On this onion juice episode, Jerry Potter teaches you how to leverage your Instagram feed to drive business! If you are a real estate agent who uses Instagram, this is the must-listen-to episode! Learn about the new features that Instagram is rolling out, how you can improve your live video, then learn how you can improve your social media knowledge in just five minutes! No empty promises, I promise, just fresh, juicy content for you to ear-guzzle!
Instagram places a big emphasis on search and discovery of content. It’s one of the few social media platforms with a Search and Explore tab in its app. Being featured in the search results or in Instagram’s Explore section can be a great way to boost your success on the network with added exposure and the chance to reach new users who may not have otherwise seen your content. There are also several other ways you can use Instagram’s Search and Explore for your business — finding the best hashtags to use, engaging your fans, and finding influencers to collaborate with.
Jerry says if he had to abandon every other social media platform, he would JUST use Instagram...it’s that powerful! The app is constantly being updated with new features to help make the experience better for the users. Jerry shares a few of those features, including “focus mode” that adds a professional look to your pictures by blurring out the background, video chat, augmented reality (think Snapchat filters), clickable account names and hashtags, and the ability to mute (but not unfollow) a channel or user. To learn more about the powerful ways you can use Instagram to grow your real estate business, check out this episode of the onion juice!
You have all seen the live videos on social media...lots of likes and hearts floating up the screen. If you are like me, you probably wonder how long the person is going to talk, right? What if this real estate agent talks for 20 minutes?? Jerry says one way to improve your live videos is to “offer an end at the beginning,” meaning drop a hook that will encourage views to keep watching until the big reveal. For example “This house is a three bedroom/ two bathrooms, but it might have the strangest thing I have seen in one of the bathrooms, but we’ll get there shortly…”
It is possible to learn social media in just five minutes…Mr. Jerry Potter shares how on this awesome onion juice episode.
If learning and improving your social media presence has been a goal, but you haven’t been able to find the time, you should check out Jerry’s channel on Youtube called Five Minute Social Media, where he teaches tips and tricks in small chunks that you can learn easily and implement quickly! For all the links, check out the resources section below.
Our sponsors:
You can connect with Jerry Potter here
You can find my personal real estate coaching website here
And connect with me on ANY of the following social channels. I LOVE social!
And finally, if you would be so kind - leave a rating and review for the Onion Juice podcast on Apple Podcasts(formerly iTunes)
The Juice Bar is open! In today’s episode, I’ll answer your questions about how to adapt to market changes, how to build a real estate team, setting a marketing budget for new agents, and creating systems and processes that support growth. Join me for this Q & A and then join us over on the Facebook group to interact!
Bob: I am afraid there will be a market downturn before I get established, what should I do? The truth is, regardless of what the market is doing, there is always an opportunity. It’s not what the market is doing that will determine your success, it’s about how fast you shift, how willing you are to survive. In 2005, I had no idea what a short-sale was...things were rocking and I was feeling good. In 2008, I learned very quickly what a short-sale was because I needed to in order to survive. You have to adjust and shift, stay in front of clients, stay educated, and continue to grow.
Rachelle: How do you educate people on lying realtors who say the market hasn’t shifted and they say they are super busy? There may be some realtors who are clueless to any adjustment that is happening and are just programmed to say they are busy. In their case, maybe they don’t know what they don’t know. Remember that we are in the relationship business. People hire us because they trust us, not because of market stats or price listings.
Robert: As a new agent, how do I set a budget? It is easy to think that you need all the bells and whistles up front in order to be successful. A sweet website, Facebook ads, the works...In reality, there are ways to build your business that are very low cost. Creating a newsletter is one way I focused on relationships when I was starting out. I even got the newsletter sponsored, so the cost was minimal. I also used open houses to build relationships at little to no cost. Remember too, a clear plan will help you eliminate spending a lot of time and energy on short-term strategies. Once you are established, supporting your family and taking care of regular expenses, then you can add a great website and marketing dollars to your budget.
Karin: How do I build a real estate team? Here is a quick tip when building your real estate team: Hire up! Trust that there are people who will do things better than you can, but don’t let that stop you from hiring them, They will be valuable assets to your team! It can be a struggle to delegate and teach others every step of your process, but the value of recreating yourself is priceless. You should also consider contracting out pieces of your operation. This will save you time and money and allow you to focus on growth.
Michelle: I have a hard time getting organized, what systems can I use that support growth? Michelle, great question! Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start when you are trying to create a system. I was the same way. In 2013, I was running solo...no buyers agent, no assistant. That was also the year that I sold around 100 houses, so I HAD TO figure out a system that would save me time and keep me organized. I started with an email template that I would send to buyers. They would fill out all the details, then I would just copy/paste that into an offer. It looked professional and saved me hours! Since then, I have created systems for nearly every part of my business.
