Land Title Rep., Jim Renshaw Discusses Use of Social Media

The best part of planning REBarCamp just has to be meeting many new and interesting people.  I enjoy hearing from people I don’t know and learning how they are incorporating social media into their lives as well as their business.  Jim Renshaw is one of those people who emailed me about his blog.  Jim has uses his blog to inform his readers about the state of real estate in metro Denver and the many services his company provides.  It’s my pleasure to “virturally” introduce Jim!

Tell us about your company.

Land Title Guarantee Company is a locally owned Title Company that has been serving the Colorado real estate market for over 40 years.

How long have you been working there?

I’ve been working at Land Title for 6 years.

What services does you company offer in the real estate industry?

Superior title research and professional closings along with marketing assistance to help real estate professionals grow their business. I can do this by being part of a team at Land Title

Are you involved in social media?

Yes – I’m on Facebook, twitter and have an active blog at Jim Renshaw

How do you use social media to leverage your business?

I use social media to enhance or create new relationships.  I’ve found that using social media enables me to get to know my clients better so when we do meet face to face our time can be very productive and enjoyable.

How can your product/service benefit those in the real estate industry?

I look at my role as helping real estate professionals grow their business. It start with our core services of having accurate and timely title research so clients can depend on the information. Professional closing services so buyers, sellers and borrowers leave the closing table with the best possible experience and increasing the chance of referral business in the future. I also provide marketing assistance that varies from farm pack to real estate statistics, postcards, flyers, foreclosure list, home books to name just a few.  I’m also big into education so I like to do classes on everything from understanding title and closings to utilizing social networking with your real estate business.

If you were asked to present a topic at REBC, what would you like to talk about?

If I did present a topic I would do the following using plugins to help with your wordpress blog such as feedburner, Akismet, WP-ContactForm and a few others I like.

How can we contact you?

I can be found on my blog at http://www.JimRenshaw.com

Thanks Jim!  Hope to see you and everyone else at Real Estate Bar Camp Denver, on Friday, May 22, 2009!

DocuSign Supports REBarCamp as a Sponsor

DocuSign is a REBarCamp sponsor and will have An Bui representing them.

Tell us about you…who are you where do you live?

My name is An Bui and I split time between Seattle and Boulder. In Seattle, I live in the Belltown/Lower Queen Anne neighborhood. In Boulder, I live in the Flatirons neighborhood. I love both communities for the outdoors opportunities coupled with the entrepreneurial energy and creativity.

Where do you work?  How long have  you been working for DocuSign?

DocuSign, the #1 provider of on-demand software services for electronic signature and online contract execution, chose me to lead their social media/blogging efforts since January 2009.

How do you use social media to leverage your business?

Yes – I’ve been involved in social media since college, joining Friendster and then Facebook. Before that, I was involved in social networking in high school, back when Six Degrees was around.

Professionally, I generate content and attach metrics to social media efforts for organizations such as DocuSign as well as speak at conferences and give talks about social media, digital identity and online community.

DocuSign uses social media to connect with its customers and potential customers. Using Twitter, we try to help those who have tweeted that they are looking for more information about electronic signature or electronic contract execution. We also use it to share new updates and be more accessible to our customers. to establish a knowledge base for our customers. There, they can post questions, share stories and connect with others of the DocuSign team. Forums are a great resource for our customers and a great place to see what else has worked for others.

How can your product/service benefit those in the real estate industry?

DocuSign’s electronic signature and online contract execution services help real estate agents save time, money and do more deals. Using DocuSign, our customers don’t have to drive all over town to get papers signed nor do they have to deal with paper and fax machines. Deals close more quickly because all you need is an internet connection, web browser and you’re in business.

In a time sensitive industry like real estate, electronic signature and online contract execution can help you get deals done in minutes.

Are you coming to REBC Denver and would you like to present a topic? Which topic?

I’ll be at REBC Denver, and would like to present on the Business 2.0: Advantages of the Mobile Office.

Where can I contact you for more information?

