Having the right attitude about your social media strategy is just as important as having the right social media plan for your business.  At Ticor, we’re constantly trying to stay fresh, listen well, and improve our social media efforts.  I came across a brief case study this week and found it very encouraging.  There’s a link to it below.

What are my two big takeaways?

Firstly, it’s important to recognize that social media is in a constant state of flux.  So it’s healthy to make adjustments to your message / conversation as well as the platforms you use along the way.  It’s OK to try something different, measure the results and either stick with it, tweak it, or scrap it!  Early attempts at success are normal!

Secondly, the number of followers is not necessarily the best way to measure your success in social media.  What’s more valuable are the relationships built.  Duh… In the real estate industry it’s all about relationships and trust and I think that part will never change.

So without further delay, here’s the case study on how a certain small business is using social media.

Enjoy!

Matt Sweet
Marketing
Ticor Title
@sweetmd

You’re invited to join us for an open house at our Kent, WA Branch on Febrary 24th, 2010 from 4PM to 7PM

Come meet, Mix and Mingle with your hosts Cheryl Vanden Bos, Tiffany Roberge, Denise Eider, Traci Fraley, Rhea Ramos, and Michael Garcia!

Our Kent Office is located at:
13106 SE 240th St
Suite 110
Kent, WA 98031

For directions, please see the map below.


View Larger Map

We’re excited to announce that we are now offering social media services to friends and clients of Ticor Title in the Northwest.

Since the beginning of our walk down the  social media path, we decided that we must practice what we preach and demonstrate.  In other words, we choose to be an example, make our own mistakes (or early attempts at success), and claim our own victories.  This allows us to tell our own story with conviction.  And while sharing our story of discovery, we have received many requests for support and consultation.  But alas, we are part of a regulated industry and providing such support without reasonable compensation is not allowed.  Therefore, we have created three levels of support that are available via our eCommerce site.

And here they are in a nutshell:

Establishing these accounts will be accomplished over a series of individual, hands on meetings with your Ticor Account Manager.  This package is intended to be functional and implementation oriented.

C.  $249.00 – The best of both worlds at a reduced rate!  This package is intended to give you the implementation aspect of a fully integrated Social Media setup and the tech support to help you in the future.  Here’s what you get:

1. Facebook – FanPage
2. LinkedIn – Business Profile
3. Twitter
4. YouTube
5. Google Profile
6. Intro to Blogging
7. 1 Year of Social Media Tech Support

Purchasing this package is the complete solution to not only getting your accounts setup, but it is also backed with a support so you can continue to reap benefits from you Social Media presence.

If you’re interested in purchasing one of our Service plans, please click the image below to view them via our eCommerce Site

Enjoy!

Matt Sweet
Marketing
Ticor Title
253-655-7003

I came to a crossroads this month when AT&T announced their unlimited voice and data package for $99. At that price I could suddenly justify getting an iPhone and stomach the coverage that may not be as extensive as Verizon in my neck of the woods (so far I think AT&T’s coverage is great, by the way). And for the record, I’ve been a fan of Verizon since before they were called Verizon around here. And I’ve had an account with them in one form or another for over ten years. I’m still a fan, but for now I needed an iPhone which requires a switch to AT&T.

There was one little problem. I’ve had the same number for about six years which means that I’ve also had the same voicemail account for that time. And in my voicemail box there are messages that I would like to keep for various reasons. Some for fun and some for business. So before switching carriers, I needed to figure out a way to move those voicemail messages to some sort of archive. Otherwise they’d be lost in the mobile phone abyss…

Here’s how I copied my Verizon voicemail messages to my Mac. First, I connected the blackberry headphone-jack (audio out) to the microphone-jack (audio in) on my Mac via a simple accessory cable. Then I launched a program that records audio (Garage Band in this case). Then I dialed up my voicemail and played the messages while the Garage Band program recorded it. It worked great. I realize that I could have played my messages on speaker phone and recorded them into some other device with a microphone. But, that method would introduce noise and degradation to each message. Connecting the Blackberry to the Mac via audio cable eliminated the potential for extraneous noise on the recording!

So now I have my iPhone and I’ve saved the precious little voicemails from when my kids were learning to talk. I’m saving money on my mobile costs, and I’m experiencing all the fun and efficiencies that the iPhone offers. I’m happy about that!

Cheers!
Matt Sweet
Marketing / Technology Integration
Ticor Title

We’ll be having an internet marketing / social media round table discussion tomorrow, Tuesday the 2nd at Border’s cafe in Uptown Gig Harbor at 9AM.  We meet one hour before Borders opens, so be sure to ring the doorbell and they will let you in.

Hope to see you there!

Here’s a short video explaining how to get a Borders “backstage pass”.

