Alice C. Wilson's Blog

Why Being A Weirdo Is A Good Thing

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:40:17 -0700

Love your article Gary!

I have often wondered if the folks who are branded by others as being a 'weirdo' don't often come up with some of the most creative ideas.

Maybe weirdo isn't the right term. How about uncanny? Out of the ordinary? We all need "immerse" ourselves in our differentness and "allow" ourselves "to express" our "passions".

When we do that, we find ways to think outside the box and discover the best way to contribute to the world. It's such a dull place when we don't.

-Alice Wilson

Via Gary Woltal - Assoc. Broker REALTOR® SFR Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty):

If you ever felt a little out of place with others around you welcome to the club. There is a funny expression, "You are unique, just like everyone else."

When you grew up in your teenage years, your Mom would admonish you to "Behave YOURSELF!" Well other than learning right from wrong when you are fully grown you have to figure out finally what behave means to you. Maybe you thought despite your devious ways as a teenager, you WERE behaving yourself.

Being eccentric or WEIRD in good ways helps us overcome the hum drum of normal. In real estate it lets us get paid in our desired specialty niches for "being ourself", creating an unfair advantage with our strengths, having FUN in our work.

I love the weird. I love the eccentric in any of us I find, including myself. I think different is good as long as it makes the world a better place. Edison as a boy sat on chicken's eggs to help them hatch. His curiosity and persistence later in life brought us many inventions including a filament in a light bulb that would not burn out too soon. The Wright brothers had this crazy idea that man could fly like the birds. Madame Curie liked to play with things that glowed in the dark. Wild and crazy Werner Von Braun had this dream of going to the moon of all places with rockets.

Being "normal" is a real stifler in your life and stops your creativity, your individuality, and your greatness to reach your true potential. They say in marketing ourselves to others we have to find our genius, our unique selling propostion, and the target audience that wants what we have. We are not everything. Who we target is not everyone. It is the MATCH of what we are good at, like building an airplane, for people who want to fly over the trees is where we have the match.

In real estate it is listening and watching ourselves to see where we have interest and FUN, and also monitoring what we are good at. Then finding the IDEAL CLIENTS that want that!! In all other career aspirations and our personal life, fathoming and divining our "gifts" - organizing, entertaining, leading, analyzing, nurturing, hospitality, solving... many gifts and taking those "talents" where they are needed.

Embrace your gifts that enrich lives, allow yourself to express your passions, EVEN IF they drive others crazy. Don't be a people pleaser with your "weirdness." It will drive you insane doing that. Whether it is your devotion to your work, politics, spirituality, charitable causes, hobbies, education of you, teaching of others, entertainment of others with music, dance, acting, or whatever, I say go for it!

To achieve the utlimate in life with WHO you are, value your weirdness, cherish it, immerse yourself in who you are, and see where it leads, what doors will open for you. Respect others uniquenesses as well. And don't feel bad if you are misunderstood often. It comes with the territory. Visionaries are often misunderstood. WHY? They are going where others have not been before.

Afterall, remember weirdo Werner Von Braun? We now have footprints on the moon.

Call Phones from Gmail - Now We're Talking!

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 07:06:27 -0700

Via Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain):

Call Phones from Gmail - Now We're Talking!

This is great news folks. The "Inside of the Internet World" just keeps on pushing and reaching out to connect with the "Outside World" and today, there's a new break-through demonstrating this very point. Call phones from Gmail, I'm doing it right now as I write this. Anyone care to guess who I'm talking to? Maybe some bonus points? haha, just kidding... the real point is that Gmail users (and those who will become Gmail users now) will love and benefit from this great new feature.

Who ever thought we'd be "calling" someone from our "Email" box. Cool~

Download The ActiveRain "HELP" Toolbar for your Browser

ActiveRain University Calendar Real Estate RainCamp The ActiveRain Manual

Using SMS to Grow Your Real Estate Contact Database

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:53:51 -0700

Via Rebecca Levinson, Real Estate Marketing Consultant (Real Skillz-Clear Marketing for Your Real Estate Vision):

Using SMS to Grow Your Real Estate Contact Database

Do you have a strategy for Mobile Marketing? According to Gartner Inc.,

"By 2013, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide."

