Traverse City Real Estate Portal | Blog

Don't have time for Traverse City real estate blogging? Do you have a Northern Michigan business and find yourself not hip on the blogging thing? Don't worry because team BlueLaVaMedia is busier than ever before blogging about your listings and your business for you! Every time you order an interactive 360 virtual tour from us we will add your listing to our new TC Real Estate Blog

We want to make sure your virtual tours, business, and real estate listings are getting indexed by the search engines and blogging is the best way to achieve that. By now you have most likely already noticed that your virtual tours are coming up in the search engines when you google your first and last name or property address. Take a moment and just see for yourself!

Google "Frog Pond Village" - Look for the virtual tour
Google "Andrea Galloup" - Look for the virtual tour

This is due in part to our new SpiderLink technology and our new blog working together in unison to build stronger back links to your interactive 360 virtual tours! When you order property marketing services from us you can sit back, relax and let BlueLaVaMedia give you the powerful property marketing that you deserve!

Order a Virtual Tour Today!
Grand Traverse Tours
www.BlueLaVaMedia.com

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How to Setup a Virtual Tour Feed

As an RTV dealer one of our main goals is to keep up with our website’s content, but as we all know, we seldom make updates to its content unless we change or add a promotional item. Two days ago our company,Virtual Vista, made major structural and content changes. During this conversion, we decided to make the commitment to keep its content fresh, thus increasing traffic and improving search engine ranking.

As a result of this commitment we decided to use the Real Tour Vision’s Blogs to keep it fresh. While researching the best way to incorporate this feature into our website, we stumbled up on this web page (http://www.rss-specifications.com/displaying-rss-feeds.htm); this article is all about RSS Specifications.

The article explains the different ways and technologies we can use to accomplish this task. The easiest way to accomplish this is to use JavaScript, but this option would defeat our purpose. Why? Because search engines DO NOT actually “see” the content of the RSS Feed, thus the content of the feed within our website would not be indexed (bummer).

Another option was to use a PHP to display the RSS Feeds. The beauty of this option is that the content will be displayed as HTML and thus Search-Engine-Friendly! This is what we were looking for! But wait a minute; we really are not comfortable with PHP Scripting, so we kept on reading.

Finally, an ASP solution, just like the PHP one, but using ASP Scripting! Please don’t take us wrong, PHP is great, but we are ASP people since ASP was conceived.

We proceeded to download the FREE code from the website and after learning how it works, we decided to make some adjustments to suit our needs.

We made some small changes and converted the code to work as a function; this function accepts parameters and can restrict the output to display a specific number of blogs and whether we want to display just the titles or the entire content.

We just wanted to share this with you all, you can see a working sample by clicking the following links:

http://www.virtualvista.net (this shows the title feeds)

http://www.virtualvista.net/Virtual-Tour-Blogs.asp (Shows the full feed)

Keep in touch,

Ric Castro
Virtual Vista
West Chester Virtual Tours
610-429-0288
ricc[@]virtualvista.net

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Work Your Virtual Tour Business Daily

How is your virtual tour business going? Think about this...One person asked a group of people if anyone wanted to get paid for growing tomatoes? Ten people raised their hands, the person gave all ten people the same plants, shovel, hoe and tomato stacks. In about a two months he went and checked on how all ten people where doing. He found that four people had not even worked the ground to start planting. Two people worked the ground and planted but forgot to water. Two people worked the ground, planted and watered but never weeded. One person worked the ground, planted, watered everyday, weeded and was happily getting tomatoes. And finally a single person worked the ground, planted in the best light area, watered and weeded every morning and night, threw in a bit of fertilizer, and used the tomato stacks to support the plants better as they grew. This person already had tomatoes ready for sale before anyone else.

Remember that even if you have the tools needed to start a very successful virtual tour company, you need to continue to care for it and maintain it daily. Always have a list of things that you want to accomplish right next to your computer and cross things off as you finish them. If you don't I can promise you that it will take you MUCH longer to see those "prize winning" beef steak tomatoes!

Not only do I know how to run a very successful virtual tour company, I also know how to grow tomatoes. They both take the same care and daily attention.


--
Michael Thompson
Real Vision Studio
Detroit Virtual Tours
www.RealVisionStudio.com
Order a virtual tour today: 734-727-2276
Cell Phone 734-560-0213

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Traverse City Social Networking

Final Call to all TAAR and TC Business Owners:

Hey it's been a great run in the last month watching so many interested parties sign up for our Traverse City Social Networking webinar on Tuesday April 28th at 7:00 PM. Honestly I did not think we would have over 100 but here we are now at 130 registered. Simply amazing!! For those of you that have not yet signed up for webinar you can still do so over the next couple of days.

This is the first of many more FREE webinars to come from team BlueLaVaMedia as we get TC on the map for social networking, strong link building, basic SEO tips and of course BLOGGING which is the foundation.

