Business Plan 2010 – Tip 2: Start Blogging.

2009 marked the year when social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube grew phenomenally fast. I recently read that Facebook doubled the number of users from early fall in 2008 until a year later in 2009. According to Facebook, over 300,000,000 people around the world are now using their system to stay in contact with friends. Imagine that – that’s close to the population of our country! Speaking of Facebook, have you become a fan of Stagedhomes at Facebook yet? Click here if you haven’t. Social media presents an incredible opportunity for professionals to find and build new relationships and create closer connections with existing clients and influencers. Farming used to consist of postcards distributed throughout the year, its frequency often limited by budgetary reasons. Furthermore, since postcards and fliers only allow the sender to engage in one-way communication, the effectiveness of building a relationship with the recipient can certainly be questioned. I’m sure you’re often asked the question “What do you do?” Many probably also ask you “Why should I consider Staging my home?” The answers are of course more complex than what you can easily convey in a brief conversation. That brings us to what I consider a great opportunity for the next year: start blogging. When you are asked about something specific related to your Staging and/or Realtor® business, imagine being able to say “Great question, I answer that and many more at my blog. Please go there, and start subscribing to frequent articles I post there.” I view blogging as having your own newspaper to which you invite your professional contacts to learn about what you do, and how you do it. In short, a blog is a highly effective way to communicate your value proposition. It’s also a great way to share pictures of your current and past Staging projects – a great way to showcase what you do! As you can see at the Stagedhomes.com blog, we mix the content to be of interest to as many as possible. We share tips and ideas as well as invite blog readers to our ASP and ASPM Home Staging training. We share insight into the Staging industry, recently commenting on virtual staging and addressing a common misconception that Staging is the same as decorating. You can do the same thing – it’s easy to get started and easy to manage. You don’t need to learn the website language HTML. Blogging is as simple as writing a word document. I know – I blog myself at the Stagedhomes.com blog! Earlier this year I hosted a webinar about how to best use social media as part of your marketing efforts. It’s still available – click here to take the webinar Social Media Marketing Mania Made Simple. Included with the webinar is a helpful handout that shows you in detail how you can get started with blogging and then share your articles at Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Let me share an example of the impact of blogging. A successful Realtor® who’s been blogging for three years now recently shared with me that often when she receives a phone call interested in hiring her, the caller will often say that they’ve been following her blog for almost a year. Next, they tell her that it feels as if they know her. Blogging truly gives you a great opportunity to bring your business contacts closer. Don’t let somebody else in your local marketplace build the Staging blog of choice among Realtors® and consumers. Be the first one – get started today. Live in Joy, ASP® Stage® with Joy and Enjoy the Wonder and Magic of it all! Barb Barb Schwarz, ASP®, ASPM®, IAHSP® The Creator of Home Staging® Founder and CEO,Stagedhomes.com Founder and Chairwoman, IAHSP and the IAHSP Foundation
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