What Buyers Really Want in a Green Home
Posted by Sibet B Freides in Green, Marketing on May 22nd, 2013
When it comes to selling a green home, your marketing needs to be different than what you would do for a typical home, which competes on price and features. Green homes are won over with their value (lower utility bills, less toxins).
So how do you market a green home?
Get rid of the term “green”. No one really knows what that means today. A term like “high-performance” sounds much more accurate: a home that is extremely energy-efficient is high-performance.
What about benefits? Buyers care more about lowering their utility bills and keeping their families safe than they do about the rain forest and saving the whales. Of course many buyers do care about the environment but that’s not the primary driving force behind their purchasing decision.
Give your eFlyers a facelift. 95 percent of flyers show the features of the home, not any of the real benefits. What about listing the high performance benefits? You can really speak to your buyers when you show them the projected monthly and annual utility bill savings.
Also, green homes tend to appraise for at least 10 percent higher than comparable homes, so illustrate that their home would be worth $20,000 more than comparable ones.
“Non-toxic” gets to the point more than “eco-friendly”. Everyone enjoys breathing clean air.
It’s a new market – clever graphics don’t sell homes anymore. Be clear and speak to your buyers’ needs. Show them the value.
Is Your Social Media Expertise Foiled by Bad Grammar?
Posted by Sibet B Freides in Marketing, Social Media on May 20th, 2013
Your website says you’re an expert. You tweet, you blog, you update your Facebook status. You do the same for your clients. Maybe you’ve put together a white paper or free report on Social Media.
Every time you do this, you have created something that is published for the world to see. It’s one thing to make your thoughts fit into Twitter’s 140-character prison, but are you publicly using poor grammar, spelling errors, or confidently presenting poorly executed thoughts? Do you proof read?
There is nothing that challenges your expertise and credibility MORE than incorrect punctuation, spelling mistakes and bad grammar. I not only see this on blogs but also in published eBooks that I’ve paid good money for! “Experts” publishing works that read like they were transcribed from a scattered conversation.
I purchased a fitness eBook the other day and one section I was reading described the ideal way to grocery shop when aiming for whole food choices. Mortified, I read, “As you cruz through the produce section…”
Cruz? As in Penelope, not Tom? Oy. I wanted my money back due to that grave error alone.
A website or blog is often the first place that you go to learn a little bit more about a person or company. If your online content is colored with many spelling and grammatical errors why should your prospective clients take you seriously? You might unintentionally go viral as people forward your badly written articles to other people to laugh at.
When I run across content that takes a long time to get to the point and is full of fluffy words and thoughts, it’s really hard to read and I will go elsewhere immediately.
Remember: what goes on the web stays on the web!
If you describe yourself as a social media manager or online content manager you had better know the difference between your and you’re, their and there (and they’re) and thoroughly understand that you don’t put an apostrophe in a plural word.
If you are writing on behalf of your company or representing a business, it’s critical that you check the content that you are putting out on the web or you will diminish your credibility in the eyes of your readers.
Do spelling and grammar errors make you think less of a company or author? Share by commenting below!
Beware the Hype
Posted by Sibet B Freides in Demographics, Social Media on May 15th, 2013
The easiest way to start this post would be with some staggering statistics on the constantly changing landscape of social media. That said, I’m not going to go into how often social media changes for two reasons.
1.) I hate stating the obvious.
2.) By the time this post goes up, any example I could give to prove how quickly social media changes will most likely be irrelevant.
Unfortunately, the focus of this post relates to how often social media changes. But not the ever-changing format of existing platforms. I work with social media every day, I read articles about social media every day, and most importantly, between personal use and work, I am on social media every day. And yet, there are still new social media platforms that I have installed on my phone that I know next to nothing about.
As a marketer, it can be tempting to not only jump on every social media bandwagon, but also suggest every new platform to every client. After all, we’re the professionals, we are supposed to be on the bleeding edge of social media and see the newest trend coming months before it launches, right? Well, yeah. But that doesn’t mean every single client needs to be on every single platform, just so that you look like you know what you’re doing. As with anything where you overload yourself, it leads to burnout and you find you can’t do anything well.
The solution?
Figure out your client and audience (if you’re doing your own social media, this should be easy) and then figure out the various social media platforms and their audiences. Cross-reference these two audiences and match up the right platform to the right client. Still having some trouble? Here are some audience demographics to consider before pushing a platform.
AGE
While the key social media players (Facebook and Twitter) are growing to the point of an almost universal appeal, many of the newer platforms cater to a more targeted age range. Instagram, for example is much more popular with the under 30 group than it is with empty nesters in their 50s and 60s. On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re trying to market to teens and college-aged kids, HOUZZ.com, which appeals to home owners and those looking to be home owners, is not exactly going to be your gold mine.