If you're not signed up for this and would like to learn more about Blogging, search engine optimization and social networking, this is one webinar you won't want to miss! Sign up now and learn from the Guru.

Thanks!
Jason LaVanture
Traverse City Blogging Course
Join our Social Ignition Program Today! 231-946-1360

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Open Office Space Portal

In today's economy, many companies are downsizing their workforce, resulting in a growing inventory of unused commercial space. At the same time, a large number of entrepreneurs and small businesses are looking to reduce their overhead by re-negotiating their existing commercial leases, or finding new space altogether.

www.Openofficespace.com has launched an office space portal website to facilitate the interaction between companies burdened with carrying the cost of their unused office space and small businesses/entrepreneurs looking to streamline their expenses. A shared space is the perfect solution for a small business or entrepreneur looking to cut costs, while providing a revenue stream to a space holder when they can use it the most. This “win-win” relationship also helps landlords as it could prevent a tenant from having to give back a space altogether.

In just minutes, a space holder can post their open office space and property listing including: virtual tours, photos, property descriptions, maps, video, 2D/3D floor plans and even property brochures. Small businesses and entrepreneurs looking for cost effective retail, office, commercial or service space can easily search property listings by country, state, neighborhood or price. If a user does not find a “space” meeting their criteria, they can create an email alert which will automatically notify them if a property is listed that does.

RTV Dealers producing virtual tours for commercial properties can now add this free service to their arsenal as a way of helping to promote their clients office space and properties. In addition, RTV dealers can build a free company profile on the site to promote their services to a captive audience of small businesses, entrepreneurs and real estate professionals.

Thanks RTV!
Open Office Space
www.Openofficespace.com

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The FORMULA Episode 6 - Building a Tour Blog

Attention Formula Fans!! If you are at all interested in learning more about how to make your virtual tours gain even MORE natural google rank on agent name and address then tonight’s episode of The FORMULA is the show for you. We will be discussing how to easily create a blog for every virtual tour that you do and start building strong back links to your virtual tours. This evening at 7:00 Eastern we will be covering the following:

• Setting up a virtual tour blog directory
• Building back links to your tours by way of your new blog
• Establishing a subscription based feed to your blog to drive the general public there
• Adding new widgets to your blog

Hope to see you on the show. Sign up now in your TMS and have a great day!

Best regards,

Jason

PS> I will also be revealing a very cool new product on the show tonight called the Agent Gallery Website.

The FORMULA is RTV's marketing show held twice each month!

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Simple Tips for Powerful SEO

•1. Meta Title
Create your title using keywords and your farming area. Do NOT use ‘Home Page', ‘Index Page', or just your name in the title of your webpage. Use different titles on different pages to increase your exposure in the search engines for different search phrases. Keep this UNDER 70 characters in length.

•2. Meta Keywords
Use your key words in your web page title, in the description and throughout the content of the page. Do NOT use the same keywords for every single page on your site. Target each page to different keywords to maximize internet exposure. Keep your keywords UNDER 10 per page to better target your message.

•3. Meta Description
Use your description to tell humans and robots what your webpage is about. Search engines normally use your Meta description under the title of your site in search engine results. Like keywords and titles, your description should be different for each page on your website. Limit your description to 150 characters or less.

•4. Content
Your content should closely describe the title, keywords and description. Stay on topic and don't overuse your keywords. Search engines now use what is called semantic indexing, so you do not have to repeat yourself over and over to get indexed properly for your intended topic.

•5. Anchor text linking
Whether you are linking to internal pages on your site or pages outside of your site, be sure to use anchor text to let search engines know what the linked page is about.

•6. Internal Linking
Make sure that you are opening internal links in the same browser using anchor text. Opening a new window for every page on your website just annoys viewers and detracts from a professional image on your website. Also, limit your use of images as links and try to use anchor text navigation as much as possible on your site.

•7. Website Organization
Organize your website into specific topics and dedicate one page per topic. Don't try to explain several topics on one page. Your home page should describe a little about you and your business and act as a ‘link portal' to information on other pages of your site. Do not overwhelm viewers with EVERYTHING about you, your business and your website on the home page.

•8. Website Navigation
Website navigation should be simple and easy on the eyes. If you have a lot of pages on your website then group them into categories and provide one heading for every 4-5 page links in your left navigation. This helps viewers quickly understand the content available on your site. If you list too many links in one list, viewer's eyes will strain, people will feel overwhelmed and you will lose visitors.

Also check out: How to Create an AWESOME Email Signature

-Cheryl

Cheryl Waller
National Marketing Manager
RTV, Inc.
(866) 947-8687
http://www.realtourvision.com

PS - if you like the tips... sign up for our RTV eNews or connect to me on your favorite social network. My username is cherylwaller (all one word) on all of my networks.

