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  • Beyond leads: What are other metrics of real estate marketing success?

  • You got some leads, now what?! 🤔

    So you’ve been doing killing it on the marketing front. You’ve created amazing branded content and gone to create an incredible brand presence on your social media channels. Your Facebook ads are on point and not only that, you’re even starting to see your Google ranking move up the almighty SEO scale.

    I’ve got a ton of leads! Now what?

    Most importantly, your list of truly viable leads is increasing. In fact, you’ve got a pretty impressive list… well, at least it’s impressive because your spreadsheet looks huge and your cost per lead looks beautiful. Then all of a sudden you’ve come to a realization and you’re starting to sweat as you think to yourself, “Good leads. Exciting leads. I have a chance to prove what this marketing thing is all about… I have a realistic opportunity to grow the business and I don’t want to blow it! How do I best communicate with them to increase my chances of conversion?” Your time to shine has come to communicate with these leads.

    The basics

    There are endless ways you can communicate with your new list of potential customers. Let’s be honest. You yourself have been the victim of poor digital communication yourself. So you definitely know how not to do it. The key is – wait for it – effective communication. And that naturally, is where we want to focus. So how do you go effectively go about communicating? What is the right next step? Actually, that answer is based on a number of important factors that include: Who they are. This should be obvious, right? But you’d be surprised by how many businesses don’t know even the basics of their customers. Develop as many accurate buyer personas as suits your customers and potential customers. Make specific sales scripts that your sales agents can use on the fly for each specific kind of client. The same goes for what specific service or product they want. Hopefully, you’ve done your due diligence when getting these leads in the first place so this should be something you can quickly identify.

    Provide value immediately and be quick, but don’t sell

    Even if they didn’t actually ask a specific question, it shouldn’t be too hard to figure this out with some basic detective work. If they downloaded a content offer, converted on a specific website page, or found you through a targeted ad, then you know the kind of information that they’re interested in. Keep giving them relevant content, or ask more questions to find out what else they want to learn about. Also, don’t sell! Many internet leads may be in the buying phase, but the last thing they want is someone calling them after they download a lead magnet. We suggest using a marketing automation tool like LeadDragon to send them an acknowledgment text, email, and then another personalized text the next day if they don’t respond to the first touches (email & text). That way it takes the time out of the equation of following up with them and it removes the pressure out of the sales cycle.  How much communication have they’ve had with you so far? Let’s face it, we all need a little space from time to time and you don’t want them searching for the unfollow button or unsubscribe link. Nurture them gently, provide value, set yourself as a trusted authority, and go for the conversion! This isn’t Walmart, these are online marketing campaigns and every industry has different length sales cycles. Consider the following tips below!

    Lead nurturing evaluation ✔️

    Is a lead qualified as being “sales-ready”? Make sure they’re “ripe” before your sales team goes to pick this choice fruit. This may seem obvious, but you don’t want to ruin a ripening fruit by picking it too soon. Plus, you should make sure that your team is spending their time on those leads who are actually ready and willing to take the next step, whether it be with a service or product, bringing them with care through the buyer’s journey.

    Timing is everything. ✔️

    Even though a customer may seem ready for action, you still have to make sure it’s truly the right time for you as well. Make sure your lead nurturing is in line with your sales cycle while being careful not to bombard them with so many emails that they unsubscribe from all email communication. If your sales cycle is a few months long, make sure to time it so they get an email every few weeks and, if applicable to your business, at least one direct point of contact with a salesperson.

    Tell them what they want to hear! ✔️

    Consistently refine your messaging. Be sure to keep giving them relevant content. If you need to, don’t be afraid to ask more questions to find out what else they want to learn about. Finding the right new costumers to continually grow your business is often difficult, and it’s worth spending the time to nurture those relationships so that you are building a dedicated customer base.

