We will briefly cover
• Improving your personal brand online
• Improving your business profile online
• Examples for you to look at
We will do this through a brief discussion and an O’Donoghues First National Real Estate Camberwell case study.
Questions are most welcome either after the presentation or over the telephone/coffee in the near future.
Introduction
Sue Ellson is the Founder and Director of two online networking websites www.newcomersnetwork.com (since 2001) and www.globalmobilitynetwork.com (since 2011), a Sales Assistant at O’Donoghues First National Real Estate in Camberwell (started 5 July 2011) and a Surrey Hills resident (since 2007). Learn more and connect at http://au.linkedin.com/in/sueellson.
Sue has assisted several individuals and businesses on a consulting basis to help them improve their personal brand, business profile and work opportunities by utilizing practical, free (apart from time), online techniques. This service is available at $75 per hour on Mondays and is designed to educate and empower people to efficiently and effectively manage tried and true methodologies.
Sue would welcome the opportunity to discuss your real estate requirements (at no cost) between Tuesday and Saturday each week.
See this presentation online
Visit www.odonoghuesfn.com.au and choose ‘Events’ and ’Your Brand Online.’ You may also be interested in reading our other event summaries on ‘Networking Online LinkedIn’ and ‘Property Investment Seminar.’ Share this handout with people in your own networks by sending them this link http://tinyurl.com/4y8rl9d
Upcoming events – see our website for details
Retiring in Camberwell 2-30pm – 4:00pm Tuesday 20 September 2011 Free
Camberwell Centre Association AGM 5:30pm - 7:30pm Tuesday 18 October 2011 Free
First National Foundation Day Sausage Sizzle 12pm – 2pm Friday 21 October 2011 Donation to raise funds
Camberwell Business Network Launch 5:30pm – 7:00pm Thursday 27 October 2011 Free
Improving your personal brand online
Questions to ask:
• Are you a generalist or a specialist? How are you managing your career?
• How many references already exist when you do a Google Search?
• Which websites list your name?
• Do you have a commonly spelt name or a unique name?
• Do you welcome contact or would you prefer to be anonymous?
• How will you counter a negative story published about you online?
These questions will lead you into making some relevant choices. However, as a starting point, if you do not do anything else, I would encourage you to complete a comprehensive profile on www.linkedin.com. This resource is used by more than 40% of Australian professionals, is reputable, long standing, reliable and the basic service (which I have) is free. Allow at least three hours to put it all together and then 10 minutes a week to post at least one update and have a look at who has been viewing your profile. Utilise it for all kinds of searches and include all keywords for the work you have done to help recruiters find you and offer you the next step in your career.
If you are a generalist, you will probably want to have your name published in various locations – aim for the higher profile, well known publications. If you are a specialist, you will need to source publication opportunities in your niche – this can include printed publications, blogs, online groups, professional association listings (usually included as part of your membership but make sure they have added you on) as well as a wide range of content on your own website.
If you are using your expertise to secure new work, start planning now how you can publish a copy of everything on your own website so that you have the archive of all of your writing, commentary, videos under your control (other websites will disappear). Keep an electronic copy of everything too, so even if you can’t publish it, you can mention it and send it on if people ask about it. You could still include a summary description (using relevant keywords) to highlight what you have done.
If you have a unique spelling name, it is much easier than if you do not. Generic names need to establish a ‘tag line’ so that when people are looking for you, they know to find ‘John Smith – Real Estate Wizard.’
If you welcome contact, be prepared to publish a personal email address (like sueellson@gmail.com) as well as a work email address. Avoid using an internet hosting provider address (johnsmith@bigpond.com) because this could change. Always type your mobile phone number as +61402243271 so that anyone, anywhere in the world, can use their smart phone to contact you when viewing your number online).
To counter a negative story, you need to have a lot of good stories, published over a long time. Consider it as your insurance policy. Avoid posting inappropriate content anywhere (especially Facebook) and do not allow anyone to take photos of you that you do not want on the front page of a newspaper. Do not publish multiple photos of yourself with just one other person – it is always better to be in a group photo. Do not type a negative comment about any person, anywhere (email, text, post, status update). People will associate you with that comment (even if it is about a politician, bad business person, football player etc). Every Tweet is being kept at the Library of Congress.
