Combat burnout by rejecting the rungs of the corporate ladder and taking charge of your own career like Realty Executive Jen Gizelbach. Learn how she made the change.

The real estate industry is changing and evolving faster than ever due to technology and social media. So how do real estate brokers and agents adapt and create relationships with clients? Check out these five tips on how real estate professionals can use social media to up their visibility and profitability.

1. Establish goals

Whenever starting a new project you want to have a set goal in mind. The same goes for social media. Are you looking to gain followers? Are you wanting to engage and create relationships with future clients? Maybe you just want to use it to post listings and gain more exposure. Whatever the reason, set your sights on attainable and measurable goals for each platform you are planning to use. 

2. Narrow Your Focus

Don’t just start posting the same thing on six different social media networks. Figure out the demographics of your current or desired clients and match those to the demographics that are using various sites. For example, Facebook is going to target a different age group than Instagram or LinkedIn. The best way to get started and often the first step for real estate professionals, is to get a Facebook Business Page. This will establish yourself as a brand and allow you to target specific audiences in your market.

3. Create a Plan

Start a Pinterest board or a document that has ideas of what you would like to post! Having a content calendar you can study and remind yourself what days get which posts, will make it easy and stress-free while gaining more social media experience. Make sure to include visuals, captions and hashtags in the content calendar so you can see the post as a whole and decide which platform it would perform best on.

4. Schedule, Engage, Decide

After you create a content calendar, you may want to look into scheduling your posts ahead of time to make it easier on yourself. There are third party tools, such as Hootsuite, or some networks let you schedule on the app or website itself, such as Facebook. 

Engage with your followers! To build trust and relationships on social media, you need to interact with the people liking and commenting on your posts. For real estate, you want to show you are friendly and active on social media, that way they will expect you to be friendly and efficient when it comes to finding clients a home or selling their property.

Monitor and track which posts do well, which ones don’t and what times of day or certain days your account seems most active. After deciding which specific time slots work best for you, you can schedule future posts according to those.

5. Track and Measure Success

There’s no way to know if you’ve met your goal if you don’t measure! After you find some days or times that are working, keep to that schedule for a bit. If it is moving in the direction of your goal, keep at it. If your engagement seems to be slowing down, re-adjust. Try different visuals, add videos or post different days-mix it up.

Using these simple tips you can start to grow your brand and business with social media.

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During the summer, many of us tend to waste more electricity, water, and plastic materials than we do during any other part of the year. To compensate for high temperatures outside, we blast the air conditioning to stay cool. We fill water balloons, top off the pool, guzzle cold water bottles, and take more showers. 

As a result, we spend a lot on our utilities, and we waste a lot. There are several steps you can take to make your home more eco-friendly over these next few months. Here are five ways you can embrace “green” practices while also reaping the financial benefits of avoiding waste.  

1. Invest in a Programmable or Smart Thermostat 

A programmable thermostat can save you at least 20 percent on energy costs. Smart thermostats can save you even more by giving you the capability to change the temperature when you’re not at home. Not only will this lower your utility bills, but it will also prevent you from being wasteful with your AC during the summer. Saving money during the warm months can be a struggle. You can get yourself up to speed with an air conditioning guide on the best practices. 

Additionally, a programmable or smart thermostat makes your home more comfortable. You can be precise about your temperatures while you’re at home, at work, or on vacation. The last thing you want to do is pour tons of money into your air conditioning while you’re not even in the building. 

2. Hang Drapes or Install Curtains Over Your Windows

During the summer, about 76 percent of the sunlight that comes through your windows turns into heat. Don’t underestimate the powerful protection of a simple window covering. Whether you install blinds or black-out curtains, blocking the sunlight can drastically lower your waste of energy. Plus, you want to protect your home and furnishings from the harsh sunlight that streams inside. 

3. Be Careful About Your Water Usage

When temperatures rise outside, water use often does, too. You’re watering your lawn frequently, taking more showers, and filling pools. Be conscious of how much of this water you’re actually wasting. 

Now is the perfect time to compare your current amount of water usage to your usage during the winter. If you notice that your water bill is skyrocketing, it may be due to a leak, waste, wind, evaporation, or runoff from over-watering. 

4. Begin Recycling, Even if Your Neighborhood Doesn’t 

Think about all of the plastic you use during the summer – those plates at your cookouts, the frozen drinks that come in convenient one-use bottles, all of the empty sunscreen bottles littering your backyard. These are just some of the things you could be recycling in an effort to make your home more eco-friendly. Although many apartment complexes and neighborhoods don’t offer a recycling service, you can always start one yourself. 

To learn how to start a recycling program, check out this article from HomeGuides. 

5. Install Lights That Automatically Turn Off 

Did you know that the IDA estimates that we waste at least 30 percent of our outdoor lighting? There’s no need to leave your porch light on all night, even when you’re out late during the summer. Instead, install an automatic light that turns on whenever you approach. 

Automatic lights are a great idea for your indoor rooms, too. By only using lights when you’re actually home, and automatically turning them off when you leave the room, you’ll help prevent the overproduction of carbon dioxide. Plus, you’ll save more on your electricity bill. No more worries about leaving the lights off when you go to work or leave for a summer getaway. 

