Real Estate Marketing Tools Blog: October 2012

Go visible with Search Engine Optimization

Nearly 90% of online population use search engine to find products, services and information. And if your website or content is not visible in the first 30 search results, chances are that your website will never be found and you miss out on an incredible opportunity. Keywords rich content, META tags and descriptions, regular site submission to search engine indexes and directories are some of the key elements that prepare your marketing materials for better search engine rankings. However, SEO is mostly neglected due to lack of understanding.

What is SEO?

SEO is the process of improving your website in order for your website to be ranked well and search engines thereby increasing its chances of being found in search results. This process includes SEO rule compliance with regards to the design of your website to the content written to the links given to the way the website codes is written and the pages structured.

Why you need SEO?

When people look for something on the web, they type a word popularly known as keyword or phrases known as Long Tail keywords. As soon as they type in the word and hit search, many results shows up simultaneously. The results that shows up are the sites the search engine pushes for been SEO complaint. And as a business and brand you definitely want to be in that list of results. This is where SEO can help you.

How to get started with SEO?

Pages of your website should have relevant information about your business.
Add META tags and make them keyword-rich.
Make sure your website content and marketing material content are solid and fresh.
Create internal links. Hyperlink key phrases pointing them to various pages within the website.
Use keywords that you think your visitors will most likely use while looking for something online.
Use alt tags on all the images that you use
The keywords should match the content of your website page
Use keywords in your HI and H2 heading tags
Incorporate your company and site description into your page URL.
Use external links to link to an external partner site and have them link it back to your site.
Submit your site to various search engines periodically
Try to change the content of your website regularly as search engine spiders keeps looking for new content
Try not to overstuff your webpages with keywords
Give links to your social media profiles
Analyze the activity on your website regularly. Know where an action is taking place.

Every business or personal websites need SEO to maintain their position on search engines. The key is to keep it simple and fresh without overdoing anything. So if you want your website as the front runner on Google, start your SEO efforts today.

From Lead Tracking to creating sophisticated Marketing Materials to Social Media Exposure to better Search Engine Rankings, Newplans takes care of all your marketing needs in just 5 simple steps. With ready-to-use templates you can create Property Websites and Listing Websites with Virtual Tours, Interactive Presentations, Flyers, E-mails Campaigns, e-Book or Videos and share them on major social networking sites. Not just that, marketing materials generated using Newplans is automatically optimized for search engines so that your marketing material get good web exposure and better search engine rankings.

For more information visit us at www.newplans.com or call us at 412-567-0010 x 217.

How to build an audience with Content Marketing ?

‘Content is King’. Period. Content is the most scalable way to educate, inform, connect, increase visibility and salability. The best way to power web marketing is by publishing content on the web that educates and empowers the readers. And the best part is you don’t have to write new content all the time. You can use your old content and improvise it to keep it fresh. It’s all about building trust by sharing free content and keeping your audience engaged and interested in your brand.

Forms of content marketing

Blogs – create an account in Blogger and post up to one blog a week.
Press releases – update readers and prospects about latest happenings in your business. This will keep them informed about the new developments.
Newsletters – send out newsletter once every month with information and tips that you think is relevant to your business and also informative to your readers.
Articles – write pertaining to your area of expertise and publish them on well-known sites.
White papers – write extensively on multiple subjects pertaining to your area of interest and make it available to your audience.
Case studies – share case studies that will help your audience make a decision.
eBooks – share your articles or white papers by converting them in to an eBook.
Website - update your website with new products and services. Add your articles, blogs and white papers on your website.
Videos – create informative videos for people who are pressed for time. Keep it short but relevant.

