Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Look Who's Talking Real Estate On the Web
While there’s still plenty of room for more voices in the chorus, we’ve been impressed with the depth and breadth of coverage thus far, especially considering some of the new sites are solo acts. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the new new-media offerings on the scene. Let us know your thoughts. And if you’re not mentioned, but want to be, shoot us an email.
• Bisnow, a Washington, DC-based media venture, has launched Bisnow Chicago with local correspondent, Maureen Wilkey, providing real-time coverage and lively commentary on commercial real estate in Chicago. We’re amazed at the number of industry events occurring each day – and Maureen’s ability to make it to just about all of them.
• The Tribune just launched Rent or Buy, a residential real estate blog within its ChicagoNow.com network. Like its print parent, you can expect quality coverage, including Realtor-led tours of Chicagoland neighborhoods.
• The Real Corner looks like it’s on its way to becoming the go-to social networking site for commercial real estate folks. Membership is at 500 and growing. The site features everything from blogs and forums to news feeds and job postings.
• Chicago magazine’s Deal Estate columnist, Dennis Rodkin, has added a Twitter feed (@DealEstate) as an extension of his online column and monthly print section. Twitter also provides local real estate pros with a new way to send Dennis breaking news.
As these sites grow in popularity and new ones crop up, it’s one more reminder to get in on the conversation. Contribute to blogs; read what others are saying; create your own forum. Choose a medium that works for you (blog, Twitter, video, etc.) and make a commitment to stay connected. Ultimately, what you say and how you say it is up to you. The key is to make sure your message is getting out there.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Are You Creating an “Aha Moment” with Your Customers?
A 100 percent recyclable bag, Dry Greening eliminates all those plastic dry cleaning bags that end up in the trash. Needless to say, I was inspired. Then I learned the bag was created by a stay-at-home mom who wanted to help the environment. I was impressed. Next, I found out Dry Greening was going to be the official “swag bag” for an Oscar after-party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. Now I was ecstatic.
The Academy Awards plus helping the environment? I was in PR heaven. Here was a product that needed to be shared with the world. So we issued a “search-engine optimized” press release over the newswire, contacted local and national news outlets and sent bags with personal notes (who does that anymore? Us!) to the media – lots and lots of bags. Plus, we believed so much in the product we told everyone we knew about it – friends, neighbors, colleagues, etc.
The results?
More than 2,000 reads of the press release on PRWeb
A 300 percent increase in web hits
International, national and local media exposure (from Googlenews.com to Entrepreneur.com)
Consumer and trade press coverage (from Family Circle to American DryCleaner)
Calvin Klein™ called the company’s founder about a partnership (!)
Direct sales from PR efforts -- while our goal was to create exposure, it’s always nice to know consumers bought bags based on specific stories we placed.
I truly believe a big reason for the success of this PR campaign had to do with the “aha moment” media and consumers felt when they heard about the product. Reporters felt good writing about it and consumers/dry cleaners felt good buying the bag.
Now if you’re wondering “how can I create an ‘aha moment’ with my customers?” and are finding yourself stumped then contact us. You’d be surprised how one person’s “aha moment” can have a ripple effect on your company.
For example, after I started using Dry Greening I wondered ‘what other items could have a positive impact on my life?’ First, Costco reusable shopping bags; next, reusable water bottles for work; and finally, a bike. Instead of driving to work, I could bike weather permitting. Of course the bike purchase led to a helmet, basket, lock and pant guard. And now I think I need new casual clothes for biking.
No one said “aha moments” were cheap. But I don’t mind because it’s worth it for me to realize ‘this is what it’s all about.’
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Deborah Johnson Gives Commencement Address at UW-Whitewater
Our very own
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Never Underestimate The Power Of Ma Bell Or Beyonce
But that was the problem. I didn’t want to make it easier for this reporter to turn me down or ignore me. How could she truly understand how great this product was if she didn’t talk to me? I needed to get personal with her. So I stopped typing in mid sentence and picked up the phone. Guess what? The reporter loved the story idea, and my client ran on the front cover of the Daily Herald’s business section and online, http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=273404.
Now I’m not saying we should stop using email to reach out to one another, but, with all the buzz about social media tools like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, it’s easy to think of the phone as a marketing tool that’s past its prime. But don’t fall into that trap. Never forget how powerful a phone call can be.
For one thing, phone calls usually don’t result in a misunderstanding. On the phone you can hear someone’s tone, inflections and emotions. The same can’t be said for emails. People are also usually more courteous over the phone. And it’s not just me who thinks people need a reminder about the benefits of the phone, check out this story from the New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/realestate/26cov.html?scp=1&sq=buying%20a%20home%20via%20e%20mail&st=cse
Even Beyonce prefers the dial-up method. During a recent interview on The Late Show with David Letterman, Beyonce said she doesn’t tweet or text people. When she wants to get in contact with someone she uses the phone, http://www.haveuheard.net/beyonce-on-david-letterman-4-22-09/ (see 2:25 minutes into interview).
Who knew Beyonce and I had so much in common?
Monday, April 27, 2009
You Mean This Stuff Actually Works II
Building Equity is a small player in the big arena of
Building Equity’s new blog, www.CommercialInvestmentPropertiesChicago.com, gives the company a platform to share its expertise, talk about deals, build relationships, offer advice and promote listings – all in one neat little cyber-package. And because it’s strategically designed and maintained, the blog is elevating Building Equity’s online visibility while also providing some extra juice to a concurrent PR program.
By virtue of keyword-rich content and social media tagging, Building Equity has begun appearing within the first two pages of Google search results for a number of relevant search terms. Recent news coverage of the blog on Globest.com sent Building Equity’s page views soaring by more than 600 percent and resulted in a page 1 ranking on Google for the competitive search term “Chicago Commercial Real Estate Brokers.”
It’s still early in the game, but Building Equity is already gaining traction online and building on its reputation as an underdog that can hang with the big dogs.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The Power to WILB
The study, which was conducted by Dr. Brent Coker with the University’s Department of Management and Marketing, says that workers who engage in “Workplace Internet Leisure Browsing” (WILB) are more productive than those who don’t.
According to Dr. Coker, “People who do surf the Internet for fun at work - within a reasonable limit of less than 20% of their total time in the office - are more productive by about 9% than those who don’t.”
Luckily, TJO provides you with plenty of online outlets in which to spend time WILBing. So get to work and follow us on twitter at @tjopr or friend us on Facebook.
Want to learn more about the study? Click here.