GENDER
Again, certain platforms like Facebook and Twitter are edging to universal appeal to both men and women. The problem comes when discussing a fairly gender-specific social media platform like Pinterest. There’s no rule or even a marketing campaign saying that Pinterest is for female users only, but it takes a little digging to find male users with active accounts.
TECH USE
Is your (client’s) audience even on social media? This question is getting closer and closer to irrelevance these days, but it’s not there yet. Especially since it is now a two-fold question. The first question is if the audience is on social media, and if your answer to that is yes, the next question is how is the audience accessing social media. Certain platforms, including Vine and Instagram, only allow users to create content from a smart phone, while others are more easily accessed and utilized on tablet or desktop.
What about you? Do you tell your clients that they must have profiles on all the latest and greatest shiny new social networks or do you ignore the hype and use strategy? Share by commenting below or posting to our Facebook page!
Do Consumers Care if Your Brand is Socially Responsible?
Posted by Sibet B Freides in Demographics, Green, Marketing on May 13th, 2013
Does a shopper really make purchasing decisions based on how a company treats its employees and the environment? Believe it or not this is becoming a bigger and bigger concern for shoppers.
We’re not talking just organic, tried and true “green” brands; more and more, these socially responsible shoppers are looking at the mainstream. A recent survey from marketing agency Good.Must.Grow (GMG) found that most Americans care about buying products from companies that do good in the world.
GMG surveyed 1,015 Americans, finding that 30% of respondents said that they expect to increase the amount of goods and services they buy from socially responsible companies (up from 18%). 60% of people said that buying goods from socially responsible companies is important to them.
Treatment of employees was found to be the biggest factor (45%) for people deciding how responsible a company is. Environmental impact followed close behind and transparency was the third biggest factor.
Remember that certain pizza brand that was smeared all over social networks for giving away 2 million free pizzas but refusing to pay 14 cents their employees’ health care? That is the embodiment of what we’re saying. Additionally, one out of six U.S. consumers claimed that they would avoid a product entirely if they didn’t like the parent company!
How important are these things to you as a consumer? Share your comments below or post to our Facebook page!
Content Marketing – Social Media for 2013
Posted by Sibet B Freides in Marketing, Social Media on May 8th, 2013
In 2007 companies started to get serious about embracing social media. As a result, many business professionals argued over whether or not it was a fad, while quick-thinking entrepreneurs established themselves as “experts” in the field.
Today, the new social media is content marketing.
Content marketing, also known as native advertising, is the practice of companies creating their own media outlets. Large corporations such as Dell, Coca-Cola, and IBM are creating what seems to be a journalistic product.
Is content marketing yet another passing fancy or is it a train your company shouldn’t miss?
Consider that major PR firms are embracing it. A number of small and mid-size PR and marketing agencies are producing high-quality content for brands, but this year some of the of the PR giants joined the content marketing bandwagon.
In November, Edelman appointed someone to their newly formed position of chief content strategist, responsible for overseeing programs such as media partnerships that combine paid, earned and owned disciplines.
What about revenue? As the power of traditional banner ads fade, old and new media companies alike are looking for new ways to create revenue. Companies seem to be hiring media outlets to create custom-branded content and listing themselves as sponsors.
Reporters are flocking to content marketing jobs. Journalists continue to move from newsrooms to creative firms in increasing numbers. Instead of taking on traditional media roles, they’re forming newsrooms for brands. Big brands are staffing newsrooms with a number of former reporters to create content.
Top journalists from Fortune magazine, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and Newsweek are joining non-media companies and online marketing firms for the sole purpose of creating content.
What do you think? Is content marketing the future of journalism and branding? Share by commenting below!
The Precarious Balance…Of Instagram.
Posted by Sibet B Freides in Social Media on May 6th, 2013
Anyone with an active Instagram account is aware, either consciously or subconsciously, of the two extremes when it comes to company Instagram accounts; The “I’m not sure if I have interesting content, so I’ll just post almost the exact same picture of something I know was interesting at one point over and over and over…and over” and the “If it stays still for more than 30 seconds, I’m instagramming it and adding 40 tags, 38 of which might be irrelevant, but whatever, I’m sure a #cookie has something to do with #CommercialRealEstate”.