You can check DocuSign out on the web call 866-219-4318, or leave a comment on , in the forums for my business card – text “AnWith1N” to 50-500 for my contact information -

Joel McDonald is Winning with Social Media!

REBarCamp continues to grow and attract the top brokers, movers and shakers in the Denver metro area.  On we if we don’t know in person we  certainly have stumbled upon online is Automated Home Finder’s, founder Joel McDonald.  Joel has embraced Social Media like he embraces everything else in life, with a passion!  Enjoy reading his responses,

You surprised me when you told me you  no longer are a licensed real estate broker, but you own a company.  Please tell us what you do these days.

I deactivated my license in 2006 and hired a broker to run our company with the intention of focusing solely on generating business for our agents via online marketing. Our company’s online marketing efforts are responsible for about 80% of our agents’ business.

What made you decide to get into the business and when was that? What were you doing before real estate?

Unless you count my “job” as a paperboy, mowing lawns, or my high school bagboy job, I didn’t do anything other than college before real estate.

I got into real estate right after college in 1994 because I’ve always loved marketing and negotiations, and never really liked the idea of a “W-2 J.O.B”.  Since I bought my first home at 19 and convinced a few college friends to do the same, going into real estate sales seemed to come naturally.  I started as a salesperson in ’94, got a website (after my Dad told me to get with the times) in ’96, started Automated Homefinder in ’98, & started my own Boulder real estate</a> brokerage in ’99, and expanded the company to about 60 agents in 2005.

We first met in person when you invited me to lunch, but we had known each other from Twitter? How long had you been tweeting at that point in time?

I believe I had only been on Twitter for about 3 months at the time we got together back in November.  I had admired your fantastic blog for a couple years prior to that, but never did I imagine we’d become friends considering we’re technically competitors.  (Funny how social media works, huh?)

Social media has become so popular in the real estate industry. Can you tell us what it has done for your business?

Social media has opened doors that would have never have had a chance of even being opened in a “web 1.0 world”.  I have been invited to speak at conferences & radio shows,  I’ve opened up Automated Homefinder in 3 territories outside of Colorado (and am negotiating a few other territories as we speak), and most importantly — I’ve made fantastic connections with some pretty amazing people in my field who would otherwise have been inaccessible.

If you could pick only one aspect of social media, what would that be.  By that I mean you must choose from Active Rain, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and any of the hundreds available, which one would you use and why?

That’s a tough one because all of them are so great, and each has its own strengths.  Honestly, it depends on what hat I have on, so I’ll pick only one for each of the many entrepreneurial hats I wear:

• If I were wearing my “Local business owner in charge of getting more buyers and sellers for my Colorado agents” hat, it would have to be Twitter. Since all of our agents already have a large database of potential buyers and sellers, our biggest need is building rapport with those prospects. Twitter would be the best way to do that, and would probably outweigh any of the other SM tools.

• If I were wearing my “CEO of a company expanding into multiple states” hat, I would choose ActiveRain because the network of real estate professionals I can collaborate with is invaluable.
• If I ever put my Realtor Hat on again, I would probably choose Facebook because that is where my “sphere” of local clients already exists.

Me: Are you coming to REBarCamp Denver?  Would you like to present a topic? If so what would that be?

Joel: I’d be honored to present a topic! Considering I’ll be among so many amazing social media folks, I could focus on one of the two things Automated Homefinder does best – traffic generation strategies (Off-page optimization), or conversion tactics (CRM).

Thank you Joel for your contribution to the REBarCamp blog and your willingness to share your knowledge with us at Camp!  I am looking forward to your session.

Joel can be found on Twitter as @JoelRunner

If you would like to meet Joel in person RSVP and come to Denver’s landmark event on May 22, 2009 to be held at the DPPA.

Ellen on Twitter

Twitter is the latest phenomenon sweeping not just the country but the world.  If you don’t understand it, relax you aren’t alone.  Most who are truthful admit they didn’t get it at first either.

