After going through three developers I finally found a solution that delivers a quick, professional and free real estate blog – (see below).

It’s the perfect solution to the number one problem faced by most real estate professionals – lack of technical expertise.

So if you want a real estate blog, with a professional theme, social media icons and SEO ready with all the right plug-ins, you can get one at Free Realty Blog.

Note that hosting is not included but is available for as little as $5 a month.

Plus you also have the option of adding a Blog and Social Media Graphics package. I’m not sure if the package will be available when you order your blog but grab it if it is still under a hundred dollars.

Here’s the link again.

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I’m always amazed by how many real estate websites don’t do the one thing that they’re meant to do – convert visitors into clients.

Most real estate blogs and websites are nothing more than online brochures. They’re full of pretty images and links to local resources but they don’t have any compelling reason for a visitor to give up their contact details.

The only real exception to this is IDX or property search sites that promise instant access to listing inventory.

I’ve had this conversation with a number of internet marketers who shook their heads in disbelief when they viewed a number of real estate sites. Internet marketers understand that a visitor to your site is a complete waste if he or she moves on without contacting you.

But most real estate professionals don’t “get it” or are limited by the technical hurdles associated with publishing email capture forms, feeds and other interactive tools.

I’ve written a few articles on the subject but defer to Greg Clement, one of the best online real estate marketers, who wrote a great report on the subject.

You can download the report right here.

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Here’s one of my favorite online real estate marketing tools.

It’s a syndication tool that allows you to syndicate your listings and homes for sale to all the major real estate listing sites, including Zillow, Trulia, Vast, Hot Pads and dozens more.

It doesn’t include Craigslist (a pity) but it does the next best thing by creating the html code that you can copy and paste into Craigslist.

It normally costs $97 a month but it’s free (download now) as part of a promotion by Greg Clement (Greg spoke at SMMCamp 4).

You will need to provide your email address and Greg will send you a few promo emails about his new online marketing system.

I use the product and highly recommend it.

About Ross Hair

Ross Hair is the Real Estate Advocate and a the founder of Social Media Marketing Camp.

Disclosure – The tool is free but if you later buy Greg’s new online marketing system I will earn a commission.

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Can you use Facebook to list real estate and actually sell a home?

It’s an interesting idea and I’m having a great deal of fun trying to find out if Facebook is an effective real estate listing platform.

Here’s the basic strategy:

1. Create a new Fan Page on Facebook for each new home for sale. Think of the Fan Page as equivalent to a “Single Property Website” with it’s own unique URL on Facebook.
2. Co-opt the owner to invite their sphere to view and “like” the Fan Page.
3. Co-opt all the other Realtors in your office to view and “like” the Fan Page.
4. Do a direct mail campaign to all the neighbors and invite them to view and “like” the Fan Page. At the same time ask the neighbors to write a nice comment on the Fan Page wall and invite their friends to view the listing. Make sure you mention that the value of their home is tied into the quick full price sale of this home. This should encourage positive feedback and stop the guy next door who hates everyone from trashing your listing online.
5. Use Facebook Ads to target hyper local prospects.
6. Host a huge open house and promote it as an “Event” on Facebook and link it to your Fan page. This allows you to invite your entire contact list of clients, past clients and prospects to the event.

This real estate social media marketing strategy has the advantage that even if the house doesn’t sell you have made contact with all the neighbors and can canvass them for their business. It will also be a useful tool when you go back to your client and recommend a price reduction.

I’ll keep you updated on the progress of our first listings using this strategy.

You can also sign up for Social Media Marketing Camp (SMMCamp) on May 27 when we will present a session on using Facebook Fan Pages to sell a home.

Go to www.smmcamp.com to register for this and 4 other sessions on how to use Facebook and Linked In to find more real estate business.

About Ross Hair

Ross Hair is the baldest man in real estate and a huge fan of real estate social media marketing.

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The Real Estate Social Media Guide is here and can be downloaded at the free real estate site Social Media Advocate.

It’s a 142-page guide that shows you how to set up your social media marketing plan in just 10 days.

The best part is that it cuts through all the hype and fluff and gives you an easy to follow checklist and a step-by-step plan.

About Ross Hair

Ross Hair is the Social Media Advocate and author of the Real Estate Social Media Guide.

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Here’s a sneak peak at the outline of the Real Estate Social Media eBook – 10 days to Social Media Success and MORE Real Estate Closings!

The 10 day Plan is designed to get your social media marketing plan operational and productive in just 10 days.

On Day 1 you will identify your real estate social media strategy.

On Day 2 you will set up all your essential social network and technology accounts.

On Day 3 you will build your blog and add the most important widgets.

On Day 4 you will map out and plan your blogging strategy and publish your first blog posts.

The purpose of your blog is to provide a venue to receive thousands of new social network friends. Traffic to your blog will come from the social networks and you can expect an avalanche of prospective clients.

The most important function of your blog is to convert your visitors into contacts.

On Day 5 you will start making friends on Facebook and building your network.

On Day 6 you will create a fan page on Facebook for your local community. This is currently the single most successful tactic for rapidly growing your friend network on any of the social networks.

On Day 7 you will start making connections on Linked In and will build a group for your local community.

On Day 8 you will learn how to “listen” for business on Twitter by tracking keywords that identify ready and willing buyers and sellers.

On Day 9 you will set up your control panel on Hoot Suite to monitor and manage all your social networks in one convenient dashboard.

On Day 10 you’ll review your entire social media marketing plan and make sure that your networks are all connected and your content is syndicated.

About Ross Hair

Ross Hair is the Baldest Man in Real Estate Social Media and the founder of SMM Camp (Social Media Marketing Camp).

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Facebook made a small but important change to Fan Pages but changing the Become a Fan button to a Like button. The change was made to reflect the true nature of the relationship between Fan Pages and Likers. It’s a small change but it should increase the number of Fans / Likers as becoming a Fan made some people feel like stalkers. You can see the new Like Button right here.

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Metcalfe’s Law explains why social networks are so viral and grow so exponentially. If you grasp the concept you can use it every day to power your real estate social media marketing.

In simple terms Metcalfe says that if you have 1 friend this represents 1 connection. If you have 5 friends this represents 10 connections and if you have 12 friends this represents 66 connections. Do you see the exponential growth in connections as you add friends?

Here’s a more scientific explanation  – Metcalfe’s law states that the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system (n²).

In short Metcalfe says “Go send out more friend requests on Facebook already!”

The great news is that Facebook and the other social networks are incredibly viral and you can simply piggyback on their network to virally expand your own personal network. In the Facebook Economy you can reach and connect with so many more people than in the “old days” of door-to-door or tele-canvassing.

About Ross Hair

Ross Hair is the Baldest Man in Real Estate Social Media.

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I’m about to release my new real estate social media eBook (worth $197) on May 1 and would love to send you a copy.

The eBook is a no fluff and no hype practical guide designed to help you find new clients and get MORE real estate closings in just 10 days.

All you need to do is go to Facebook (it’s so cool it has its own Fan Page), click on the like button and write something nice on the wall like ‘Please send me your great new Real Estate Social Media eBook”.

I’ll see your post and send you a copy of the eBook.

I look forward to sharing the eBook and connecting with you on Facebook.

About Ross Hair

Ross Hair is the Baldest Man in Real Estate and a huge fan of real estate social media.

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I started to play around with PhotoFunia and and Animoto and created this cool video in around 30 minutes using one simple head shot.

Photofunia (free) provided the stock images like the billboards and Animoto ($30 a year) converted the images into a video.

The branding and marketing possibilities are endless. You can use images of your business and your products and quickly convert them into a cool marketing video.

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