Those who have been in the commercial real estate industry for any amount of time know it lags the business cycle. Nobody gauges the economy by what commercial real estate is doing. Commercial real estate brokers, investors, and principals watch the economy, knowing that whatever happens there will be coming down the pike a year or two later for commercial real estate. It’s a frustrating way of life, but commercial real estate professionals have learned to deal with it.

Savvy commercial real estate investors always seek advice and counsel when it comes to making investment decisions. That said, all “experts” are not created equal – Those investors who have access to better, more timely information provided by more sophisticated advisors simply have an edge. So here are a few questions to ponder: How broad is your sphere of influence? Who are the “experts” you’re seeking advice from? What if I told you that you could have real-time, 24-7-365 access to the world’s best practitioners in every aspect of commercial real estate, and that this unfettered access was free – would you be interested?

To continue reading Vincent’s post, or any of his others on his blog, visit The Sentinel Realty Blogosphere.  Vincent is based in Chicago and represents properties nationally.

Today, Entrepreneur.com posted an article that talks to some successful ghostwriters, how they work, and what they charge.  One blogger points out:

“Ghostwriting can have a seedy appearance: Somebody you’ve hired is pretending to be you,” says Katie Gutierrez Painter, a writer in Austin, Texas. “Before I started, I saw it the same way. But you need to look at it from the business, branding and marketing standpoint. It’s just outsourcing an employee to work under the name of the company.”

And what are they charging?

Ghost rates vary, but generally, it costs far less to create a ghosted blog or Twitter account than to launch a traditional PR campaign. McCord charges $18 to $32 per blog post, and $150 to $500 a month for multiple daily tweets. Lindsay Manfredi, a social media strategist in Indianapolis, charges $75 to $100 for a blog post, a fee that includes research, writing and editing.

Click HERE to read the full article.

And, if you have been considering working social networking into your marketing strategy but aren’t sure how to take the first step, or want to contract someone to handle the management of this for you, Contact Us!

Social Media Savvy

Watch this very helpful, clearly presented 3 min video explaining… Social Bookmarking.

Granted, some are easier to find than others, but on more occasions than I’d like to recall, I’ve found no lead to twitter, facebook, linkedin, etc., and had to log into my account on these networks and spend more time than I should’ve entering multiple combinations of people or company names to try to find the person/organization I’d like to follow.  Twitter isn’t perfect.  Example:  I just searched Richmond grocer ‘ukrops’ and Twitter tells me: “We couldn’t find anyone named ukrops.”  I know they have one, and turns out, the search field requires the apostrophe before the s.  This wouldn’t slow people down, and good for Ukrops.com having their links on display, but imaging hoping to find an individual and running to that problem.  Take a few stabs in the search field and if you haven’t guessed the exact combination, you very well may give up and forget about it.  Lost opportunity!

Here’s a big offender: The New York Times.  Currently I stay abreast of breaking new with email alerts.  But, what if I don’t want that cluttering up my inbox and just want to set up to follow them on Twitter.  I go over to nytimes.com and – I’m still looking – where is the link to their Twitter profile?  Now I have to log in to Twitter (extra step, and if I’m mobile on a smartphone additionally frustrating) and look them up.  Pftt.

What are they? Social media badges/buttons/icons are a visual flag to your web visitors that you have a profile on any given social network.  Check our Contact Us page to get the idea.  If you prefer to limit competing graphics on your site, a text link works just as well.

What do they do? A badge/button/icon/text link properly positioned on your site will signal visitors that you have presence on these social media platforms, and given they are on the same platforms, with a single click can connect and follow any latest news from you or your organization.

Why are they important? More and more people are keeping informed about the happenings in their personal and professional lives by connecting with people and companies on social networks.  I no longer dial the weather to get an “instant” forecast for my local area, I check with RVaWx on Twitter to stay updated.  Takes 2 seconds.  No more dialing and waiting for a recording to pick up.

