Tuesday Tip: Facebook Timeline

Step 1. Cover Photo.

The cover photo is the first thing fans will see when they visit your page. Think of the cover photo as a showcase of what your brand represents. Therefore, you will want to pick an image which represents your area of focus - whether it be sales, rentals or a certain area. The cover photo is a great way to keep your page exciting and visually stimulating. A good practice is to keep your cover photo fresh and current. For example: changing the image according to seasons.

Another thing to keep in mind with the new changes are the Facebook Policies i.e. Facebook does not allow Calls to Action within the cover photo.

Step 2. Profile Picture

Choose a profile picture that is at least 180 x 180 pixals. In most cases this should be your logo. The Starbucks brand page does a good job of reflecting the brand personality and making the page attractive.

Starbucks Facebook Timeline

Step 3. Apps

You can customize images for your apps and rearrange them in the order of importance.

For example: We have optimized this client's (image below) custom apps section to show featured listings & property search to appear at the top .

Facebook Timeline App Customization

Step 4. Milestones

You can also start thinking about significant events and milestones within the company that can be added to the timeline. For example: the company established date, new hires, pictures of founders, a significant sale, awards, opening of new office etc. Check out the ESPN Sportcenter Timeline for inspiration on milestones.

Step 5. You can also ad large photos with date and location and 'pin' the post to keep it as an entry at the top of your page. Many of these features can also be useful for highlighting featured/exclusive properties.

Below is a quick overview of the Timeline using Boston Logic an example:

Boston Logic Facebook Timeline

Boston Logic Facebook Timeline 2

LogicMaps & Yelp: Friday Feature Focus

LogicMaps can interface with Yelp to help your customers decide where to live!

In our last Friday Feature Focus, we discussed town pages & creating custom search boundaries for searches and town pages. This week, we'll be covering our interactive POI mapping tool, powered by Yelp.

In a standard Sequoia search, properties are shown both in search results and on each property's details page on a Google map, thanks to our proprietary LogicMaps tools. Now, you can go one step further and showcase the advantages and amenities of a location and all it has to offer - by using the rich, dynamic data provided by Yelp!

So what does this mean for you?

We can display local business and POI (Point of Interest) information, constantly updated by real users, right alongside the properties you are searching for. So, as new neighborhood establishments open up and close down, or their products and services (and the opinions of their patrons) change, so will the information on your website.

You can watch a demonstration of our Yelp tool for the Sequoia platform in the video below-

If your Sequoia site doesn't already include this great feature, or you want to learn more about Sequoia, contact our sales team today!

Sequoia System Updates!

Feature Enhancements & Performance Upgrades

Boston Logic's development and design teams have been working on some key Sequoia System performance and feature upgrades that will propel our clients' business into the new year. Here's just a portion of what you can expect from the latest release:

LogicCMS (Content Management System):

◦   Trigger the Modal Lead Capture window on any page
◦   Export Dynamic Form submissions in a CSV file
◦   Enter a default page description for your meta data

Having the ability to trigger the Modal Lead Capture on any page within your site gives you yet another way to build lead acquisition mechanisms. If there's content that users want to read or see on a page, you can ask them to sign in before accessing it. It's also great functionality if you want to restrict special content to registered users/leads. Since Sequoia is able to track which page each lead signs up on, you now have better intelligence about that lead (i.e. what they're looking for and specifically which types of content they're interested in). This will only help you nurture a better relationship with that lead in converting them into a loyal client.

The added export tool for Dynamic Forms functionality lets users generate downloadable summaries of form submissions through the site. Jonathan Ufland, a new Sequoia user and Broker at Prudential Unlimited Realty, commented on the new tool,

"I love what you did on the export for dynamic forms. It works fantastically and will definitely help us with the adjustment to the new system."

New Search Improvements:

◦ Allow leads to create a 'Daily Search' email from the sign-up modal
◦ Property Details and Search Results now show the neighborhood for a property in the address

We’ve added an option to the lead signup modal to automatically create a Daily Email Update from the search the lead just performed. There is now a check-box on the modal signup window to automatically create the daily email update. We save the search with the name “My first property search” so you and your clients know which search was saved during modal lead capture.

Property Details and Search Results now show the neighborhood for a property in the address section – this not only gives a more precise description at a glance, it puts valuable information on the location of the listing right in the H1 tag for the details page – this is GREAT for long-tail searches.

