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Create Your Online StrategyYour 12-Step Plan for Success

Step 1: Google Yourself.........................................................................................2Step 2: Assess Your Brand’s Online Reputation.....................................................3Step 3: Analyze Your Profiles.................................................................................4Step 4: Know Your Audience..................................................................................7Step 5: Know Your Competition.............................................................................9Step 6: Assess Your Hub......................................................................................12Step 7: Create Your Short List..............................................................................13Step 8: Set Goals and Schedules.........................................................................15Step 9: Create and Curate Content......................................................................16Step 10: Monitor Your Online Presence................................................................17Step 11: Measure Your Success...........................................................................18Step 12: Review and Refine Your Plan.................................................................19

Copyright © 2013. Council of Residential Specialists. All rights reserved.

Step 1: Google YourselfIf you have a great online presence, you’re going to control at least the first two listings for your name, and you will also show up at or near the top of the rankings for the parts of the market that you want to dominate.Click here to open up Google in your internet browser. Type your name into the search box, and list the relevant sites that appear on the first page:

1) 4)2) 5)3) 6)

What happens when you Google other key terms, such as your town + real estate, key neighborhood + homes for sale? Write down relevant sites that appear on the first page of the search results. Do your sites appear? Do your competitors?

Search Phrase 1:

1) 4)2) 5)3) 6)

Search Phrase 2:

2) 4)4) 5)5) 6)

What do these search results tell you about your current online presence? What themes emerged? What surprised you? What pleased you? What disappointed you?


http://www.google.com/

https://crs.com/

Step 2: Assess Your Brand’s Online Reputation

1) Make a list of your top 5 personal attributes. What words would your clients and friends use to describe you?

2) Write down a list of your skills. What are you good at? What words do you want clients to think of when they hear your name?

3) Write down a list of your clients’ needs. Which of your skills are the most helpful to your clients? Why do they choose you to be their agent?

4) Comparing your answers above to your results in Step 1, how well does your current online persona match how you want people to perceive you? Where do you perceive disconnects that need to be improved? Where do you see strengths that need to be leveraged?

Later, you will come back to these answers to assess how you want to be perceived and determine what sets you apart as the agent of choice.


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Step 3: Analyze Your ProfilesGo to each of the following sites, and use the checklist below to review your profiles and assess how well they represent you.

Do you have an existing profile? Are you easy to find? Do you have a consistent “vanity URL”? Are you actively using the site, or have you neglected it over time? Is the profile and contact information on the site up-to-date? Is your profile picture current and consistent? Is the branding consistent with the branding on your website/blog?

Facebook Existing profile?

Easy to find?

Vanity URL?

Actively using?

Up-to-date profile/info

?

Consistent picture?

Consistent

branding?

Notes:

Twitter Existing profile?

Easy to find?

Vanity URL?

Actively using?


?

Consistent picture?

Consistent

branding?

Notes:

LinkedIn Existing profile?

Easy to find?

Vanity URL?

Actively using?


?

Consistent picture?

Consistent

branding?

Notes:

Google+ Existing profile?

Easy to find?

Vanity URL?

Actively using?


?

Consistent picture?

Consistent

branding?

Notes:

YouTube Existing profile?

Easy to find?

Vanity URL?

Actively using?


?

Consistent picture?

Consistent

branding?

Notes:


http://www.YouTube.com/

http://plus.google.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/

http://www.twitter.com/

http://www.facebook.com/

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Instagram Existing profile?

Easy to find?

Vanity URL?

Actively using?


?

Consistent picture?

Consistent

branding?

Notes:


http://instagram.com/

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Flickr Existing profile?

Easy to find?

Vanity URL?

Actively using?


?

Consistent picture?

Consistent

branding?

Notes:

Pinterest Existing profile?

Easy to find?

Vanity URL?

Actively using?


?

Consistent picture?

Consistent

branding?

Notes:

Yelp Existing profile?

Easy to find?

Vanity URL?

Actively using?


?

Consistent picture?

Consistent

branding?

Notes:

Realtor.com

Existing profile?

Easy to find?

Vanity URL?

Actively using?


?

Consistent picture?

Consistent

branding?

Notes:

Zillow Existing profile?

Easy to find?

Vanity URL?

Actively using?


?

Consistent picture?

Consistent

branding?

Notes:

Trulia Existing profile?

Easy to find?