I want to be nice and give every company Instagram account an A for effort, solely because a lot of companies are still leery about joining the fun. Honestly, though, both of these extremes are annoying, and at least in my case, result in the dreaded “unfollow”. There’s a fine balance between Insta-boring and Insta-crazy, but it is possible to maintain that balance. (Hint: these apply to your personal accounts too)
Have Confidence in your Content
Instagram what you think is cool, not what you think your followers (or a target group) might think is cool. Chances are your followers are following you because they share your interests or your company’s interests, and they’ll probably be interested in what interests you. As your account gains followers who are interacting with you, you’ll figure out what is really popular, what’s middle of the road content, and what doesn’t appeal to your audience. Compare your likes and comments between each post and adapt your content that way. (warning: do not post the same thing over and over because it got 20 likes the first time. No one will like it the second time…or the 5th)
Mix It Up
If you’re a commercial real estate firm, it might be tempting to only post pictures of exteriors and interiors of buildings. Don’t. Please don’t. It’s ok to post some pictures of your properties (or whatever your company’s main focus is), but like I said earlier, keep it fun and mix it up. See a cute animal at one of your properties? Instagram it! Having lunch at a cool restaurant that just happens to be one of your tenants? Instagram it (but see the below warning on foodstagram overload)! Regardless of your industry, you probably have a website or listing database to post all of your company’s wares, leave the fun stuff, the stuff that makes your day a good day, to Instagram.
Don’t Be Too Serious
In fact, don’t be serious. At all. Instagram is meant to be a form of entertainment, and I would say it has a more lighthearted feel than any of the other Social Media platforms. Keep content light and fun, and if possible, highlight the fun, goofy side of your job and office. (Tricycle races in a gutted building that’s under restoration? Absolutely. Shout out to @poncecitymarket)
Go Behind the Scenes
Even if your company is relatively small, followers love seeing what goes on behind the scenes; offices, desks, pets, photo shoots, construction sites, even meetings (MAYBE) should be fair game.
At Least Try
Look, we all know the whole point of Instagram is that you don’t have to be a professional photographer to post cool pictures, but you have to at least try to make it look good. Hold your phone steady, don’t post fuzzy pictures, or pictures that are impossible to determine. At the same time, play with the angle and framing of a photo. Remember, Instagram apps are on continuous scroll, so make sure each picture stands out enough to catch the eye.
Have a Presence, Not an Obsession
Part of my job is managing social media for clients, and yet there are still some companies whose Instagram accounts I follow that make me wonder “Honestly, do you really have NOTHING else to do all day?!”. On the other extreme are the accounts that you follow, forget you follow because they never post, then when you see them advertise their instagram, you search them out, only to be shocked that you’ve been following them for months. Both of these are bad, either you’re annoying (and may make some followers think the words “corporate waste”) or you’re invisible. Aim for posting anywhere between once a week and once a day to be the most effective.
Keep Foodstagramming to a minimum
I hate to break it to you, but no one really cares if you had a turkey sandwich with pickles for lunch. Foodstagram (or Instagramming what you eat) was a craze that quickly became a cliché. That said, sometimes you’re eating at a really cool or unique restaurant, or your latte art is just too cute (if so, you’re lucky, I’ve never gotten latte art…then again I’ve never checked…) and you want to instagram it. Do it, even add #foodstagram to your tags, but please please please don’t do it 3 times a day, every day.
#Do #Not #Hash #Tag #Every #Word
Writing in hashtags sends the wrong message, that you’re only on instagram for self promotion, shameless self promotion at that, which isn’t what your followers want to see. It’s also incredibly hard to read, even for someone who spends a lot of time on social media. Find a few key words to target your audience (#CRE #BUILDING #PARTY etc) and call it a day.
Don’t like your own posts
You know that one friend that is always fishing for compliments? Or the kids in high school who started rumors about themselves just to be talked about? Yeah, me too. Liking your own posts on any social media platform, Instagram included, makes you look like that person. It’s not cool, don’t do it.
Are Golf Communities Still Relevant?
Posted by Sibet B Freides in Demographics, Real Estate Trends on May 1st, 2013
There were 15,619 golf courses in the United States as of January 2013, after 154.5 courses (in 18-hole equivalents) went off line last year, according to the National Golf Foundation (NGF).
Post recession, developers seem to be acquiring golf courses with conversion plans that include townhomes and multifamily residential construction.
Golf course communities used to mean that developers could charge a 10-25% premium for houses near courses, reports the Urban Land Institute.
Ironically, homebuyers who don’t always play golf still like the open spaces of golf-course living; surveys show that the majority of people who buy homes on or near courses don’t actually play golf. It could be the green space that buyers see as the premium appeal to these communities.
The big boom in the 90s ultimately led to overbuilding, which in turn led to course closings. Now we are seeing more communities popping up with vineyards and orchards. These types of communities also possess the lifestyle value for buyers that golf once did.
