Twitter and StalkDaily.com Worm Virus

By now most of the Twitter users probably heard Twitter was hit with a potentially harmful virus.

For those who did not see the posts around the net here is what basically happened.

Twitter profile pages are being infected with cross site scripting (XSS) attack. What this really means is that Twitter profile pages are being compromised by hidden javascript. When you visit an infected profile page, this script runs and infects your Twitter account. The script then send Tweets out to your followers to visit StalkDaily.com. The virus also inserts itself into your bio pages, allowing your bio page to become a host to infect others.

StalkDaily had said they are not the orginator of the attack.

If you are infected do the following:

1. Go to your Twitter account settings and switch your bio back to the normal setting.

2. Clear out your cache and cookies from your browser.

3. As a precaution, change your Twitter account password.

Twitter was pretty fast on knocking this down and posted this their status page:

Earlier today we were informed of a malicious site that was spreading links to StalkDaily.com on Twitter without user consent via a cross-site scripting vulnerability. We’ve taken steps to remove the offending updates, and to close the holes that allowed this “worm” to spread.

No passwords, phone numbers, or other sensitive information were compromised as part of this attack.

Blog Commenting

I wrote a post a few weeks ago on why we should comment on blogs. The blog I maintain is very relevant to the Real Estate industry so the moral of the story was to take sometime and begin to comment. I even offered a reciprocal comment.

So now when we do comment, how should we go about doing it?

Here is my short “NOT” list..

• Don’t leave short comments like “Great post” or “I agree”, include a link and think you accomplished your job.
• Make sure your comments are of value.  Take some time to write a clear post that is grammatically correct.  Don’t leave unprofessional posts.  Remember this is a reflection of you.
• Don’t stuff keywords in your post.
• Don’t mass comment all at once across a single blog.
• Don’t use the same comment across multiple blogs to try to spam your way to success.
• Don’t advertise on your comments like “I have this great site where you can purchase…”.

Use commenting for what is was meant for, engaging the conversation.  Spend a bit of time and make a quality post, show the world you are a professional, gain some credibility and commenting will be a successful use of your time.

Setting up Google Alerts

 

 

As promised here is the follow-up to my post on “Can Google Alerts Help The Agent?“

Now that we explored how you might be able to use Google Alerts let begin to talk about setting up your alerts.

In order to use Google Alerts you must have a gmail account.  If you do not have one please go to www.gmail.com and get one.

No that you have your gmail account you need to login to your alerts.  You can go here to directly login or if you have used any of the google tools you can login to your account directly as well.

To login directly to Google Alerts go to this page http://www.google.com/alerts.

(Note: If you have an existing Google account go to google.com and click on the “My Account” link at the top of the page.  Login to your account.  If you never used Google Alerts go to the section “Try Something New” and select it.

Once you login you’ll be at the manage your accounts page.  Click on the “New Alert” button to create a new alert.

1: Deceide on your Search Terms

The first thing you need to do is choose your search terms.  This is the word or words Google will search on.  For this example I will use; “Giants Football”

2: Choose the Type of Alert

Now you need to choose the type of alert.  Your choice are; News, Blogs, Web, Comprehensive, Video, and Groups.

Depending on what you are looking for here is an explanation of each type:

•  A ‘News’ alert is an email aggregate of the latest news articles that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top ten results of your Google News search.
• A ‘Web’ alert is an email aggregate of the latest web pages that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top twenty results of your Google Web search.
• A ‘Blogs’ alert is an email aggregate of the latest blog posts that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top ten results of your Google Blog search.
• A ‘Comprehensive’ alert is an aggregate of the latest results from multiple sources (News, Web and Blogs) into a single email to provide maximum coverage on the topic of your choice.
• A ‘Video’ alert is an email aggregate of the latest videos that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top ten results of your Google Video search.
• A ‘Groups’ alert is an email aggregate of new posts that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top fifty results of your Google Groups search.

For now let’s choose “Comprehensive” which will yield results from Web, News, and Blogs.

3:  Select a Delivery Method

Now choose how you waned it delivered.  You can receive an email or it can be outputed to an RSS feed.

Next you need to choose how often you want results.  The frequency you select when you set up your alert determines how often Google checks for new results, not necessarily how often you’ll receive alerts. If you select “once a day,” Google will check for new results once a day, which means you’ll get a maximum of one email per day. If you choose the “as it happens,” Google will check for new results continuously and send you an alert whenever they find a new result.

4: Create Alert

Then simply click “Create Alert” and you are done.

Summing it up

So setting up alerts is fairly simple, the trick is using the correct search terms and type to yield results that are useful.  When thinking of what term you want to search on be specific.  For example Arizona would probably give you everything from Arizona news headlines to Arizona Iced Tea.  A better term would be Arizona Scottsdale travel or New Jersey wine tasting.

Also if you are looking for current events you might want to choose only the news alerts  instead of adding the web and blogs.  Also add a separate one for video if you want to see what is being posted for video.

The real trick is to play with the type of alerts and the search terms.  After a bit of practice you can really gain some insightful information out of these free alerts.

Get a web strategy, not a website

I have clients ask me all the time; “I have a website and IDX but I do not get many leads”.  That sound might resonate to many of you out there but their is a real good reason why this happens.  Websites today are more than just a bunch of pages, they are a strategic marketing platform.  Today’s websites are more than just pretty pictures and when attention to detail is not paid, most people have poor results.  Take a look at this list.  How many items do you consider in your web marketing strategy.

