A newbie to social networking
Having been in the 'rain' actively for only about 4 months, I have seen sooooo much information that it is almost overwhelming. There are 36 blogs that are bookmarked for me to go back and review that have creative ideas and tips and things to implement into the business of selling real estate. But this last two weeks I've ventured out into a new world, at least for me. "Social Networking." Join me, link to me, invite me, be my friend at:
- ActiveRain
- Plaxo
- MySpace
- Plain old e-mail (which by comparison begins to seem archaic)
Some fun with this last night
Yesterday I decided to send out a mass e-mail to contacts and link to a particular ActiveRain Blog that I had posted last month and watch the statistics on that blog and the times my profile had been viewed. I jotted down the statistics to the blog and profile, signed out of ActiveRain and sent out the e-mail. Then, last evening I checked out the activity using my cell while we watched TV. The results:
- Two comments to the blog by 'real people,' not ActiveRain members
- Three e-mails from contacts (One particularly interesting said, "I'm afraid something bad may happen if I get into all those websites.")
- Profile and Blog clicks both increased by about 30 apiece (That's somewhere around 8 or 9% response rate, against about a 1 or 2% response rate on a regular 'newsletter' e-mail.
- One client joined me on Facebook as a friend (divorced with two 'twenty something' children - some potential for house hunting here!)
- One of our friends' children, a high school senior found me on MySpace
- My teenage daughter is now a connection on MySpace (MySpace seems to be 'younger')
- I heard from my uncle in Oklahoma!
- One person 'unsubscribed' from any further e-mails
Stuff on my AR drawing board (in no particular order)
- Somehow link up e-mail signatures and all 'social sites'
- Learn to send ActiveRain blogs to these sites automatically (Bill Gassett has some writings on this)
- Learn to create audio/video presentations for listings and Localism material
- Spend more time on Localism
- Find good (free) HTML code to WYSIWYG (whatever that is) site that will convert one to the other
- Blog weekly market reports
- Learn to upload files to YouTube
- Learn to put those neat gadgets and widgets down the right side of the blog page
- Do it all in 2 hours or less a day. (Lotsa luck!)
What are your ideas, please share!
Please let me know what you think. Share your ideas on the business of social networking and your experiences. If anyone on AR has written anything that has helped or inspired you, please let us know. Share your favorite writers. My friends Ann Allen and Elizabeth Nieves seem to be experts in all of this (and they are so far ahead of me that it's irritating!). And, of course Jason Crouch, who's instructions I have used successfully. Ah, I'm leaving someone out, but I've learned a lot from a lot of people. There are so many top notch agents on here! I'll be waiting to hear, the good, the bad and the ugly. Positives and negatives are welcome. We're supposed to get 3 inches of rain in Columbia, SC, so what else am I gonna do today? Come on and socialize a little!
803-622-3084
Charlie, the very idea that you consider me to be an expert on this stuff is hilarious to me! Boy, I have I got you fooled!
Aw, Ann. Compared to me you're a genius. Who's 'Bama play this weekend?
Social networking really is great. It lets you spread yourself so much farther and wider than you used to be able to. And connections tend to be better, too! I'll go ahead and add you on Facebook and Twitter.
I take that back - where can I find you on Twitter?
Thanks, Rich. On twitter I'm HardenCharlie.
Thanks for your polite mention! Much appreciated! Keep up the good work!
Charlie thanks for the mention. Good to hear I have helped out your business:)
The two hours a day or less part is pure wishful thinking buddy boy! TRUST ME! I'm not a particularly techie chick, but I am pretty sure that even the techie guys spend more time than that. I would LOVE to be able to do it in two hours. MAN! That would sure help my time crisis issue. Here's the deal...IF you figure all this great stuff out...you gotta teach me. :-) Have a blessed weekend!!
i'm lovin' it. last week in a seminar the teacher mentioned social networking. i thought he meant going out for drinks and smoozing. now i'm hooked.
haha... i'm typing this one handed while holding my sleeping daughter.
