BoomTown!

In the midst of the rapid growth and hard work that’s been going down at BoomTown recently, we’ve still made time to kick back, spread laughter, and have some crazy fun! And by kick back, I mean lace up our running shoes, throw on a banana suit, and race in a 5k! On April 18th, BoomTown went BaNaNaS and participated in the 7th annual Digital Corridor iFive:K run in downtown Charleston. True to BoomTown form, shenanigan’s ensued: gorillas on a boat; a neck-in-neck video competition; a rivalry greater than Ali and Frazier; and one coveted sneaker, propelling us to the finish line! Our friends at the Digital Corridor started the iFive:k , and it has become a highly anticipated event boasting 800 participants in 2013. The race benefits The Digital Corridor Scholarship Fund, which is just one of their initiatives to nurture and promote the tech community of Charleston – aka Silicon Harbor!

Vrrrrrooooooom. BoomTown now receives MLS listing updates within an hour and updates our clients’ websites immediately, so changes and new listings are reflected in near real-time. BoomTown sites, armed with some of the most accurate information available, provide a clear competitive advantage to brokers, and a reliable, one-stop-shop search experience for their prospective buyers. Not only do the sites show this fresh information, but any relevant changes are also emailed directly to prospective buyers... 

HubSpot recently posted an article on their blog, by Katie Burke, sharing “6 Expert-Endorsed Ways to Improve Your Marketing TODAY.” I thought this would be a great read because I know we are always looking for quick wins we can implement today, that will make a difference tomorrow. It allows us to cross an item off our to-do list and feel a sense of accomplishment. Each of their tactics is applicable across many different business industries, but there were a few I thought were most relevant to BoomTown, as well as our Real Estate Industry clients.

Their advice includes 6 tactics you can do TODAY to make a lasting impression and one more stride towards “creating an amazing experience,” one of our core values here at BoomTown. These are a few that I think are the most impactful:

It's time to show and tell. Photos and images are an integral factor in the content strategy of today's successful online marketers. The masters of inbound marketing at HubSpot found that photos and images on Facebook generate 53% more Likes than the average post, and the team at Shareaholic reports that image-driven Pinterest ranks 4th in driving web traffic worldwide. Check out this helpful infographic from the folks at Socially Sorted to really get the picture: 

We have received lots of inquiries from BoomTowners across the country regarding the date for this year's BoomTown Unite. We want you all to mark your calendars well in advance, so we are happy to announce this year BoomTown Unite will be held October 9 -11, 2013! Last year we had an amazing turnout and learned a lot from each other about our businesses and strategies and left with great ideas and exciting goals. We can't wait to have you all back here in Charleston, SC to learn even more. Like last year, the event will be held at the Francis Marion Hotel in the heart of downtown Charleston, and we will be opening up registration with invites to brokers and owners +1 guest to start. We are working on a packed agenda for you and will have more information soon on speakers, times, and reservations, so stay tuned for all the details because there will be limited space. In the meantime, take a look at last year's highlight video to see what is in store for you this Fall. See you in October!

For most companies, the amount of time spent recruiting employees is substantial.  You should take time finding the right people to represent you and your brand.  You want to make sure employees fit with your culture, core values, and have the necessary skills to do the job well.  If you’re knocking it out of the park with your recruiting you are not stopping there.  Instead of rushing to find “someone who can do the job” you are looking for rock stars.  But what training and development tools are you offering these rock stars after their initial orientation?

If you expect the best of the best to work for you, then be prepared to nurture and develop them.  Is your company guilty of not having a true continuous training or learning program in place?  If so you’re not alone, but don’t find comfort in that.  Be aware you may be losing some truly great talent.  We need to change the mindset that training begins and ends with new employee orientation.

Last month, I published the first part of an article entitled: Fast Food vs Mom's Home cooking (or SEO vs Inbound Marketing). In part one, I detailed how traditional or "old school" SEO is like fast food, in that it provides quick results without long-term value, replicable methods that are easily identifiable and little nourishment (i.e., SEO ends once traffic gets to your website, ergo no regard for ROI). In today's post, I am going to explore how Inbound Marketing is like Mom's Home Cooking, so put your napkin in your lap, sit up straight and let's eat!

Marketing and lead generation is the foundation for a successful real estate career. Without leads and prospects, there is no selling.

Times are changing, “keeping up with the Jones' ” is not enough anymore. How are you going to stay on top of your game and separate yourself from the competition? The answer is not necessarily working harder, but working smarter!

If you want to gain a competitive edge and build more trust in your brand, you need to learn more about your target market. You may think you know your audience, but how well?

Define Your Ideal Client

You have a certain type of person you work best with, who are they? What made your best clients the best?