So how do you get started? All along you have been told to build your email database and grow your RSS readers and now mobile? Well mobile isn't going anywhere and in fact resides on the hips and in the pockets and purses of most of your clients and potential customers until their heads hit the pillow for bed. So while you are growing your contacts online, wouldn't it be great to be right at their fingertips on a device that is easily accessible and almost always on?

Heck Yes.

Getting started doesn't mean abandoning the work you have done to date. It means moving forward and integrating SMS into your current marketing and sales strategies by working on successful and measurable campaigns.

Here's an easy guide on how to lay the foundation and use SMS to Grow Your Real Estate Contact Database.

Mobile marketing mojo using sms to grow your real estate marketing database
View more presentations from rebeccalev.

Use SMS and grow your real estate contact database.

If you enjoyed this post then check out:

The Top 7 Tips to Find Your Mobile Marketing Mojo

***************************************************************************************

Rebecca D. Levinson of Real Skillz is a real estate marketing consultant with 18 years of experience serving real estate professionals. Real Skillz Real estate marketing services include,

Blogging- See my Blogging Tune-Up Website for Details

Mobile marketing

Social Networking

Niche Marketing

Marketing Strategy

Branding- See my Branding Sanity Website for Details

Offline Marketing

Online Marketing

Special Events Promotion and Marketing

Holiday Marketing

Marketing Campaigns

Email Marketing (Content and Design)

Reputation Management

If you treat real estate as a business then Real Skillz is a desirable real estate marketing solution. Call #262-745-0715 or email rebecca@realestateskillz.com.

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" in Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page (Part IV- THE FINALE)

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:53:10 -0700

Via Rebecca Levinson, Real Estate Marketing Consultant (Real Skillz-Clear Marketing for Your Real Estate Vision):

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" in Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page (Part IV- THE FINALE)

Let's recap our delicious Facebook Fan Page offerings for a moment. If you have followed Part I, Part II, and Part III of this Facebook Fan Page series you now know how to:

1. Customize for your Real Estate Facebook fan page using the static FBML application.
2. Get rid of extraneous tabs on your wall (with the exception of the "wall" and "info" tab which are static applications and cannot be deleted.
3. Add a real estate listings tab to your Facebook fan page using the Roost Social Real Estate Platform Application.
4. Build your list by adding your e-newlsetter to your Facebook fan page.
5. Create a better bio page by adding the Extended Info application to your Facebook fan page.

These five ways to upgrade your real estate Facebook fan page are tantalizing treats for sure, but something is missing. How about a Welcome page to great your online visitors when they arrive at your fan page front door.

How to Create a Welcome Page on Facebook

I searched and scoured the internet looking for an attractive and easy way to customize my Facebook Fan Page without paying a customized fee for the service and still having control and ability to change the design. I found a few resources, many Facebook Fan Page Designers, and little else until I read Misty Lackie of GoSmart Solutions blog post on FaceItPages.

Misty let me give the product a spin and I definitely recommend spending the $39.99 on this product for the following reasons,

It has many designs to choose from and is enticing more designers to add their designs to the mix.

It has the ability to remove the footer thereby keeping only your brand on the welcome page.

It has tracking ability and the ability to add Google Analytics for further tracking details.

It has the ability to swap out your design for another one at anytime. This is very useful if your real estate company/business is going through a re-branding strategy.

You can add video, links to your other social networks and websites and a knock out FAQ about your business using FaceItPages. The one thing you'll want to have handy when you create your page is your header, content,links to websites/social networks, location of video. It is a really easy to it yourself application. The only tricky part might be installing the HMTL code from the Facebook page using the FBML application, but you learned how to do that in Part I of this series.

FaceItPages is a very simple and effective way to greet your Real Estate Facebook fan page visitors.

Once you have created your welcome page, you'll want to move it front and center so it's the first page visitors see when they come to your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page.

Here's how to relocate your Welcome Page to first position

1. Click settings on your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page.
2. Under "View Settings" go to "Default Landing Tab for Everyone Else" and click "Welcome" in the drop down menu.

Once you're done your welcome tab is the first page visitors to your Real Estate Facebook fan page will see.

BAM.

How to Add your Blog to your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page

A great way to gain more exposure, readers, and keep that content flowing on your Real Estate Facebook fan page is to add your blog. Here are a few quick steps to get your blog up and on your Real Estate Facebook fan page.

