presentation focused on the process of identifying a problem within a community and finding a solution to implement. After Rich and Liz gave their presentations, our last presentation was from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Farm to School. Their presentation set the stage for our full day group activity.
The primary goals each team aimed for:
Any Road Will Take You There
As 2011 closed and 2012 is upon us, let’s remember some of the best of last year.
This list contains some of my favorite posts from our blog writing staff and also some of the hot topics on the web, that resonated with our readership and clients.
“How often should I write a blog post for my website?” has been The Question to ask since blogging began. The answers to this question vary and should because it really depends upon your goals and the niche or audience that reads your blog. Most that ask the question just want a quick answer and there isn’t one. Ultimately the question is asked because the person wants their blog to be successful. There is a certain logic in thinking that if I produce X amount of good quality blog posts then my blog will be successful. There are many factors that make for a successful blog and, combined with the updates to search engines and online social landscape, the success of a blog becomes somewhat of a moving target. Although there is a core structure to effective blogging, some of what worked in 2006 for bloggers isn’t going to necessarily work today. The good news is there are guidelines below that will help get you on the right track with how often you blog. By using the points below as a guide and then adjusting to your specific audience, you can determine an effective answer for how often to blog.
The easiest answer to this question is if you can blog at least once a day, you should. Most don’t have that much time to dedicate to blogging and yet do want some success. To measure success, at a very basic level, a blog is effective when it brings in the right traffic. (A quick side-note: you shouldn’t expect that just because you write enough blog posts you will automatically get traffic, it will still need to be optimized and promoted). There is also a nice balance between enough content and other time commitments in your work week. To get and maintain a steady stream of readers, you will want to write at least once a week. If you write more, you will see additional benefits but if you write less, your blog won’t generally be a strong addition to your overall online efforts (whatever they may be).
Image via Wikipedia
The harder question to ask is, why are you blogging in the first place? What are your goals? To write just for the sake of writing won’t get you were you need to go. When you review those goals and the benchmarks for their success, you may find an entirely different answer than the one above. To get an idea of how much blogging some of the professional bloggers do (such as those behind Wired, ProBlogger, Gizmodo, Engadget, etc.) take a look at the book Blogging Heroes by Michael A. Banks. Banks does an interview with 30 of the world’s top bloggers and the answers are not only insightful but contain over-riding themes (such as how often they blog and how much online content they read). Consider the varying perspectives from Hubspot, SEOMoz, ProBlogger, and Gigaom that offer quick answers to the same question of how often to blog.
We’ve had the privilege at Union Street Media of launching several new real estate websites.
www.byselrealty.com
New England Land Company has been a long time Union Street Media client. Being one of the top producing offices in Vermont, they draw a lot of attention. They wanted to update their website after recently being purchased by a larger office not native to VT. The website needed to reflect the new brand but still show their Vermont roots and let clients know they haven’t changed.
www.lisameyer.net
Lisa Meyer, a Century 21 Jack Agent is tech savvy and understands how the Internet has effected the real estate industry. She needed a website that had easy to use search tools so site visitors could find what they were looking for quickly and efficiently. Through an easy to use content management system, she is able to reveal her expertise and success in Vermont real estate while showcasing her specific market of Waterbury. The site design reflects Lisa’s connection to Vermont with photos of scenery and biking.
www.c21baribeau.com
85% of the agents we work with tell us that they need to get better at social media and technology tools.
I am super excited to be bringing Agent Reboot back to Boston this year. We have been traveling around the country, bringing Agent Reboot to 24 cities this year and the feedback has been phenomenal.
Agent Reboot Boston
October 26, 2011
Hynes Convention Center
In the last few weeks, we’ve had the privilege at Union Street Media of launching several new websites. The Lynn Jackson Group, a Century 21 Jack office, located in Vergennes, VT, was looking for a new website provider that would be able to help them expand their market. Union Street Media had the right tools to do the job. The system allowed them to update listings and syndicate with Social Media sites with the added ability to create additional content pages on their website; a task that had previously taken up a lot of their time. The new website also allowed them to segment their MLS data, providing site visitors with recommended searches and more SEO authority.
