Video killed the Newspaper KC Star

Video has come a long way in the last 5 years.

Five years ago, the KC star and other papers in the midwest were packed with clasified ads.  A dedicated section to real estate was the must read for home buyers.   The expensive ads had a photo – the REALLY expensive ones had a color photo (gasp).

At that time a large real estate company in the midwest took an online video tool contract to their newspaper.  They successfully negotiated their newspaper ad spend down saying – “We believe this new medium (online video) will drastically improve our website traffic, and sell more homes.”  The newspaper company agreed, keeping the ads and reducing their rate by 300k.

Video camera at OfficePort KC home of REBarCamp

Here in Kansas City, a similar story on a larger scale.  Its rumored that 1 million dollars of ad spend  from a single company was removed from the KC Star and invested online. RealEstate companies were investing online and pulling out of the thinning newspaper everywhere.

Video was here to stay.

It started with poor quality still photos, from cameras, downloaded and spiced together then eventually some got pushed to YouTube.  Today iphones can video homes, apps can edit them and wirelessly upload to YouTube, as we begin to see more HD true video.

Consumers like brief and compact polished bits.  Multimedia video quality is on the rise and the duration of the video is decreasing.  According to Zeek Interactive founder Jeff Turner.

But where will video go next?

It is amazing how technology can change over night.  How do you predict what comes next? Will you be left in the dark or shine like a star?

Learn about the future of video next friday at OfficePort KC for REBarCampKC.  RSVP for Free Here.

Trust: It’s not me, It’s definitely about YOU

Realtors nationwide are taking a new approach to dealing with clients and potential clients.

The road to trust is not clear

Its a good thing, with only 7% of customers using the same agent more than once (NAR data) the old way is broken. There is a lack of trust.

Since a 2006 Harris poll, Realtors have been laden with a reputation near that of the used car salesman.  Our industry’s reputation is lower than it’s been in decades.

We have a problem and have room for improvement.

The most trusted profession in the US has been the brave firefighter, Followed by teachers and Doctors / Nurses. They dont focus attention on themselves, they focus attention on their clients / patients and students.
How many Doctors put their photo on their business card? When was the last time you received a Firefighters drip email or direct mail campaign about how many fires they’ve put out?

People work with, spend time with and invest in people they trust.

Its not about You, its about the client, the relationship and your reputation. You can make a difference in your work and your sphere.

We are taking the same tactic with REBarcampKC. This event is not about the volunteers, hosts or the awesome corporate sponsors that back us. (Thanks to REMAX, Reece And Nichols, First American Title and KCRAR for being major sponsors!)

RealEstateBarCamp is about YOU.

We produce the event so you can interact with other like minded realtors and share what works and what doesn’t. There is no hidden agenda, Its transparent and out in the open. We want to help educate, raise the bar and improve the image of the industry.

Why?

If we can continue to improve the reputation of our industry, we can help each other gain trust from clients – and trust is a very valuable and hard to acquire commodity.

Join us in Kansas City next friday Sept. 14th for the day and we will take new steps to building trust.

RSVP for Friday the 14th HERE

RE-Member REBarCamp KC

Your 2012 REbarCamp Team is gearing up for a fantastic event on Sept 14th.

We anticpate a sellout event for the 3rd year in a row.  We’ve already raised almost $500 in donations to Harvesters for tickets!  Only half of the FREE  tickets remain and only 15 VIP tickets ($50/ea) are still avaliable.

Check out some of the photos of last years event and see who you can spot.  Many of the RealEstate Companies in Kansas City were represented on the volenteer team and in attendance at the event.   Its a diverse population with common ground – we all want to grow, learn and improve.

This year we will have Broker and Agent focused sessions, featuring more targeted content and more hands on learning in our LAB.

Be sure to RSVP HERE to get yours.

The REBCKC Team from Last Year Rocked

REcharge & Power Up at REBCKC 3.0

Mark your Calendar for RealEstate Bar Camp KC Friday September 14th.

Back by popular demand, the 3rd Annual RE BarCamp Kansas City Sports a whole new look, new topics and an awesome new crossroads location.  (NEW location to be announced soon!)

Set your clock for RealEstate of tomorrow-land.

Expect to learn from experts about the latest trends, tools, tricks and apps. Learn about the systems that make a difference for today’s top brokers and agents and why.  Brokers will be able to focus on a special broker focused track and agents can select from a variety of the latest important RealEstate topics, technology and tools.

Technology and tools are only valuable if you implement them.  To foster new growth, we have created  the RealEstate LAB.  The lab will allow you to create and use the very tools and systems being discussed – side by side, step by step with experts.

To get your seat at RealEstate BarCamp KC  you must RSVP.  Your seat is valuable as we have limited quantity, but it is FREE so RSVP now.

Thank You

Thanks to all the volunteers, sponsors and participants for making Real Estate Bar Camp Kansas City amazingly successful.

The REMAX Main Room, Give & Take Session

The WordCampKC team revealing wordpress tips

Thanks to your generosity, we will be donating over $500 to Harvesters  Community Food Network for the second year in a row.

More than 250 attendees participated in 30 sessions ranging from Open Technology Forum to specific topics like WordPress SEO and how to build and create a video on the Mac.

I received many compliments after the event, and they are much appreciated.   Hopefully you gained insight, tips or new relationships – If so, we should do it again.

Kansas City REBarCamp is Today!

