Using Instagram to Share Stunning Pictures of Listings

 

“Instagram” has become quite the buzz word these last few months, as the app has emerged to become one of the fastest growing social networking tools used by mobile phone users. At first only available on iPhone, Instagram recently launched an Android version that garnered millions of new followers in a short period of time. If you haven’t used the app yet, it is essentially a timeline where users share images that they have edited with “filters” of what they are doing, seeing (and even eating.)

Instagram was recently bought by Facebook for $1 billion, which instantly made it the envy of the tech world. In addition to being the hottest new app, it’s also a great tool to share stunning images of listings and properties to potential buyers.

 

If you’re new to Instagram here are some tips to get started and start snapping great photos.

Download the app: Instagram is currently only available on iPhone and Android phones. Unfortunately, if you own a Blackberry this blog post won’t be very useful.

Add your Profile information: Once you’ve downloaded the app, click the “settings” icon which is in the bottom right corner. Here you can choose a username, edit your profile information, add a profile image, and set your privacy settings.

Add Friends: By also clicking the “settings” icon on the homepage, you can ‘Find Friends’ from your contact list, Facebook and Twitter. Click ‘Follow’ next to their names so their images start appearing in your feed.

Take a picture: On the home screen, click the middle “camera” icon to take photos. The screen will change to a camera viewfinder where you can snap your images. By clicking on the ‘squares’ icon on the bottom left of the screen you can also choose an image from your photo library and upload to share.

Choose a Filter: After you’ve snapped your picture, pick one of the 18 available filters toa dd a special effect to your photo. You can also use the ‘sun’ icon at the bottom left make the picture brighter. Once you are happy with the image, press the green check mark (if you’re not happy you can click on the red X and start over)

Share your image: After you click on the green check mark, add a caption to your image to help describe it. You can also send it straight to your Facebook, Twitte, Email, Flickr, Tumblr and Foursquare. You can also click ‘emable geotag’ to add the location of where you took the photo. It will scan all the places close by you.

Instagram is great for showcasing great images from your listing and to attract potential buyers you can also share photos of the neighborhood, nearby parks, schools, landscaping, outdoor spaces, amenities and more (and don’t forget you can use this images on your other social networks as well!) Essentially it’s a virtual collage that reflects your lifestyle and attracts others to follow you.

Get creative and let your inner photographer shine, happy Instagram-ing! 

Make sure to follow @ONESIR on Instagram for an inside peak into the most exclusive homes and properties in South Florida!

Mayi de La Vega awarded the “Builder Award” by the FIU Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame

 

Founder and CEO of ONE Sotheby’s Mayi de la Vega has been awarded the 2012 “Builder’s Award” by the FIU Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. This organization celebrates the FIU College of Business Administration’s ongoing commitment to entrepreneurship honoring successful entrepreneurs who have made a difference in the entrepreneurial business community. It was established in 1999 to recognize FIU’s alumni who have achieved distinction as founders and builder of new businesses (information via business.fiu.edu)

 

On May 3rd, the FIU Entreprenuership Hall of Fame held its 2012 Induction Ceremony at the College of Business Administration. The “Builder’s” Award was presented to Mayi de la Vega for her dynamic entrepreneurial efforts in the real estate industry. During the presentation of her award a video highlighting her career accomplishments was screened, and she was congratulated by the President of the University Mark B. Rosenberg.

Congratulations Mayi, we look forward to  many more exciting achievements in the years to come!

 

Pinterest Giveaway- Win a Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia!

 

Pinterest is a great place to share photos that catch your eye and to organize them by theme. If you’re on this innovative social network we invite you to enter our fun giveaway to win a Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia by sharing your favorite wine related “pins”. From now through Wednesday, April 25th, pin your favorite wine image and include the hashtags #wineencyclopedia #onesothebys in the image description to enter! You can also check out our “ONE Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia Giveaway” (http://bit.ly/HOUvMs) and “Residential Wine Cellars” (http://bit.ly/HOUxnA) to find images and get inspiration.

The pins with the most likes and repins will win a beautiful new Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia 5th Edition, that has a retail value of $50.00. The Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia is the inside guide to every major wine-growing region in the world. It offers dozens of helpful Top 10 lists covering a broad range of topics including Best-Value, Greatest Quality, Unusual Finds and more. It’s the perfect addition to any wine lover’s library.