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Putting Your BEST Foot Forward

In today's tough real estate market are you putting your best foot forward for your listings? Are you a commercial business that wants to utilize virtual tour technology to showcase your business on the web? What are some questions to ask when looking for a virtual tour provider?

1. Do they offer 360 degree panoramas? If you want to showcase your property, do you want to see it all or only part of the story. Pro 360 Virtual Tours and Photography we offer you full 360 Virtual Tours, still photographs and anywhere in between. That gives you the power to choose what to show and what to leave out instead of being limited by technology that will only give partial room views.

2. Does the photographer use a Professional SLR Camera? A professional camera lends itself to many more options when it comes to changing lighting and exposure than a simple point and shoot camera will allow. If you are paying for professional photography is that what you are getting?

For example, what do you see when you look out the windows of your latest virtual tour? Can you see the view? Just look at the views captured in the Residential Virtual Tour of this golf course home. Would it be the same if you saw a blurred out window instead of that view? What are you getting from your virtual tour provider?

3. Are you getting Full Room Views for your still photos? Our Dallas Fort Worth Real Estate customers are able to take advantage of the Wide Angle Lens we use at Pro 360 Virtual Tours.

4. Will your photographer take the time to Photoshop to optimize thier photography? Can you see the difference in the Before and After Photos? Look at the straight walls in the second view.

If you are going to showcase a property with a Virtual Tour, don't you want to put your best foot forward? Call us at Pro 360 Virtual Tours and Photography the next time you need a virtual tour in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex.

For more information about virtual tours visit this great Virtual Tour Blog.

Lisa Castro

Pro 360 Virtual Tours and Photography
Dallas - Fort Worth Virtual Tours

http://www.pro360virtualtours.com/

Order a Virtual Tour 817-676-7176

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Keeping it Clean

EVERY week we get calls from virtual tour providers and it starts something like this, "Hi, I got a virus and I had to redo my whole machine. Where can I download Tour Builder?" It happens SO often.

We strongly recommend the programs below. Remember that you can't be too careful!
1. Download Malware Bytes
2. Download ATF Cleaner
3. Download SuperAntiSpyware
4. Install all three and then get the updates
5. Run all three, one at a time. It doesn't really matter what order. It may come up and tell you that you have adware or cookies that are not good. Those usually don't cause major problems but you can get rid of them. If you come up with any malicious infections, or if it names any trojans, rootkits, etc then delete the files as instructed and start the process over using the special steps below.
6. Reboot in safe mode with no networking support
7. Turn off System Restore in the System icon of the Control Panel - Caution: This will delete all your old restore points.
8. Run ATF Cleaner to delete temporary files, cache, cookies, etc. This is much faster than using Windows tools to do it.
9. Run Malware Bytes and follow directions to delete anything it finds.
10. Run SuperAntiSpyware and follow the directions to delete anything it finds.

Of course it is always a great idea to have an anti-virus program running at all times. You can also upgrade to an anti-virus suite with real time spyware scanning or purchase a program like MalwareBytes that scans in real time. This is supposed to help prevent infection, rather than clean it up afterwards. You should always make sure you get Windows updates also. If your computer isn't patched it makes you more vulnerable. According to our research unpatched Adobe Reader and unpatched Java open you up for attack as well so it is really a good idea to update any program that prompts you. They make updates for a reason so don't ignore them!

Thanks!
Real Tour Vision

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The Baker B Social V Tour

BakerB Solutions has unleashed yet another powerful property marketing tool that helps you stay competitive in an aggressive real estate market. In just one click, your virtual tour can be submitted to popular social bookmarking and networking sites such as:

* Digg
* Delicious
* Furl
* Facebook
* FriendFeed
* MySpace
* BackFlip
* LinkedIn
* Reddit
* Twitter
* StumbleUpon
* Technorati
* Mixx
* Bebo

Now you, your customers, and their friends can bookmark your DC virtual tours on these sites!! This is also a great competitive advantage for our Realtor clients. After all, who else but BalkerB Solutions and our Real Tour Vision network of dealers provides this service so easily? The answer is no one! Our competitors don't have this capapbility embedded in their tour functions. So hire BakerB Solutions to get your virtual tour done with our social networking utility built right in.

Want to see how it's done? Just click here and get the details!

BakerB Solutions is the leading Virtual Tour Company in the Washington, DC Metro area covering Maryland (MD), Northern Virginia (NoVA) and Washington, DC. To order a virtual tour, call 301.424.8272

We would be happy to help and also show you how to leverage our social networking tool!

Alex Saenger
Baker B Solutions

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Making Manual "Automatic" in Virtual Tours

As my virtual tour and real estate photography business has progressed, and improved, I've noticed that my desire for more advanced equipment has increased along the way. I started using a "point and shoot" Canon S3IS and quickly moved to a DSLR Nikon D40 and now have a Nikon D90. The D90 is definitely overkill for VT photography, but it is perfect for my still photography and does work really well for virtual tours too.