Improving your business profile online
Questions to ask:
• Are you a generalist or a specialist business? If specialist, what is your target market?
• How many references already exist when you do a Google Search?
• Which websites list your name?
• Do you have a commonly spelt name or a unique name?
• What is the purpose of your online presence?
There are various essential components that every company website should include – name, address, telephone number, email address, Australian Business Number. However, to expand your business opportunities, you need to be able to go to the places where your target market/customers are seeking your product or service and convert them (this may or may not be online). To be considered reputable once they do find you online, there must be many other relevant references to establish your credibility.
Let’s start with the basics. Even if you do not pay for advertising, you are entitled to one free listing in one category in the Yellow Pages Telephone Book and one line of the White Pages Telephone Book. Make sure this entry is correct. Your mobile phone number can be listed in the White Pages but you will need to contact the telephone company, not White Pages to have it listed. You business can be listed free of charge on Yellow Pages http://www.yellowpages.com.au, White Pages http://www.whitepages.com.au, True Local http://www.truelocal.com.au, Hot Frog http://www.hotfrog.com.au, Google Places http://www.google.com/places and Open Directory http://www.dmoz.org and many more. Some include website, email and other details for free.
We are now offering business listings on our website for businesses in the Boroondara are (see ‘Our Community’ and ‘Local Businesses’ at www.odonoghuesfn.com.au) and would welcome a link exchange. Just contact us to have your details considered for publication.
We have started a range of search engine optimization techniques including:
• Adding the suburb names for the City of Boroondara on new pages on our website
• Ensuring that the keywords for our website include words that people will search when they want to sell or lease property in the City of Boroondara
• Regularly adding new relevant content to our website that includes further discussion on topics related to our business
• Listing events that we are hosting on other event websites (www.gumtree.com.au, www.facebook.com.au, www.linkedin.com, www.twitter.com) and asking other events listings to publish it and other people to share the invitation amongst their networks
• Started promoting other local resources, in particular websites that would have content that is aligned with people searching for real estate (local business networks, local events (similar addresses), local attractions)
• Updating our standard information – About Us, Contact Us, Staff Profiles – with a link to their LinkedIn profile) and creating a weekly newsletter
• Installed Google Analytics so we can see what is happening with our website – traffic totals, sources, keywords etc
Some of our future strategies include:
• Asking people to post their own reviews on Google Places http://maps.google.com.au/maps/place?cid=9779094392047998728 and True Local http://www.truelocal.com.au/business/odonoghues-first-national-real-estate/camberwell and provide personal recommendations on LinkedIn
• Publishing more relevant content (local schools, local community activities, recent testimonials, recent real estate sales results etc) but also videos as Google likes placing a YouTube result in each search query
• Putting ourselves on the new Google+
• Continuing to build our brand through personal interaction at events, functions, meetings in the local area – technology is a tool to enhance our other strategies for building our brand in the City of Boroondara, but we also need to manage the look and feel if people hear about us and then search for ‘O’Donoghues First National’ – we cannot have the only reference being our own website
• Continuing to provide valuable real estate related and business information to our community through events we host or co-host, community participation (Rotary Clubs of Hawthorn and Canterbury and Camberwell Centre Association) and at open for inspections
• Utilising the talents of all of our directors and staff members and continue various professional development and training to keep ourselves at the leading edge of real estate
O'Donoghues First National Real Estate - We put you first in Boroondara (Ashburton, Balwyn, Balwyn North, Camberwell, Canterbury, Hawthorn, Hawthorn East, Kew, Kew East and parts of the suburbs of Glen Iris and Surrey Hills) http://www.odonoghuesfn.com.au
Feedback from the event
I enjoyed your presentation last night and the information you handed out. David Lumb, Edutek Pty Ltd
Thank you very much for last night's event. I found it interesting to know that every Tweet is being kept. Colin Freckleton, Camberwell Centre Association
I found your talk stimulating and informative. Thank you. Hermina Bevilacqua, Camberwell Market Florist
See a xxkb image of this article as it appeared on the O'Donoghues First National Real Estate website by clicking on the link below