Content marketing must dos

Identify your target audience. You should know for whom you’re writing.
Content that you share should be relevant, valuable and informative. This will keep the readers interested.
Your content should be marketing backed to sell your brand but in the most subtle way. Your content should in no way be overwhelming for the readers.
Integrate print, video, audio in to your content to make it more interesting.
Follow consistent branding standards throughout. Use your logo wherever possible.
Go viral with your content to make it available to your readers on the web.
Publish your new content and recycled contents on

— Online press release sites

— Video sites

— White paper sites

— Guest blog on popular sites

— Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+

— Online newspapers

— Magazines

— Article marketing sites

The key to online success through content marketing is by having a no sales agenda. Remember that customers are looking for answers and guidance online.

For more information visit us at www.newplans.com or call us at 412-567-0010 x 217.

Why Marketing Analytics is as important as Web Analytics?

With marketing going beyond the boundaries of a website, it has become imperative to keep a close watch on the other channels of marketing. While web analytics gives you detailed information about the performance of your website, marketing analytics helps you analyze and track the capability of your marketing campaigns.

Marketing without analyzing the results is like shooting an arrow in the dark. You will never know if you’re hitting the right target. Marketing analytics offer insightful information about the performance of your marketing initiatives and whether it is yielding the kind of results expected by you. Though web analytics only covers the website; marketing analytics can be undertaken for marketing collaterals, landing pages, social media as well as your email campaigns.

How can analyzing your marketing campaigns help?

Helps optimize your marketing by giving you a detailed report on each of your marketing effort, be it social media, landing page, emails or eBooks..
Tells you which campaign worked and which didn't.
Give you detailed information about your leads like their company name, location with address.
Helps you analyze customer behavior.

Things to remember as you begin analyzing your marketing campaigns

Identify what questions you want answered when reviewing your analytics. Are there more visitors? Did anyone download the free eBook? Has anyone clicked on the links and so on.
Look at the metrics that matters for the growth of your business – unique visitors or traffic sources or conversions and so on.
Review and analyze on an on-going basis. Compare past results with current.
Take action to optimize your marketing initiatives based on the analysis.

What to look for in your analytics report?

Identify which landing pages work the best
Identify which marketing campaign gets more results. For instance, if a particular email campaign has more bounce rate or unopened rate, you’ll know something needs to be changed
Identify the traffic sources to your marketing materials
Measure your conversion goals. Are you able to convert the leads into sales?
Use the information to analyze customer behavior. Which page they find interesting? Which link they clicked the most and so on.

Your objective should be to analyze the data and improve your marketing strategies. Too much or too little information can obstruct your objective. So picking and using the right analytics tool is very important. And after you choose the right tool, use the information you get to guide your online business decisions and to improve your brand visibility and increase sales.

For more information visit us at www.newplans.com or call us at 412-567-0010 x 217.

Conquering Social Media Marketing

Over the years social media has gained momentum and still continues to grow. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn have become extremely popular because it helps organizations, big or small, to promote, engage and collaborate and to create a one-to-one relationship with their audience. When used with the right intention and managed regularly, social media can be a no-cost marketing tool to help you grow your business.

However, the efficacy of social media marketing is often overlooked due to debates on how to get it right. Social media marketing calls for consistent efforts, and if not done correctly, can back-fire. So here are some tips and tricks to master social media marketing.

Create your social profile on major sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.
Format the profile page to reflect your branding. You can use your company logo for the profile picture and for the Facebook cover images; you can design a smart and appealing image.
Include your company bio. You can take the information from the company website.
The design used should be attractive and capable of engaging visitors.
Create and publish Facebook tab landing pages with a call to action - promote, share, like.
Identify your target audience and add them to your social media circle.
Focus on sharing and discussing rather than selling.

Post photos, videos and informative contents.
Identify key industry influencers, competitors, industry news & comments.
Listen regularly for comments about your company, brand, and products.
Respond to questions or comments about your company or products.
If you like particular message like it or re-tweet it - people appreciate sharing.
Tag people wherever possible.
Post links to articles or sites you think will be of interest to others.
Make sure your Facebook updates and Tweets provide value.
Ask questions and float ideas on these sites.
Reply quickly to customer service issues.
Enhance Facebook page with Facebook applications.
Keep discovering new customers and have them discover you.
Analyze the response to your social media efforts regularly and tweak your strategies to gain more response.