It seems that baby boomers are simply less interested than their parents in golf and country club living. They are looking for an inclusive, multigenerational, casual, and sustainable place to live.
Top Content Curation Tips for Your Blog
Posted by Sibet B Freides in Marketing, Social Media on April 29th, 2013
If you like to consistently give your audience useful information, content curation is important to you. It gives your visitors reasons to re-visit, refer and interact with you on your Blog and over social media channels.
By spending time to find, filter and enhance content and then share it across social media, you’re building interest and value in your brand.
What exactly is it?
It is best defined as researching and gathering the best content on a niche topic that is aimed at your core audience. The content must be relevant to your business, so you should add your comments and expert opinion about whatever it is you are posting.
Curation is NOT simply regurgitating information found on the web. You are personalizing the stories by reshaping and retelling them in your unique voice, making the content more valuable and compelling.
Keep in mind, you should still be generating original content, not just performing content curation. You need a balance of information to work hand-in-hand or your readers will jump ship.
Why do it at all?
It certainly helps create awareness and credibility for your brand. But it also improves engagement on your website, makes you a ‘go-to’ resource for information, helps you leverage cutting edge news in your industry, and helps you become a key influencer.
No matter how often you employ this strategy, your curated content needs to be high quality and reliable. Take time out to check your sources and their sources. The content should also accurately reflect your brand and its values, not just spout out the latest news claims.
How about you? Do you mix content curation with your original material? How often? Have you seen a difference in engagement since you’ve done it? Share your comments below or post them to our Facebook page!
Multigenerational Housing – for Tough Times or Here to Stay?
Posted by Sibet B Freides in Demographics, Real Estate Trends on April 24th, 2013
According to a Pew Research Center analysis of the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, approximately 51 million Americans, or 16.7 percent of the population now live in multigenerational homes: homes containing three generations under one roof.
It could be the college graduate that moved back in with the “folks”, who are also providing room and care for Grandma, or maybe the elderly couple with their son, his wife and two kids co-habitating. Is this trend due to the economy, or is it here to stay?
Multigenerational housing used to mean older people with financial troubles living with their children; now it’s the next generation that can’t keep up. These living arrangements are typically embraced in many other cultures, but the growing rate is worth mentioning in the US.
Benefits of multigenerational housing:
- Built-in child care
- Elder care
- Aging in place without isolation
- Pooled finances
Another report showed that more than three-quarters of “boomerangs” — the young adults ages 25 to 34 who move back in with their parents — were satisfied with their living situation. 82 percent said the setup brought them closer, 72 percent mentioned improved finances, and 75 percent saw care benefits.
Designing for Multi-Gen
Builders are ready to join this growing trend. Some have begun offering two master suites, a den or family room that can be converted, and other flexible space that can change with family needs.
Universal design features such as wider hallways and doors, good lighting, and little to no steps work for a baby stroller or a wheelchair.
What do you think about the multigenerational housing trend? Is it here to stay?
Are Tablets and Smartphones Capable of Making Smart “Homes”?
Posted by Sibet B Freides in Real Estate Trends on April 22nd, 2013
According to the New York Times, home automation technologies like lighting and climate controls have evolved in the last few years to become smarter and more usable. Why? It’s partially due to the introduction of programming from smartphones and tablets.
What kind of programs can make your home a “smart” home?
Save money on your heating bills.
Programmable thermostats allow people to create schedules for automatically adjusting the temperature in their homes. Figuring out how to create schedules can be so labor-intensive or tedious that most families up manually turning the heat up and down, defeating the purpose of the device.
A start-up called Nest is designed to learn heating preferences automatically over time so it does not have to be programmed. After a few days of noting when a family manually turns the heat down at night before bed and up in the morning, it can begin making those adjustments on its own. A motion sensor in the thermostat also indicates whether or not someone is home and regulates a home climate more efficiently.
One really cool feature is that it is connected to the home Wi-Fi network, allowing members to adjust temperatures through a Nest iPhone app from anywhere: lying in bed or sitting in a taxi on the way home from the airport.
Light the way.
Similarly, light controls can also add a sense of comfort and security to a home. WeMo is a line of products that uses Wi-Fi to allow control of household devices from an app on any Apple iOS device. Lamps and space heaters can be plugged into the WeMo Switch, which in turn plugs into an ordinary power outlet.
From your iPhone, you can remotely turn a lamp on and off while away from home, as well as create a schedule for lighting your house.
An upgraded version of the switch comes with a motion sensor that can turn lights on when it detects someone occupying a room.
What other automated features would you like to see for your home?