Location: 1111 Main St in the Town Pavilion Building on the 4th Floor

Parking: You can park anywhere close, but the Town Pavilion garage is a good deal

Time: Registration opens at 8am, First session at 9am

Happy Hour: Join us at Johnny’s Power and Light Location

Your 3 Goals Today:

1) Join 4 conversations you want to learn about

2) Join AT LEAST one session far outside your  comfort area and just listen.  Learn a bit of what you don’t know at all.

3) Help educate others. <- MOST IMPORTANT

Extra Credit: Share

Twitter #REBCKC

Ipad2 Giveaway & REBCKC Schedule

Real Estate in Kansas City is changing all the time.  New marketing tools, technology and systems can help you grow your business & save time.

The all volunteer REBCKC team is excited to bring you Real Estate BarCamp KC for the Second Year.  We are looking forward to fun networking and educational un-planned sessions  at our un-confrence.  Just remember this event is what you make of it. Get your hands dirty and plan step out of your comfort zone.

Plus, Attend the Give Away Take Away end of day wrap up and you could win a New ipad2 and $1500 in gift cards thanks to our Sponsors!

Until the event, join the conversation on our Facebook page – Cant wait to see you there!

The Big Picture:

The Drum Room, Est 1941

Wednesday Sept 28th

5pm Happy Hour Tweet Up #REBCKC &  “Beer Camp”   The Drum Room 1335 Baltimore

Thursday sept 29th

8 am Registration Opens.  (We will ask for a $5 cash donation to Harvesters at Registration)

-4th Floor of the iconic Town Pavilion Bldg. 1100 Walnut

rebckc cafe room

- Reece & Nichols Sponsored Coffee and Breakfast

9 am REBarCamp Rookie Orientation Begins

9:15 Session 1 REbarCamp Opening Discussion and Panel

10am – 10:45 Session 2

Session at REBCKC

11am -11:45 Session 3

11:45 – 1pm Lunch in Downtown

1pm – 1:45 Session 4

Clareity Afternoon Snack

2pm – 2:45 Session 5

3pm – 3:45 Session 6

3:45 pm - *Take Away & Give Away - Ipad2 and over$1500 in gift card donations.

*MUST be Present to Win. But you already knew that didn’t you.

Post BarCamp Networking PARTY at Johnny’s Tavern (One block South)  The upper area is for our group.

You better Recognize, before you Optimize.

You better Recognize, before you Optimize,  fool.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can be bought, manipulated and executed.

“Do you want to be number one in google?” (Wow, that call gets old)  In order to spite the caller, You dig in and learn some tips, change some things and add some awesome sauce.

However, blind shots in the dark, or “a friend told me to do this” will only get you mediocre results.  The worst case scenario is you don’t know what results you have….(gasp) because you don’t track results.

This Thursday, at Real Estate BarCamp Kansas City, We will ask each other what is working, failing and examine just what might work in the future of SEO.

Drill down topics to include:

Analytic Pyrotechnics.

Will Twitter and Yelp Help?

I want My Baby-Back, Baby-Back, Baby-Back -Links.

These are topics, Tips, tools and tricks discussed in a group setting  – what works? what is a waste?  What else?

This is about YOU.  Be a Part of the Event, the discussion and the learning. You can make an SEO discussion topic suggestion below:

Hashtags – Not Hashbrowns

Country Gravy, fried eggs, bacon and hashbrowns.   Now I’m starving…. but what does this have to do with and what the heck is a hashtag for? More importantly – does it have anything to do with Real Estate in Kansas City?

Absolutely.  The term and use of the hashtag is imperative for realtors who want to get involved in their local community and  get the most out of twitter.

The term is only a few years old and is associated with Twitter – so don’t feel bad if you don’t fully get it.

When preceding a word, The Pound or Number sign “#” combined with the word is refereed to as a hashtag.  Early adopters of twitter wanted a way to lump together like minded people and conversations and created the easy to use hashtag. For example, The cholesterol packed  plate I mentioned above would be summed up with the hashtag #breakfast….. or perhaps #healthfood.  The twitter language has a hefty dose of sarcasm and irony when hashtags are concerned.  Also – notice there is no space between health & food – #’s only work when combined without a space.

BBQ hashtags & Hashtag Bingo

Hashtags can help you organize and connect with like minded potential buyers or sellers and allow you to interact. If you are a local BBQ fan, perhaps its your niche or identity – then you would want to connect with other locals that crave the Q.  (Why am I so food focused?)

In twitter (or in my case Hoot Suite) I searched for #KCBBQ and got the results to the left.  At any moment there are conversations going on about what you are interested in on twitter.  People are social – and people who post to twitter frequently crave feedback and interaction (& in this case, smokey sauce covered ribs).

There is a WRONG way to use hashtags, and it is lovingly called Hashtag Bingo  or Hashtag overkill.  Today, the best practice and conventional wisdom and says 0-2 max per tweet.  Its #irritating to #read a #hashtag on #every #word of a #sentence.  (note example on left)

How can you use hashtags more effectively today? The # for the Real Estate Barcamp Kansas City is #REBCKC Its nice and short and is easily typed on a mobile device rather than the events whole name.  If you have a question about #REBCKC, just use the hastag and ask the question on twitter – that way anyone following the hashtag can answer the question for you.  The day of our event Sept 29th 2011, people will post photos, comments and feedback to the hashtag.  In hootsuite you can even save them as columns of content for easy reference.

Now that that is straightened out, Please pass the Hashtags.

Hey – you can also opt to follow @REBCKC on Twitter for event info and or Come to Real Estate Bar Camp KC to chat IRL about what works!

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