Two Sisters Talking – A Genius Creation

Since my last blog entry, everyone at Second Self Virtual Assistance has been busy little bees. The end of the month of January marked the genius creation of Two Sisters Talking.  Therefore, I encourage everyone to visit their site and fan page so you can see for yourself just how genius it is.

Not only is Two Sisters Talking informative, it looks to be a lot of fun.  They talk about nutrition, food and feeding the ones they love.  And, I found their latest blog entry (Basic Food and Wine Pairing for the Average Amateur) a big hit. 

I recently created their fan page and a few others, so if you’re on Facebook, go visit the Two Sisters Talking business page and “LIKE” it so you can keep up-to-date with all the fun things going on with Two Sisters Talking.  This is one venture that I can already see as being a huge success. 

And, I leave off on a very different note with a big thank you to Obama for raising social security tax for business owners. Business owners will now pay 1 ½ times social security tax instead of matching it.  Sometimes, it feels like it would be easier to quite our businesses and live off the government than it is to help feed and house the millions currently living off it.

Life as a Virtual Assistant: Part 2

Since my last blog, “Revamping My Blog” which was part 1 in “My Life as a Virtual Assistant”, I have much to tell.  I have written several blogs for clients over the past couple of weeks and in the process learned some interesting things including going on in several communities around the nation, how to make your homes windows more energy efficient on a low budget, the very helpful DataDots technology and who’s using it, myths and facts about appraisals, and what Gen Y wants in a home.

The best part of blogging for real estate agents around the country is learning about various communities and the latest real estate news. I already have a very long list of places I want to travel to when I retire.

I also read two great blog posts from Pamela Cendejas.  In one blog post she tells about finding “An Affordable IDX Alternative for Your Blog or Site” and in the other she explains “What is Google Hotspot?”.  Both blog posts are very informative and useful for real estate agents in today’s real estate marketing.

In the past couple of weeks I’ve also created a few custom Facebook banners, Facebook Community Pages and Fan Pages.  The Community Page is very similar to the Fan Page; however, you cannot set a landing page.

                               

                                                      

It’s been a progressive couple of weeks for Second Self Virtual Assistance.  Pamela and Heather are also pitching in with their specialties, which is what makes our team a great one.

Until “Life as a Virtual Assistant: Part 3″, everyone have a fun and productive week.

Revamping My Blog

For the New Year I am revamping my blog.  Before, I was giving tips and advice about networking and social media in the blogs I wrote.  This year, I want to give everyone a peek into my life as a virtual assistant.

I’ve been a virtual assistant since 2006. I work with Pamela Cendejas and Heather Chavez from Second Self Virtual Assistance on a regular basis.  We provide an array of online services for Realtors® including property listing syndication, blogging, ghost writing, website design, website maintenance, social media, SEO, design and print marketing materials, fan pages, social network design, and special projects.

We all basically help real estate agents who are too busy to do these projects themselves or find our expertise a valuable asset to their business. 

Although we are a team, we each have our own specialty and our own projects that we do daily, weekly, or even monthly for our clients.  My usual day includes lots of social media; blogging for agents, creating custom fan pages and special projects from time to time.

I love my work most because it allows me to give a helping hand all the comfort of my home office. This also allows me to be more attentive as a wife and mother.

My newly revamped blog will include new finds that can help your business, some samples of my work, and an insight to what it’s like in the life of a virtual assistant. So, to start things off, here’s a little sample:

This past week, I have written several blogs, some about real estate trends and some about local community events.  I read a great blog post from Pamela Cendejas, owner of Second Self Virtual Assistance, about Trulia now offering a listing report tool.  Pamela always offers great advice for helping your business succeed; therefore, I encourage everyone to subscribe to her blog and read it regularly. And, I’ve created two custom fan pages this past week, which you can see in the photos below.

I leave off with some words of wisdom:  Everything you do and everything you say affects someone in some kind of way. So watch what you do and say because it may not affect you now, but it can one day!!!

Looking Back on My 2010 – The Good, Bad and Ugly

Looking back on my 2010 I realize this will be my last blog of the year.  I’m definitely looking forward to 2011, and hoping it will be a better year for everyone.  I also realize, as I write this blog, that these memories will now be online forever.  It’s comforting to know that I will be able to go back through my online blog history and share my memories in the distant future with grandkids or maybe even great grandkids.

My 2010 will definitely be one to remember.  It was filled with much sadness and little happiness.  We lost several friends and family this past year.  Two friends died of cancer, a great Aunt died from surgery complications, one friend died from a bad fall that severed his spine at the neck, a friend of my children died when his bus over turned and he was partially thrown from it causing the bus to land on him, and two of our beloved dogs passed away.