Anyway, the improvement in my photography didn't necessarily come from purchasing better equipment, but from learning the nuances of equipment that I am currently using. The biggest step is taking the camera off of the "Automatic" setting and learning the manual features. Each camera has different characteristics with color, saturation and white balance that you will need to learn, but adjusting the "exposure" setting is the single greatest improvement you can make with VT photography.

Adjusting the exposure setting will help you achieve a clear view out of the front window and also retain the detail around the fireplace across the room. Depending on the camera, changing the exposure will automatically automatically change the aperture and shutter saving you from making additional adjustments.

Taking practice tours is the best way to learn your camera's features and automatically know which manual settings will give you the best images. Your great images will lead to ecstatic great improvements in your business.

Chuck Gullett
ThreeSixtyChicago Media
Chicago Virtual Tours
www.threesixtychicago.com
Order a Tour 312-593-1436

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Converting Drive Time Into Marketing

Awhile back in a recent RTV webinar the subject of utilizing a tire cover on your automobile for marketing purposes was brought up. Now the idea is not original, but it is has been very effective for me in gaining recognition for my Nevada virtual tour business.

I have had my company logo on my tire cover for over 3 years now and it amazes me how many remarks I get every week. The best one yet was during a cross country trip along I-70 where another traveler and myself kept passing each other and meeting up at gas stations or rest stops while upon our journey. At one rest stop the guy driving the other auto walked over to me when I pulled in and commented something of the sort, "You've got to stop passing me...your tire cover is freaking me out...I swear it winked at me!", and then laughed as he walked away.

So, yes, the use of a tire cover can come in very handy for marketing your virtual tour business. For those of you who don't have one - your rear window or side doors work just as well. I just prefer to use the back since most people pay the most attention to the car in front of them and not one passing on the side. Give it a try and you'll be sure to get noticed!


Rob Lenthe
www.Robo-Tours.com
Southern Nevada Virtual Tours
Order a virtual tour - 702.449.2850

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Charlotte Virtual Tours

Media Tours 360, a service of Rob Armstrong Photography, has recently partnered with Real Tour Vision™ (RTV), the world’s largest and fastest growing virtual tour software provider. As a Real Tour Vision full service provider Media Tours 360 offers state-of-the-art virtual tours and innovative online marketing solutions to local Real Estate Professional and Business Owners in the Charlotte, NC Metro Area. Media Tours 360 has completed proprietary training as a certified RTV full service dealer and will be offering their clients and customers expert advice on internet property marketing.

We are really excited about bringing the best in virtual tours, professional photography services and excellent personalized customer service to the Metrolina. Whether you need a full service virtual tour or you just want to increase online exposure of your business or Real Estate listing, we are here to provide you with the expertise you deserve. Call us today to discuss your marketing needs.


Rob Armstrong
Media Tours 360
Charlotte/Metrolina Virtual Tours
www.MediaTours360.com
Order a Virtual Tour (704) 904-3466

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Virtual Tour Business & Facebook Dilema

A few months ago I received an email from a scuba diving friend I see occasionally and mostly around our shared interest in diving. He was inviting me to join Facebook so I could see his photos and update. I was curious about what he was up to so I joined.

I had heard about facebook in early 2005 when one of the news magazine programs I watch began to buzz about how Harvard a collegiate created a social network for their student body that became such a hit that another 30 other colleges soon signed on. By fall of 2006 Facebook went public allowing anyone with an e-mail address to join.

Once I had an account the most amazing morphing started happening. I was getting friends request from people I’d gone to college with over 35yrs ago (Here I start to date myself!). I found it both amazing and at times distressing to have a past that feels at this point ancient, in this NOW. Some people where relating to me as if I was the 20 year old they left behind.

During this same time, I was getting started with Vortex Media Productions virtual tours so as I was growing my new business I was able to use Facebook to get the word out to my friends and get some exposure for the company I was birthing. As I grew with Real Tour Vision, I realized that it wasn't just a virtual tour company but a community & I had a new set of “friends”, fellow RTV users, and tour providers.

These were important contacts to share professional interest and the virtual tour journey. It gave me exposure to their virtual tours and gave me an opportunity to share my tours of central Colorado. Putting them on Facebook changed the nature of my Facebook “friend.” There is a social juxtaposition when you start mixing the pictures of your wild time the night before with the colleagues who now share your Facebook page.

With Facebook users now having the option of having a public profile, the social networking capabilities become expanded. As business and personal mix in this ever-changing arena that is Facebook you have to ask, " What happens when your boss asks to be your friend on Face Book?”

Avril Anjers
Central Colorado Virtual Tours
www.vortexmediaproductions.com
Order a tour today: 719-689-2766

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SEO Anchors and Text - Oh MY!

Hello all you fellow Bloggers. Yes, I typed that with a capital B because I think Blogging is important and I think the Bloggers are priceless. I had no idea when I signed up with RTV that I would learn so many new things that would improve not only my Web presence but also my web "intelligence".

I have had a web page for the last year and thought I had it going on but now I am not so sure at all. I have learned so many new things my head spins every night when I lay down to sleep. I keep thinking about SEO, Anchor Text, Active Rain, LinkedIn, MySpace, FaceBook, RTV Blog and so on. WOW, I think a new one comes out everyday. I wrote one of my first Blogs quite awhile ago, before starting this new part of my life, about being "Left Behind" in the internet world. I think that it gets more true everyday. I don't know how people that don't have a wonderful mentor like Cheryl Waller will ever get there.

I am a little older than the normal New Blogger, and I have no background in computers (other than working on them everyday for years now) but I think everyone that wants to have a successful business had better take a close look at this new form of doing business on the internet. This is the way of the future and I don't want to be "Left Behind", I want to be right in the middle of it(actually I want to be in the forefront). Although I realize that I am not doing all of this perfectly yet I am getting better at it and will continue to hone my skills as I learn more about all of these wonderful new tools that are not only available, but free to those who will take a risk and learn something new.

It is time consuming at first but it is great to Google yourself and you show up first on the page. That makes you want to just keep Blogging and linking back more and more. Like I said, it takes a while to get it right so don't give up. You may be closer than you think. So I will continue to follow Cheryl's instruction and Blog weekly, tag frequently, link often, anchor wisely, and believe it or not I am having a blast!

I am so excited about new technology and new ideas I feel absolutely young again. I am not looking forward figuring out the blonde parts all over but I will get there. Don't forget to check out my Blogs on Active Rain, and visit my pages at Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace, Active Rain and at Carol's Place. Thanks for reading my blog and let me know what you think about being left behind.

And to just think, if I hadn't signed up to be a Real Tour Vision Dealer I still wouldn't know all of this. It may have taken years for me to reach this new height in my skill level on the internet. Thanks Cheryl and all of you at RTV and RPM. I really appreciate you.

Carol Harris
Colonial Heights Virtual Tours
Order a Virtual Tour - 804-731-4113
iMediaTree.com - Coming Soon!!

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Chris Grumley | The Voice of RTV

After being asked to record the voice on RTV's newest business presentation it really opened up to me just what a powerful product we all have in our hands. This isn't a regular run of the mill virtual tour and anyone who isn't utilizing all the added ingredients is, in my opinion, missing out big time. The new Spiderlink technology is evident after only a few days after the tour has been properly networked through the social networking sites, and this alone is one massive benefit for RTV over the competition. Adding voice to a tour can personalize it one step further. With voice the tour becomes more real in the viewers eyes. It makes for a warmer and friendlier experience and offers firm direction to the end user.

I offer special pricing to all RTV dealers which will remain through 2009 at only $29 for a 30 second script embedded over 4 minutes of music. Ninety words are about 30 seconds and the finished product will be emailed to you as an MP3, easily to upload to your tour via the T.M.S. To get started just email me the script and I will turn it around within 24 hours.

Make full use of the new Business Presentation and good luck!
Chris Grumley
Florida Eye Tours, LLC
http://www.floridaeyetours.com
941 219 2106

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TAAR Testimonial

Over the last two years, Jason and I have attended the Home Buyers and Sellers “How To” Expo sponsored by the Traverse Area Association of REALTORS. The event has provided us each year with an excellent opportunity to showcase our powerful property marketing tools and interactive 360 virtual tours to the many visitors in attendance.

The shows work very well for us in two truly unique ways that no other shows in the past have been able to offer. Because the general public attends the show we are able to get our message out to them as well as to other members of the real estate community. For us this is truly a win-win event.

Each year has resulted in a direct increase in business in our customer base and of course has generated business for us. Thanks to the wonderful staff at TAAR everything runs perfectly for us each year. The layout is great, the catered lunch is delicious and who can complain about having that wonderful view right on the bay.

Most importantly we always seem to have a great time at the show and this year we even took a bit of time at the end of the show to do a virtual tour of the event which can be seen here: http://rtvpix.com/BU-3308-R5TLM7-01

Thank you to all of you who work so hard to provide us with this super event.

Jason LaVanture and Jim Blue
BlueLaVaMedia
Traverse Area Virtual Tours
www.BlueLaVaMedia.com
Toll Free: 877-941-TOUR (8687)
Your Property Marketing Experts!

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What the Heck is SEO

Its no secret that the customer base for many businesses has moved online. This is especially true of the real estate market. The number of buyers shopping online has steadily increased yearly for several years. Now, that number has reached 87% according to the 2008 National Association of Realtors(R) Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, making an effective online marketing campaign essential if you want your business to continue to grow.

So, how do you get noticed on the world wide web?

One essential is SEO. Just what is SEO? Do I need one? Where do I get one? Is it easy to use? Does it come with instructions or , even better, a hotline? If you are one of the many who ask yourself questions like this, then read on…

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is essential if you want your website and online marketing to be found on the internet. It is based on a couple of things - one is what people search for on the web, the other is how relevant your information is to that search.

Here is how it works:

You are a real estate agent marketing your listings online. You are located in Shreveport, La. Your website should include information about real estate in your city, your listings, information on your local market and so on. When a home buyer sits down at their computer to learn more about what is available they will search for something like “homes for sale with virtual tours in Shreveport”. The results they will receive will include websites that have virtual tours of homes for sale in Shreveport. Whether or not your marketing will appear in the results depends on how relevant your content is to this search.

Google Search Results


Viewers will look at those sites that appear on the first or maybe second page of the search results. Rarely do they view information found on page 10 of the results. Therefore, placing content on the web that is directly related to your business or product is essential to being found. But it is also essential to establish that information as being relevant to the topic. This is done many ways such as linking to other related information from your website, having other information linking back to you, visits to your website by interested people, etc.


SEO is a driving force in effective online marketing.

Creating a volume of relevant content on the web can be a time consuming effort; however, the effort is well worth it when you consider the market share available to be reached.

If your time is already spread thin, then you may want to consider hiring someone to help. Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours has optimized all of our online marketing on behalf of our clients in order to help drive them to the top of the search results and to create related relevant content on the web. Contact us today to learn more.

Rebecca Bolda
Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours
Shreveport Virtual Tours
www.TheVirtualTourPeople.com
Order a Virtual Tour (318) 572-1779

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Marketing Your Virtual Tour Company

As a salesperson or a business owner, marketing is of utmost importance if you want to be and remain successful. You can never advertise enough, however, you must advertise correctly. Here are the top 4 tips on how to Market your Virtual Tour Business...or any other business for that matter, and if done correctly, will produce a long-term and continuous stream of leads for almost any type of Business.


TIP #1
Advertise with small local companies! The Owners of these companies often do most of the work, and always inspect the final product. Not only that, you are creating a “Word of Mouth Referral Machine” by partnering with them. Think about it… the small companies are only successful if you are, and they know it. They will always run circles around the “Corporate Minimum Wage Trainees” in the larger firms to ensure your success. If you can, you should avoid “Corporate” companies as much as possible in all aspects of your business.



TIP #2
Marketing your business should be looked at like an “Investment.” New restaurants are probably the most visible example of this tip, because they often times have no capital left over from their initial investment to get the word out. Consequently, their “Investment”, or lack thereof, dwindles quite rapidly, and by the time they start getting traffic in the door, they are too far in debt to recover.



Another example that comes to mind are the “Could be Great Businesses,” but didn’t entertain the idea of advertising. I like to call this one the….


“If You Open the Doors, Customers Will Come- Philosophy”


How many times have you seen a building in a great part of town have many different Businesses come and go? I often make cold-calls to these places and they all have one common phrase amongst them: “We don’t do any advertizing.” That’s completely okay with me, because in a couple of months there will be a new business in the same spot that might employ my services. I actually ran into a former business owner here in Loveland the other day. He told me how his booming business just started going south and how his competition had stolen his business. I felt bad for him, however, I felt equally awkward because I own the Internet Marketing Company that works for his competitor. As you probably already guessed, he “didn’t do any advertising.”



The truth is that Businesses who open their doors and fail to tell the public about the; who, what, where, when, why and how, will without a doubt fail.



TIP #3
Of course, there are ways to spend allot of money and get results, but by spending money, your overall ROI can be drastically minimized. Focusing on free methods of advertising can be the most effective means to secure your future. The only downside to “Free” is that work is almost always involved. But what better ROI is there than an “Investment” that you didn’t pay for, and is yielding income?



After exploring thousands of methods of free ways to market, I have been compiling a list of what I call “Blue Chip Freebies.” I haven’t tried them all out “YET”, but for the few hundred methods that I’ve tried over the last year and a half, some actually work very well. I must admit, that I am going nuts, but I hope to eventually save someone else from the Looney Bin by trying these ideas. (I will be publishing these soon)



TIP #4
Results should always be measured and tracked on a regular basis when doing any form of marketing. We all track our expenses so that we can pay the mortgage every month, so why would we not track our Marketing so that we know how to pay our mortgage best?



As a Colorado Virtual Tour Company and Marketing Provider, most of my clients and prospects have little to no idea where all of their sellers or buyers heard about them. Of course, I do much of the tracking for them from what I do, but what about that Newspaper Ad, or the Highway Sign that they’re paying a handsome fortune for? The truth is, methods of marketing become cyclical with the market, and some even go extinct. Do not let this happen to you.