    Provide valuable resources. ✔️

    Any time spent researching and generating quality resources is well spent time. You are learning what customers need and how you can provide the information that they are looking for. It would do you well to create resources that are unique to each of the personas (kind of buyers) you’ve created. You can include your blog posts in relevant emails, encouraging your contacts to travel a little further in the buyer’s journey. This not only provides them with more information, but it gets them back to your website where they can interact with your business a little more. When you have a clear understanding of your marketing strategy and how your new leads fit into it, you will be well on your way to successful, continual growth. Add some speed and remove some pressure from this sales cycle using a marketing and nurture automation tool like LeadDragon and you’ll be on your way to maximizing your ad spend and lead acquisition dollars.

  • Picking The Right Equipment For Your Brand’s Podcast

     

    Here is a list of our favorite software, equipment, and services we use in our business almost daily. These are the building blocks and foundational tools we use to record, edit, and flesh out our podcast episodes for ourselves and our clients. We’ve used a ton of different softwares and tools in the past, but these are the tried and true, the well tested and have the fullest recommendation from us.

    Our CEO, Shawn Greenway on an on-site podcast.

    Podcast Equipment (Tools)

    Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 2 In/2 Out USB Recording Audio Interface

    Audio-Technica BPHS1 Broadcast Stereo Headset with Dynamic Boom Mic

    Sony Alpha III with 28-75mm FE Lens

    Director’s Chair x 2

    Victiv 72-inch Camera Tripod Aluminum Monopod T72 Max. Height 182 cm

    MOUNTDOG 1350W Photography Continuous Softbox Lighting Kit 20″X28″

    2X Tascam DR-10L Studio Recorder Lavaliere Microphones + 2X TH-02-B Headphones + 2X Sandisk 32GB Audio Bundle

    Software

    Audacity 

    Audacity is an easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. A sweet tool to edit all of you audio clips.

    Agorapulse 

    Agorapulse is a social media management tool that helps you schedule your content, get reports, and engage followers with one simple tool.

    Anchor.FM 

    Anchor is an all-in-one platform where you can create, distribute, and monetize your podcast from any device, for free.

    WhereBy

    Whereby is a flexible tool providing you with video meetings, screen sharing, and recording in the browser! – no downloads & no logins for guests.

     

    We made this list because you kept asking! If you need any additional help or have some questions, feel free to schedule a call.

     

     

  • 5 Clever Reasons Why TikTok Should Be On Your 2020 Marketing Plan

     

    As marketers, we love tried and tested. We walk the road well-traveled, lacking the time, the budget or the opportunity to try strategies that won’t guarantee you results.

    But now and then, something comes along that will disrupt your methods. And it’s up to you whether you jump in when it’s new, or wait until it’s been tested. Often by your competitors.

    That disruptor is TikTok.

    The rise and rise of TikTok

    Space shuttle taking off on a mission

    As part of Talkwalker’s social media trends analysis, we’ve seen a big change in consumer habits, especially when it comes to social networks. While the average time spent on social media is increasing, how we divide that time over different platforms is having the biggest impact. And the new player that’s taking a slice of our social media time, is TikTok.

    TikTok is a social media video app for creating and sharing short lip-sync, comedy, and talent videos. Barely 2 years old, the platform is now the fourth largest in the world, hitting 500 million active monthly users in June 2018. And remaining one of the most downloaded social media apps.

    For 2020, social media marketers need to start looking away from the big 4 (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter), and start including new platforms like TikTok into the mix. Here are 5 reasons why.

    1. Building communities

    The way people are consuming social is changing. It’s becoming less about what you are doing as an individual, and more about what you can do as a community.

    Sharing ideas, starting conversations with like-minded people, building community projects – that’s what matters. The major channels saw this coming, focusing on groups as part of their strategy. Facebook now has over 400 million group members across the globe.

    Although there isn’t a group element in TikTok, you can see community is at the heart of the platform. Much of the content is trend-driven, with people creatively responding to other people’s videos. Duets are a great example of this, with users able to add responses to other videos, for real collaboration.

    TikTok is providing the kinship users desire, while avoiding the potential toxicity on other platforms.

    2. Anti-marketing marketing

    Generation Z doesn’t like advertising. 51% of them now use ad-blockers when browsing. That means the traditional strategies of SMA and SEA won’t work as well for them as previous generations.