To top off all the deaths, we know many friends and family who were diagnosed with cancer of some form (what the hell is going on?).  And, my puppy (lol, he’s 80lbs, but still a pup) was hit by a truck two days ago.  He’ll be okay, but it will take some time for him to heal and get back to his old self.  Thank God he only needed stitches and we were able to pay the high vet bills.

The best and greatest thing to happen to us this year was my husband quitting his job back in March and starting a Paul Davis Emergency Services.  So far, it has been an extremely successful business and a decision that we can say was the best decision ever, even though it was an extremely scary decision for him to quit his job and try to start a business in this economy.

There are still many things to be grateful for this year.  My family bond is stronger than ever, both of my children are healthy, we may not be rich, but we are financially stable, we have a roof over our heads and food to feed our bellies.  Just the safety, health and happiness that we feel each and every day are enough to rejoice over.  I know we are very lucky because there are many people in this world who cannot say the same.

There are some things that I want to do in the New Year too.  I haven’t been blogging regularly like I once was and want to get back into the swing of that, I want to lose 15lbs, and I want to start spending more time with friends and family.  It seems like we never have time to visit anyone, so I want to make it a point to fit that into my schedule for now on.

So, I leave off saying 2010 will definitely be one to remember and I welcome the New Year with open arms.  I also wish everyone else a very Happy New year too!

Facebook – Making Someone an Administrator of your Fan Page

Over the last year we have been creating custom fan pages for our clients.  In the beginning all we needed to log into a clients facebook account was their login and password.  Facebook soon discovered the need for account security, so they began asking for the account holder’s birthday.  This was no problem since our clients could easily provide this information.

Now, facebook has changed their security methods once again.  We are asked to identify people in the account holder’s friend’s photos.  This has become a big problem for us since we can’t indentify anyone in those photos. Our clients are even having a problem identifying people from those photos.  The photos they display are their friends photos, not their own. 

Many of us using facebook for networking purposes don’t know half the people on their friends list on a personal level.  Therefore, this has become not only a problem, but a very bothersome problem.  However, there is a work around to this problem.  It’s not convenient for our clients but it has been the only way to work on their facebook accounts.

Here are the steps for making someone an administrator of your fan page:

1. Create Fan Page – http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php, use the “Official Page” box and choose the proper category, type the name you want your page to be (example: California Real Estate, California Homes, etc. This cannot be changed once created) click “Create Official Page”. 

2. Send the link for your new page to your Virtual Assistant – Copy the link in your browser bar and paste it in an email to your Virtual Assistant.

3. Make your Virtual Assistant an administrator – Once they have clicked the LIKE button on the page, they need to email you back to let you know that step is complete.  You then go to that same link, look in the left column under “People Like This Page”. Select “See All” which will bring up a box where you will see your Virtual Assistants photo and a button “Make Admin”. Once you click this button please email your Virtual Assistant back to let them know it is complete.

This may sound like a lot, but it’s actually very easy.  This may be an inconvenience but facebook is great at their security precautions.

HootSuite Networking News

For those of you who use HootSuite as your multi task networking navigator, you will be happy to know that they have just announced the new HootSuite premium plans.  They’re following in the footsteps of industry giants like Basecamp, Flickr, and Salesforce.  HootSuite is now offering even more advanced tools for businesses and organizations with their new premium packages.  They will also continue to provide their free version for most users.

What could this mean to you?

Starting on August 11, 2010, all new customers will be asked to select a plan when you sign-up.  Current users will be asked to select package within the next week.  They have also created a migration wizard to help assist you in choosing the best plan for your needs. 

They will be offering a 30-day free trial to help you discover the benefits and features of premium plans, but you can also choose to stay with the free account if you don’t want to use these new advanced options.

I’ve been using HootSuite for quite a while now and we help our clients set up an account with them also.  Through HootSuite you can add your social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook (profile and fan page), LinkedIn, Word Press, My Space, Four Square and Ping.  Anytime you want to post to these accounts, you can do it all in one place through HootSuite. You can even choose the day and time you want your updates to go out and what networks.  Links can also be added to these posts, which is a great benefit.  And, they have several Apps and Plug-ins to enhance your experience.  HootSuite can save you a lot of social networking time. 

If you need help setting up a HootSuite account, let us know.  Our services also include social network setup.

Old, Affordable, and Effective Website Trafficking

There’s still an old, affordable, and effective way to get traffic to your website without working too hard on it.  Many website owners put in a lot of time marketing their websites to get more traffic.  They also spend a good portion of time trying to figure out new ways to get more traffic.  However, the old put a sticker on your car still works.

It’s interesting that you can create attractive bumper stickers, put them on your car and drive around to get people to notice you have a website.  Family and friends can also play a big role in your website success by putting your bumper sticker on their car too.

Your bumper sticker should have your website and business name on it; however, it also needs to stand out.

If you have it in your budget, you can also make t-shirts or ball caps for your family and friends to wear when they go out.  For special clients, you can pass along a duffel bag or jacket with your website and business information on it.  Once you’ve paid for the materials, the advertisement is completely free.