Today’s Social Media round table was especially fun for me because I had the opportunity to share a little story about how we are measuring our social media ROI at Ticor via new website traffic,  twitter click-throughs, event attendees, and  face-to-face appointments.  And I had the privilege of  presenting Ticor’s Social Media Starter Pack & Support Pack to the group and I felt a very positive response.  As always, everyone had a chance to share questions, successes, and comments (thanks Kenton Becker for telling your video-blog story again!)

In a nutshell, Ticor’s social media starter kit is a solution for real estate professionals who want to establish and expand their business’ social media presence but would like assistance in setting it up and tying it all together with a plan.   We are having a great time working with agents who have bought in on this solution! To find out more about the Starter kit, you can contact us via the email link on this site or contact your Ticor representative.

As for ROI on social media and internet marketing at Ticor, we are very excited about our turn out for Monday’s Short Sale Webinar.  We had an overwhelming response to our email invite that resulted in the highest-ever amount of traffic to TicorShortSale.com and a record number of RSVP’s and Attendees.  Thank you to everyone who attended! We will be following up with each attendee to find out how you felt about it and how we can better serve you next time!

See you online!

Matt Sweet
IT Marketing / Technology Integration
Ticor Title
253-655-7003

Everything Counts

As I finalize my goals for 2010 I ran across a Top 10 list that really sums up how I personally feel about goal setting. Everything you do in life counts so make the right choices. When I reach for that fourth piece of chocolate or decide to turn my car towards home verses taking a right to the gym… it is all about choices. Even though one of my long standing goals is to get in shape I choose on a daily basis to derail myself. Why do I do that? Unfortunately it is easier, less painful and more ‘in the moment’ satisfying. Life has become too much about instant gratification. 2010 will be about hard choices. The choices that reach my goals but might be a little tougher, cause a few sore muscles, or not excite my taste buds as much.

Here are my top Choices for 2010:

• I will say no to that 3rd piece of chocolate. (I need to take baby steps on this goal)

• I will take that right to the gym at least 3 times a week!

• I will leave the office by 8pm even if the world as we know it will fall apart.

• I will break down and buy a new car. (Even though mine is perfectly fine contrary to what you would hear from my co-workers)

• I will take a class this year to expand my knowledge – even if it is basket weaving.

This is just a snippet of what is on my list for 2010 but if I can accomplish these top 5 I will have conquered the demons and made some great choices. Click on the link below to read more about goals, choices and why Everything Counts!

http://www.goalsguy.com/Knowledge/t_02_everything.html

Marci Dray
Ticor Title Company
President~ County Manager
King~Pierce~Snohomish County
cell 206-948-7575
www.myticor.com
marci.dray@ticortitle.com

This is a follow up post to my previous post regarding Google Alerts and Getting Search Engine Attention.

On Monday, we created  a new Vimeo account for MyTicor. On Tuesday, I received a Google alert letting me know that Google had found the account. This is good news to me considering that one of the two videos that I uploaded wasn’t described or tagged at all (meaning, I haven’t given any of the search engines much to go on as far as indexing is concerned).

The Takeaway: Google is paying close attention to Vimeo. When we put our “Thank you” videos up there, we can expect to be indexed by the search engines quickly!  Welcome to the real-time web!

Google Web Alert for: “Ticor Title”

Ticor Title on Vimeo
Visit Ticor Title’s profile on Vimeo. Use Vimeo to share the videos you make with the people you want. Its free to join and really easy to use.

Enjoy!
Matt Sweet
Ticor Title
253-655-7003

This week’s internet marketing round table in Gig Harbor was yet another great conversation. We talked about the basics of using video to promote, educate, entertain, and sell. Everyone had something great to share, and hopefully everyone learned something new! I took The liberty of making some notes and putting them here in power point format (use the arrow controls to move power point slides forward and back – the links in the powerpoint are active as well). Enjoy!

Matt Sweet
Marketing
Ticor Title

P.S. Here’s an example of one of my first videos posted on Vimeo.com

What to expect from Ticor 1Q 2010 from Ticor Title on Vimeo.

Ryan Kalalau
Ticor Title Company
VP – Sales & Marketing

“Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language.” – Walt Disney

Video blogging is one of the most comprehensive ways to communicate in the modern era.

This is a quick history of video blogging.

Communication through pictures has long been a part of human civilization; from early cave paintings to the modern forms of emoticons used in texting and instant messaging.  Humans use photos to derive feeling and gather understanding of an experience; it gives our mind a clear vision and interpretation of a situation. Video blogging increases the vision and interpretation.

Even the most talented writers in history cannot do what a single picture does to inspire thought and emotion.  Moreover a photo is no doubt worth a thousand words, but a video blog is worth at least a thousand more.  When audio and inflection are bonded, you give your audience a definitive message.

Walt Disney knew the value of a picture, more importantly he knew video was the most pragmatic extension of photography and expression.  It all started for Walt with a cartoon called Steamboat Willie.

Watch this…