Social Media Updates:

Our Share buttons for all pages now share the page you are on, not just the homepage for the site. We’re now automatically adding a Share tool to property details pages if your site does not have the Share tool shown in the header. Also, Brokers now have the ability to edit any Sequoia blog post, not just their own blog posts.

System Performance Upgrades:

If you've noticed your search results, Town Pages, Luxury Buildings and MLS property photos loading even faster than they did before - it's not the holiday madness setting in, it's really happening! Search engines take page load speed into account when ranking your pages in their results. So, if you want to rank higher in Google, having pages that load faster will help you achieve your goal. Our development team regularly dedicates resources towards making all of our sites load faster - just one of the benefits of being on the Sequoia website platform!

For more information about all of Sequoia's great features and functionality, check out our interactive User Guide or attend one of our weekly refresher trainings

New Video About the Sequoia Platform!

There's no doubt that the Sequoia platform encompasses the most cutting-edge real estate website software available on the market. But how is this done? What features are available on a Sequoia website? How does Sequoia help you succeed in your real estate business?

We've put together a great real estate website video that breaks down exactly what it takes to make your real estate online marketing campaign to be successful. Click the image to view the video, or visit the Boston Logic YouTube page.

First, you need to drive traffic to your website. To do this, the Sequoia platform helps your site rank higher in search engines for highly applicable search terms. The platform also helps you leverage social media websites like Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin. All of this is tracked using state of the art Analytics so that you can hone your campaign based on performance and actual usage statistics.

Next, when users arrive at your site, they should intuitively know where to click, and they should be able to quickly find what they came looking for. For example, many users on real estate websites arrive and want to immediately search for their perfect home. Once they’ve found what they want, or feel like they’re getting close, we want to compel them to provide their contact information. This is when the visitor converts from an anonymous user into a lead.
Throughout the user experience, prominent calls to action give easy access to tools which allow your customers to contact an agent, schedule a showing, save a favorite property, take notes on listings to help organize their search – even share a listing by broadcasting it to social media sites or emailing it to a friend.

How Can Sequoia Help?

The Sequoia Platform educates your clients by showing them the complete MLS listing. In addition, we’ve integrated the Sequoia platform with Yelp!, Walkscore, Education.com, Google Maps, Zillow, and myriad other data resources to provide relevant information about the town or neighborhood where your customers are looking to buy or rent. All of these tools help educate the user and ensure that your website becomes the foundation of their search for a new home.

Now that you have generated lots of leads and your site has become the foundation of their online home search, you’re going to need tools to incubate those leads until they’re ready to buy or rent. Not all leads are ready to close at the moment when you first identify them. So, we’ve built extensive functionality designed to maximize the ease of workflow and help you manage your pipeline.
We’ve also automated many of the tasks that you perform most often. The Sequoia system makes it quick and easy to create and print listing sheets, communicate with clients, schedule and coordinate showings, print showing sheets, search your MLS or rental database, send listing updates, follow up, and never forget a task.

While you’re at it, you’re going to want a record of your communication with each client. The Sequoia platform helps you precisely track your website’s user activity. You’ll know exactly what your clients are doing on your site, including how often they’re coming back, what they are searching for, homes they’re looking at, which listings they liked the most, and much more. All of this data will help you serve your customers better and close more deals!

When it’s time to put in an offer, the Sequoia platform helps you stay organized with our deal tracker component and virtual documents feature, making the process an organized procedure, rather than a mess of paperwork and tasks to juggle.
By facilitating this process, Sequoia makes your real estate online marketing campaign successful while making you more efficient! The Sequoia platform even helps you sign new seller clients by making your listings look great and maximizing the exposure of those listings on sites like Facebook, Trulia, and Zillow.

To learn more about Boston Logic, and how we can help you achieve results online, please give us a call or contact us for a demonstration.

Client Testimonial: New Boston Logic Real Estate Website Sees Results!

We are occasionally fortunate enough to receive glowing client testimonials and feedback about our real estate websites once they go live. In the following testimonial, a client experienced a significant dropped Bounce Rate, and is seeing that his website users and visitors are increasing their Time on Site!

"Dear David,

So as not to let the moment pass, I want to thank everyone involved in the launch and ease of implementation of our new real estate website. We still have a steep learning curve ahead but are enjoying the process.

Boston Logic designs stellar real estate website that produced results!

See the new Boston Logic site at www.mvbuyeragents.com

Statistics a bit hard to gauge in a few days particularly our 2 slowest days of the week. However, our two prime concerns have had a dramatic turnaround in Google Analytics: Bounce rate has dropped 46% to 35% and Average Time on Site increased 187% to 4:53.

