The big advantage of Agent Insight over other real estate sites is it gives you an opportunity to present many features of your community through photos and written posts. Several RE/MAX agents in Bartlesville, OK are doing just that with a diverse collection of submissions.

Robert Phillips, a new agent with RE/MAX Results in Bartlesville, has posted several photos and insights during his first month on the job.

“Our branch broker, Kevin Lynch, said our agents make Agent Insight posts frequently as a way to show ourselves as experts on our community, ” Robert said. “I think this is a good time for me to submit many posts while I’m just getting started. I intend to continue adding to my collection as I grow my business.”

Many of the Bartlesville agents are following the same pattern. Throughout the town, they have covered very diverse subjects.  Written insights include local businesses and restaurants, charities, Robot City at the local tech center, a medical center, and the weather. The paragragh below is an excerpt from a post by Dennis Rudisaile from RE/MAX Results. It is written in first-person and tells about an event he attended at a unique Bartlesville wildlife preserve.

Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve – Hidden Gem in Osage Hills
I recently took a road trip to visit the sprawling wildlife preserve located on Highway 123 between Bartlesville and Barnsdall that is Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve. The event I attended, one of many that attracts visitors to the area, was the Mountain Man Camp. It’s a place where you can view the inside of a teepee and see how people lived in the 1840’s, all within the beautiful grounds of Woolaroc. You, too, can visit it anytime between mid-March to early September. Be sure to check on their website for the many events put on during the year.

The Bartlesville photos have even more variety. Subjects include the downtown area, parks, pools, bike trails, the community center, pastureland, schools, and good shots of local flora and fauna. The selections below are great examples of some different features of the Bartlesville area.

Photo credits:  from RE/MAX Results in Bartlesville, Robert Phillips and Dennis Rudisaile; from RE/MAX of Green Country in Nowata, OK, Sherman Shanklin and Lindsey Coe.

Many thanks to the four agents featured in this article and to the other Bartlesville area agents who have contributed excellent submissions for this community page. To other RE/MAX agents, take a look at your community pages and make sure you have a wide variety of subjects covered. You can’t tell a good story with only subdivision entries. Get creative!

Happy Holidays from the Agent Insider staff and everyone at engageRE!  We would like to encourage you to make the most of this season and fill your Agent Insight pages with fun and festive submissions.

Beautiful decorations, holiday lights, and annual holiday events present themselves to you every day from now through New Year’s. Choose your favorite neighborhoods to highlight, and add jolly seasonal posts to those pages. You want to show these areas looking their best all through the year.

Draw attention to glowing decorations in subdivisions, at shopping venues, and on downtown streets. Christmas plays, parades, concerts, and school programs all add color to the season. We’ve received many wonderful holiday photos throughout the years. Take a look at this beautiful selection:

December also offers wonderful subjects for your written submissions. Maybe the city park lines their walking paths with luminaries or perhaps there is a neighborhood loaded with lights and decorations that is the “Candy Cane Lane” in your community. Tell the story in a chatty, personal tone, use first person style, and you’ll have an excellent post about why you love the area. For inspiration, look at this fine holiday article submitted by Mandi Gipson, RE/MAX Connections in Ottawa, KS.

I Love the Annual Christmas Parade
One of my favorite memories of the holiday season while growing up in Ottawa, was the Christmas Parade. The smiling faces, the cups of hot chocolate and the loud horn of the fire truck. These are the sights and sounds that come to my mind when I think of the annual Christmas Parade. I was always excited yet nervous when the fire trucks would go by. “How cool is that big red fire truck,” I would say and then, just about that time, the loud horn would honk! The local bands that marched and played their music brought joy and smiles to the crowd. The end of the parade was always special, as Santa Claus made his appearance. At the end of the parade, a walk down Main Street and  lunch at one of the local eateries was a perfect end to a great time in downtown Ottawa! It was when I was a child and still is today!

After the first of the year, continue to fill your Agent Insight pages with lots of winter photos and posts.  Showing your community in all four seasons makes for a richer, fuller portrait of the area. Sledders, skaters, snowmen, and all kinds of frosty scenes will be available for weeks. Take advantage! Don’t worry if your part of the country isn’t snowy. You can still make the most of the season. Look at this winter scene from the Gulf Coast showing a sand “snowman.” Great photo!

The Insight Insider blog is a road map to Agent Insight, the unique tool that so many RE/MAX agents have made part of their marketing plan. It gives you opportunities to grow the RE/MAX presence in your area, elevate your personal online brand and generate more potential clients.