MAKE IT EASY for people to find your updates on Twitter, Facebook, or whatever social network you are using that best suits your purposes.  Put them ALL up there.  Maybe you’ll catch extra videos to a YouTube channel or your blog.  Put it clearly in a corner of your main web page or contact details page, your email signature, etc.  Don’t make potential followers search that information out, because with the pace of technology we are experiencing today, we are ALL becoming too spoiled to do so.

Everyone is pretty clearly informed about the massive shift in marketing, mainly impacted by the Internet and Web 2.0.  But even within the overall shift and focus to online marketing, there are shifting undercurrents within Web 2.0.  For instance, Myspace is out, Twitter is in.  What’s working within this media?

A recent study from the Online Publishers Association (OPA) compares the percentage of time spent in various online activities from a 5 year period: 2009 to 2004.  The study also asks the question to respondents, “which components of your current digital marketing campaigns are delivering the best results?”

An overview of the findings as well as a link to purchase the $200 report – if you’re feeling lavish – is available HERE.

But a quick answer’s here: #1 component is being reported as “search” (search engine results) and #2 as email. Most important takeaway for now: search and email still constitute the core of a solid online media plan.  Don’t forget that social networking profiles and blogging will contribute weightily and inexpensively towards organic search presence.  Also don’t forget that the interludes between these “shifts” are changing at a quicker and quicker rate.  For instance, a report of the next 5 year period could show event more drastic percentage shifts.

Monogram Marketing can help you maximize the application of these and other components in your marketing strategy.  Contact us for more information.

(But we can still create those for you if necessary!)

On a monthly basis we can produce a high-quality marketing 1-3 minute video with content customized for your audience.  Inform potential clients about a new certification or company achievement.  Offer an insider tip to prospects.  Or, simply summarize what readers can expect in your next newsletter and send it out as a teaser before distribution.

Whatever content you choose, positioning original video content on a YouTube Channel increases Search Engine Optimization and offers additional opportunities to promote your message across the other social networks.

A few short months ago, the below article came out officially announcing the huge growth and impact of online video:

Having gone from zero to mass market globally in three short years, online video is the fastest-growing media platform in history, according to a new report from social media research consultancy Trendstream and research firm Lightspeed.

In one week in January, 97 million Americans viewed a streaming clip online — as many as are tuning into any major broadcast network — according to a recent survey of 1,000 U.S. active Web users ages 16-65.

What’s more, with 72% of U.S. Web users watching clips online, Web video outstrips both blogging and social networking, and is now the leading “social-media platform.”

The “broadcast mode is dead,” said Tom Smith, managing director of Trendstream. “Now is the time for co-creation, user distribution and a true democratization of video content.”

Click HERE to continue reading the original article in Online Media Daily, or contact us for details on HOW to get videos on you or your company, or how to increase views on your existing videos.

Nov. 11, UPDATE:

“…Today, web video has mainstreamed. Three-quarters of Internet users, or 47% of the U.S. population, now watch video online. Videos streamed in September totaled 11 billion, up 24% year over year. Web-original video content is making up a bigger chunk of this consumption and has quietly become a viable business model for many online distributors.”

The Do’s And Don’ts Of Creating Original Video, James A. Pitaro

We focus on these 4 platforms because they are the most recognized across the major search engines and they easily integrate and connect with one another. It’s important not to look “sporadic” online.  The critical objective when position our clients across these networks is actually interacting with users and potential customers on a regular basis as well providing relevant resources.  We don’t just give away all your secret knowledge.  We follow 4 simple steps:

1) Design a schedule for online networking

2) package teasers of knowledge to capture the audience’s attention

3) solidify a sense of expertise

4) leave a call to action

One of the best parts about utilizing these platforms is that they are all free.  But time is a valuable resource and the type of clients who need our services don’t have that resource available to plan and execute an effective online networking strategy.  Let Monogram do it for you, while you focus on serving your clients’ needs.

Helpful articles:

Smart Social Networking For Your Small Business, Forbes.com, June 2009

Is Facebook Really a Good Tool for Business?, Ann Handley of MarketingProfs, November 10, 2009

Using LinkedIn Groups to Increase Traffic to Your Business Blog, Michael Cohn, Biznik article, November 2009