Levinson Elected to MIRM Board of Trustees

The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Institute of Residential Marketing (IRM) recently announced the election of Mitch Levinson, MIRM, CSP, MBA to the IRM Board of Trustees. Elected to the Board for a three-year term by his peers, Levinson will provide leadership and guidance on the development, enhancement, and promotion of IRM products and services.
Levinson is managing partner of mRELEVANCE, a public relations, social media and internet marketing firm with offices in Atlanta and Chicago.
Founded in 1977, the Institute of Residential Marketing (IRM) is the educational arm of the NAHB National Sales and Marketing Council (NSMC). The Institute was created to guarantee the highest skill level of sales and marketing professionals for the housing industry. The IRM offers several prestigious educational designations, including Certified New Home Sales Professional (CSP), Master Certified New Home Sales Professional (MCSP), Certified New Home Marketing Professional (CMP), and Member, Institute of Residential Marketing (MIRM). The IRM also recognizes an elite group of members, known as Fellows, who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to promoting sales and marketing education throughout the building industry. For more information, visit www.nahb.org/IRM.

Have Questions? Contact mRELEVANCE at 770-383-3360 x30 or visit the marketing RELEVANCE website for home builder marketing tips and tools.

Mitch Levinson and Carol Flammer Speaking at IBS 2009

mRELEVANCE Managing Partners Carol Flammer, MIRM and Mitch Levinson, MIRM were selected by the National Association of Home Builders to speak on social media and Internet marketing at the 2009 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas.

Flammer will discuss the effectiveness of social media for home builders, specifically tips for using social media sites as part of your Internet marketing strategy. Flammer has previously presented how social media can enhance SEO to home builders in Atlanta, Raleigh, N.C., and Milwaukee, Wis. With 20 years of experience as a public relations practitioner and founder of Flammer Relations, Inc., Flammer draws from her experience as publisher of Atlanta’s most popular real estate blog – AtlantaRealEstateForum.com. Her submission was one of only 24 topics chosen from more than 250 entries submitted to the National Sales and Marketing Council. Flammer’s social media panel includes other industry experts and fellow MIRMs Dina Gundersen, Marketing Director for Monte Hewett Homes in Atlanta, and Kathie McDaniel, Director of Marketing and Advertising for Highland Homes in Lakeland, Fla.

Levinson's Internet Marketing topic will demonstrate how to effectively evaluate website tracking reports and use this knowledge for competitive advantage and increased sales. His course is sponsored by NextBuild, the technology-focused track of the International Builders’ Show curriculum. With over 18 years of direct experience selling and marketing new homes, combined with an MBA in Computer Information Systems and e-Commerce, Levinson has used this unique combination to teach similar classes in Chicago, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Wis., and Des Moines, IA. Levinson is founder of Mitch Levinson Consulting, MLC New Home Marketing and MLC FlatFee Realty, and has offices in Chicago and Atlanta. Highland Homes’ Kathie McDaniel will present with Levinson.

Turnberry Homes Turns to Public Relations

Nashville homebuilder Turnberry Homes has selected mRELEVANCE as its Internet marketing, public relations and social media firm of record. The real estate focused agency has launched integrated public relations and Internet marketing strategies for the homebuilder.

“mRELEVANCE uses multiple channels to tell the Turnberry story to consumers and the media,” said Ron Benkert, Chief Operating Officer of Turnberry Homes. “Their expert use of Internet marketing and new media combined with their traditional public relations expertise spreads the word through a wide range of outlets to reach a variety of consumers who are ready to purchase a home.”

Tennessee’s largest homebuilder in its price point, Turnberry Homes presents finely crafted homes in the most distinctive sections of Nashville and Williamson County, Tenn., including the Brentwood, Cool Springs, Franklin and Nolensville communities. Focused on creating a rewarding experience and a custom home for each client, Turnberry employs a professional staff of structural and interior designers to lead buyers through the process of tailoring their homes to their lifestyles.

As Turnberry has discovered, delivering relevant messages about process and quality to relevant audiences through relevant media is imperative in today’s market. mRELEVANCE thoughtfully analyzes Internet traffic and traditional media messages to target marketing and public relations dollars for maximum results.