Hey Charlie,
I just finished going through Jason's post and was feeling really guilty because I was not on 100% all of the social groups. OK, buddy. I am coming back on a regular basis to see how you are doing. I want to know if you are wearing gold and diamonds are if you are sinking in useless emails. I feel your pain. I do not know if I want to jump in on all of them. I do need to sell real estate. Good Luck. Keep us posted on the status. Seriously.
Hey Charlie, great post! Some of things I am still working on. I have to say once I got use to the format on LinkedIn, I really like it. There is actually a LinkedIn group here on AR they post tips as well.
I have to get more active in this field. I now have facebook which puts me in touch with a lot of young adults in my community. My adult children freaked out when they saw that I was on Facebook. (Actually, my son's girlfriend put me on it) My daughter said Mom you can get into trouble with people on facebook. You might meet someone who is less than desirable. Don't accept invitations from someone you don't know! So Charlie, I will send you an invite.
Charlie,
I need to learn this stuff.
Donna,
That is great that you kids are warning you like parents usually warn their children.
Thanks for taking the time to post this ... excellent information
I need to catch up on all this stuff. problem is that I woun't have anytime to sell
Hey Charlie - I know it seems like we should give up our careers and just blog! I spend most of my time on AR, none on Twitter since AR post there already and occasionally Facebook...these folks seem to have nothing to do...yet it's fun and I have reconnected with high school friends. Plaxo and Linkedin and business contact and I'm not posting to those sites at this time. We need a new site to manage all the social networks!
Jason, Bill and Elizabeth, thank you guys and techie chickie!
Brad, 'socializing' sure has changed as you said! I had the same reaction when I took the plunge. Enjoy those moments with your daughter!
Derenda, thanks for the nice response. No gold, no diamonds, I like cash! Useless e-mails? Well, I have won the UK lottery seven times now! Don't be a stranger!
Tanya, I read your comment while tailgating at the Clemson game Saturday. Love the upstate! I've gotta join that Linked in group. Thanks for the link!
Donna, I'm looking for the invite! Tell your daughter I'm OK (lie if you have to) so we can be friends.
Brenda, I hear you. I keep saying that, too.
Debbie, thank you very much for the compliment.
William, I understand completely. My kids could probably do this better and save me some time, but they're too busy really socializing.
Greg, thanks for letting me know about Plaxo. If you find the 'master site' let me know!
Charlie: I haven't gotten past AR, it seems to be were I spend my time. I did look at twitter, but locally no else even blogs here, so I figured it would be tweet-less for me there. LOL
Mary, a tweet-less tweeterer... I don't know. A lot of ActiveRainers twitterers are tweeting. My broker and his webmaster are twitterers, so that's kind of handy. Lemme know when you get there so I can stalk, uh, I mean 'follow' you.
(Just ran this thru spellcheck and I think it freaked it out!)
Hi Charlie! Did you have a good weekend? It was cold here, and I didn't have to show any houses so I entertained myself with football and the computer. I am having trouble keeping up with all these different sites!
Hey Ann. Great weekend here. I'm thinking of just keeping up with one site a week. Spend a week on twitter, a week on facebook, etc... Whaddya think?
Hi Charlie, I saw that you found me on myspace :) What an honor that your teenage daughter added you as a 'friend'. I haven't asked my daughter.... I don't want her to think I am snooping on her, lol. (and visa versa, LMAO) Have a good night :)
I'll see you on myspace!
Thanks, Kara. I know what you mean about snooping. The good side is that I'm able to look on her computer, stripped of all my stuff and cookies and see what a homebuyer or seller would see. Now, Kara, don't be snooping on me!
Charlie, I have a feeling you are a lot more techie than you claim to be. The problem is that you just don't have the time and experience some of the others have doing this stuff. Half the things I read about on AR, and would like to do, I don't even understand. Props to you for starting your social networking and being so organized.
Charlie,
Thanks for the information. I was aware of some these communities but not all. I'm still developing my social networking and "blogging" skills. I'll be sure check all of these out.
Troy, thanks for the nice compliment. You are right about the time constraints. And, some of these folks really 'speak the language.' Like you, I don't really care if I understand it. I just want it to do what I tell it! Ha! Good luck with the boxer puppy; I've always liked them. My wife has outlawed boxers and english bulldogs here, for reasons that I still don't understand as she likes animals.