Insight Insider guides you through all aspects of Agent Insight so you can showcase your professional knowledge and experience. RE/MAX agents across the country have posted thousands of written submissions and photos and more are added daily, On the blog’s front page, you’ll find links explaining how to get started and another answers frequently asked questions.

There is a complete archive of all the Agent Insight newsletter articles. Emailed to our RE/MAX agents periodically, the newsletter contains a wealth of information for strengthening  your social media presence and for getting the most out of your Agent Insight submissions.

There are frequent interviews with participants from many different regions explaining why they participate in Agent Insight and suggestions for submission content. You’ll find good tips for photography and writing to make your posts their most effective.

Other articles explain how Agent Insight works for you. For example, one piece demonstrates how Agent Insight is a perfect sales funnel for your business. Another tells you how Agent Insight gives you a marketing plan on auto pilot. A third is about boosting client leads with Agent Insight. There are dozens of articles on files for you to review for great ideas.

On the left side of Insight Insider’s front page is a column called “Word from the Street“. If you are wondering what individual agents have to say about this resource, take a look at the enthusiasm you’ll find in these quotes. Here are a few examples:

“Agent Insight is the easiest prospecting tool that there is because you can do it anytime. You can submit new posts when you’re home in your pajamas!”
— Steve Snook, Senior Business Development Consultant, Mid-States Region

“I have found that my Agent Insight leads are quality leads. The people making inquiries truly want my resources. My marketing plan is working and I’m seeing results without spending a dime on it,”
— Valerie Bomberger, RE/MAX Harbor Country, New Buffalo, MI

“There’s a fear factor for clients in learning how to get involved in a new area. They can visualize themselves there with the help of my Agent Insight photos and articles.”
— Marty Remo, RE/MAX Benchmark Realty Group, Central Valley, NY

If you are new to Agent Insight and need some encouragement to get started, these quotes and others from “Word from the Street” can give you the incentive to get started. If you are an Agent Insight veteran but haven’t posted anything for a while, take these words from your peers to heart and get Agent Insight back on your schedule.

Every agent is busy, especially during the prime sales months. You should be thoughtful and strategic as you plan your submissions to Agent Insight. Here are some ideas for getting the most return for your investment of time.

There are many subdivisions and neighborhoods within your market area that have no Agent Insight postings. Fill them up with written insights and photographs. Covering your market thoroughly will strengthen the RE/MAX brand in your area and help keep your name on top.

It’s easy to find a list of subdivisions that have no Agent Insight postings. Simply navigate to your Agent Insight profile page and look for a red button in the right column that reads, “View Places Needing Insight.” Click on the button, and a list of places will appear. You will also find a blue “Opportunities” button on every city landing page that displays a list of subdivisions with little or no submissions. For more information, refer to our Insight Insider article, So, Would You Like to be Mayor.

You should be strategic in deciding where you want to place your submissions. For example, make sure you have posts in every subdivision where you have homes listed for sale. Agent Insight is a tool designed to drive potential clients to your listings, so use it! Further, ranking in the top of a Google search result for a potential seller’s subdivision would be an excellent component for your next listing presentation.

You might also want to have some posts covering the high value subdivisions in your market. Keep in mind that there will be more competition on those pages from other participating agents, so keep your name on top by making frequent submissions. You can always think of something new to submit, whether it’s a short article about the neighborhood’s upcoming events or photos showing it during different seasons of the year. Be as creative and personal as possible in presenting your observations about the subdivision. Frequent posts will also keep your agent photo at the top of the agent roster page.

Another good tactic for boosting your Agent Insight work is to schedule it into your weekly routine. Some agents choose to write their posts and photo captions while they sip their morning coffee. Others choose a convenient weekly time and mark it on their calendars. Some arrive at showings early so they can take a few pictures and jot down some ideas about the neighborhood before their clients arrive. Another prime opportunity could be between visitors at your next Open House!

Decide what game plan works best for you. Your submissions make you an expert about your community, and the flow of fresh material to Agent Insight can strengthen your SEO rankings which means a continuous generation of leads.

For over three years, Marty Remo of RE/MAX Benchmark Realty Group in Central Valley, NY has been a regular contributor to Agent Insight, submitting hundreds of photos and written posts.

“Agent Insight is a fantastic platform,” he said. “When I receive a new listing, it allows me to promote the entire surrounding community with unique and consistent posts. They drive on-line searches to those communities and, therefore, to my new listing.”

Marty, leader of the HV Home Team, says his team’s written insights and photos give their potential clients a chance to get to know them.

“Being genuine goes a long way,” Marty said. “People want to work with people, not just with their computers. If a client is interested in a house, that person wants to know what it will be like to live there. They want to know about activities for the kids, how close is the nearest grocery store, or if there’s a park nearby. I can show skiing and snowboarding in the winter and boating in summer.”