Turnberry Homes was founded in 1997 by Richard Bell, whose 30 years of experience in the Southeast include building homes for celebrities in Palm Beach, Fla. Now Turnberry Homes continues a tradition of making every homebuyer feel like a star with beautiful, livable homes from the $300,000s to over $2 million. For more information, visit www.TurnberryHomes.com or call 615-376-7001.

mRELEVANCE, LLC, is a real estate focused marketing firm designed to meet builder and developer needs in a changing marketplace. Moving beyond the previous advertising model, mRELEVANCE reaches buyers through the media they experience with the primary messages that motivate them to take action. Through the combined talents and resources of public relations and social media firm Flammer Relations, Inc., and the power of Internet marketing services at MLC New Home Marketing, mRELEVANCE implements a combination of traditional PR services and up-to-date Web 2.0 tools (e-mail marketing, search engine optimization, social media and others) to create results for clients. With a staff of 14, mRELEVANCE has offices in Atlanta and Chicago. For more information on how you can connect to buyers and build relevant relationships, visit www.mRELEVANCE.com or call 770-383-3360 or 847-259-7312.

Have You Embraced Web 2.0?

Have you fully embraced Web 2.0? Do you add fresh content to your website monthly, weekly or daily? Do you have a way to add news to your current website? Is your site search engine friendly?

As Social Media and Web 2.0 become mainstream and more new home builders and developers embrace this SEO friendly technology, you will need to answer these questions and formulate a plan for incorporating these tactics into your marketing mix. Otherwise you will become harder to find on the Internet and further "behind" your competitors.

Many “websites” are now built as blogs or incorporate a blog as the site's news feed. You don't have to launch a stand alone blog to take advantage of this communications tool. More than 100,000 blogs are launched each day. Not only can blogs help to give you a competitive advantage in attracting online shoppers, but many blogs are emerging as credible news sources which means a story on your site could catch a reporter’s eye and end up in a print publication.

See what others are saying about blogging about real estate trends and topics.

“If You’re Thinking About Blogging about Real Estate”
Real Central Virginia.com

“Write like a Blogger”
Seth Godin’s blog

“The New World of Web 2.0”
Realty Times.com

Homebuilders Blog for Competitive Online Advantage

Launch a Blog, Get More Traffic

Homebuilder, developer and real estate agent websites benefit from increased Search Engine Optimization (SEO) when these sites take advantage of blogs. Blogs increase referral traffic and organic SEO by providing fresh content on a regular basis. MLC New Home Marketing can build your blog and teach you how to use this powerful tool. Contact us to learn how blogging can help you gain and maintain a competitive advantage.

Additionally, if you are interested in launching a full scale social media campaign, MLC New Home Marketing can extend your reach into cyberspace by blogging on other sites for you. Contact us to consult on your Internet strategy and learn how to use the Internet as a tool to increase your leads and sales.

Homebuilder Websites

Are you thinking about updating or launching a new website?
Does your current site cause homebuyers to take action?
Do you add fresh content to your site on a regular basis?
Was your site optimized when it was built? Can the search engines find it?

These are just a few of the many questions that an Internet marketing firm can help you discover the answers to. Each homebuilder, developer and new home community will have different answers based on their target demographic. The right real estate focused Internet marketing firm will understand your business AND know how to attract search engines and direct traffic to your site. Effective real estate for homebuilders and developers on the Internet involves many facets from tracking and analysis to search engine marketing. Contact MLC New Home Marketing today to find out how you can optimize your online presence and take your website to the next level.

Tracking & Analysis

What can you learn from your Internet tracking reports? Do you review them on a regular basis? Should you look at them monthly? weekly? daily? Do you know what to look for?
We will discuss these questions and many more this Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. est, during a webinar on Agent Direct News. Fellow MIRM, Carol Flammer, will help me present a lively discussion on tracking.

This webinar is designed to help homebuilders and developers maximize Internet exposure, increase Search Engine Optimization, and keep visitors on their sites longer.

Learn how to unlock these “secrets” from your site’s tracking reports.

• Increase Internet leads
• Increase click throughs
  
• Increase the number of contact forms completed
• Determine where to spend online marketing dollars
• Increase your SEO
• Evaluate your website
• Determine how your company is viewed by Search Engines
  

Tracking & Analysis . . . everything you need is there

Internet Marketing for Homebuilders

The Internet Marketing for Homebuilders course has been successfully developed and launched. It has been well received by classes at the HBAs in Atlanta, Chicago and Milwaukee. This seminar is designed to help homebuilders, marketing directors and others in the real estate industry understand how to use the Internet more effectively. Key concepts covered include:

• How to drive more traffic to your web site and to your sales center
• What you can learn from your tracking reports
• How blogging influences SEO
• Search Engine Marketing
• What potential homebuyers expect to see on your website

For more information on where this course will be offered next, visit Mitch Levinson Consulting.