    Instead, you need to be less invasive. It ties back to that sense of community. These savvier social media users are willing to engage with brands on their level. So when you’re building brand stories that incorporate your community, you’re on to a winner.

    TikTok is an ideal platform for this. Brands are now building their own channels on the platform, with content adapted to suit the TikTok audience. Which is already paying off. The NFL started advertising on the platform in September 2019, and amassed over 541K fans.

    NFL has mastered content creation designed to suit the TikTok audience.

    3. User-generated content

    User-generated content is also one of our trends for this year. And that links to another major concern for this generation: authenticity. 90% of Millennials say authenticity is important to them when it comes to choosing the brands to support.

    Due to the increase of fake news, consumers trust in social media has declined over the last few years. Although each platform is working hard to fight this issue, TikTok has the advantage due to its newness. It drives authentic content as part of its design.

    And that’s because of its focus on UGC. It’s the most authentic content available, relying not on marketing strategy, but consumer advocacy – that people want to talk about your brand only because they love it.

    As part of your TikTok strategy, ensure you encourage UGC whenever possible. Be part of the conversation, and help shape that conversation towards your brand.

    4. Instant, raw trendjacking

    Social media is quick. Being on trend is essential if you want to be seen as a relevant brand, and if you want to drive engagement as much as possible.

    Speed usually comes at a cost to production value – but the good thing is, that doesn’t matter as much anymore.

    Users are more willing to forgive raw, less polished content if it’s right on trend.

    This isn’t a strategy specifically for TikTok. It can work just as effectively on Twitter, where short, sharp messages can cut through the noise quickly. But TikTok has nurtured a platform of raw, unfiltered content that you can create with minimal effort and time.

    An example of quick, raw content that engaged as it was right on trend.

    5. Nano influencers

    Influencer marketing will still be a major part of marketing in 2020. Though expect the change in audience to disrupt that too.

    Influencers are no longer the people we expect. As part of the issues with authenticity, and the increase in more discerning social media users, celebrity influencers are on the wane. There’s too many dangers associated with using these large audience influencers. That and consumers don’t want to be sold to by the stars they feel disconnected from, instead turning to the smaller, niche experts that have built the communities and content they enjoy.

    This isn’t just a trend for TikTok. We’ve seen this turn towards micro (upto 100K followers) and even nano-influencers (upto 1000 followers) across all social media channels.

    But TikTok is perfect for nano-influencers. There aren’t the established influencers that you’d find on other channels. And the platform allows anyone to quickly and easily build a community around their content, amazing views in a fairly short period of time.

    TikTok – the 2020 social media disruptor
    TikTok is still a new platform. And while it’s not tried and tested, it does hold the potential for anyone willing to take a risk on it.

    2020 is going to be the year that social media marketing gets disrupted, and we will see consumers bouncing around platforms other than the big 4. The question is, if your audience migrates to a platform like TikTok, will you be there to greet them?

    This article was originally written on Business2Community

  • How to “10x” every department in your business

    Originally written by Grant Cardone:

    Every day someone travels to our 10X Headquarters to attend a sales meeting and to spend some time learning how we created the culture of 10X in ALL my companies.

    While we aren’t perfect, everyone that comes to Miami notices something is very different than how most companies operate.

    Whether it is sales, management, e-commerce, shipping, customer service, real estate, video production, copywriters or accounting you will see people operating with a very similar attitude.

    Here are a few tips we use to create the 10X culture:

    1) Executives Insist on 10X Environment

    All our managers are trained and well aware of our 10X mindset. Leadership always starts at the top! A 10X environment is positive, sales-focused, and full of activity. That means we’re not chit-chatting around the water cooler about the latest news, we’re busy making phone calls and getting deals.

    2) Targets in EVERY department

    Each department should have its own individual goals so that every single person in the company knows what to shoot for. Having targets — not just monthly targets but DAILY targets is a must if you want people to stay focused on what really matters.

