Kitsap County WA :: SoundBiteBlog.com

Welcome once again to our series,

“Developing a Social Media Strategy”

So far, we’ve realized that “Social Media is a Conversation, not an Advertisement!”

We’ve answered “The ‘WHY’ of Social Media?” (Why it should be a vital part of your Annual Marketing Plan)

We identified that one of the key strategies is “Taking AIM” (Audience, Image/Brand, and Message)

We learned how to become a skilled blogging chef by serving up “Social Media Sushi”

We discovered the “5 Keys to Having a Killer Blog!”

And, we explored the “Top 10 Ways to Feed Your Blog.”

(for what it’s worth: I plan on discussing the use of both video and podcasting in subsequent series)

In this week’s episode, we’re going to venture beyond our blogs, and seek out other viable social media tools that can be used to effectively expand your digital footprint and improve your ‘findability’ factor.

Choosing Your Social Media Tools

Perhaps the biggest challenge in determining which social media tools to utilize is simply identifying and selecting the ones that best suit your business and marketing goals. With the plethora of tools currently available, and new ones constantly popping up, this is easier said than done.

Allow me to offer some helpful advice as you begin the process:

Take Baby Steps

1. Start off by taking baby steps and biting off only what you can effectively chew. What this means, is to start with the most obvious and popular tools, learn them, become comfortable and proficient with them, and then move on to another.

Don’t Sleep Around

2. Be discerning and selective in which platforms to join. All the more reason to have a well-conceived, goal-oriented marketing plan to guide your choices. Some things to consider in making your selection: How well does the site rank? Does it offer meaningful exposure/engagement with your target audience? Does it allow connection/syndication from other platforms?

What Have You Done for Me Lately?

3. Constantly evaluate and re-evaluate the effectiveness of your tools/involvements. Are you currently tracking where your traffic/potential clients are coming from? What sites are helping you to rank well for your targeted key search terms?

Make Your Life Easier

4. Utilize resources like Retaggr.com, Ping.fm, GizaPage, or DandyID, to help manage and maintain your network profiles.

Find Out First

5. Keep current on all the latest and greatest social media tools as they first crop up by subscribing to updates by Mashable.com and TechCrunch.

Here’s some excerpts from a recent article by Dan Schawbel that I think you’ll find insightful:

Can you join too many networks?

“PageRank is extremely important for your personal brand because it allows you to command your Google results. This is great for promotion and protection in the digital world.”

“Your Google results are your new business card. Your results are a depiction of who you are, so it’s smart to join the networks that best represent your brand, and carry a high PageRank (6 or higher is satisfactory).”

The most recent issue of Website Magazine provides a great list of the Top 50 Social Media Resources. This is a good starting point for help in identifying potential tools for you to incorporate into your social media tool belt.

ACTION POINT: Take a quick look at the list of Social Media Resources that are provided in the aforementioned magazine. Identify and investigate at least 3 sites that could be added to your tool belt.

In our next installment, we’ll begin to discuss my recommended Top Ten Social Media Resources.

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DISCLAIMER: The author of this series is not a social media guru. Any similarity to such title, character or history of any said individual is entirely coincidental and unintentional.

An avid blogger since 2005, Rich has published over 1000 articles, most related to real estate. He enjoys using the tools of social media to brag/boast about the quality of Life on the picturesque Kitsap Peninsula in scenic WA State. He is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, ActiveRain, Crabbing in the Hood, Everyday CK, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

Posted in Social Media for Small Business | 2 Comments »

Tags: blogging, Kitsap County WA, social media, Social Media for Small Business, social media strategy, top 50 social media resources

“Blogging is an excellent place to begin generating your own unique content, and can serve as the Social Media conveyor belt to distribute your appetizing articles to consumers/potential clients who are hungry for quality, relevant, and practical information.”

Okay, so I just posted the 4th installment in my series on ‘Developing a Social Media Strategy for Small Business.’

So far in this series, we’ve realized that “Social Media is a Conversation, not an Advertisement!”

