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Written by: Dave 2/4/2009 5:00 PM
Are you Blogging? If not why aren’t you Blogging? These are two questions I ask when I teach my “Today’s Top Technology Trends” class. It seems that Blogging is some kind of Top Secret subject! Many agents don’t fully understand what it is so they just steer clear. I am here to tell you, if you are an Agent, a Lender, an Inspector, a Closing Agent, an Appraiser or anything related to the Real Estate Business, you need to Blog. I guess first I need to explain what Blogging IS. ‘Blog’ is short for “Web Log”, which is simply you writing articles (we will talk about content later). The entire idea of Web 2.0, which NAR has picked up as Agent 2.0, is about interaction on the web. Let me explain it this way, the old Web 1.0 was about you sitting back in your chair and surfing the net. Web 2.0 is you sitting up in your chair and getting interactive with the web by adding your two cents. It all starts when you blog (write), others read it and they can blog (write a comment) to your blog and it keeps going; an online discussion has just started. Currently in Arkansas, 444 people are blogging on the most popular Real Estate sites. That number is not all agents; included are Stagers, Closing Agents, Copywriters, Lenders, Inspectors, Virtual Tour Companies, Auctioneers, Notaries and of course Trainers. So why are all these people blogging? Why do they take time out of their hectic lives to blog? What is in it for them? It is simple – it grows their business! Yes, blogging will help you grow your business. Here is how: · Search Engines look at blogs as independent web sites; the more you blog, the higher your Search Engine rankings. · Your blog can reach a bigger audience than other means of advertising and it is FREE, other than your time. · This gives you a method to connect to your future client that you haven’t met yet. · Blogging exposes you to other Real Estate Professionals which can lead to referrals. · You will learn so much by just reading other blogs about the industry So, how do you get started Blogging? The best way is to jump in head-first! Go to my website, www.DickBetts.com. At the bottom of most pages you will find a photo of an agent, a quote from them and a link to their web site or one of their blogs. Click, start reading and join in! Blogging is one aspect of Technology that can impact your business. The topic also leads us into several different areas in the technology field that we need to cover. The last few articles have been focused on just Mobile Technology; let’s take these next few to go over some other areas that are important for REALTORS pay attention to. Over the next few months we will cover what your email address says about you, your web presence (starting with your web site), and what you need to know about the new generation of advertising!