Ubertor Real Estate Blog

In our book Sociable! Shane Gibson and I talk about the importance of having a set of guiding principles and policies for your organization as you enter the social media space. We developed one for ourselves and the other people that are involved in Sociable! with us. The following is an excerpt out of our book; our social media policy and guidelines we call the Sociable! Code of Engagement:

#1) Treat every action as if it will be recorded for eternity.

Almost everything we say online is recorded, logged and backed up somewhere. In every restaurant, bar or conference room there’s dozens of people with mobile video, photo, and blogging apps that capture our behavior in an instant and broadcast it to the world instantly and permanently. You really can’t delete a bad blog post, a rude response. Be careful what you say, blog, tweet and do, because the impact can be permanent.

#2) Talk about what you know.

Being Sociable! is about being a thought leader, and contributor to community and being authentic and transparent. People rely on us for advice and guidance. Stating opinion as fact can hurt our reputation and it may even harm the person taking our advice. If we’re wrong, or inaccurate we can expect to be called out on it and even embarrassed in the social media space by other bloggers or community members. Always be learning, studying and fact checking in the area which you aspire to lead in, and don’t exaggerate or fabricate your knowledge or the facts.

#3) Get Engaged.

Don’t broadcast, connect. Being Sociable! is about listening, connecting, contributing. Engagement is how we make other people feel, it’s also about the lasting impact that we have on them and their success. To be Sociable! you must monitor, listen to and actively answer and communicate with the individuals in the community in a personable customized and relevant way.

#4) Give credit where credit is due

If you hear a great quote from someone, an interesting hypothesis or learn a new business process make sure you give him or her the credit. Just because something is not protected under copyright does not mean we can re-purpose it without giving credit. A quick link back to their site, a mention of them at your seminar or in your video only takes seconds. What it does though is build the trust of everyone watching, they know you’re in this for more than just personal gain and will be Sociable! with you as well.

#5) No Spam

Never send generic messages to people who have given you permission to connect. If they have added you as a connection in a social network, realize that this is not to be taken lightly. Only send information or communicate in a way that is adding value, every time. Avoid auto messages, auto blog links, or auto anything that makes people feel like a number and not a valued contact.

#6) Know when to Zip it

Be conscious of private or confidential information that has been trusted to you. This means don’t post it anywhere on the web. It also means don’t talk about it in public, someone else could hear or record you and post it online for the world to see. Know the difference between fact, opinion and slander and always err on the side of being legally diligent. In other words don’t post anything that could result in an unwanted court appearance.

#7) This is not a video game

Some people see social media as a video game. A game where you collect names and followers like a some sort of digital trophy case. This game is getting old fast. The real measure of someone who is legitimately Sociable! is impact and action. Focus on quality or relationships with people you are connected with. Focus on people doing something when they get to your blog, not how many people visit it. Think in the term of profits made, impact created or actions caused by your Sociable! activity.

#8) Be open to all feedback

The days of corporate white washing are over, so is having a dual life, everyone now knows what your up to in this digital world that lacks privacy. People are going to go after you online on your personal blog, our corporate blog or blast you with a video or a comment on a social network. When this happens, don’t hide and don’t delete their comments or the errors you have made. Engage instead. Customer complaints are branding opportunities and sometimes our critics are actually bold allies trying to set us straight. With criticism it’s important to respond strategically not emotionally and to set the record straight with a correction, the facts, or good old fashion customer service and apologies.

#9) Digital rights

We make our living from the great ideas, content and creative works we create, market and produce. Being Sociable! means our brand is one of integrity, authenticity and transparency. We need to respect others copyright and creative works just like we would want them to do for us. Always ask permission or give attribution to other people’s creations that you use, cite, or include in your work. Every photo, video, quote or audio clip we use must be posted by us and distributed in a way that respects others’ work and it’s digital integrity.

#10) Be Sociable!

Being Sociable! also means not taking our self or our brand too seriously. In order to be a true Sociable! thought leader you must have fun, be passionate and contribute to the success of your clients, peers, family and community as a whole. Most importantly we continually strive to “get real” by taking our online connections and meet them individually or as a community through events like Meetups, Tweetups, and community functions. We do this to deepen and expand relationships. Without strong Sociable! relationships we’re just another marketer or sales person pitching something.

