Pinterest for Business – Part 2

Last week, we went over the basics of creating boards and pinning your own content.  It’s a great start, but to REALLY boost your engagement and followers, follow these tips as well.

Mix pinning your own unique finds with doing lots of “repinning,” which is repeating someone else’s pin to your followers (just like a Retweet on Twitter). The person whose image you repin gets credit on your pin, which increases their following.  Re-pinning pins that relate to your industry and values is the fastest way to grow your own pin boards while also getting a good idea of what is popular in your industry. Re-pins are actually a good part of regular maintenance, and are fairly quick to do.

Comment on other people’s pins; use it regularly to really engage with other users. Obviously, use the same good manners and common sense you would when commenting on a blog or other social media site.  Also “Like” other people’s pins to give a thumbs-up when you want to recognize great content.

Use Pinterest’s embed option to publish pins as content in your blog posts and website pages. Note: As Pinterest is catching on, you may need to tell your users that they need to click on a Pinterest image to get to the original source.

Optimize your website content for Pinterest sharing.  Use images in every single post you write, so your post can be shared on Pinterest. When you find yourself getting lazy about this, remember –- not using an image in your post means no one will pin it. And remember — the prettier the picture is, the more it will get pinned. The images that appeal to Pinterest members are powerful and emotive, so keep that in mind when choosing your pictures. That combination tends to work well for your blog readers, too.

Also consider watermarking your images, or adding text to them. If you’re using your own images on Pinterest, one of the best ways to help your image stand out is by adding a clear description to the image itself, or adding a watermark with your business name. Make sure it’s clear, but that it doesn’t block out the main subject of the photo.

Last, but not least, add a prominent Follow Me on Pinterest button to your website to advertise that you’re a pinner!   

   

Sourced in part: Beth Hayden

Pinterest for Business?? Yeppers!

Are you one of the many Brokers, Agents, or Lenders still reluctant –- or downright skeptical --  about diving into the world of Pinterest?  Or have you created a Pinterest account, dabbled a bit by pinning a few items and then forgot about it?  Many skeptics think that Pinterest is simply a fad and is not as useful as Facebook or Twitter for branding and attracting potential clients.  But it’s become almost impossible to escape tweets and status updates that mention Pinterest.  Pinterest has blown up tremendously in the short time that it has existed. According to TechCrunch, comScore’s data shows that Pinterest reached 11.7 million unique monthly U.S. visitors this past February. This makes the site the fastest standalone site ever to cross the 10 million visitor mark. Pinterest also averages 98 minutes per month on its site from each viewer. Dismissing these statistics wouldn't be prudent. 

We KNOW people are very visual in nature, and this visual facet is Pinterest’s greatest strength.  Pinterest personifies the old adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words”.  It is a simple solution to provide consumers a very real feel for all things home buyers usually consider in determining what home is right for them – from the characteristics of different neighborhoods, to the actual home itself.

Pinterest also stands out among the other big social networks because it separates topics and interests into categories. Users can filter what they want to see and not have to search through the whole site.

Come up with creative and interesting board names. They get shared whenever you pin something, so make them enticing, even fun. Be creative, but brief — you need to keep your board names short. There isn’t a lot of room for long descriptive titles. Then start pinning -- steadily, instead of in huge bursts, to maximize your exposure and engagement.  You also want to pin from a lot of different sources, instead of just from one or two sites; variety is important on Pinterest.

When you pin an image, add a description under it. Be smart about these descriptions — a good description will stay with an image as it gets repinned all over the Pinterest world. If the image is something from your own site, definitely use your business name in the description. When appropriate, tag other Pinterest users in your pins by using “@username” in your descriptions. Network with other professionals and vendors in your field by using this feature; it’s a great way to build your following and stand out.

Pin your own blog posts, but don’t over-promote. Follow standard etiquette rules of any other social media, and don’t be the boorish one at the party who only talks about himself. And be sure to pin videos!  Pinterest has a special section just for pinned videos, and there are far fewer videos than images on Pinterest at this point, so use them to distinguish yourself.  Any YouTube video is easy to pin.

Next week we’ll cover some tips for REALLY boosting your engagement and followers, such as repinning, commenting and “Like”-ing others’ pins, and embedding pins in your blog posts and website, among other tips.