1. Go to Social RSS
2. Choose your Real Estate Facebook fan page in the drop down under quick select.

3. Add the URL of your RSS feed for your blog.

4. Type the title of your tab under "tab settings", description of your blog, link to your blog's website. Let the application know if it should auto like posts and send the feed to your wall.

Go back to your Real Estate Facebook fan page and click "Edit Page" under your logo. Find RSS Social and click "Edit application". Under "Applications" find Social RSS. Click "Application Settings". A box labeled "Edit Social RSS Settings" will pop up. Under Tab click "Add". Then Click "Okay". Now return to your Real Estate facebook Fan Page. Find your tab by clicking the >> symbol in the header. Right click your mouse and drag and drop your blog tab to it's desired location.

You've just added your blog to your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page. BAM.

Follow Posts 1-4 of this series on Real Estate Facebook Fan Pages and you will have a healthy, hearty offering for visitors to your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page to devour. Bon Appetit.

If you enjoyed this post about Facebook, then check out these social media marketing and blogging how to's:

How to Re-Purpose your Real Estate Blog's Content to Grow Your Email List in 5 Simple Steps
How to Cut Your Real Estate Blogging Time in Half and Re-Purpose your Content Three Ways with the Time Saved
The Top 5 Ways to Prune Your Real Estate Blog

Subscribe to Blogging In The Rain, A Real Estate Marketing Blog

***************************************************************************

Rebecca D. Levinson of Real Skillz is a real estate marketing consultant with 18 years of experience serving real estate professionals. Real Skillz Real estate marketing services include,

Blogging- See my Blogging Tune-Up Website for Details

Social Networking

Niche Marketing

Marketing Strategy

Branding- See my Branding Sanity Website for Details

Offline Marketing

Online Marketing

Special Events Promotion and Marketing

Holiday Marketing

Marketing Campaigns

Email Marketing (Content and Design)

Reputation Management

If you treat real estate as a business then Real Skillz is a desirable real estate marketing solution. Call #262-745-0715 or email rebecca@realestateskillz.com.

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" in your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:52:36 -0700

Via Rebecca Levinson, Real Estate Marketing Consultant (Real Skillz-Clear Marketing for Your Real Estate Vision):

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" In Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page (Part III)

If you have followed Part I and Part II of this Facebook Fan Page series you now know how to customize tabs for your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page using the static FBML application, how to get rid of extraneous tabs on your wall (with the exception of the "wall" and "info" tab which are static applications and cannot be deleted), and how to add a listings tab to your Facebook fan page using the Roost Social Real Estate Platform Application.

In Part III of this series we are going to add two more tabs to customize your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page. One is a newsletter application and the other is an extended information application,

How to Add Your E-Newsletter to Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page

A basic element to great real estate marketing is in building an opt-in contact list who you can reach via email/phone/mail with your special real estate offers, notice of your services, community happenings, and real estate information that paints you as the local expert. An opt-in email list provides you with a receptive audience for high touch branding, prospecting, and sales.

The first thing you will want to do is to log into your email marketing platform. In your email marketing platform you need to find the html for "Join My Mailing List". I use Constant Contact and in that program you can find the html code under Contacts>>Join My Mailing List. Make sure that when you create your mailing list sign up form you provide an explanation of what people will get when the subscribe to your E-Newsletter-W.I.I.F.T (Whats-In-It-For-Them).

You will use the steps we discussed in Part I of the series to create your Newsletter tab. First go to your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page and click, "Edit Page" under your logo.

Go to an existing FBML application and click the "edit" hyperlink. If you haven't created any custom tabs using the FBML application and this will be your first tab, follow the steps outlined in Part I of this series.

Add the Name of your Tab in the "Box Title" and add the HTML code you copied from your email program into the box labeled "FBML". Scroll down to the bottom of the page when you are done and click "Save Changes".

Return to "Edit Page" and look for your newsletter tab. It will say "Newsletter-FBML" or if you labeled it something other than newsletter it will say "name you labeled it-FBML".

Click on the hyperlink "Application Settings" and click "Edit page" under your logo. You will get a pop-up box that says, "Edit Static FBML 3 Settings". Click "Add" next to the tab option and then okay. The pop-up box will disappear. When it does scroll back up the page and click the "View Page" hyperlink under your logo.

