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As many of you are aware, I recently started a new job as community manager for a company called SmartHippo.  This company is focused on helping the consumer make the most informed decision when getting a mortgage by providing a free advice section where you can ask questions and receive responses from mortgage professionals.  The other great feature that SmartHippo offers to consumers is the ability to write reviews of a lender they used.  Consumers can write all about the good, the bad, & indifferent of the lender they used to help others understand how reliable, how pleasant and everything else about their transaction before making one of the biggest decisions of their life.

Since joining the team, one of my focuses was to create tools that will assist real estate agents with the process of getting a mortgage for their clients.  One way we have been able to achieve this goal is by the design of our newest release, the SmartHippo Mortgage Rates Widget.  This widget gives consumers an easy way to compare the rates of multiple lenders in their area.  They can simply enter a loan amount, a home value, and their zip code and instantly compare mortgage rates in their area.

How does it work?  The widget searches the rates database that SmartHippo has created of unbiased rates of lenders who share their information on the network.  Buyers can then simply see the list of rates, read lender reviews, and make an educated decision on who to get their loan through. 

Why would a real estate agent want to use this widget?  In the real estate industry agents are always hesitant to recommend any other businesses because if something goes wrong the client will inevitably come back and say "you recommended this person and now it all went wrong!" When you give the consumer a third party option where they can get the information on multiple sources with reviews from actual consumers who have used the company and expressed their opinions about the service they received.

So what does this look like? Take a look and tell me your thoughts:

Mortgage rates by

Get this widget

How do you get the widget installed on your blog or website?  It is actually really easy to do. Simply visit the Mortgage Rates Widget page on SmartHippo, and grab the code needed to install this widget.  The steps are really easy to do and this widget can be installed in less than 2 minutes time. Here is a simple video on how to install:

I hope this new widget is a benefit to you and you consumers!  Let me know what you think of it!

I just finished listening to a wonderful session at #VREBC by my good friend Jeff Turner in which he spoke about "The Lost Art of Listening." I wanted to share with you my takeaway from his session.

The one thing that I got out of Jeff's presentation was that while many want to use social media platforms for their business, they do not really know how. Many have progressed past the point of understanding that social media is more than just broadcasting. However after understanding that principle, many get distracted by the social aspect and miss the purpose that they originally joined a network.  People who are in business and join a social network do so for two reasons:

1. To build relationships with potential consumers and build a strong following that will not only use their services, but also refer others.
2. To connect with consumers who may not already be aware of the business and increase their revenue by reaching new clients.

In order to achieve these two things, you must be listening to what consumers needs are.  However, many businesses get lost in the listening stage.  Many who start on these networks immediately find all their friends, family, coworkers, & others in the same industry.  When this happens, a level of distraction takes place as the media platforms take on more of the social aspects and less of the media/marketing purposes.  Once this takes place, many throw in the towel on the social media platforms & immediately say they do not work.  When in essence, that isn't the case, the real thing that happened was that the you the business have lost focus and are no longer using the network for what you originally signed up for.

So, how do you stay focused on your original vision for which you joined a network?  Simple, Listen with purpose to your consumers.  There is always at least one consumer who is looking to spend money in your industry and needs your services/products.

Each and every social network platform has some sort of way of tracking what the users are saying, asking and needing. Our job as a business is learning how to use these tracking devices effectively and listening intently to what consumers are needing. Use things like tweetgrid, facebook search and many other programs to find your prime consumers by listening with intent to what consumers are saying about keyword terms that are applicable to your business.

Here is a sample tweetgrid that someone who is a real estate agent in Myrtle Beach might set up:

There are 9 different categories of terms that someone who is looking to either buy, sell, or rent a place in Myrtle Beach that I can track simultaneously and connect with that consumer.  Some of these terms include: "Myrtle Beach" and "oceanfront", "need more space" or "for sale" and "Myrtle Beach".  These are all common phrases that someone who needs to either buy or sell a home would use when speaking on twitter.  I am now listening with intent to what others are saying that could be possible consumers and connecting with possible business opportunities and not just friends in the same industry.

Once you master the ability to listen with purpose to consumers, your whole outlook on social media sites will change dramatically and you also start seeing an increase in your return on investment into your social media strategy.

So in closing, if you are not listening intently on the social media platforms, you may want to focus on the reason you are there & begin listening to what your consumers are saying.