    3) Graphs measuring daily activity

    I don’t just tell people what the target is — I show them. Use line graphs, bar graphs, pictures, illustrations…anything that gives a VISUAL of what you’ve done and where you need to go. People learn and take in what they see, not what they hear!

    4) Daily Company Success Meeting

    Every single morning we make a point to have a “success” meeting, which means we share testimonials of what our customers are saying about our products and services. This builds confidence in what we’re selling. Why is this necessary? Because YOU need to be the most “sold” person on the value of the product or service you’re selling!

    5) Mandatory Training

    If you train at the gym for your physical body, why would you neglect your sales and closing skills by not training them? Everyone in my company trains on Cardone University, and it’s a tool that thousands of other companies also use to keep everyone sharp and increase daily revenue.

    6) Reminders throughout the building of Purpose/Beliefs

    I hang little quotes throughout the building that are motivational in nature and remind the staff why we do what we do. If you don’t know the things that are most important at your company, neither will anyone else. PROMOTE them!

    Also, to really get into the “10X” culture and see what it can do for your business and life, join us and 12,000 entrepreneurs for the upcoming 10X Growth Conference.

    Don’t just reserve “sales” for your sales team. Get accounting, e-commerce, shipping, and every other department focused on SALES. You will see a difference, I promise you!

    Be Great,

    Grant

    About Grant Cardone

    CEO of CardoneCapital, international speaker, entrepreneur and author of The 10X Rule & creator of 21 best-selling business programs, Grant Cardone owns & operates seven privately held companies and a $1.4B portfolio of multifamily properties. Named the #1 marketer to watch by Forbes Magazine, Cardone is also the founder of The 10X Movement & The 10X Growth Conference, the world’s largest business & entrepreneur conference.

  • Where to Get Started: Content and Real Estate Marketing

    Real estate agents understand the power and value of authentic, original content as the key to standing out among the sea of qualified agents and brokers. I was asked to present the Content System framework to agents who want to use content to attract and grow an audience of new clients. This is the second of three posts. The first can be found here. If you work in real estate, this high-level view of a proposed set of content creation activities is for you.

    Be careful not to demotivate yourself

    Producing content is the most challenging step when building a content system. I usually hear well-intentioned, motivated people commit to producing a piece of content each week, but then they hit a mental block. Their hopes of a content system never materialize. Before I go any further, my advice is to start small and keep your content goals realistic. For example, rather than committing to a 10-part series explaining how to stage your home, start small. A more realistic goal for a new content creator might be to write short blog posts highlighting the top five staging techniques all sellers must implement. At the beginning, keep your content creation goals within reach. Completing one piece of content will motivate you to create more because it’s always easier to expand upon your previous work.

    How to develop ideas for content

    Here are three ways to quickly get started generating content ideas. The easiest way to get started is by answering this question: what are the top five questions buyers or sellers always ask? Don’t run with the first five that come to mind; write them all down because you may use more than five. Once you have your list, rank the questions from most to least frequently asked. Don’t omit anything because other sites or individuals covered the same topic. Your content will have a unique perspective.

    Another technique is to review your sent email. If you’re answering someone’s question, chances are there are others out there with the same question. Use that email as a starting off point to a longer piece.

    Search social media and sites like Reddit and Quora to see what people are talking about. Find out what’s important to sellers or look for emerging trends.

    The six most popular content types in real estate

    Here are six of the most common content types that I see in the real estate industry. You don’t have to stick with one type. Mix it up. For example, create some Instagram posts, blog posts and videos.

    Blog posts are features written in your voice. They are usually based on your opinion and are presented in a conversational style and tone.

    Videos don’t need to be stylized and highly-produced. Interviews with homeowners and experts recorded with phones can generate a lot of engagement. Now that the technology is accessible, 360 and drone videos are popping up on many real estate sites.

    Images are at the core of the real estate industry and should be part of every blog written for your site. Keep in mind that a single image can stand on its own if it tells a story or conveys a powerful message.