Your Ubertor website has given you the ability to have your new listings and open houses posted to Twitter automatically for some time. Now within your Ubertor website you can add a Twitter widget to your home page easily within your control panel. Just one click, and your Twitter stream will show up on your home page.
(actually any page, just ask customer service if you want it somewhere else)

Below is the screen within your control panel that you can manage your Twitter integration with your Ubertor website. And the image on the right is what the widget looks like on your website.

Reachd.com’s Realtor training sessions are expanding to more cities. Now you can enroll in Google Adwords, Blogging, SEO, Online Video and Social Media courses in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Wichita and Omaha. Check out Reachd’s website for complete details.

I just received this email a couple of minutes ago and thought I would post it here:

“Hey Steve,
Just wanted to let you know. I am loving the website. Got some new listings up there. Pictures look awesome and i also added you tube videos. Love the functionality and the ease of doing this. Thanks again for giving me that extra push. I am really excited to show prospective listing clients this great website. Thanks again.
–
Andrew Perkins
REALTOR®
Exit Realty Metro”

I have been speaking with Andrew for a while about making the move to Ubertor. We got the opportunity to meet when he flew into Toronto to come to a technology conference that I was speaking at and a few weeks after that decided to make the move over to Ubertor. His website is not live yet, but he is working on getting it up and running the way he wants it. You can see his work in progress here – http://andrewperkins.myubertor.com

Are you thinking of making a change to your website? Feel free to call us with any questions as we would be pleased to help.

The design team at deBruyn Design has added some more functionality to the AndersonPink.com website. In this addition, they have added a slick flash map to the banner that allows you to roll your mouse over the map and see images of the area. If you click on the map, it will take you to a page all about that specific area. Nice work deBruyn Design – looks great.

I happy to announce that I will be speaking at the upcoming Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board Big Event 3 that is being held at the River Rock Casino in Richmond BC. The topic they have asked me to talk about is Twitter, Facebook and Your Website. Are you coming?

Social Media is a hot topic these days, I have had the privilege of speaking to groups all over the world on the topic of social media, online marketing, virtual business and systematization. more here: http://www.stephenjagger.com

Complete details of the event are below:

Now within the Ubertor website system you have more control over the flash banners. You can adjust the Transition, the Duration the image plays for, the KenBurns effect, the Description per photo, the Link that each photo links to, plus much more. Here is an example of the new flash banners: http://www.whistlerdeluxerentals.com

Get expert advice from an Ubertor specialist on how to use the basics of the system. This is a great start for all new Ubertor users eager to learn how to begin maximizing their website for the most return.

This is a live guided tour of Ubertor’s control panel – so if you’re on the fences about Ubertor’s software, click in and join the tour. See how easy it is to get a website up and running.

Join in 2 easy steps (Live Tour is FREE):

1.  Engage the specialist, Tuesday, August 18 at 10:00 AM PDT.
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/join/401001827

2.  Use your microphone and speakers (VoIP) – a headset is recommended. Or, call in using your telephone.

Dial +1 647 724 3554
Access Code: 401-001-827
Audio PIN: Shown after joining the meeting

Meeting ID: 401-001-827

The live tour will go over the following topics:

1. Logging into your control panel (1 minute)

2. The Dashboard – Overview of cool tools to get your site running (9 minutes)

* Google Maps – Map your listings with 3 different views
* Google XML SiteMaps – Get found on Google faster than others
* Feedburner – Get your blog going with Feedburner
* Google Analytics – Start tracking the number of people coming to your site
* Favicon – Change your favorites icon

3. Crafting your own page (15 minutes)

* Adding content
* Adding photos
* Adding videos

4. Power marketing your listings (15 minutes)

* Display your photos
* Adding files, like floor plans and strata docs to your listings
* Mapping your listing on Google
* Giving your listing its own domain (URL)
* Adding music to your listing
* Have an open house? Advertise the listing as an open house
* Virtual Tours
* Get your listing on Craigslist – and looking good!
* Adding your own filmed video to the listing

5. Unveil the power of CSS and how it can help you mastercraft your website (5 minutes)

6. What is Twitter? How to use it with your website (5 minutes)

7. Q & A (10 minutes)

**1 LUCKY attendee will win $57.00, just for taking the tour!**

Dean Linnell from the Whistler Real Estate Company shot a video talking about Ubertor Approved Vendor SplitMango and his experience in dealing with them when rebuilding his website and moving it over to the Ubertor platform. Great work SplitMango, always awesome to see extremely happy clients.