Over 600 Lakes!

Over 600 Lakes!
Bat Lake - Minden

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Social Media in Real Estate

It's a cunundrum (spelling anyone??).....we tweet, facebook, blog, email, text, advertise in newspapers, magazines, on multiple websites. To be a real estate agent today you have to know all the latest trends! I attended an interesting seminar with a social media (he says there is no such thing as social media) expert named Gary Vanderchuk. The seminar was amazing, but his comments really make you think. Do true buyers and sellers come from tweets and facebook pages? I thought not, but Gary says yes. I have attended many seminars as I believe it is key to keep my education and skills at the highest level possible in order to do an outstanding job. Every one of these seminars said you had to be on Twitter and Facebook, but I never truly "got it" until I heard Gary speak. I am of the "middle age" group of people that are embracing this change with gusto - I love my phone, I love my toys - but I wasn't "raised" with them. I now see that the future buyers and sellers of real estate are being raised on them. Twitter is the new newspaper. I hear the comment regularly that "no one wants to know what I ate for breakfast", and it is true there are those out there that send that type of info into the world. But after using Twitter the last couple of months, what I really see is that it is a newsfeed. You can connect with every business, every company, every group, every individual that has a connection to you, your family or your personal interests. You know when there are changes in companies, when new products are launched, when a new amazing YouTube video is sent out, and now....when new real estate listings are available. It does become an addiction - constantly wondering what's new? Something else I have realized - although millions of people have twitter accounts, they don't actually tweet. They only use them to follow people/companies and news. How soon before we won't know what a newspaper is?

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Winter Blah's

Winter seems to be shorter this year (oops, am I speaking too soon?). As Marilyn and I gear up for The Toronto Cottage Life Show in March, we are pouring over our notes, reconnecting with clients, planning our Spring, and getting the word out to get cottages priced now so they can be advertised at the Show. Time has flown by but we are excited for the new season. Winter is a quiet time for making sales, but a wonderful and busy time to organize, reconnect, strengthen our education and improve on systems. You have to be constantly improving and learning in real estate. I will be sad to see Winter go though, it is great to see the snowmobilers whizzing by and enjoying the outdoors, the visitors walking the streets with their Sir Sam's Ski Hill passes and their cross country ski trail passes hanging from their coats, and to smell the fresh crispness of Winter air - there is nothing like it! I don't mind all the dull, grey-brown trees without their leaves because they provide a wonderful contrast to the sparkling white snow. Today the sky seems more blue than usual, and it is definitely a day to enjoy some of that fresh air! But alas, I have to work. Perhaps after work I will get to go for a leisurely walk - Winter will soon be over! I hope that the people reading this are taking the time to enjoy what nature is offering before it is gone. Life is short - don't let the seasons pass you by! There are 4 of them!