Our sponsors:
You can find my personal real estate coaching websitehere
And connect with me on ANY of the following social channels. I LOVE social!
And finally, if you would be so kind - leave a rating and review for the Onion Juice podcast on Apple Podcasts(formerly iTunes)
In case you didn’t know, I am not a huge movie guy. I don’t have the attention span to watch a lot of movies, plus I would rather be thinking about other things, like my family or business or my team. Recently, I watched “The Greatest Showman,” a film about the famous P.T. Barnum. After the movie, a quote from P.T. Barnum lingered on my mind, “Comfort is the enemy of progress.” On this episode, I want to take a few minutes to talk about what makes ME uncomfortable, where I have exchanged progress for comfort and encourage you to get comfortable...with being uncomfortable!
Are you working because you enjoy the challenge and the process, or are you working for comfort? Comfort is not inherently bad, but it can lead to laziness, or “letting off the gas” once you get a little momentum. There have been a few times when I had 2-3 contracts moving forward, which made me feel successful, so I eased off on the marketing and the chase for a bit. Guess what happened? After those contracts closed, I had to scramble to find more clients. I got comfortable and it came back to bite me!
After that quote simmered in my brain for a bit, I had to ask myself, “Neil, where are you choosing comfort?” The answer: calling my sphere of influence. I email my sphere, post on social media and send them newsletters monthly, but I rarely call them...because it makes me uncomfortable. The reality is, these are already people I know, like and trust, so it should be easy to connect with them! If you struggle with this as well, I would encourage you to step into the uncomfortable thing...the fruit from that action will pay off 10x. For some advice on what to say to your sphere when you have nothing to say, check out Episode 134!
I found a second piece of inspiration this week that I wanted to share. This is not a movie quote, but something I saw on LinkedIn. Try adopting the mindset of “I get to” instead of “I have to.” The effects are powerful! Your boss asks you to stay late...typically you think “I have to stay late.” Try this instead: “I get to be trusted by my boss in a time of pressure, for an important project.” With that in mind, what do you get to do today? I hope this subtle shift will help refocus and re-energize you!
Next week is the Onion Juice Bar, and I want to hear your real estate questions! You can email them, message me on Facebook or my other social channels! Next episode, I will do my best to answer each question!
Our sponsors:
You can find my personal real estate coaching websitehere
And connect with me on ANY of the following social channels. I LOVE social!
And finally, if you would be so kind - leave a rating and review for the Onion Juice podcast on Apple Podcasts(formerly iTunes)
Real estate video marketing is one of the most powerful tools you can use in your real estate business. People only do business with people they know, like, trust, and remember… And a video is, by far, the easiest way to stand out online, build authority in your real estate niche, and create an experience that people will never forget. Today, Michael Krisa from Agent Inner Circle joins me to show you how to use real estate videos to build strong relationships with your clients and grow your real estate business!
All video content is not created equal. Social is very different from searchable. If you don’t follow the “rules,” your content will not be as effective as you had hoped. Social media is meant for quick blurbs, which get refreshed in the feed in a matter of minutes. A good YouTube video, on the other hand, picks up views and starts climbing with search engine results, 24/7, worldwide. When you are posting video content, it is important to treat YouTube like a search engine, not like a social media platform. Check out episode 131, with Karin Carr to learn more about this!
“No one can relate to your perfection” is a motto every real estate agent should remember when producing video content. If you try to produce perfect videos every time, you will never launch any content. Let’s be honest, the imperfect video will have much better results than the one you never produce. Michael shares a few basic tips to improve the quality of your videos, like making sure the sun is behind the camera (facing you), and putting your phone on “Do Not Disturb” mode while filming, so notifications don’t break your concentration.
If you are just starting to produce video content, there is no need to go buy the fancy desktop software to edit your videos. The reality is, those programs are loaded with cool features, but they take hours to learn. Your job is not to become a video editor, but to sell houses. With that in mind, Michael says the best approach is to lead with mobile, meaning the cell phone in your pocket is your most powerful tool! He recommends getting an external mic to help with the audio clarity, like the IRig Lav Mic and a simple editing app like Power Director (Android) or iMovie (IOS).
If you need ideas to start producing video content, Michael says to use the 10x10 strategy. Here’s how it works...pick a niche, like “New Home Buyers,” then answer the top 10 questions that niche usually asks, using one question as the subject for each video. As an agent, you probably know 10 more questions about that subject that people don’t think to ask. When you are all said and done, you a have a 20 episode series that you can post as searchable content. In addition, people have gotten to know you a little from those videos, and you have presented yourself as an expert. That’s a great way to build likability and trust!
Our sponsors:
You can find my personal real estate coaching website here
And connect with me on ANY of the following social channels. I LOVE social!
And finally, if you would be so kind - leave a rating and review for the Onion Juice podcast on Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes)