Author Archives JonGatewood

Prime Posting Time

It’s no secret that Social Media plays a huge role in your Custom Home Builder Marketing efforts. If you’re just now entering the overwhelming world of Social Media Management, we’re help to help you get started. Below are a few statistic abouts 4 of the most popular Social Media Platforms, as well as prime posting time of each. You’ll be quick to notice the impact that intentional posting can have on creating brand awareness and getting your name out there in your market. Content Marketing and Social Media Management is something that we specialize in, and we love to help you become successful in the Custom Home Builder Market. We invite you to check out our blog database to learn ways to improve your marketing. Until next time!

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Celebrating Veterans

Being a part of the armed forces is no easy task, and assimilating to home life can be even more challenging. We believe that the skills and strengths acquired from training were not only beneficial on the field, but off the field as well. In honor of Memorial Day and encouraging new beginnings to the men who fought, we wanted to share some business ventures that would complement the disciplines and cross-transferable skills they’ve worked so hard to master.

Off Road Tours:
Startup Costs: $50,000 – $100,000
If you’re looking for the more adventurous route, off road tours have become popular in the tourist areas. If you don’t know where to start, some companies offer franchise opportunities to help you get to where you need to be. Depending on your schedule, this can be a part time position.

Disaster Planning:
Startup Costs: $10,000 – $50,000
Being prepared for the inevitable natural disasters can save lives, and if you’ve trained in disaster relief efforts, you would flourish in this venture. There’s two avenues that you can pursue with this business, both of which generate income: Offering disaster planning services, or sell disaster related products. This can be operated from home, with part time opportunities. An additional benefit to this industry is that your marketing efforts would go noticed because natural disasters get a lot of media coverage.

Residential Security Consultant:
Startup Costs: $2,000 – $10,000
This position can be operated from home with franchise opportunities available. In this field, you would spend time with a family and define their security objectives. You then tailor a security system to their needs. This is great for those of you with security or law enforcement backgrounds.

Special Events Security:
Startup Costs: $2,000 – $10,000
There are thousands of events all throughout the U.S. happening, which presents the opportunity to utilize your security skills. This is another industry that would be great for veterans with experience in security or law enforcement. Another profitable opportunity in the field can be earned by becoming a security instructor to those looking to learn security techniques.

If you’re wanting a website to showcase your services, there are plenty of user friendly resources that give you a step by step tutorial to a successful website. Some that we love are GoDaddy.com and WordPress. Whatever venture you decide to take on, we have complete confidence in you! We hope everyone has a great Memorial Weekend.

Posted by JonGatewood  |  0 Comment  |  in Marketing Tips

Share and Share Again!

In the Custom Home Builder Market, content is your friend. If it’s done correctly, it gives you a stronger influence with how your company is introduced in the market. To successfully get your name out there in the virtual world, it’s important to share all of the content you produce on Social Media platforms. Staying in the context of Social Media, we’re going to discuss effective ways to share your content, and the benefits of doing so.

The issue we run into with a lot of our clients is that they don’t post with enough frequency to capture their consumers.  If you have content that you want seen in its full capacity, then you need to post it multiple times. The reality is, a single post most likely won’t be seen by your audience because it gets lost in all the other content. In fact, according to Marketing Land, posts by pages on Facebook are seen by as little as 6% of their followers. So how can we effectively do this?

The density of online activity varies throughout the day, so it’s wise to do research on the peak viewing times of your specific platform. Once that’s been decided, plan your posts accordingly.  Below are statistics we pulled from marketingland.com that show high volume times of Social Media.

  • Facebook:  10:00am – 4:00pm Monday through Thursday.
  • Twitter: 1:00pm – 3:00pm Monday through Thursday.
  • LinkedIn – focus on posting before and after business hours, 7:00am – 9:00am and 5:00pm – 6:00pm Tuesday through Thursday.
  • Google+ – 9:00am to 11:00am on workdays.
  • Pinterest – This is the one social network you should focus on posting during weekday evenings and on the weekends. Specifically 2:00pm – 4:00pm, and 8:00pm to 1:00am on weekdays. The best time to pin items on Pinterest is on Saturday morning.

While this all might be a lot to take in and manage, there are great resources that help you manage your postings throughout the week, and we encourage you to check out this blog we wrote demonstrating all of those items. Another great solution is using a Calendar and setting up alerts that prompt you to repost your content. When you do decide to share the same thing again, mix up the title you’re leading with. The way you phrase your opening title is your way of capturing your audience, so mix it up! Use statistics or clever lines so that people want to read more.

Bottom Line: Be intentional with what you post in the Custom Home Builder Market and post it frequently. We can’t wait to hear about the awesome results!

Posted by JonGatewood  |  0 Comment  |  in Marketing Tips

Successful Content Marketing

Content Marketing plays an essential part in representing who you are and how you are represented in your industry. Your content is a direct reflection of your company, so it’s important to strategize how you’re seen in the Custom home Builder Market. Your home buyers are going to be looking for consistencies in every aspect of your business to ensure that their new home will be equally consistent throughout. Below we created an infographic to give you a few things to think about with your content for Custom Home Builder Marketing. The Entreview Marketing team specializes in making you the authority in your market so that that right consumers find you. We’ve briefly touched on a few of our personal strategies, but if you’re wanting to see a transformation in your Custom Home Builder Marketing, give us a call! We’re here to help you.

Content-Marketing

 

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The Power of Mom

With the high costs of child care, some Moms are pushed out of the workforce because being a stay at home becomes the most financially logical decision. According to this article, cost of care for families with working moms climbed more than 70 percent between 1985 and 2011 and the pricing continues to rise.  So, the question becomes – how can stay-at-home Moms generate income?
The Entreview Marketing Teams loves empowering people through education, and in honor of Mother’s Day, we wanted to shed some light on great career opportunities for Stay-at-home Moms:

Sell Crafts Online
If you enjoy the art of craft making, you should consider selling your items online. There’s great platforms you can use, like Etsy, that specifically cater to hand crafted items. To top it off, there’s a huge market for crafted items – so there’s plenty of potential for great success.

Blogs
Blogs are a great way to get your voice out by providing helpful information that people need. If you have recipes, crafting adventures, or anything that you specialize in, share it with the world! Once you’ve launched your site, you could market yourself to services that will pay to keep your blog active.

Tutoring
Tutoring can be applied in an educational or instrumental sense. If you have strengths in either, you should use them for the benefit of others. A plus to this is that your clients typically come to you, so no driving is necessary!

Office Support
There are plenty of companies who seek customer service agents that can work virtually to answers phones and provide support for clients. If this is something that could possibly interest you, we encourage you to check out job boards that feature these flexible positions, like WAHM.com

Direct Sales
If you’re outgoing with great people skills and strengths in sales, you could always take on companies like Avon or Mary Kay. These are great because you get to connect with other Moms and help them with any cosmetic issues they run into. If cosmetics isn’t your forte, there’s other great companies that offer a wide variety of services.

These are just a few ideas we wanted to share, and we hope we created enough job diversity in our selections. We believe in the power of Moms, and we hope you share your talents with the world!

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Infographics 101

The Entreview Marketing Team loves infographics because they do a great job at breaking down a complicated ideas to simpler forms. This transfers well in the Custom Home Builder Market because it allows you to better explain the technicalities in Custom Home Building.
Below is a little something we created so that you can have the tools you need to begin your infographic career. The tutorial covers all the basics to create a successful infographic to share with your home buyers.  We strongly believe that if you implement this in your  Custom Home Builder Marketing, not only will it separate you from your competition, it will make you the authority in the Custom Home Builder Market. Happy Creating!

infographics-101

Posted by JonGatewood  |  0 Comment  |  in Marketing Tips

Consumer Trends in Technology

How do your customers find you in the custom home builder market? While referrals are a great and profitable avenue for Custom Home Builders, a strong virtual presence opens additional markets for you to reach out to, creating a stronger sense of brand recognition. Ultimately the way people begin to search for you is convenience based, and our studies show that their first choice is to find you through their mobile device. In fact, 50% of the average global mobile web users now use mobile as wither their primary or exclusive means of going online.

This statistic demonstrates the need for you to have a responsive website. More on what that means, and the benefits of doing such can be found on one of our earlier articles here.

It’s always important to understand your Custom Home Builder Market so that you know how to reach out to them. With that that said, why do people typically prefer mobile devices over traditional PC’s? Simple: their portable, and their quality and efficiency isn’t sacrificed. The convenience of the mobility can be seen your consumers home life as well. For example, studies show that 80% of smartphone owners and 81% of tablet owners use their devices in front of the television. This extends the time you have to capitalize on your Custom Home Builder Marketing.

It’s Time to Act:

Click to Call: Now that we’ve established that the trend in mobile users is to take action, make it easy for them to do so. After you’ve made your website responsive, capture their attention on you by incorporating a Click to Call. Make your location present and connect it with Google Maps so there’s no struggle for them to find you.

Call to Action: Always call your consumers to action by asking for their information and what they’re looking for in a home. This gives you a better idea on how to best market your services to them. To learn more about Call To Actions (CTA) for your Custom Home Builder Marketing, check out this article.

Below is an infographic we put together detailing your consumers trends with computers, tablets, and mobile devices. Put value in your online presence and see the drastic changes that happen when you do. The Entreview Marketing team wants you to succeed in your Custom Home Builder Marketing, and we provides tips and tricks from our 10 years of experience to make you the authority in your market. Stay tuned to see what we have up our sleeves next week!

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Social Media Management Made Easy

smAre you struggling to keep up with your Social Media for Custom Home Builder Marketing? Social Media plays a big role in not only optimizing your website, but also creating brand awareness. To achieve the ultimate awareness and optimization, you ideally want to post at least 2-3 items per day across all of your social media platforms.

We know what you’re thinking: Who has time for that?

The reality is, work can sometimes be very unpredictable – especially with your workload.  So, to prepare you for those inevitable days where there’s just not enough time to accomplish everything, we’ve provided some great resources that help you plan ahead for your Custom Home Builder Marketing.

Bitly:
Bitly allows you to shorten URLs or links.  This comes in handy when you’re limited with character count (like Twitter.) Bitly also lets you modify the shortened links and use key words to optimize your website.

Hootsuite:
Hootsuite is a Social Media Management System that streamlines your posts so that you can plan your posts for the Custom Home Builder Market weeks in advance. It’s compatible with Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and even Instagram. It also tracks your viewer response so you can measure which content is the most effective.

Tweet Deck:
This platform is similar to Hootsuite in that you can streamline your posts, with the only difference being that you can’t track your viewers activity. However, some feel that the Tweet Deck interface is more user friendly than Hootsuite.

Pingraphy:
Pingraphy is a Social Media Management resource that’s compatible with Pinterest. It allows you to schedule out your pins and have them coincide with high traffic times on the site. It also tracks how many viewers in the Custom Home Builder Market have repinned or liked what you’ve posted.

Statigram:
This is another Web Service that focuses primarily on your Instagram activity, all online! This is great if you frequently use the app because you aren’t required to be glued to your phone to track activity. It’s all a click away on your computer. It also goes into detail about your specific community, engagements, and the trends of your users.

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Welcome to my Houzz

In the Custom Home Builder Market, it’s important to be virtually present on multiple social platforms. One that we love is Houzz, which professionally features your homes in a way that buyers can find you and learn about you. It also allows you to see your competition and what they’re doing successfully in the market.
For those of you who might not be tech savvy, fear not! Below is an easy to follow tutorial to help you get started in your Custom Home Builder Marketing. Be sure to stay connected with Entreview to learn other great tips and tricks for your Custom Home Builder Marketing Efforts. We’re here to help YOU!

HOUZZ-tutorial

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Blogging 101

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Blogging is no walk in the park. One thing we always preach when we discuss blogging for the Custom Home Builder Market is intention. Everything you write is a representation of your company values and knowledge. With that said, all of your content should be carefully considered before it’s officially posted. Today we’re going to provide a few words of wisdom, to prevent you from saying the old ‘shoulda, coulda, woulda’ in your Custom Home Builder Marketing Blogs.

Treat it like a job, not just a task:
As we said before, your blogs are a representation of you. Treat them with the respect they (and your company) deserve.

Get Inspiration:
Doing your research about your market and seeing what other Custom Home Builder Marketing bloggers are using to be successful is just as important as writing. Just as you keep updated the new home improvements, you need to be up to date on the trends of your buyers so that you know how to reach out to them

Keep Records:
Sometimes ideas come to us at the most inopportune times. When this happens, write them down. Keep track of blog ideas and hold yourself accountable to do so. You’ll be happy you did when you experience writers block.

Get a nice Design:
In the Custom Home Builder Market, you’ll more than likely already have a website template for your blogs. If this is the case, do a website audit and determine how it interacts with your viewers. Aesthetics are almost as important as the content you provide.

Use quality images:
In referencing your blogs, be sure  to use high resolution photos. It can be a distraction or turn of if your quality content is accompanied by poor quality images. There’s plenty of great (and free) resources you can use to accomplish this.

Have Fun:
Most importantly, be yourself and have fun. While blogging is a job that requires a lot of intention and thought – the Custom Home Builder Market makes it fun. You’re providing homes for people to create lasting memories in, and they need your help!

As always, stay connected with Entreview Marketing! We’re here to help your buyers find you, and we’re always providing tools to turn you into a Custom Home Builder Marketing Guru. You’ll be thanking us later.

Posted by JonGatewood  |  0 Comment  |  in Marketing Tips