Ellen obviously has a handle on Twitter now, she’s got 10′s of thousand of FOLLOWERS!

If you are uncertain about Twitter, what it is, what does and how it might effect your business, you need to come to RE BarCamp Denver.  We will be revealing unravelling social media as it pertains to the real estate industry.

RSVP for REBCD Here!

Social Media Trainer Evangelist Derec Shuler Looks Forward to REBC in May

REBC Denver welcomes Derec Shuler to the blog site today. Derec has been busy lately helping many in his office and around Denver learn more about social networking.  Considering he has a technology background this is a natural fit for him.

How long have you been selling real estate?

I’ve been involved in the Denver real estate industry for number of years and started off as an investor before making the switch to becoming a real estate broker about two and half years ago.  Both my parents are also REALTORS®, which has provided a great background and insight into the industry.

What made you decide to get into the business? What were you doing before real estate?

I had one of those “ah-ha” events in my life several years ago that caused me to step back and reevaluate the path I was going down.  I left a successful career in the technical contracting world to be a business owner and have more control over my life.  It’s been a huge change but extremely rewarding!  It’s kind of ironic that I’ve been coming back around to helping people in the industry apply technology and systems in their business to leverage their time, money, and energy.

We first met at REBlog World in Las Vegas or was it on Twitter? How long had you been blogging at that point in time?

The funny things about social networking is that the lines of people connecting start blurring.  Is it when you meet in person of start replying to tweet?  We definitely met in Vegas though.  When we met at REBlog World in Las Vegas in 2008, I’d probably been blogging for about a year and a half with various levels of commitment.  I’d committed myself a couple months prior to start blogging as a cornerstone of my online marketing strategy.

Social media has become so popular in the real estate industry. Can you tell us what it has done for your business?

I’d say social media is still a buzz word in the real estate industry.  More and more real estate agents are talking about it but few are actively doing it and even fewer are doing it effectively.  I still see a lot of agents connecting on social networks and start selling themselves as real estate experts.  The whole point of social media is to connect and build relationships, not to give you a free audience to push your marketing message.  I’m not sure if that’s where you were going with that question but it’s worth mentioning!

Social media, especially blogging, has given me a great tool to help position myself as a niche expert.  I’m a big fan of books like “The Longer Long Tail” by Chris Anderson and “The Four Hour Workweek” by Tim Ferriss.  They’ve really changed my attitude on real estate marketing and social media has provided the tools to focus on niches and leverage my knowledge using a platform that’s available to consumers 24 hours a day.

On the social network side, I love Facebook.  It’s a potentially dangerous sinkhole that will consume all your time but it’s a great way to connect and reconnect with people as well as expand your network by finding people with common interests.  By commenting on things going on in my life and business, I’m able to touch my sphere more consistently and have been getting referrals and leads to build my business.

If you could pick only one aspect of social media, what would that be.  By that I mean you must choose from Active Rain, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and any of the hundreds available, which one would you use and why?

That’s a tough one and I’d say it would be between Facebook and blogging.  Ok, I’ll go with Facebook.  I like being able to be where my sphere is and where I can easily find people that share common interest.  Facebook is full of people who self identify and place themselves in demographics that no other platform or tools could effectively do.  Again, I’m able to connect and have a personal relationship with people I may not otherwise think to pick up the phone and call as consistently.  By making intelligent contributions to the Facebook community, it also helps build my credibility as a real estate expert.

Are you coming to REBarCamp Denver?  Would you like to present a topic? If so what would that be?

I wouldn’t miss REBarCamp Denver!  This is going to be a great event!   Based on the great feedback I’ve heard from other REBarCamps across this country, we’re positioned to having a great time and contribute to the growth of our industry and each other.  I plan on presenting a topic if they’re brave enough to give me a microphone.  I have so much course content I’ve been putting together lately, I’ll have to reach into my bag and see what I feel most passionate about so stay tuned!

Be sure to learn more about Derec on his blog at Mile High Urban Living .  Be sure to RSVP for REBarCamp where you can meet Derec in person!

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