Sourced in part: Beth Hayden

The Dog Days of Summer

Federal scientists have declared July the hottest month the continental US has seen since records began.  Last month, the average temperature was 77.6F, hotter than the old record from July 1936, during a period of severe drought known in the US as the Dust Bowl.  In fact, the last 12 months were the warmest since modern records began in 1895. We’ve certainly been experiencing our fair share of excessive heat in our beloved Arizona of late. 

Of course, it could be much worse.  Although there's no set maximum temperature that humans can withstand -- humidity level is the determining factor -- heat indexes spiking 125 degrees Fahrenheit in Africa and Asia test the limits of what's livable.  So stop your whining; this week's heat is bad, but it's no Lut Desert, where in 2005, history's hottest surface temperature was recorded in a dry salt lake in eastern Iran's Lut Desert at 159 degrees Fahrenheit. *gulp*  

But excessive heat is also not to be taken lightly.  Year after year, nearly 800 people are admitted to our hospitals because of heat related illnesses, they can even be fatal. Staying healthy during excessively hot times is easier if you take the time to protect yourself by making sure you are drinking enough water and limiting your exposure to the heat. Follow these simple rules:

• Drink water. Even people that stay mostly indoors all day should drink at least 2 liters of water per day. People that spend time outdoors should drink 1 to 2 liters per hour that they are outdoors. People that do strenuous activity outdoors should be very careful, being your body can lose up to 4 liters of water per hour during strenuous activity. You should carry water with you and drink even if you do not feel thirsty. Be heat safe and avoid alcohol and caffeine, which dehydrate the body. Avoid using salt tablets unless directed to do so by a physician.
• Dress for the heat. Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing. Light colors will reflect away some of the sun's energy. It is also a good idea to wear hats or to use an umbrella. Always apply sunscreen to exposed skin.
• Eat small meals and eat more often. Avoid foods that are high in protein which increase metabolic heat.
• Slow down. Avoid strenuous activity. If you must do strenuous activity, do it during the coolest part of the day, which is usually in the morning between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.
• Stay indoors when possible.
• Take regular breaks when engaged in physical activity on warm days. Take time out to find a cool place. If you recognize that you, or someone else, are showing symptoms of a heat-related illness, stop activity and find a cool place. Remember, have fun, but stay cool!

Taking these precautions, will increase your odds that these dog days of summer won’t have you growling and snarling from inside the ER. 

Sources: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Arizona Department of Health Services

The Consensus Is: A Feeling of Hope

Optimism seems to be the mood of choice for home owners and potential buyers feeling that all signs point to a way out of the long-suffered housing slump.

In a recent column, Jed Kolko, the chief economist at Trulia, for Bloomberg detailed just how much home prices are rising. He points out that — even adjusting for seasonal patterns — all major home price indexes point to an upturn in prices.  Trulia’s asking-price index went up at an annualized rate of 3.3% in the second quarter of 2012, and rose in 84 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas. Trulia said 61% of people surveyed expect prices to continue to rise.  While this is cause for relief, Kolko points out it could be fleating — European economic issues may slow us down. But a tightening inventory could give a boost to home prices, he notes.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Federal Housing Administration are expected to announce guidance in the coming weeks that urges banks to loosen credit standards on government-backed mortgages, the Los Angeles Times reported. Mortgage lenders are adding underwriting requirements and program restrictions to avoid buyback claims, the article said.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac accept FICO credit scores of 660 to 680 while private lenders may demand scores 100 points higher. Private institutions, driven by uncertainty and overcorrection, are slowing up the market. “Since the two top agencies are trying to figure how to do this, homebuyers might see slightly less punitive "overlay" fees and underwriting later in the year,” the column said.

In our area specifically, foreclosure resales fell to 21.2% of total sales in Phoenix, the lowest percentage since January 2008, helping to push prices up for the 17th month in a row, reported DataQuick. The large gains in the median sale price recently reflect increased pressure on home prices as low mortgage rates pushed up demand at the same time as inventory is dropping.  Sales of newly built homes have been on a recent upswing, rising year-over-year for 12 consecutive months. June new-home sales rose 31.2% from a year ago.

Real estate agents feel the trend behind the strong market include growing confidence in the economy, pent-up demand by potential buyers and rock bottom interest rates. Mortgage rates, already at historically low levels, have fallen by a full percentage point over the past year, to less than 3.7 percent for a 30-year mortgage.

Sources: Jessica Huseman, Housingwire