    Articles are fact-based and built on research. Articles may include expert interviews and cited references.

    eBooks and Guides are typically a compilation of previously produced content that has been reorganized and expanded upon.

    Infographics are a graphic representation of data that tells a story. Infographics are an easy way to explain data using diagrams, icons, graphs, and timelines.

    One basic rule to follow when creating content

    Absolutely no selling. Do not violate this because it will destroy any goodwill that you generated. You are here to serve, not sell. That’s why it’s important to reframe your thinking when producing pieces for your content system.

    One other basic rule to follow when creating content

    In On Writing Well, William Zinsser explained his four principles to writing: Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity, and Humanity. The first three are self-explanatory, it’s the fourth that catches people. You are a human communicating with humans. Do not write as a business or other entity. Write in your own voice.

    This is all very high-level information, but it was exactly what my audience of real estate agents needed to get started. In the next and final blog, I’ll give you an overview of publishing.

    Originally published at https://contentsystemsacademy.com on August 1, 2019

  • With Instagram Likes Going Away, What’s Next For Brands?

     

    The entire world is hooked on Instagram, and the likes are the drug!

    Since its launch in 2010 and Acquisition by Facebook in 2012, the ‘Gram has evolved from a pretty straight-forward photo album app into a full-fledged, worldwide popularity contest and marketing powerhouse. Likes and vanity metrics have been feeding addicted influencer egos, tormenting brand’s reaches, and destroying society’s self-esteem for years now, but that all might be coming to an end… sort of.

    Instagram is currently hiding likes for some users in a handful of markets and regions including Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. It’s been driving some influencers crazy, as you can see this Australian Instagram model bawling at the fact that she can’t show her likes anymore.

    This social and business (risk) experiment represents a HUGE change to how Instagram works, and the existential flow of how its users engage with it. The number of likes a post gets has long been a status symbol (and vanity metric) on the platform which has launched the careers of influencers and helped generate revenue for brands both big and small. It’s definitely a social proof metric as well, and can be useful in that matter. So what’s next?

    Here’s what our friends over at Giant Propeller had to say:

    While it’s true that Instagram Stories don’t have any public metrics, that hasn’t stopped it from exploding in popularity with both users, brands, and influencers. In fact, brands generally care more about reach and engagement rates than they do followers, and it has become customary for them to ask for screenshots of influencers’ engagement metrics to see how effective they really are. So if the superficial popularity contest is going away, how will this affect the nature of the content itself?

    Some believe this shift will encourage users to post content with more authenticity. Previous strategies – such as scheduling specific times / days to post – now becomes less relevant and therefore, more liberating for users. In order to optimize their Instagram engagement, brands and influencers have had to consider a long list of tips and tricks that, quite frankly, sucks the joy out of breathing. Without likes, the platform feels less like a popularity contest between professional influencers with carefully-curated aesthetics, and average people who use the app to share their lives with family and friends.

    If this game-changer actually rolls out globally, here’s how brands can survive this brave new world:

    • Brands would become more reliant on influencers to share first-party analytics to understand content performance.

    • Content platforms within Instagram (Stories, IGTV, Shoppable IG) will provide actionable metrics such as swipe-ups and purchases — allowing brands to track performance as well as calculate ROI.

    • Alternate behavioral metrics, such as video completion, must be valued.

    • Video completion means high-quality content (that isn’t explicitly engineered to game engagement metric) must be produced. 

    • With production of quality content and creative becoming more important than ever, it’s crucial for brands to partner with agencies and creators who know how to make an impact. 

  • How To Choose The Right Marketing Agency For Your Business

    After having ran a marketing agency, consulting company, & coached sales team to convert for a couple years now, there is one definitive task I find myself repeating over and over in the sales meetings I’m involved in; Diagnosing if that business is ready for a true marketing agency engagement. When I’m pitching BrandLyft Marketing, I’m often left with business owners that have been burned with other marketing agencies, sometimes it’s not their fault, other times I know it’s because they weren’t ready. They weren’t ready often because they didn’t have the sales systems, processes, and foundation in place. Sometimes it’s also a poor product/market fit. Not only do I have to convince them of working with us, but in many cases, I’m having to re-educate the importance of marketing, sales-marketing synchrony, and brand positioning as a whole to their business. This in many cases leaves their idea of working with an agency a horrible nightmare, because if there not ready it can be for both.