I hope that this has helped with your marketing efforts, and look for my next Blog on Free and effective marketing for your business, or “Blue Chip Freebies” as it will be titled.



Nathan Strauch
Hot Shots Digital of Colorado
Colorado Virtual Tours
http://www.hotshotpros.com
Order a Virtual Tour (970) 669-6844

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Cell Phone Virtual Tour Software HOAX - April Fools!

Ok kids now here is the fun part....YES...this was completely made up. You have Jacque to thank for this little prank...NOT JASON!! Jason is still a good guy here!! That is just my picture promoting this imaginary system. Anyway, here is the fun part. Here is where I show you how much flack I took for this today: Read below...

(Sorry everyone!! I am not putting any names on these. Some people got quite upset.)

This is the order in which they started flying into my inbox:

Hilarious!

do you have a sample of a tour done with this method

Did I tell you about the land in Florida I have for sale??

APRIL FOOLS, RIGHT?Good one! I want to know how many fall for it and try to order. LOL

You know its april the 1st right

Got to be a April Fools stunt.....................................

Amazing new product Jason....I'll take 10 of them! And I also don't think you're charging enough, so bill me triple the amount! :) LMAO in Ponte Vedra, Florida!

Good one. I believed it all until about the 5th paragraph and then realized this was too good to be true, then realized what day it is (April Fools!)

Looks great- I’ll Take 100.

This will be GREAT for that oceanfront property in Idaho, and the bridge in Brooklyn I am selling I have been meaning to take photos and a tour of !!!

Nice work guys, way to keep in ‘REAL’

You are too funny! But you do realize that I will be getting calls for this… I have folks here that will do this! They take MLS photos with disposable cameras, why not cell phones. I’ll forward all inquires to you…what’s your personal email?

And here is a log from our online chat:

Mike: Hello. Welcome to Team RTV. How may I assist you?
Visitor: We are a RTV user already and I got a e-mail on doing them on you phone?
Mike: What did you think?
Visitor: about what
Mike: About the new rotator
Visitor: Oh well I would like more info or where to find on the website
Mike: Let me check and see if they have it on the web site yet
Visitor: k
Mike: Do you know what today is?
Visitor: no
Visitor: cloudy?
Mike: What is the Date Today?
Visitor: Oh April Fools... Ok you got me....HAHA


Do you have any sample tours?

Jason-APRIL FOOLS!!! Very, Very Funny!

Do you guys not like working with photographers? Are you trying to push photographers away from using your platform? Why would you send me an advertisement geared towards realtors who want to do the tours themselves? Do you think any photographer would be interested in using a cell phone to shoot virtual tours? I'm not quite sure what to think of the poor judgement RTV used in not only creating this product but then sending it out to all the photographers who rely on realtors calling them and not doing it themselves. Maybe you should fine tune your email system with separate lists for realtors and photographers.

How do we find out more info about the Ultra-Mini Rotator and how do we order?Thanks

Does this support the iPhone?

Happy April fools day Jason.

Wow, I may not have a job any longer...Would this be targeted to the broker accounts of RTV ? Or who is this really geared for.

April Fool's Right? ha! ha!

Hi Jason, RTV is always at the forefront of technology. Do you realize how many photos are taken by cell phone for MLS? Must be 90%! It's the way of the future, Jason. And did you know that Google is refining Google Streets.The new software will be called Google Homes and can take all interior photos of every home as their units drives by. And just like Dynamic MLS Image Correction Software, Google Homes software also removes clothing from the photos.What will they think of next?

I hope this is a good aprils fools joke

Does this thing really work that great? Does the $80 take care of the software too? Or how much extra?

Does this work with the iPhone?

So, what is up with this new Ultra Mini rotator? This thing attached to any camera phone can do everything for me?Are you guys suggesting we use this? Won’t this make every realtor a virtual tour provider now? They can get the same quality out of this cell phone that we can provide? Not sure I follow the logic on this…. Can you please enlighten me?

How ridiculous!

Boy do I feel stupid. Im going home now. You got me…. I really thought I had missed something. I can not stop laughing.

Am I safe to assume this will work with Blackberry’s?Thank you,

Okay... So are you suggesting we use this over Digital SLR cameras? Just wondering because we just had The Image Webinar teaching us all the tricks of using the SLR's.And if my customer's buy this... doesn't that make them no longer have a use for me... and I lose a customer?

boy i have to see the quality on those tours - it really brings it down does it not?

The smartphone sounds interesting. Hmmm the mini rotator - I don't like though. Makes it sound like just anyone can do a VT. That could take my job away even!

That's awesome! I assume the tour you sent was with the iPhone? Does this also mean you have software for Mac?Is there someone there I can speak with about this?

Jason please place 100 of these on order for me, that way I can just hand them out to the realtors and not have to do anything myself.Also if you don't mind please provide your credit card info for the order. I promise I will reimburse you once the order ships.Also, as you know I live in Florida and we have some prime Green Swamp property for sale if you are interested.