1. You need to engage your prospect.  Failure to do so will simply result in a lost opportunity.
2. Today people demand complete listing inventory.  Yes they want lots of pictures, video and good content on listings. I wrote about IDX in a previous post and how poor quality content destroys the integrity of your inventory.
3. Responding to leads.  Yes it does make a difference if you call/email within an hour vs. 2 days.  Generation X & Y will not tolerate it.  With the advent of cell phones, Instant Messaging, and email, people today want to be connected and connected fast.
4. KISS – Yes the adage Keep It Simple Stupid applies to your website.  Complex pages and searches will turn your audience away.  For the same reason Gen X & Y want to hear from you within 60 seconds, they also don’t want to be bogged down in your website.
5. Social Networking – Now here is a interesting topic for the Agent.  More and more agents are embracing Social Networking but a lot of them are not leveraging it as part of their marketing strategy.  In the 2008 NAR Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, 44% of home buyers use Social Networking every day.  That is a lot of connecting.
6. My quest would not be complete if I did not mention, Content, Content, Content.  No website can be successful without quality content that is original in nature and is from your market’s perspective.

So what does this all mean?  Well for starters, a website needs some of your time.  Whether you hire a professional or put the time in yourself your website must evolve.  Also you need to have a good marketing plan and budget just as your do for any other marketing project.  Lastly, start connecting, most people are happy with just a website but that is not enough today.  Get involved with Social Networking as part of your web strategy.

So start planning and leverage the Internet to become your next lead machine.

Trackbacks

I get asked all the time what a Trackback is. Here is a post that explains it perfectly. Trackbacks Explained.

The author Teli Adlam provides a really good explaination of how trackbacks and pingbacks are used.

87% of Homebuyers use the Internet as an information resource

The 2008 National Association of Realtors Profile showed an overwhelming majority (87%) of recent home buyers in the US say they used the internet as an information resource during their home-buying process, and nearly one-third say they first learned about their newly purchased home from an online channel.

When asked where they first learned about the home purchased, 34 percent of buyers said a real estate agent; 32 percent the Internet; 15 percent from yard signs; 7 percent from a friend, neighbor or relative; 7 percent home builders; 3 percent a print or newspaper ad; 2 percent directly from the seller; and 1 percent a home book or magazine.

87% percent of home buyers who used the Internet to search for a home purchased through a real estate agent, in contrast with 72 percent of non-Internet users who were more likely to purchase directly from a builder or from an owner they already knew in a private transaction.

Of those those Internet home buyers 75%  drove by/viewed a home,  57% walked through a home viewed online, and 23% found agent used to search/buy home.

So what are you waiting for.   If you don’t have a strong web presence you better get one .   Now take into account most prospects are not searching for you by name but rather what they are looking for; “New homes in Bergen County”, “Luxury Homes in Alpine NJ”

So whether you are building a web presence by yourself or having a professional do one for you, the overwhelming statics say you better get involved.  While that is great for people like me who make a living helping REALTORS on the Internet, I don’t care who you work with, the point being make yourself be noticed.

Staying on top of the market today means being the local expert in your area.    So what’s next?  Well if you don’t have a web presence get one.  If you do have one, work on it, or get help from someone who knows how.

What’s important in today’s web presence strategy is simple: Effective Market Penetration, Lead Generation, Lead Management and Productivity.

With the Agent Central Max series, both Office and Agents can effectively deploy a website, manage lead generation, and control all of their website back office functions.   All for a price that will fit your budget.

Real Pages, not server generated ones, Max sites are 100% XHTML pages written to be search engine friendly.

Power your website with these features:

Lead Generation

The purpose of your website is to attract home buyers and sellers. Agent Central Max sites are designed to attract buyers and sellers, motivate them to interact with your website and thus generate a lead. But a lead is not where we stop. Once your website generates a lead, your back office then collects, tracks and distributes leads through our Lead Management System.

Management

No website is complete without the ability to control the content of your website. Agent Central Max handles this through our Content and Roster Management Systems. You have control to edit your own content and maintain your own office roster. Of course you may elect to have us handle this if you wish as well.

Branding

For the majority of Internet users the appearance of a website is very important. Visual perception often defines credibility. But having a good looking website is not enough if people cannot find it or use it properly. Each Agent Central Max site is custom designed to help you advance your branding strategy online, while focusing on the needs of real estate buyers and sellers. We focus on the tasks most buyers and sellers want to accomplish when visiting your website. With this approach, you’ll get more pre-qualified leads.

Agent Central Max is a complete solution

• Advanced Search Technology
• Lead Generation
• Unlimited Agent Profiles
• Advanced IDX Search Solutions
• Auto Responders
• Cell Phone Alerts On Leads
• Support for Virtual Tours
• Complete Listing Maintenance
• Contact Management
• Content Management
• Listing Syndication
• Portfolio Manager – Capture prospects, generate automatic listing alerts, saved searches and favorite listings folders.
• Branded Email
• Calendaring
• News
• Custom Designed To Your Specifications
• All Real And Search Engine Friendly Pages

Contact today at sales@readvantage.com or call us at 877-791-4825

(Source for statistics National Association of Realtors(r))