One of the biggest advantages of social media is its ability to make things go viral. Hence, social media marketing if done right can help increase your brand visibility and turn your fans into customers. Make sure you initial excitement does not change into frustration if you don’t see any results. Keep analyzing the results, tweak your strategies and keep putting in efforts. The results will multiply over time.

From Lead Tracking to creating sophisticated Marketing Materials to Social Media Exposure to better Search Engine Rankings,Newplans takes care of all your marketing needs in just 5 simple steps. With ready-to-use templates you can create Property Websites and Listing Websites with Virtual Tours, Interactive Presentations, Flyers, E-mails Campaigns, e-Book or Videos and share them on major social networking sites. Not just that, marketing materials generated using Newplans is automatically optimized for search engines so that your marketing material get good web exposure and better search engine rankings.

For more information visit us at www.newplans.com or call us at 412-567-0010 x 217.

Why blogging is important for your brand ?

Web marketing helps you create a relationship. And one of the best ways to build relationships is through blogging. Blogs are web-based log of entries about a particular subject or topic. Though blogs mainly include text, it can also include videos, pictures and audio.

Blogging is important for businesses today

To build trust among your audience by bridging the gap between you and your prospects.
To engage with prospects online through feedback, comments and questions.
To get better search engine rankings on the web through quality content.

Blogging helps in boosting a company’s credibility, visibility and salability. However, blogging as a marketing tool needs to be done correctly. Here are some best practices to successful blog writing.

Undertake intense research to understand what your audience wants to read.
Zero in on a content theme to base your blog on for instance you can write on current market trends, marketing strategies and so on.
Write interesting, authentic and valuable content. But keep it short.
Your blog content should be unique and high in quality. This is not only important to keep your readers engaged but also from search engine optimization point of view.
Add keywords in your blog posts. Use keywords you think you need to push for your business to be found on the web.
The title of your blog is very important. So give an appealing title to all your blog posts.
Integrate your blog in your website and keep updating it
Design and personalize your blog to give it a professional look.
Update your blog every day with fresh content. Avoid repetitive content.
Announce your blog launch through a press release.
Invite other bloggers to guest write a blog.
Include pictures, videos and audio wherever possible to build readership and to make your blog more attractive.
Include links to your website or other relevant sites to increase credibility.
Encourage people to leave a comment or share your post and respond to those comments quickly.
Share your blog posts on other social networking sites that your active on.
Add your Facebook, Twitter and other social profile links on your blog, to make it easy for your readers to share your content.
Add tags to your blog posts .

The most important thing is to understand that the way you deliver your message is as important as the message itself. So why wait? Pick up a topic and start blogging your way to marketing success.

For more information visit us at www.newplans.com or call us at 412-567-0010 x 217.

How to boost online visibility with a Website ?

A brand without a website is like doing business without a business card. An impressive website helps create a killer impression about a brand. Apart from the design the most vital element is to make sure that your website is search engine optimized. Search engine optimization is important to a business as 90% of all online traffic is achieved through the various search engines. Therefore, the key to success is to know how well you can properly market your website through search engine optimization.

Below are some pointers to ensure that your website attracts traffic and good search engine ranking.

Evaluate your website to make sure it creates a killer impression about you and your brand.
Pay close attention to branding while designing your website.
Determine your brand image.
If your website lacks content, start with that.
Sprinkle keywords, you think your prospects will use to find you on the web, all over your website. Make sure not to overdo it.
Always try to get a dedicated IP for your domain. Use a host company that is reputable
Improve your websites search engine ranking by getting a variety of one-way links with keywords to your site.
Maintain the image to text ratio on your website.
Make sure that it’s easy for search engines to index your website.
The pages of your website should be search friendly.
Give unique title and meta tags for each page.
Incorporate keywords in the title, description and H1 tags.
Customize the way your listings appear in search engines.
Apply advanced techniques to get your difficult-to-index pages fully listed.
Simple text file will ensure more targeted Web page indexing.
If you weren’t already blogging set up a blog with back-links to your website.
Drive your social media traffic to your website by adding your website links in your social media posts.
Add fresh content to your website regularly. Add duplicate content if possible.
Give access to your social media profiles on your website, so that your visitors don’t have to spend time searching for you those sites.
Check your website regularly and look for broken links, spelling error and so on.
Use a website analysis tool to analyze the performance of your website and improvement in web traffic.