Vanity URL?

Actively using?


?

Consistent picture?

Consistent

branding?

Notes:

ActiveRain Existing profile?

Easy to find?

Vanity URL?

Actively using?


?

Consistent picture?

Consistent

branding?

Notes:


http://www.activerain.com/

http://www.Trulia.com/

http://www.zillow.com/

http://www.Realtor.com/


http://www.yelp.com/

http://pinterest.com/

http://www.flickr.com/

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Other: Existing profile?

Easy to find?

Vanity URL?

Actively using?


?

Consistent picture?

Consistent

branding?

Notes:


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1) Based on your review of these sites, which of your profiles are the strongest? Which are the weakest?

2) Referring back to Step 2, which sites best reflect the image that you want to project? Did these sites appear in your search results from Step 1?

3) Is the information across your strongest profiles consistent? If not, what needs to be updated?


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Step 4: Know Your AudienceThe following list of questions will help you analyze your audience.

1) In your current business, identify which types of buyers and sellers generate most of your income. Feel free to skip client categories if they are not key to your business.

Buyers Sellers Characteristics, Needs, Preferences

First-time homes

New construction

Investment properties

Relocation market

Vacation properties

Empty-nesters

Short sales or foreclosures

Luxury homes

Historic or architectural properties

Other


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2) Among these various types of clients, which audiences would you like to grow or connect with more deeply?

3) Based on their needs and characteristics, which of the skills that you listed in Step 2 would be most helpful and appealing to these clients?

4) What sites do these clients use online? If you don’t know, you should start asking them.

4) How do your current clients first connect with you? Which sites from Step 3 bring you the most business? Are they the sites with the strongest profiles?


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Step 5: Know Your CompetitionCompetitor 1:

Open up Google in your internet browser and type your first competitor’s name into the search box. Write down a list of the top 5 sites that appear on the first page:

1)2)3)4)5)

Now, go to each of the following sites to see where your first competitor is active. Write down any notes on their branding, whether they are actively using the site, and how engaged their audience is. Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Google+

YouTube

Vine

Instagram

Flickr

Pinterest

Yelp

Realtor.com

Zillow

Trulia










http://vine.co/






htp://www.google.com


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ActiveRain

Competitor 2:

Open up Google in your internet browser and type your competitor’s name into the search box. Write down a list of the top 5 sites that appear on the first page:

1)2)3)4)5)

Now, go to each of the following sites to see where your second competitor is active. Write down any notes on their branding, whether they are actively using the site, and how engaged their audience is. Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Google+

YouTube

Vine

Instagram

Flickr

Pinterest

Yelp

Realtor.com

Zillow









http://vine.co/






htp://www.google.com



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Trulia

ActiveRain

1) Overall, what do you notice about your competitors’ sites? How up-to-date and coordinated are their profiles?

2) Referring back to Step 4, do your competitors seem to be targeting the same audiences as you? What skills and qualities do they attribute to themselves and their businesses? How well do those characteristics tap into the needs and preferences of your target clients?

3) How do your competitors’ sites compare to yours, as assessed in Step 3? If your clients were evaluating you against your competitors, who do you think they would select based solely on online presence? What could you do to improve to increase your advantage?




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Step 6: Assess Your Hub1) What is the hub, or main focus, of your online presence? For most

agents, it is your website or blog.

2) Which of the following features does your website include? Do these features coordinate with your strongest profiles from Step 3? What information on your hub do you need to update or incorporate down the road?

Up to date

Need to

updateNeed to add Notes

Contact info

Branding consistentUpdated bio

Updated pictureSearchable listingsReal estate educationLinks to social media accountsTestimonials

Widgets

Local market info

3) When posting on other platforms, are you frequently drawing people back to your hub? What could you do to better reflect traffic back to your hub?


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Step 7: Create Your Short ListNow that you have assessed your online presence, analyzed your target markets, and reviewed your competition, it’s time to make a short list of where you will focus your online efforts. 1) Use the checklist below to sort through your sites and begin setting

your priorities. Refer back to previous steps to help make your decisions.