We’ve answered “The ‘WHY’ of Social Media?” (Why We should Make it Part of our Annual Marketing Plan)

And, the importance of “Taking AIM” (Audience, Image/Brand, and Message)

This time, we’re going to begin unwrapping the various tools that are available for you to create, package, and serve up your message so that it reaches your intended audience(s).

Serving Up Social Media Sushi

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG, Crabbing in the Hood, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

Posted in Social Media for Small Business | No Comments »

Tags: blogging, Kitsap County WA, small business marketing, social media, social media strategy

“If You Aim at Nothing, You’ll Hit It Every Time!”

~ Zig Ziglar ~

Okay, so the first two installments of this series helped us to better understand what Social Media is, what it isn’t, and why we should consider using it to grow and promote our business:

“Social Media is a Conversation, Not an Advertisement“

“The ‘WHY’ of Social Media“

In this 3rd part, I want to begin to dial things down, and become much more basic and practical. If this is covering old ground for some of you, I apologize. It’s always challenging to know where to start when there is such a huge disparity between various levels of knowledge and ability. Some of this initial stuff may seem rather elementary, but I think it’s crucial for building a solid Social Media Strategy foundation.

Taking AIM

The first primary elements of your Social Media Strategy can be found in the acrostic A-I-M:

Audience:     Who are you trying to reach?

Image:         What kind of image are you trying to project? What is your brand?

Message:      What information are you trying to communicate?

Audience – Who are you trying to reach?

Identifying your target audience is critical because it determines the nature of your content/message and the particular platforms, tools, or applications you will choose to connect/communicate.

As a real estate professional, I have several target audiences I am attempting to reach/attract. First and foremost, I want to engage potential real estate clients, primarily Buyer clients since more than 85% of all Buyers are accessing the Internet in their home buying process. Much of my social media content will be geared towards Buyers, but I will publish information relating to Sellers as well.

Secondly, another audience I want to target is my Sphere of Influence (friends, acquaintances, and past clients in my database) and people in general within my geographic market area.

And lastly, I want to develop and maintain connections with other real estate agents, fostering potential referral relationships.

Image – What is your image/brand?

Much has been said lately about ‘branding.’ My sense is that many people make it out to be much more complicated than it really needs to be. No doubt the stakes are probably much higher for huge billion dollar conglomerates whose global success depends upon effective branding. But for smaller businesses and real estate agents, where our markets are significantly smaller, what exactly is crucial?

I think your primary goal in branding is for people to remember you. In the endless sea of real estate professionals, what sets you apart? What distinguishes you from all the rest?

What does a tomato have to do with real estate? Absolutely nothing. But Jim Cronin has done a phenomenal job of branding his business, The Real Estate Tomato.

And when have you ever seen a Zebra buy or sell a home? But Daniel Rothamel has done an amazing job of setting himself apart by becoming The Real Estate Zebra.

It can be a logo, an image, or a catch phrase. It simply establishes your uniqueness among the masses, and helps people to remember you.

Here on the Kitsap Peninsula WA, surrounded by the waterways of the Puget Sound, a popular pastime is recreational crabbing. Ask anyone about my personal passions, and they’ll tell you that I love to catch and eat crab! So it only made sense to use a crab as my brand. Follow me on Twitter, and you follow the Crab. Read any of my articles here on ActiveRain or SOUNDBITEBLOG, and you’ll see the Crab. I even have a blog dedicated to the sport of crabbing.

Message – What do you want/need to communicate?

Take a moment and read some of the more popular definitions of Social Media:

“Social media is content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies”

“A category of sites that are based on user participation and user-generated content, and are centered on user interaction.”

“Social Media are primarily Internet and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings.”

“Online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives with each other.”

“Software tools that allow groups to generate content and engage in peer-to-peer conversations and exchange of content.”

Allow me to recommend a few key elements about your message from these definitions:

• Your message should be your own ‘unique‘ content
• Your message should engage the reader and stimulate participation and interaction
• Your message should share your knowledge, experience, opinions, and expertise

Put yourself in the shoes of your intended audience. What information can you share that would be most helpful and beneficial to them? Empower your readers by helping them to better understand your local real estate market and make informed decisions. But don’t forget to convey a sense of your unique personality, passions, and perspectives (The 3 Powerful P’s of Conversational Blogging). You’ll bore them to tears if your message is nothing more than an endless string of market statistics.