    The #1 one thing a business owner or decision maker should be looking for in the early stages of looking for a marketing agency is whether that agency leads with a one-size-fits-all approach or a truly consultive deep dive on their business issues, how marketing plays it’s role, and making sure things happen towards their desired income. Too often, agencies offer packages, emailing marketing, PPC, SEO, Facebook Ads, without even finding out if that’s the best lead acquisition strategy. Not only that, but that may not be the cure to the business owner’s issue he/she wants to solve.

    Why A Package Approach Is Wrong

    When you go to a doctor, do they lead with a variety of medicines for you to choose from? Of course not. For a doctor to properly do their job, they need to know what issues you are and have been experiencing, and the symptoms they have caused. It’s no difference in business. A marketing agency that leads with things like Facebook likes, Twitter followers, web traffic, lead gen, etc. is an agency destined to fail you because it’s prescribing vanity metrics, no lead/sales attribution, or a marketing/sales journey map.

    The Consultative Deep-Dive Approach Is What You’re Looking For

    In order for a marketing agency to truly be the right partner, they need to take the time to understand the history of your business, your products, brand story, market positioning, your competitors, what’s worked, what hasn’t, the results (or lack of), and what your goals and objectives are (business outcome). Filling out a form or a 30 min call isn’t quite nearly enough to get there. An true agency needs to commit to taking the time, asking the right questions, and digging to deliver a customized strategic and tactical plan for your business. They don’t see you as a client, they see you as a partner. They want to be a true extension of your business and are committed to going deeper than surface level metrics!

    The good news, when you find an agency that does it right, you’ll know. They go above and beyond. They truly understand your brand story and wants to be part of the piece in the puzzle that helps you get it to where it needs too. A good question we ask ourselves in the pre-qualifying stages is, “What would a successful Agency partnership look like”. If the answer is attainable, we’ll let you know. If it’s out of the realm of expectations in the project scope, we’ll also let you know. By asking and listening, we’ve managed to work with some dream clients.

  • LaunchPad Fridays! ⚡ Showcasing Cartersville, North Georgia, & Metro Atlanta Small Businesses!

    BrandLyft Marketing is starting a YouTube / Facebook Video series where we highlight a Small Local Business every Friday near our Agency (Cartersville / Atlanta) area.

    Do you know of a entrepreneur locally that has an incredible story to tell? We want to know!

    The freedom to chase your entrepreneurial dream is one of the great foundations of America. Owning a business is a freedom the U.S. Census Bureau of Labor Statistics records 29.6 million Americans pursue today, supporting local communities with products and services while contributing millions of dollars and jobs to the American economy.

    It also takes a tremendous amount of hustle, sacrifice and dedication. But what does that really look like across America? We want to find out, learn more, and share this journey with you!

    Here’s our first episode with JZ’s Taste of Georgia. This is a story of a family and their love for all things homegrown and homemade. Transplanted in Georgia, loving its land, people, and all things Georgia grown and made, they bring their sense of community, sharing and family wherever they go. Gathering some of their very favorite things in one place, they now invite you to share in their little Taste of Georgia. We are sure you will love it too!

  • BrandLyft Marketing Podcast Is Live! 🔥

    BrandLyft Marketing Podcast Is Live! 🔥

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    We’re super excited to announce that we’ve launched our series of business, sales, and marketing Podcast called “Full Potential”. This podcast will overlap over the common things that business owners think about when growing their businesses and taking it to the next level. We’ll talk about our “BrandLyft” formula of identifying where a business cycle in growth is at, invite awesome industry expert guests, and keep you at the head of the marketing industry. Our host will be our CEO, Shawn Greenway. You be able to listen to our podcast on Anchor.FM , Spotify, iTunes, & Google Podcasts.

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