Jason. It seems like it's all going there. I was thinking yesterday sitting at the laptop that one day it will be an antique! They've already got TV on cell, and practically everything else. Let me know if you have any simple questions... and want it in plain language! Have a good day!
It sure looks like you're doing all the right things. Tracking your results is brilliant. I would do it over a period of time, not just once - but maybe you are already doing that. I have explored many types of social media. I am currently working on finding which combination works best together.
Thanks, Kelly. Let me know what you find out about combination. On the social media, I'm thinking Shotgun approach. Link up everything to everything?
Hi Charlie, Here is your AR critique of your post- It rocks! The visuals were nice & it was well laid out & easy to read/digest.
Great post and thanks for sharing, if you figure out how to link the goups so we only have to post in one site please tell me or share in the linkedin group Active Rain Relay Team I started to share this type of info with those who want to learn, thanks, Steve
Thank you Marian!
Steve, thanks for the tip on the group! I'm in.
I'm fairly new to social marketing myself. We can all learn a thing or two here. Thanks for sharing your experiement with us!
Dawn, thanks. I think I know enough to be dangerous now! We'll all need to pay more attention to it! Have a great day!
Charlie - man after my own heart! You have listed many things I also want to learn to do! I have to be careful not to let business get in the way of blogging LOL! Seriously, it's taking a tiger by the tail to be here but think how exciting it is and how it can open up all kinds of new possibilities for networking and new business! I'm so excited!
People I learn a lot from are: Jeff Turner, of course all the Actives - Brad, Bob, Rich, Jonathan, Jeff - Marti Garaughty, The Tomato Blogger, Lenn Harley keeps me grounded, Mirela Monte is delightful and always coming up with new things to share and many more but these are the ones who come to mind...happy bloggging! I'm bookmarking this so I can remember all the great things you listed that I also want to do but are too overwhelmed to remember :))))))))) and I know you can relate! OTOH, aren't you glad you're getting into this now and not two years from now??????????
PS How were you tracking? Just looking at the views on AR? Or do you have some tracking software that is linked to AR?
Well, you're guilting me into it. Today, I will Twitter. It'll be all your fault. And, I'll add you to my Facebook. so there.
Charlie, thanks for the help, to return the favor I ran into a new search system on linkedin called Leapfish Search Everything and it uses Google, Yahoo, & MSN seperately with Google as the default to start any search without having to re-enter your term or leave the site, quick and easy, see you in the cyber world. Steve
http://www.leapfish.com
It's an addiction or as my husband would say a disease.
Charlie, you are doing great. Who's leg are you pulling? Thanks for writing this. I am saving it to read & review later. Happy Turkey Day! ~Pat
Sharon, thank you for your comments. That tomato blogger is hard to miss. What a great logo. Nothing too fancy on tracking, just looked at the AR counter on a month old post. You figure out the tracking and tell me!
Suzanne, thanks for the add! And see ya on twitter. I like twitter because you can put one 'tweet' there and have it show up all over the place.
Steve, thanks for the group and leapfish!
Malisia, He'll get over it. It's not so bad, and I'm still working on the time factor involved.
Pat, thanks for this nice comment. I don't know... maybe a turkey leg? Thanks for bookmarking, THAT is a compliment! Mike Mueller reblogged this yesterday and has some answers to my questions that I bookmarked! A vicious circle! Happy Thanksgiving to you, and all, too!
Good post. Sometimes we can forget the basics. I am going to have to send out an email to all my contacts too and see if I can generate more activity on my blog. Thanks. :)
Charlie,
Great ideas. I am new myself and it is very impressive to see how creative one can be.
My head is spinning with all of this social networking stuff...trying to learn!!!
Eileen, you are so right - don't avoid your existing contacts!
Anja, I just try to read and learn, ha! A lot of creative people to read on AR!
Annie, join the club! I think you just have to jump in and start swimming. So far I've connected with a bunch of real estate people, but the contacts are coming slowly, but surely.