Of course business cards with your website information are still needed to promote yourself as the professional you are.  Be sure to give your cards to family and friends to pass along.  Family and friends are usually very willing to help you promote your business.

A bumper sticker with your website information on it is the easiest and most exciting ways to promote your website for free without the work.

Free Online Reputation Management Tools

Today everyone should use reputation management tools, especially if they are a business owner.  There’s an old trick that you can do to find out who is bad mouthing you or your services online.  You can simply go to Google search and type in “your company name sucks” to see what you find.  You may or may not like what you find.  I’ll be using RE/MAX in my Google search to show just how important it is to manage your online reputation.

Watching online conservations about you, your business and your services is a must-do task if you are marketing online.  Therefore, I’ve come across several Free Online Reputation Management Tools that could be very useful for managing your online reputation properly.

Google Alerts is one of the most powerful online conversation trackers.  You simply enter your name, business name or services in the “search terms”, and you will begin receiving email updates for the terms you chose.

Twitter is great for real time search. You can use the advanced search to get the most accurate results possible.  Once you get your search results, you can then subscribe to and receive regular updates via feed readers.

Friend Feed is a service that collects your feeds from various online services so you can share with friends.  Just like the Twitter search results, you can subscribe to the Friend Feed search results to see what others are saying. 

Technorati is a handy tool to watch blog conversations about you, your business or your services.  You can also subscribe to receive updates via RSS feed to keep up-to-date about your online management.

Board Tracker is used for tracking discussions about you on discussion boards and forums.  This can be useful since forums and discussion boards are still popular in many areas.  You can keep up with what others are saying about your business by searching directly from BoardTracker.

Social Mention is similar to Google Alerts, but it’s for social media.  This is a favorite among many since it not only allows you to subscribe by RSS or Email but you can also export your searches into Excel/CSV.  You’ll get search results for the number of mentions per minute, post ranks, blog mentions, bookmarks, news, comments and more.

If you find you, your business or your services are being talked about in a negative way, you now have the tools to respond and present yourself in a positive, professional way.  Managing your online reputation will help you protect your reputation and show others that you are armed with the savvy tools that are necessary to compete in today’s marketing world.

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Tips to Combining SEO and Social Media

We can no longer ignore the relationship between search engine optimization (SEO) and social media.  Therefore, if you combine your SEO efforts with social media marketing, you will attain higher organic rankings.  You can do this by sharing links and using your social profile to its maximum potential.

Here are some tips for combining your SEO and Social Media

* Get to know how search engines work – For those of you who are not clear, search engines are robots that travel the web collecting data through websites by way of links.  The information is then passed from the robots to indexing servers where it’s processed and ranked.   Content and inbound links are the two main ranking elements for SEO.

* Learn how SEO is affected by social media – As today’s consumers continue to demand the freshest content and news, search engines are looking more into social media for updates within organic search engine results.  Google is already adding Facebook Fan Page updates to their results pages.

* Decide which social profiles your company needs most – Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are the most popular social sites across the industry today.  However, it’s becoming more important for SEO to create a Google Profile and Buzz profile.  It helps SEO even more to setup and implement a YouTube channel and Flickr account for you multimedia content.  But, you should still try to host most of your content on your website.

* Learn to monitor your social media proficiently – There are several programs like HootSuite, TweetDeck and Seemic that make sharing your content across Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter much simpler.  You can monitor your overall online presence with tools like Google Alerts, SocialMention, and Trackur.

* Increase organic ranking through social media – Once you have your social profile created, your company’s site should appear on the first page of results for branded queries.  Your Facebook Fan Page, Twitter account and other social profiles should also come up.  This ultimately allows your company to dominate the first page of branded results.  This also helps with inbound links as people in your networks share your content.

So, this being said, if you wish to use an SEO guide, at the minimum you should be choosing your keywords wisely, engaging in quality link-building efforts, adding keywords to website content and engaging in social media.

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Using Social Media More Effectively

Whether you’re learning how to create your social media profile or how to maximize your blog, using social media more effectively is the key to capitalizing on profits.  If you’ve wanted to get more involved in social media, or get more out of your social media efforts, then you should know that 15 minutes a day can help you streamline those efforts and succeed.

It’s easy for time to get away from you in the world of social media. Therefore, you have to be dedicated to limiting your time to your social media efforts. You don’t want to spend more time than necessary on your social media efforts.

Setting up your online profiles and updating them from time to time will be the most time consuming part of working your social media.  Once your online profiles have been setup, many of them can be setup to run on autopilot.  Today, you can find several sites that allow you to connect your social profile and automatically handle it.

So, with just 15 minutes a day, you can effectively get more out of your social media efforts and succeed on capitalizing your profits, which gives you more time for everything else.