In Conclusion 

These five steps might not seem like big acts, but every little bit counts when it comes to making our homes eco-friendly. Whether you live in an apartment or a house, you can use these tips to save money and protect nature.

Even though summer is here, it’s not too late! Start implementing these changes now to reap the benefits during the rest of the season.

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You’ve finally got all of your belongings into your new home, but don’t lose steam now! You’re in the final stretch of your new home checklist and there’s just a couple more essentials to get through. It’s a good idea to set a daily (or weekly) goal for yourself when it comes to these final steps. Be realistic, stick to your schedule, and you’ll be settled in before you know it.

1. Recruit family and friends to unpack

The more hands on deck the better. Those first few days of unpacking can be made a whole lot easier if you recruit (or rather, entice with food and drink) a couple of close friends for the first big haul. To make the process run smoother, set deadlines and figure out the most logical order of unpacking. Before you know it, your new home will actually start looking like, well, a home.

2. Change your locks

Who knows what the previous owners did with their keys? Whether you hire a locksmith or reinstall the locks on your own, it’s a simple task and it will give you peace of mind. You’re always better off safe than sorry.

3. Locate shut-off valves

In the event that there is an emergency leak or you’re doing repairs and you need to shut off your water, it’s necessary to locate your shut-off valves. Many houses and apartment buildings have a number of cut-off points to stop the water at its source. From your own shut-off valve, to your water company’s shut off valve, to the water meter, there many locations to get familiar with both inside and potentially outside your home.

4. Locate the circuit-breaker

Although uncommon, every once in a while you may need to replace a fuse or reset a circuit breaker. If there’s a power outage, you don’t want to be searching through the dark to find it. Common locations for circuit breakers are outdoors, in basements, in storage closets, or in hallways. Also be sure you know the difference between a circuit-breaker and a fuse box, in the event you need to restore power.

5. Set up your home security system

Moving is one of the best times to set up home security. If you already have a system in place or are tied to a contract, be sure to call your provider or update your information online. Smart or DIY home security systems are a great option for renters and homeowners who want more flexibility, so take some time to shop around if you’re selecting your first home security system.

6. Decide on a lock-out solution

You will get locked out of your house every once in a blue moon, it happens! What’s important is that you have a backup plan for when the time comes. Some common ideas are to hide a key under your doormat or to install a garage code (that is if you have a garage), but you can be as creative as you’d like. Maybe you have a buddy down the street who holds on to an extra set, or you’ve slid it under a planter. Whatever the case, be prepared!

7. Test your smoke detectors

Installing a smoke detector is an easy and inexpensive way to protect you and your loved ones in the event of a fire. However, smoke detectors can fail you when you need them most if you don’t address their malfunctions. This is why testing your new home’s smoke detectors is so important. Light a match or spray a smoke test aerosol in front of its sensor every month to ensure it’s
working.

8. Check out your HVAC system

Your HVAC system, (A/C and furnace) is a necessity, and an expensive one at that. For the sake of heat, cooling, and big bucks, it’s important that yourself, a property manager, or a technician checks out your HVAC system in the weeks following your move. Inspect your heating and cooling units, insulation, and ducts, for warning signs that something’s off. If it looks like repairs or
replacements are needed, get on top of them as soon as you can. Although it’s a pain, it’s a worthwhile investment!

9. Create a home maintenance checklist

It’s a good idea to perform seasonal maintenance checks to ensure your new home is in good shape. Some of these maintenance checks you may not have had to do at your previous home. Things like cleaning the gutters, landscaping, unclogging bathroom drains, or checking up on snow plow services may be relevant to you now, so you should gather the contact info from local services for when the time comes.

10. Find a spot for a safe

Remember those important documents we mentioned before? They’ll need a new home too. If you don’t already have a trusty safe or filing cabinet, it’s a good idea to invest in one. Even more so, it’s important to find a spot for them. Some common areas for safes are in closets, attics, basements, but there’s room for creativity here also. Hardcover books, freezers, brick walls – whatever sneaky spot will keep your private information on lock. Even if you live in an apartment and don’t have room for a massive safe, it doesn’t mean
your valuables should be left unsecured. Use your imagination and protect your possessions.

11. Start a take-out menu file or drawer

We guarantee that you will be ordering a lot of take-out within the first few weeks of your move-in. Any free time you have will solely consist of unpacking and redecorating, not cooking. Treat yourself and get a taste of local eats take-out style. Save menus and bookmark your favorites in a take-out file for you to reference later on. Or just throw all the menus in a drawer. That works too.

12. Throw a housewarming party

Last but not least on our new home checklist, the infamous housewarming party! Once you’re done unpacking, save any energy you have left for this shindig. Setting a date for a housewarming party also sets a great unpacking deadline for you to follow. So many new homeowners beat themselves up over tiny improvements and repairs instead of celebrating their hard work. Don’t make that mistake. Trust us, you’re going to have plenty of time in your new home to put in more work. Instead, invite your closest family and friends over for a great time. Start making memories!

originally published by updater.com.

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