Website Continue Establis

hEnhance Delete Time Spent Revenue

Notes:

Blog Continue Establis


Notes:

Facebook – Business

Continue Establish

Enhance Delete Time Spent Revenue

Notes:

Facebook – Personal

Continue Establish


Notes:

Twitter Continue Establis


Notes:

LinkedIn Continue Establis


Notes:

Google+ Continue Establis


Notes:

YouTube Continue Establis


Notes:


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Vine Continue Establis


Notes:


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Instagram Continue Establis


Notes:

Flickr Continue Establis


Notes:

Pinterest Continue Establis


Notes:

Yelp Continue Establis


Notes:

Realtor.com

Continue Establish


Notes:

Zillow Continue Establis


Notes:

Trulia Continue Establis


Notes:

ActiveRain Continue Establis


Notes:

2) Review the checklist above, and identify your short list of platforms where you will focus your efforts for the next year. Deactivate sites marked for deletion, and make sure that your profiles are consistent across your remaining sites.


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Step 8: Set Goals and SchedulesIdentify Goals for Website, Blog, and Social Media

For your website and each of social media platforms on your short list, identify who you will connect with, what you will post, and how often you will post and interact with your followers. The following frequencies are recommended:

Website/blog: Three times per week for optimal SEO Facebook, Twitter, Google+: At least once per day LinkedIn: Two times per month Others: As frequently as you’re able

You may find it helpful to refer back to the target audiences you identified in Step 4 to help you decide what to post to best reach your connections.

Platform 1:Connections:What to post:Frequency:



Platform 4:Connections:


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What to post:Frequency:

Step 9: Create and Curate ContentAnswer the following questions to plan your content curation and creation.1)Establish sources: You will want to spend some time up front

establishing your sources to curate content, such as setting up Google Alerts or Twitter lists, creating news feeds on LinkedIn or popular sites, or subscribing to newsletters.

Sources:

Up-front time:

2)Ongoing review: Then, you will want to schedule in time daily or weekly to proactively review those sources to curate content for your sites.

Frequency:

3) Create original content: If you plan to create your own photos or videos, it’s also a good idea to set aside dedicated time weekly or monthly. The same holds true if you want to create blog posts and articles ahead of schedule.

Photo/Video Action Plan:

Frequency:

Blog/Article Action Plan:

Frequency:


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Schedule ruthlessly: Get out your calendar and pencil in time for establishing alerts, ongoing content curation, and creation of original content. Also include plans for your website, blog, and social media in your scheduling.

Step 10: Monitor Your Online PresenceNow, it’s time to set up your monitoring plan.1) Investigate the following tools to determine which ones will be most

useful to monitor online mentions of you and your business:

Very useful

Maybe useful

Not useful Notes

Google Alerts

Social Mention

Mention

TopsySocial Searcher

TalkWalker

Twilert

Hootsuite

Other

2) Set up alerts to monitor your information on the site(s) you feel would be most useful. For example, you may find it helpful to monitor the following:

Your name and any variations of it, such as Tim Brown, Timothy Brown, Tim J Brown, Timothy J Brown, Tim Jacob Brown, Timothy Jacob Brown

Your agency name Your motto or slogan Your social media handles Competitor names All of your websites and blog


https://hootsuite.com/

http://www.twilert.com/

http://www.talkwalker.com/en

http://www.social-searcher.com/

http://www.social-searcher.com/

http://topsy.com/

https://en.mention.net/

http://www.socialmention.com/

http://www.google.com/alerts

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3) Make a plan to be proactive and respond to alerts you receive. Get out your schedule and dedicate a few minutes a day to review your notifications and respond accordingly.


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Step 11: Measure Your SuccessNow, it’s time to set up a strategy for measuring your success.

Databases and lead-tracking tools are available to help agents track leads and conversions. If you don’t have access to these tools, you can use the following table to begin measuring what’s working for you.

For each lead or referral, track the source (e.g., referral, direct mail, website, social media, etc.), whether it converts to a transaction, and revenue earned.

Review this information quarterly to determine what tactics are bringing you the most income, and adjust your online tactics accordingly.Date Name Source Conversio

n?$ Earned


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Step 12: Review and Refine Your PlanNote: This step should be completed in the future, after you have implemented Steps 7 through 11.

Your online strategy should be updated regularly based on the data that you collect in Step 11. Decide whether this is a task you want to complete quarterly, biannually, or annually, then schedule in the time in your calendar to do it.When you are ready to revisit your online strategy, use the “Online Strategy: Ongoing Review” document included in the course to help you review the data you collected in this document and make adjustments to your short- and long-term online strategy.


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