Thank you again, and I look forward to years of successful association." Fred, Martha's Vineyard Buyer Agents

Visit the Martha's Vineyard real estate website at www.mvbuyeragents.com to see more of Boston Logic's work and real estate website design and functionality capabilities!

Ready to get started with your own real estate website? Contact Boston Logic today to get started!

Find Your Hottest Leads FAST with LogicScore

ANNOUNCING a NEW SEQUOIA FEATURE: LogicScore!

We've recently launched a great new feature for the Sequoia platform – LogicScore.

Easily Find Your Hottest Leads with LogicScore

If you, like most Sequoia clients, get a large number of leads from your website, one of the biggest challenges you have at the beginning of the day is figuring out who your hottest leads are – who to contact first!

To help you make that process as easy as possible, we’ve created an algorithm to quantify each lead’s likelihood of becoming a customer and closing a deal.

We measure the quality of each activity the lead performs on your website, with actions such as property searches bearing a comparatively low value, but actions like reaching out to you by way of a contact form or a request for a property showing having a higher value. We then tabulate these results and further add to them the factor of their recent activity. A lead who performs a lot of actions on your site is clearly worth contacting, and the ones who have done so more recently are even more likely to become a satisfied customer.

Our algorithm calculates all of this information and produces a LogicScore based on the likelihood that this lead is going to be a good prospect for you to start working with ASAP. You’ll now notice on each table of leads that there is a new LogicScore column, sorted by default in descending order.

the New LogicScore Component

You can also use our Advanced Lead Search tool to find leads with high scores, so you’ll always be able to reach out to your best prospects first. With the Advanced Lead Search, you can also sort your leads based on a variety of criteria, including; the lead type, their current living arrangements, their desired move date, the assigned agent, the creation date, the date of their last activity, and much more!

Use the Advanced Lead Search for More Search Options

We hope this new tool helps to make the process of converting leads into deals even easier than before, and provides even more insight into how your new leads become your best clients thanks to your Sequoia website!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us to learn more.

New Site Launch and New MLS Service Integrated!

RE/MAX By The Bay needed more than just another website. The leader in sales in their market, their online presence was in need of an update - and rather than simply keep pace with their competitors, they opted to take their real estate website to the next level with a custom design theme for the Sequoia platform!

RE/MAX By The Bay had been through several Web vendors with varying degrees of success, and knew that they needed to work with the best firm in the business in order to get the results they needed. Boston Logic, the clear leader in real estate software and online marketing for the real estate industry, was a natural choice. Working through several rounds of revision, we created a fully customized look and feel for their new website, www.homesinmaine.com.

With easy-to-use navigation and a fresh, clean look, RE/MAX By The Bay's new website is a perfect representation of the new direction of their online presence. In addition, the Sequoia platform offers their agents and brokers more functionality than ever before, simplifying the process of lead management and customer acquisition so that agents can focus on doing their jobs more effectively.

Creating a custom design theme for your real estate website truly lets you stand out among your competitors. Since RE/MAX By The Bay is already at the top of their market, their website needed to reflect this level of commitment to their clients and true competitive edge. A custom design theme on the Sequoia platform gave them all of that and more.

In order to serve RE/MAX By The Bay and other Maine real estate firms, we've recently integrated MREIS, the Maine multiple listing service, with the Sequoia platform. From the southern shores of Rhode Island all the way up to Canada, we've got you covered - serving every major MLS in between!

Another Boston Logic innovation allows RE/MAX By The Bay agents to maintain their own unique and functional websites, previously impossible due to an MREIS rule. We've built a custom search code generator for the Sequoia platform which lets each agent create their own search tool for use on their personal website. This lets individual agents unlock the power of their personal brand on the Web, marketing their exclusive listings as well as giving their customers the power to search for their new home as they see fit.

RE/MAX By The Bay is Maine's top producing real estate brokerage by sales volume. Founded in 1995, they have consistently ranked at the top of all Real Estate companies servicing the Portland Board of Realtors service area.

Contact a member of the Boston Logic sales team today at 617-266-9166 to learn more about how you can invest in the most cutting edge real estate website technology on the market today!

LogicClassroom: Leveraging the Sequoia Platform for Success!

Thanks to all who attended our online webinar last night, "Leveraging the Sequoia Platform for Success!". We were pleased to see such a great turnout.

Here are the slides from last night's LogicClassroom in case you missed out, or would just like a refresher on the material that was covered.

