Are You Trying To Sell A One Room House?

March 16, 2012 By Suzanne Roy Leave a Comment

Listen Carefully!

Someone I deeply respect and admire (and quite possibly just as importantly, understands my english dry sense of humor) caused me to experience a paradigm shift today.

He brought to my attention a blog post he wrote earlier this year about Streams. No not the gently flowing kind you find outdoors, but the streams that we all take part in online – streams that at one time were considered simple spokes to the almighty hub.

Image courtesy of www.theconversationprism.com

The problem with the almighty hub scenario is this:

Envision an apple that had just a core. Or, better yet, a house with a single room and no other rooms to make it a home. Where’s the substance in that?

To concentrate solely on gaining a following, a growing sphere, a lead generation via just its hub or core is not only wrong, but foolish.

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of opportunities to procure relationships and leads through the streams – and it is through those streams that make up the true hub of your online presence. To treat these streams as just a means to the core is truly the wrong approach.

Matthew Shadbolt, Director of Interactive Product & Marketing with The Corcoran Group, is a shining example of exactly how your streams should be nurtured. I encourage you to not only follow Matthew but see how he has grown each of his streams into full fledged flowing rivers, each producing their own source of real relationships and, ultimately, real business.

In fact, Matthew has done his job so well with all of his streams, that I do not even know the name of his “hub” or if he even has one.

That’s because his streams ARE his hub.

I am, therefore, inviting you to join me in taking a real hard look at your online presence today. Ask yourself:

“Am I treating my streams like spokes are are each of them an equally important part of my overall hub“?

“Am I taking the time to nurture each of my streams or are they running dry“?

“Am I relying solely on my “hub” to build relationships or am I building out my online presence with each of my streams“?

The way in which we conduct our business(es) today is different than yesterday, just as it will be different tomorrow. Today we need to nurture our streams – Twitter, Facebook profiles, pages, groups, LinkedIN, Youtube, Pinterest, etc., – and not just use them as a means to an end. They are SO much more than that. They are the vines bearing the fruit!*

So how exactly do you nurture streams?

1. Don’t treat them as just a course of action.

2. Be deliberate in all that you do.

3. Make yourself known just as much on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, Google+, Pinterest, as you do in your blog.

4. Avoid the “auto-post” wherever possible (if you tweet something on Twitter, don’t use hashtags if you’re going to auto-post to LinkedIN, for example – that’s a HUGE turn off!)

5. Be consistent

6. Be real

This is yet another reason why you should not only follow, but fully and intentionally examine what Matthew Shadbolt, says and does on a daily basis.

Thank you, Matthew, for making me (and hopefully others) look at the entire apple and not just it’s core.

* John 15:5

Filed Under: Coaching Tips, Social Networking, Uncategorized Tagged With: facebook, hub, one room house, pinterest, spokes, streams, twitter, youtube

Why Peripheral Not Tunnel Vision is Your Key To Success

July 15, 2011 By Suzanne Roy 1 Comment

Why Peripheral Not Tunnel Vision is Your Key To Success

I just finished reading a great post by my friend, Jimmy Mackin with The MLS App. He truly hit the nail on the head so well that I just had to put the fingers to the keys and write my own take on it.

Image Courtesy of deanspic on Flikr.com

In his blog post, Mackin describes how the new Google + is another “shiny object” placed in clear view of business owners, such as Realtors®, that distract and divert their attention from what we know works and will continue to work if we keep working it.

Now, what I am NOT saying is that Google + doesn’t have the POTENTIAL to be another great source of lead generation and income – what I (and Mackin) are saying is it’s NOT YET. That’s where the peripheral vision philosophy comes into play.

By keeping your eyes open to the things happening around you, you can stay informed and allow things to evolve (or not evolve) while still keeping on the track of success you’ve been on (before Google + came into your line of vision).

What you don’t want to do (but I see happening every day) is to have tunnel vision; by taking your eyes (and more importantly, efforts) off of what you have been working diligently on (for however long) and changing gears to a new “shiny object”, your road to success has now taken a detour and you may not make your way back. In fact, you may go completely off course and wonder in 6 months why your business has come to a screeching halt!

A severe scenario? NO. Not at all. It’s actually reality for many business owners who do not have a definitive plan.

You may say, “But, don’t I want to jump on the bandwagon while the iron is hot?” ”Get in during the initial phase?” No, this isn’t a pyramid scheme – this is social networking!

The moral of the story is, stick to what works, but keep your eyes open to new opportunities that are bound to arise. Jumping ship is not your key to success; Stay onboard with your goals and they WILL be met!

Filed Under: Coaching Tips, Social Networking Tagged With: generating leads, Google +, Social Networking

How to drive traffic and gain more solid leads

May 4, 2011 By Suzanne Roy Leave a Comment

Yesterday I asked a question on our Tech Savvy Agent Facebook Page, about how you are using Facebook’s ad space to maximize your online business lead generation. Some of you responded by saying that it was working for you really well, and some asked how to do it. The response, as in many things, was pretty diverse.

When it comes to advertising online, one thing remains the same: How you use your words. Now, I’m not referring to how your mother brought you up to use your manners. On the contrary. What I am referring to is the choice of words which you use to get the attention you are seeking, and moreover, the results you are desiring.

This is not just about Facebook Ads, of course. This is about all your communications – whether it is in your marketing materials online or offline, you will either make it or break it. Your choice in the words you use to advertise you, your services, or your properties is really important and should be given more than just a fleeting thought.

Here’s a breakdown of how to correctly drive traffic and gain more solid leads through your online marketing by using your words:

1. Who is your customer? Determining what traffic you want to attract is the first step to success.

2. What is the purpose of your marketing? Do you have a solid call to action – are you giving them something they really WANT?

3. Determine the main idea of your marketing and shorten it to be your title too (see the title of this blog?)

4. Think before you write. Kinda like the saying “think before you speak”, this is just as true within your online marketing endeavors too!

This post was inspired by the short video below which I saw earlier this week. I hope it inspires you to choose your words carefully too.