“There’s a fear factor for people in learning how to get involved in a new area. They can visualize themselves there with the help of my Agent Insight photos and articles. Zillow and Trulia will never be able to provide that kind of detail about neighborhoods and communities,” he said.

Marty frequently uses first person in his writing, giving his clients a good idea about his experience and history.  Here’s an excerpt of a post he submitted on Village Woods where he grew up in Monroe, NY.

Life on the Beach at Round Lake Park
There were lots of kids in the neighborhood. I recall swimming out to the dock at the beach with friends….We would take out our small row boat and bass fish near the island in the center of the lake. Now there are paddle boats that you can rent. It’s really nice. You feel like you are far away from civilization, but in reality you are only a mile from the center of Monroe.

Marty urges his RE/MAX team and other agents to tap into all the neighborhoods that still need to be covered for Agent Insight. “If you want to grow your business, you have to think smaller,” he says, meaning that emphasis on specific subdivisions is a smart strategy when submitting to Agent Insight. Marty arrives early before every property showing in order to snap a few neighborhood photos and submit them.

“After putting posts on to my Agent Insight pages, I cross share them with other social media accounts like Facebook and LinkedIn,” he said. “I use many ways to redirect people into the community information I want them to see. I frequently include YouTube videos as well. Videos create a powerful connection and provide a ton of good information.”

In addition to strengthening his SEO, Marty’s goal is to find a common bond with potential clients.

“You need a connection to start communication,” he said. “For example, I love dogs and sunsets, so I can include posts about them in Agent Insight. If somebody identifies with those things, that personal touch will help build the business side of a relationship. People can get to know me and my community through Agent Insight. ”

Marty has covered dozens of subjects with his  photos. The selection below includes one of his favorite sunset scenes.

Baseball is a sure sign of spring, and you can find a game nearly everywhere.  Little League, high school, college or pros, rec teams, church leagues, men, women, kids — the countryside is dotted with players and fans. This is a prime opportunity for some great Agent Insight submissions covering America’s Favorite Pastime in your town.

In addition to showing off your market’s homes and neighborhoods, Agent Insight is designed to give your prospects a good look at all the community’s amenities. Why not highlight the events and activities that happen this time of year? Baseball is an easy choice because you can find photo opportunities all over town, and the sport has such broad appeal.

Colin Seitz, RE/MAX Benchmark Realty Group in Central Valley, NY, submitted the insight below. His writing tone is breezy and personal and tells an appealing story of a baseball game he attended.

Little League Baseball at Frank Policano Field
One evening this week I took a trip to the Newburgh, NY Little League fields to cheer on my nephew in a baseball game. It was a beautiful night to enjoy the competitive all-star game. The concession stand was open so that spectators could purchase food or drinks to enjoy throughout the game and the bleachers were crowded with cheering parents. The scoreboard made it easy to keep track of what was happening, in case you missed something, or to update friends and family who couldn’t be there in person with a quick photo text. The facility has many positive attributes to make sure that you enjoy your time while watching your team.

The friendly tone of Colin’s article tells a little about his personality and describes this excellent sports facility in Newburgh. Plan to write something similar about the stadiums and ball fields in your town, and submit it soon. Be sure to use first person like Colin did because it makes the article personal and more fun to read. That’s one of the beauties of Agent Insight:  your prospects can get to know you a little bit before you even meet.

All the baseball venues provide a rich source for photos, too. Take a look at the variety in this selection below submitted by agents from several states.

Daytime or nighttime games are all great. Show the sweep of the field from high in the stands, team mascots, scoreboards, the crowd, or the trophies. Combine your imagination with a little sports mania, and create some excellent new submissions for your Agent Insight pages. Batter Up!

Photos provided by:  Sara Snook, RE/MAX Revolution, Kansas City, MO; Stephen Stewart, RE/MAX Alliance, Brandon, MS; Annette Hurley, RE/MAX Elite, Little Rock, AR; RE/MAX Home Team, RE/MAX Advantage Central, Birmingham, AL; Roxanne Plummer, RE/MAX Masters, Fayetteville, NY; and Ryan Eashoo, RE/MAX Edge, Davison, MI.

Preparing photo submissions for Agent Insight is simple and fun. It’s easy because you can do it all on your cell phone in a matter of seconds:  just shoot the photo, write a good caption, and send it in (if you need a quick refresher on the how-to’s, click here).