Are you concerned this will comoditize the value of the tours?

Awe GEEZ! You know... I am 43 years old and no one has EVER gotten me on April Fools...So you would be a first! The whole time I am sitting here going... WHAT!!! How can they POSSIBLY think A smart phone could compare to professional photography!I was seriously raising my eyebrows in confusion and disbelief... never even occurred to me it was April 1st.Gotta give it to you... you had me! LOLThis is one for the record books. LOL How many others have responded?Or Was I the only one not awake today. LOL

HA HA - Dude that is just too funny - April Fools - Very well done!

This is an April Fool's gag, right?

Is this an April Fools joke?!?! It does the dishes!!!

I have a serious problem with the latest email I just received.I am not one to complain but the following statement was not thought through. "No bulky equipment, no manual stitching, no processing whatsoever.The software does all the work to make YOUR cell phone pictures look JUST like you hired a professional photographer to photograph your listing!" Several years ago Kodak ran a similar type ad that had serious re precautions to their Pro Division. Pro photographers actually protested by not buying Kodak film for over 6 months. I am sure XXXX XXXX agrees with me that the statement is an insult to our expertise and continued support to RTV.

Hey Jason,Nice new update. Will we be able to promote this product and still get a commission for every tour produced? What's your thoughts? Do you have a sample tour I can look at? I want to see the quality first hand.

HAHA...great April Fool's joke...had me going for a minute there...

C’mon Jason, I’ve been bashing realtors for years for using their cell phones for the listing photos. Please tell me it’s not this easy.And it will lay to waste all of the lighting and exposure tricks that Jim so eloquently discussed during the Webinar last week? There is no way my Blackberry can take as good of photos than I’m taking with my real camera. I’d love to see a pano shot with this thing!

I gotta tell you, I was really kinda pissed. I thought this guy has lost his freaking mind and is minimizing everything we’re out her trying to do. Get these Realtors ( I know I am one) to add some class to their listings and use us professionals ( I call myself that now) to do their photography. I was ready to jump back to Visual Tour. (I think I threw up a little bit in my mouth there.) P.S. Feel free to post this on the blog and give me a couple of free tours!

APRIL FOOLS! Pretty good one!

This is a great April Fool's day joke, thanks for sharing it.

You got me on that. I was thinking no way in hell could that be done. When you sent the link to tour, it was as I expected. That was a good one my friend.

Thanks for having fun with us!!

- Team RTV

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New Ultra Mini Rotator for Cell Phones

Announcing the NEW Ultra-Mini Rotator and Auto-Magic FastStitch(tm) Cell Phone Software

Click for a sample CELL PHONE TOUR

Tired of lugging around bulky equipment to your virtual tour shoots? Now you don’t have to! With the new Ultra Mini Rotator for your Cell phone, just clip your cell phone to the rotator, connect the control cord to your phone’s charging port, click the 10 second delay button and leave the room. The Ultra-Mini Rotator will automatically take 12 pictures at the correct exposure to create your 360° image. Yes, that’s right, your cell phone!

The Ultra-Mini works with all smart-phones and controls the exposure settings on your phone with the Ultra-Mini Smart base to produce high-quality professional images. No more expensive cameras, no more heavy equipment, all you need is a 1 mega pixel cell phone and your Ultra Mini Rotator and you're ready to go! No one will ever know that you used your cell phone to create your professional photography!

Just call RTV to order yours today. And don't forget to ask us about our NEW Auto-magic FastStitch cell phone software. Connect your computer to the Ultra-Mini Rotator Smart Base and the software will stitch all of your images and upload the completed virtual tour to our servers. With the Auto-Magic FastStitch software, creating your virtual tour manually is a thing of the past! Based on room modeling recognition dynamics built into the Auto-Magic FastStitch software, each completed 360° image will be named the correct room name. Room modeling recognition and naming is 99.9% accurate and is achieved through our proprietary software algorithms.

Imagine, just set the Ultra-Mini Rotator, press one button then connect to your computer and your virtual tour is complete.

No bulky equipment, no manual stitching, no processing whatsoever. The software does all the work to make YOUR cell phone pictures look JUST like you hired a professional photographer to photograph your listing!

But that’s not all.

Order before midnight on April 1, 2009 and we will add our Dynamic MLS Image Correction Software. Just enter your MLS username and password and this proprietary software will crawl your MLS listings and dynamically correct bad MLS photos. The software lightens, brightens, straightens and sharpens all MLS photos on your account while removing garbage cans, dirty dishes and laundry from all scenes! Run this software just once a week and never again worry about bad first impressions on buyers! (available for multiple MLS accounts in a single brokerage)

View another Cell Phone Tour

Order Yours April Fools System Now: 866-947-TOUR

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