“Communicate to Connect!”

For Additional Articles in this series:

“Developing a Social Media Strategy, Part 1”

“The ‘WHY’ of Social Media – Developing a Social Media Strategy, Part II”

To Access the entire ‘Blog Tips for Rain Drips’ series, go HERE.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG, Crabbing in the Hood, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

Posted in Social Media for Small Business | 2 Comments »

Tags: Kitsap County WA, marketing, small business, social media, social media marketing, social media strategy

Okay, so a letter is hand-delivered to my office this past week, personally addressed to Rich Jacobson of SoundBiteBlog, care of Windermere Silverdale, from a Mr. Peter Chen, Owner of Fujiyama Japanese Steak House & Bar.

Inside were two ‘Certificates of Invitation’ granting the bearers a FREE dinner at the VIP Open House of the new Fujiyama Japanese Steak House & Bar. This is an exclusive private open house that is taking place prior to their official Grand Opening on December 16th.

I’ve been watching the progress of Fujiyama as they’ve been moving into their space in the Town Centre complex (Big 5 Sporting Goods, Emerald City Smoothie, Teriyaki Delight). But I’ve never met Mr. Chen.

I’m honored that he would select me as one of their VIP guests. The fact that he knows of SoundBiteBlog and my habit of publishing reviews on local area businesses, shows that he understands the importance of social media, viral marketing, and word of mouth in promoting his new restaurant. I like him already!

I’ll be back next week with a write-up, offering you my usual honest, unadulterated critique on Fujiyama Japanese Steak House & Bar.  Stay Tuned!

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, ActiveRain, Crabbing in the Hood, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

Posted in Business Bites | 2 Comments »

Tags: blogging, fujiyama japanese steak house, Kitsap County WA, local business, silverdale wa restaurants, social media

Real Estate Market Report for Kitsap County WA  06/01/2009

The following is a brief analysis of the combined single-family home and condo market within Kitsap County, Washington for June 2009, provided by Rich Jacobson of Windermere Real Estate, in Silverdale, WA (this includes data for Bainbridge Island WA)

• Properties currently active on the market:  2014 
• Properties closed in the last 180 days:  971 
• Average Sales Price:  $291,864
• Average List Price:  $305,043
• Ratio of List Price to Sales Price: 96%
• Average Days on Market: 104
• Sales Pending this Week: 97

Bainbridge Island WA statistics separately: (Area 170)

• Properties currently Active on the market:  350 
• Properties closed in last 180 days:  98
• Average Sales Price:  $646,191
• Average List Price:  $687,266
• Ratio of List Price to Sales Price: 94%
• Average Days on Market: 134
• Sales Pending this week: 7

Home prices in Kitsap County WA continued to drop slightly in May, while pending sales showed further improvements.

Lending rates have jumped rather significantly just over the past several weeks (from 4.5% to 5.25%), spurring many potential Buyers to get off the fence and make the home buying leap.

The market continues to offer excellent opportunities for qualified 1st Time Home Buyers with the low rates, the $8000 1st Time Buyers Tax Credit from Uncle Sam, and the large amount of homes available on the market.

If you’re a motivated Seller, now may be the time to seriously consider making a meaningful pricing adjustment, so you can move onto the next adventure in life!

Top selling neighborhoods in Kitsap County WA were Area 141 (South Kitsap West of Hwy. 16);  Area 148 (West Bremerton); and Area 150 (East Central Kitsap).

For more additional information and resources concerning real estate in Kitsap County WA and the Western Puget Sound, access my website, Kitsap Life .

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

Posted in Kitsap Market Reports | No Comments »

Tags: Bremerton WA Real Estate, Kitsap County WA, Port Orchard Real Estate, Poulsbo Real Estate, real estate market reports, seabeck wa real estate, Silverdale WA Real Estate