It’s fun because you can send photos of virtually anything in your market area that you think would interest prospective clients. As you tour clients through town, what do you show them first? While you drive from one property to another, what highlights of the community do you point out and discuss? Snap the photos of all these subjects and post them on your community pages. Easy!

However, there is also a challenge associated with your cell phone pictures. Although you don’t need to be a professional photographer to point and shoot with your phone, you still want to make each photo as good as possible. Here are a few tips:

Use the “rule of thirds” to get a balanced and appealing composition. Mentally divide your image into thirds with two vertical lines. Center your primary subject on one of these verticals. Your finished shot will be slightly off-center, making a more interesting picture.  See how the gazebo in the photo below is off to the right, even though it is the main focus of the shot. This pretty scene was submitted by Marty Remo, RE/MAX Benchmark Realty Group in Central Valley, NY.

Another good composition tool is using leading lines to bring your viewer into the photo. Direct their eye with vertical, horizontal, or converging lines. The pier railing in the photo below leads you straight up to the top of pavilion. It was taken by Kenneth Nilson, RE/MAX at Barnegat Bay, Ship Bottom, NY.

Another beautiful use of leading lines is this photo from Wendy Chong, RE/MAX Preferred Properties, Oklahoma City, OK. The edges of the buildings soaring up to the sky give a strong feeling of height and drama.

Always look for different perspectives that can depict your subject in interesting ways. The lovely chapel shown below is photogenic from many angles, but this ceiling shot captures a stunning architectural view. The photo was taken by  Brenda Parker, RE/MAX Real Estate Results, Bentonville, AR.

Here’s another excellent perspective photo. Donna Fitts , RE/MAX of Orange Beach, AL, wanted to show off the beauty of a beach front condominium. The landing page for this luxury condo shows its exterior, amenities and interiors, but Donna’s photo shows both the graceful curve of the balconies, as well as the spectacular beach vista below.

These are all good tips and you can find loads more, including instructional videos, if you google “cell phone photography.” Here are a few quickies that seem logical, but are often overlooked:

• Clean the dust and grime from the lens on your phone’s camera from time to time.
• Hold the cell phone steady when you shoot. Best results come when you use two hands and brace your elbows on a flat surface.
• Don’t shoot through your car’s windows. You will likely get some crazy reflection and possibly a piece of windshield wiper. Take a moment, and step out of the car for the best results.
• Remember that all Agent Insight photos are horizontal. If you submit a vertical picture, it will likely require substantial cropping.

So get out there, shoot the photos and post  them onto your Agent Insight pages. Fun! Fast! Effective!

When Jacob Ainsworth, RE/MAX Coast Delta Realty in Diamondhead, MS, writes a submission for Agent Insight, he puts a lot of himself in the post. He wants to tell about interesting features of an area but also to show readers his personality and knowledge of the community.

“In the past year, I changed careers from banking to real estate and I’m finding that Agent Insight is a great marketing tool to get a lot of people to know my name,” Jacob said. “If I can offer information about something people might be interested in, it’s a way for me to cast out a line and see what I get back.”

Jacob has seen an increase in his leads from LeadStreet, and he attributes this in part to his Agent Insight work. His enthusiasm for the Mississippi region he calls home is evident throughout his submissions. In each of the excepts below, he uses first person to tell his story and grab his readers’ interest.

Why Diamondhead?
I will be the first person to tell you that, prior to my real estate career, I wasn’t ever an advocate for living in Diamondhead. Honestly, I’m a transplant. I grew up in Southeast Texas and fell in love with Southern Mississippi while traveling for work and decided to moved here. After changing careers and setting up a permanent office in Diamondhead, I’ve fallen in love with this town.

Festivals Here Are Like Hollywood
I was driving through Wiggins some time ago and happened to pass through downtown. The sight was like something out of a motion picture. Have you ever seen “Sweet Home Alabama”? The festival, dancing, street vendors, and blocks of antique style buildings are just like that. A picture-perfect small town scene with quick access to the luxuries of cities.

Jacob chooses subjects with wide appeal, but favors those where he has a personal interest. One example is the piers in Pass Christian, MS, that he and his family missed when they were heavily damaged in a hurricane. When he discovered that the piers had been repaired and reopened, he hurried to write a post to let his readers know.

The Piers at Pass Christian
We happened to be driving along Beach Boulevard and I noticed a fisherman far-off casting a line from the pier that my wife and I liked to visit when we first moved to the area. And with that glance, I quickly drove into the harbor and up to the edge of what was pure excitement for me. We unloaded our children and ran out over the water; the boys were dancing, laughing, and exploring – as was I. The piers are a great place now. Whether you’re casting a line, wanting to watch the sunset with the special person in your life, or just wanting to catch a salty breeze, I encourage you to visit the local piers in Pass Christian; you won’t be disappointed.