In the last few weeks, we’ve had the privilege at Union Street Media of launching several new websites.
HKS Associates Inc. is located in New Hampshire’s beautiful Monadnock region. As an office that wears many hats in the industry, they needed a website company that specifically understood real estate. HKS was looking for a vendor who would create a website that represented their markets lifestyle and also took advantage of real estate tools available to help home-buyers learn more about their listed properties. The website needed to be easy to updated without the need for a developer or HTML knowledge. HKS wanted a company who would help them to understand the tech jargon and work with them to implement these new technologies and help grow their business.
Union Street Media was proud to be awarded Best Web Developer (three years and running!) by Seven Days; an independent paper that calls on Vermonters to vote for their local favorites in dozens of “Seven Daysies” categories.
The team at Union Street Media is honored and excited to be recognized by our Vermont neighbors and clients once again.
Congratulations to three of our clients for making the list as well. Shelburne Vineyard for winning best Vermont winery Sneakers Bistro for being a runner up for best breakfast/brunch restaurant. The Skinny Pancake for being a runner up for best street eats.
Thank you from our team!
The secret is, there is no secret sauce
I’m often asked by real estate clients, what they can do to drive traffic to their site to get more leads. It’s a simple question but with no one simple answer. There is no secret sauce or silver bullet. In my experience, it’s about hard-wiring various marketing techniques into your daily or weekly schedule.
As an SEO specialist, I will optimize copy, make recommendations about good back links or how to write a good Tweet; but neither I nor your website is your business, You are your business. Your online presence through websites, blogs and social media is an extension of what you are doing, anyway, to reach out to your network.
Here’s a roll-your-sleeves-up list of action items I would recommend to any Realtor:
In the last few weeks, we’ve had the privilege at Union Street Media of launching several new websites.
Nicole Martinez is a tech savvy real estate agent. She focuses a lot of time working on ways to increase her business potential. She does a lot of advertising in her market and needed a website that would be the center of it all. Her previous website didn’t have IDX and she wanted more SEO power from her new website. She came to Union Street Media because we are experts in the industry and would build her a powerful advertising platform to help her business grow
When Union Street Media started the Main Street Landing website redesign, the site was about ten years old. In addition to the redesign, there were three goals for the new Main St. Landing website: promote space for long term lease, promote daily rentals at the Performing Arts Center and other Main Street Landing venues, and advocate Main Street Landing’s sustainable development mission.
Steve Lipkin and Luke Clavelle of Hickok and Boardman recently launched their Premium website. Before partnering with Union Street Media, the duo did not have a website. Understanding the importance of having an online presence, they came to Union Street Media to ensure that their business has a top notch site that works for them. We’re please to announce that Lipkin Investment Properties now has a website that professionally represents their brand and continues to grow their market share, both online and off.
Jim Roy is a successful broker with Long & Foster. Jim’s previous website was very basic and the MLS search wasn’t up to par for what his market demanded. He also didn’t have the ability to create additional pages on his site. Jim launched his new website with Union Street Media because we were able to provide him with a sophisticated IDX search that better represents his business and was easier to use. He also gained the ability to edit the web site himself and make it his own, creating a professional looking website that was welcoming to people.
Ed and Agnes Chatelain were looking for a website vendor who could help them distinguish themselves from what other Realtors were doing in their market. They wanted a website that they could easily update with information about the local area, best places to surf and which beach was best. Tying their local knowledge and website together, they can now inform potential home buyers of all the benefits of buying a home.
Pam wanted a website that would be a resource for potential home buyers by providing information on local lakes and towns. The website had to be both clean and professional, while allowing visitors to easily navigate the information. As a showpiece of her market, there would be a lot of spectacular photos added to the site that enhance the information provided. Union Street Media also included a Sold Properties search that would let Pam’s potential clients research the housing market.
Search Engine Optimization