LogicClassroom - Leveraging Sequoia for Success

View more presentations from Boston Logic.

During the LogicClassroom, we took a tour of the Sequoia Dashboard, and covered some tips for users, brokers, and agents on how to make most out of the system. We also discussed the new Sidebar Widget, a recent feature launch for the Sequoia real estate website platform. Lastly, we discussed the Town Pages feature and their optimization, as well as covered some Social Media online marketing tools.

Most of the Sequoia LogicClassroom was in fact a demo on how to use our real estate website platform. If you are interested in the best-in-class Sequoia software, contact Bosoton Logic to schedule a product demo today!

A "Guarantee" that's Worth it's Weight in Dirt

I'm honestly astounded.

I know that we offer high quality products and services for the real estate vertical and I'm proud to say we're firmly the very best, but I'm astonished at just how low some of our "competitors" set the bar.

" We guarantee 60 visitors within the first two calendar months or it's free! "

This is the "guarantee" that z57 has right on their home page! I'd be embarrassed to put this sentence on this site or on BostonLogic.com. Down right embarrassed!

If you're reading this and you're a real estate website beginner, I'll explain in the next paragraph. If you're an educated web marketer or, really, have spent any time looking at online marketing traffic reports, you've probably already concluded just how poor z57's sites must be.

For the novices out there - nothing to be ashamed of - here's a reality check:

A website that sees just 1 visit/day is almost useless! Most of the real estate websites we launch start seeing 5 or 10 times this traffic within days.

Like selling a car and saying it will run 5 miles

Would You Trust This Guy?

z57 is, in effect, guaranteeing that they'll provide next to nothing. This is like selling a car and guaranteeing that it'll drive 5 miles. No thank you.

Here's what really gets my goat; These folks are praying on the lack of education that most of their potential customers possess. I think that's just plain dishonest. I couldn't do it and I don't think anyone who has ever worked at Boston Logic would ever stoop to this level.

Instead, we have 3 blogs working to educate our current and potential clients. We hold a free LogicClassroom every month. AND we'll honestly answer any question you might have and base those answers on web best practices.

If this blog post reads like a rant, well, it is. I hope it was illuminating, if not entertaining.

New Sequoia Real Estate Agent Site Launch: Christine Lacava

Christine Lacava is an agent with Jack Conway & Co. When she needed a new website, she came came to Boston Logic and the Sequoia platform in order to leverage all of the great tools she came to know and love on the Jack Conway corporate site!

Christine needed a great site at a great price, so she took advantage of one of our ready-to-deploy design themes for the Sequoia platform.
Choosing a standard theme allows you to have a new, fully functional website up and running in minimal time. For a low startup cost, you can have your new Sequoia site live to the world in less than 24 hours if you choose one of our standard themes. This is a great option for anyone on a budget - or in a hurry!

Our Real Estate Agent Sites offer all of the great features of our sites for entire offices, as well as integrated lead management - which enables you to get leads assigned to you from your brokerage as well as from your own website! No need to log into two systems; leads captured on your office's Sequoia site can be sent directly to your real estate agent website for you to manage directly. This system cuts down on much of the time and effort required to maintain your own site while still working as a member of an office.

Contact the Boston Logic sales team today at 617-266-9166 to learn more about the Sequoia platform and our various real estate web design options.

Christine Lacava represents residential buyers and sellers in Plymouth and Bristol counties.

Tuesday Tip: Facebook Timeline

Related Links:

LogicMaps & Yelp: Friday Feature Focus

If your Sequoia site doesn't already include this great feature, or you want to learn more about Sequoia, contact our sales team today!

Related Links:

Sequoia System Updates!

Feature Enhancements & Performance Upgrades

"I love what you did on the export for dynamic forms. It works fantastically and will definitely help us with the adjustment to the new system."

For more information about all of Sequoia's great features and functionality, check out our interactive User Guide or attend one of our weekly refresher trainings

Related Links:

New Video About the Sequoia Platform!

Related Links:

Client Testimonial: New Boston Logic Real Estate Website Sees Results!

Related Links:

Find Your Hottest Leads FAST with LogicScore

ANNOUNCING a NEW SEQUOIA FEATURE: LogicScore!

Related Links:

New Site Launch and New MLS Service Integrated!

Related Links:

LogicClassroom: Leveraging the Sequoia Platform for Success!

Related Links:

A "Guarantee" that's Worth it's Weight in Dirt

Related Links:

New Sequoia Real Estate Agent Site Launch: Christine Lacava

Related Links:

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