Make sure to follow @ONESotheby’s on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/onesothebys/

We will announce the winner on Wednesday, April 25th, good luck and happy pinning!

Using Pinterest in your Real Estate Business

 

If you use social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter then you have probably already heard the buzz about Pinterest, a new photo sharing website where users can ‘pin’ their favorite images and create inspiration boards organized by themes. This virtual ‘pinboard’ lets you share products of interest, beautiful pictures, recipes, quotes and more with others and keep them on your profile for quick reference. The real estate industry has embraced Pinterest and many realtors are now using it to share photos of their new listings, real estate news and other relevant info. Read on to learn the basics of Pinterest and also get some creative ideas on what to ‘pin’, so you can start using it for your own business.

Pinterest recently hit over 10 million unique visitors faster than any other website in history to make it one of the quickest growing online networks. The site has grown to over 12 million users and notable brands such as Whole Foods, Gap, Unicef, DKNY, CBS, HGTV and Pillsbury are using it to launch products, share industry trends and engage with their consumers through a unique platform.

If you’re a Pinterest rookie and are visiting the site for the first time, don’t get overwhelmed with the stream photos and information. Follow our basics on how to use Pinterest and soon you will be on your way to becoming a ‘pinning pro’.

- Go to www.pinterest.com and create your profile, from there make sure to link it to your Facebook and Twitter accounts so it can connect you with friends that are already using it. Once it pulls your friends you can click ‘follow’ for each one to start following their boards.
- If you connect it to your Facebook and Twitter accounts, you can go to ‘settings’ and choose to have it connected to share your pins on these sites. You can always turn the option on or off.
- Make sure to add the “Pin It” button to your browser, this will let you quickly add photos from websites you visit. Here are instruction on how to add the “Pin It” button: http://bit.ly/Hdnubp
- On the top right corner of the Pinterest screen you will see and “Add” icon, click here to create a new board or upload an image from your own files.
- Browse through your followers photos and feel free to comment and re-pin on to your own boards!

You can pin virtually anything on Pinterest to share with your followers. Here are some ideas on what to share that can help highlight your real estate business.

New Listings: Create a board for each one of your listings with images of the property. Don’t forget to include your contact info in the photo caption!

Neighborhoods: Share photos of parks, restaurants, and other public spaces to highlight the neighborhoods you cover. This can help give potential clients an idea of what it is like to live in these areas.

Interior Decorating: Sharing photos of interior décor is very popular on Pinterest and pinning your favorite images can help get ‘repins’, which means other users are sharing it with their followers.

The possibilities to share content on Pinterest are endless. Let your creative juices flow and you’ll see how Pinterest is beneficial in marketing your business to new, tech savvy consumers. The most important part is to get started and make sure to have fun with it!

Don’t forget- follow ONE Sotheby’s International Realty on Pinterest!

ONE | Sotheby’s New Mobile Website

 

ONE | Sotheby’s International Realty has just launched their upgraded new website and with it a new mobile site that can be accessed on smartphones and tablets. The new mobile site has a user friendly interface with special resources and tools that facilitate the home search process. Users are also able to add an icon to their phone’s home screen that allows them to quickly access the site at any time.

Mobile Site Main Screen

The home page of the mobile site has three main functions for users to search properties nearby by or in other neighborhoods. In the ‘Search All Homes” tab users can fill out minimum and maximum price criterias as well as number of bedrooms, bathrooms, short sales, foreclosures and new listings on the MLS.

The mobile site can also detect where users are located and pull up all the nearby properties available through the ‘Houses Near Me” tab. When the users taps on a certain pin, they can access the decriptions, details and photos of the property.

On the mobile site users will also be able to search for on going Open Houses by location, price range and date.

To visit the ONE | Sotheby’s mobile site visit www.onesir.net on your mobile phone or tablet and start your property search.

ONE | Sotheby’s Publishes TRENDS 2011 Year In Review

 

ONE | Sotheby’s has published the 2011 Year in Review edition of TRENDS, which covers every area in South Florida and gives an overview of what happened in each market. From Coral Gables to Fort Lauderdale, TRENDS provides an in depth analysis of sales prices and transactions for both single family homes and condos.

By the end of 2011, Miami made it to the Top 10 Recovery list and now leads other cities as the market continues to shift from balanced inventory to a shortage. The ultra luxury section experiences especially high activity and ONE | Sotheby’s was involved in 3 of 4 sales closed over $20million.