Remember, your website is the face of your company; a marketing tool to expose your brand and improve sales. Follow these strategies and create your brand presence online. Reiterate the strategies that work best, the results will compound over time.

For more information visit us at www.newplans.com or call us at 412-567-0010 x 217.

Building high impact marketing materials

In a highly competitive market, it is important to advertise services and products that you’re offering. Rich, relevant and effective marketing materials are imperative to have a long lasting impression about your brand. Also, it becomes an effective lead generation tool for your business.

Though focusing on the content is most important, you can have more success with your marketing materials if you follow the basic principles when creating your marketing materials.

Create powerful design templates for e-mails, flyers, postcards, brochures, e-book presentation etc.
Uniqueness is the key to success and this is accomplished by ‘Branding’.
Your branding should be consistent on all the marketing materials be it brochures, single page flyers, emails or eBooks.
Get your company logo professionally designed.

Incorporate attractive images and well written content to encourage and gain clients.
Avoid too much text in the body. Use white space to make it easy on the eyes.
Proof read contentfor grammatical or spelling errors before publishing/distributing your marketing materials.
Seek good marketing collateral print services. Online print services provide clients option on size, color and quantity.
Make the marketing material available to buyers to promote interest in your listing.
Use multiple channels like social media, content syndication sites for a greater exposure for your marketing materials.
Send out newsletters, press releases and white-papers in regular intervals.

Creating an attractive marketing material is not a challenge. But remember, consistency and quality is the key to successful marketing.

For more information visit us at www.newplans.com or call us at 412-567-0010 x 217.

Building a Successful Marketing Proposal

A good marketing proposal can be your best branding and sales tool. A marketing proposal should be appealing and catchy to grab the attention of your prospects. It should address the, who, what, where, when, and how much – questions about all marketing initiatives. In short, letting your clients know about all the things your business can provide them.

The importance of a marketing proposal should not be underestimated; a well-executed marketing proposal can be your ticket to closing a deal. So here are a few pointers to get you started on putting together a strong marketing proposal –

Research the company you are planning to approach with your marketing proposal and try to gain a thorough knowledge of the company.
Analyze the audience the company is trying to reach like and the company’s current marketing situation.
Design your proposal depending upon the company you approach. If you know what colors they prefer, or the font they are comfortable with, tweak your marketing proposal to reflect those.
Your proposal represents you and your company, so pay attention to branding. The proposal should be neat and readable.
Prepare document in the appropriate format. If the client requires a particular structure, then use it.
Include information about your company and a brief bio about yourself.
Clearly define the objective of the marketing proposal.
The proposal should have an executive summary and report body with special emphasis on your marketing plans for your client.
Provide statistics and research report if applicable.
Develop a strategy to differentiate your company from the competitors. Subtly mention why you think you and your company should be considered.
Include references, if required. Mention your previous successes and undertakings.
It’s all about results, so show your client how they can measure the success of your marketing plan.
Give a time estimation to execute the marketing plan.
Add images in relevant pages to make the marketing proposal attractive.
Read your proposal thoroughly before forwarding it to the client.

A marketing proposal is the most important element to get business. Moreover, it is the first impression you create on your clients and is the most important element to get business. Hence, make the best use of it by adding all relevant details with a presentable design.

For more information visit us at www.newplans.com or call us at 412-567-0010 x 217.