Jacob packs plenty of information in his written posts and photos. He currently has nearly 30 different Areas of Expertise throughout Agent Insight and he is working to add more. In addition to homes and subdivisions, he gives a lot of attention to businesses, events, and attractions in his market. His time is paying off and he has fun with it, too. His wife, Mary, and their three children understand the purpose of Agent Insight and they will frequently point out different sights around town that they think should be included.

“All of us look for things that would make a cool post,” Jacob said. “I just incorporate our daily life into my submissions. Instead of only taking selfies throughout the week, I also take pictures of the beautiful places here on our beaches and neighborhoods.”

Some of Jacob’s photos are included here. Each one has a good descriptive caption as well, instead of a simple label. Tip:  you have space for about 15 words in a photo caption.

From the first of autumn through the end of the year, you have endless possibilities for photos and written submissions highlighting the seasonal beauty, events, and changes in your market area. Your Agent Insight pages can showcase all the features that you think draw potential customers to consider purchasing homes in your community. Adding colorful and interesting posts relevant to the season gives your location pages a real depth and shows your clients that you know a lot about what is happening in your town.

The holidays present great visuals and fun additions to your pages. If you have Halloween shots saved on your cell phone, take a few minutes and send them in now. We have received many good ones, including the two shown below sent from Kathleen Freeman, RE/MAX First in Russellville, AR, and Valerie McEvoy, RE/MAX Preferred Properties in Oklahoma City, OK.

Thanksgiving comes next, and while it may be a harder to find the ideal Thanksgiving photo, we have received some good turkey photos over the years. One of the best was sent in by Tabatha Davis, another RE/MAX First agent in Russellville, AR.

Mother Nature provides such a beautiful pageant during the fall months. Take advantage of the changing season to snap photos all around your community. Pictures showing a variety of seasons can be especially helpful to potential clients moving to your area from a different part of the country. There are literally hundreds of gorgeous autumn photos scattered throughout Agent Insight pages. Here is a sampling:

The photos above were submitted by (starting at the upper left and going clockwise):  Katrina Roloson, RE/MAX Benchmark Realty Group in New Windsor, NY; Trina Ward, RE/MAX Champion Land Brokers, Poteau, OK; Crystal Gober, RE/MAX Bayshore Properties, Traverse City, MI; and Beth Darby, RE/MAX Tri-State, Muscle Shoals, AL.

As fall gives way to winter and the next holiday season arrives, be sure to take pictures everywhere you go within your market. Christmas parades, decorations on Main Street, and wreaths on the entrance monuments of your favorite subdivisions are all good candidates. Make the most of December and populate your Agent Insight pages with your best photos and written posts. If you need some inspiration for your writing, read Wonderful Christmas Spirit in Milltown by Katty Velez, RE/MAX Dreams, Sayreville, NJ. Hers is a great story and yours will be, too!

Agent Insight can be an important tool in your online marketing plan if you position yourself throughout the site to cover a wide range of your sales area. It creates the perfect sales funnel to change a stranger into a prospect, then into a client. The classic sales funnel philosophy creates a sales journey that shifts a prospect through various stages of awareness from interest to decision to action.

Awareness
Catch the attention of as many prospects as possible by placing your written insights or photos on dozens of places throughout Agent Insight such as  subdivisions, school districts, cities and counties. Determine the places where you want prospects to find you and blanket them with your submissions.

Interest
Fill your submissions with reasons why prospects might want to utilize your expertise about an area. Make your photos tell a story about the place. Ensure your written insights convey your knowledge about the amenities and features of your market.

Decision
If prospects see that you are the go-to person in areas where they have an interest, your Agent Insight posts could be the enticement they need to reach out to you. You could get a call or an email asking about a HOA, proximity to schools, distance to downtown or the nearest airport, or about a specific home for sale. Any question is an opening for you to engage with a new person.

Action
If you have a chance to connect with a prospect, a very real opportunity has arisen for that person to move forward with you as their real estate agent. The end of a well-utilized funnel yields income-producing clients.

This is a simple look at the Agent Insight sales funnel. The reality is that the top end of the funnel needs to be fairly wide to be effective. You need to cast a broad net with a lot of insights placed in many different areas to attract a large number of Internet visitors. Some of these will be casual web surfers with only a passing interest in buying or selling a home. However, that large crowd will contain some valuable prospects. Grab their attention as they scan your posts and progress through the stages of the funnel. Signed contracts at the end is the goal and your efforts with your Agent Insight work will be time well spent.