Key observations in TRENDS show that prices are steadily increasing and some micro markets have seen a rise of over 40% compared to the same time in 2010. In Miami-Dade the price per square foot is up 14% and in Broward 3%, signaling a strong real estate recovery even with a lagging economy. The numbers also reflect the heavy influence of foreign and international investments.

The 2011 Year in Review TRENDS report contains more in depth information as well as precise numbers and statistics. To review TRENDS, visit this link: TRENDS 2011 Year In Review. 

ONE | Sotheby’s presents Global Economic Forum at Annual Company Meeting

 

On Wednesday, March 14th, more than 200 guests composed of ONE |Sotheby’s agents, brokers and industry experts gathered at the Residences at the W South Beach for a series of presentations by the management team as well as other experts from the Miami Downtown Development Authority and Morgan Stanley.

200+ guests gathered at the W South Beach for ONE Sotheby's annual company workshop

The event began with an introduction from Daniel de la Vega and continued with a presentation by Vanessa Ballestas that reviewed the company’s international marketing initiatives and the upcoming “Miami Week” events and in Brazil and throughout Latin America. Her presentation was followed by Janie Coffey who spoke about the Sotheby’s corporate marketing materials available to the agents as well as the upcoming training schedule that includes everything from Pinterest, Instagram, Rezora and other topics. After that Amy Stojanovic of the social media agency. Mochee Inc. presented statistics on social media and it’s influence in the real estate business. The series was closed by company president Beth Butler who debuted the new company website (www.onesothebysrealty.com) and its upgraded functions and capabilities. Being the leader in luxury home real estate in South Florida, ONE | Sotheby’s now has 7 offices and over 250 dedicated agents that cover the area.

Company President Beth Butler

After the company presentations the guests enjoyed a networking cocktail hour, which was followed by the two-part Global Economic Forum. The Forum opened with Alyce Robertson, current Executive Director of the Downtown development Authority, that discussed current projects and new growth happening in Downtown Miami. She discussed the Genting Project, and the redevelopment of Flagler Street that will hopefully revive the area with new dining, shopping and entertainment. Oscar Musibay, reporter for the South Florida Business Journal had a series of questions for Mrs. Robertson, which included topics such as public transportation and the construction of the new tunnel for Miami.

The Keynote speaker of the evening was Mr. David M. Darst, CFA and Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney NY. Mr. Darst gave an energetic presentation about investment strategy peppered with personal anecdotes that had the audience in stitches. He went over the key factors that have affected the economy as well as global marketing conditions and financial indexes.

The informative presenters of the Global economic Forum gave insight into what is going to continue to happen in the market for the next 5-10 years, and also discussed what upcoming trends to look for happening in the real estate market.

Principal and Founder Mayi de la Vega thanking all the guest speakers

 

ONE Sotheby’s Realty Social media Savvy Agents Participate in Miami Social Media Week Feb 13-17

 

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Pinterest, Instagram and Google+ will all take the spotlight at Social Media Week Miami, which takes place at the Adrienne Arsht Center starting February 13th through February 17th. Social Media Week consists of a series of panels and round table discussions focusing on the different social networking platforms and how to use them for business and fun. It is big news that Miami has been chosen as one of the TWELVE social media leading cities in the WORLD to host these events.

With almost 40 panels to fill up the week, we are thrilled that two of One Sotheby’s International Realty’s top agents, and pioneers of Miami’s social Media community, Janie Coffey (@janiec) and Jorge Fernandez (@miamijorge) will be participating in four discussions.

They will be speaking on the following panels:
Janie Coffey:
Monday at 3:30pm- “Essential Strategies for Social Media Engagement
Thursday at 2:30pm- “Keeping Social Real and Organic

Jorge Fernandez :
Wednesday at 4:30pm “Social Media Economic Development
Friday at 10:15am – “Socially Selling Real Estate

Miami is one of the 12 International cities participating in Social Media Week, along with Hamburg, Hong Kong, London, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo, Toronto and Washington D.C.

Whether you are a social media expert or a rookie interested in learning more, this is a great opportunity to network with Miami’s Social Media leaders and delve deep into the hottest topics.
To check out the complete schedule and register for the events visit:
Miami Social Media Week 

Also, make sure to follow One Sotheby’s International Realty and keep up with all the Miami Social Media Week action:

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