Once you have returned to your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page, Click the >> Sign. You will see your newly created newsletter tab. You will right click your mouse and drag your newsletter tab to your toolbar and the result should be a nice branded newsletter tab.

Your newsletter tab will now show up on your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page.

BAM.

How to Add An Extended Info Tab To Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page

I really dislike the static "Info" Tab that comes with your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page, but was able to hunt up the Extended Info Tab application which much more flavorful. You can use the Extended Tab application to add a list of links, bullet points, "about me/my brand/business" information, videos, mp3's, and images.

Download the Extended Info Application here. Please note, in order to add this application to your Facebook Fan Page you have to click the "Add to my Page" hyperlink. Do not click the "Go to Application" button.

Once you click the "Add to my Page" hyperlink you will be brought to a screen with an Editor. Add your title and then click "Insert new field".

A box will open up and you will choose the fields you want to add. You can add an FBML box, videos, mp3s, bullet point lists, and more. Depending on what you want this page to be this application with it's customized fields allows you a world of options. You can use it to add an about me page, or your own featured listings, how about a video to showcase some properties, or perhaps a podcast. You can do as little or as much as you want.

Once you are done, click the "save changes" box on the right hand side of the editor.

Return to your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page. Click "Edit Page" under your logo and search for your new Extended Info Tab.

Click the "Application Settings" hyperlink and a pop up box labeled "Edit Extended Info Settings" will pop up. Click "Add" Next to the Tab Option. Return to your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page and click the >> sign. You will see your newly created Extended Info Tab. Right click your mouse and drag and drop your tab into the toolbar.

And BAM, you have made two important updates to your Real Estate Facebook Fan page with a delectable new offering.

Today we added a lead capture tab in the form of your newsletter to give your visitors information (pull them) so you can push them (gently and willingly) i

nto your list (the money maker). We then added the feature rich Extended Info Tab so that you can express yourself far more that that silly static info tab that comes with EVERY fan page. The extended info page will allow you to stand out and serve up plenty of apps, main courses and some dessert in the form of audio, video and compelling html text.

In Part IV we will add your blog and build a Welcome Page for your visitors.

BAM.

If you enjoyed this post about Facebook, then check out these social media marketing and blogging how to's:

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" In Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page (PartI)

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" In Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page (Part II)

The Top 5 Ways to Prune Your Real Estate Blog

Subscribe to Blogging In The Rain, A Real Estate Marketing Blog

*************************************************************************************

Rebecca D. Levinson of Real Skillz is a real estate marketing consultant with 18 years of experience serving real estate professionals. Real Skillz Real estate marketing services include,

Blogging- See my Blogging Tune-Up Website for Details

Social Networking

Niche Marketing

Marketing Strategy

Branding- See my Branding Sanity Website for Details

Offline Marketing

Online Marketing

Special Events Promotion and Marketing

Holiday Marketing

Marketing Campaigns

Email Marketing (Content and Design)

Reputation Management

If you treat real estate as a business then Real Skillz is a desirable real estate marketing solution. Call #262-745-0715 or email rebecca@realestateskillz.com.

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" In Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page (Part II)

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:52:05 -0700

Via Rebecca Levinson, Real Estate Marketing Consultant (Real Skillz-Clear Marketing for Your Real Estate Vision):

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" In Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page (Part II)

In Part I of "Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the Bam in Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page" we discussed why it's important to have a full service offering that is branded toward your real estate business and market. We built the foundation of that customization process by learning how install and use the static FMBL application for Facebook.

In Part II of this series we are going to start using our real estate marketing skillz, and the tools and applications available to customize your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page. The first step is to give visitors what they are seeking on the Internet when it comes to real estate.....real estate listings of course.

How to Add Your Real Estate Listings to Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page

The Roost Social Real Estate Platform application allows you to add real estate listings to your real estate Facebook fan page. This application makes it super easy to add listings to your real estate profile provided by Roost. It will take you through 5 easy steps in which you will:

1. Create a Facebook Fan Page. If you already have a Real Estate Facebook Fan Page it will pull your Fan Page(s) (and Personal Pages). Once you have completed this step the applications will ask you to read the Terms and Conditions (read them) and then move onto Step 2 by clicking the hyperlink "Create Profile" next to your Facebook Real Estate Fan Page.

2. Create a Profile- The Roost Social Real Estate Platform Application will ask you to create a profile. You will add your name, photo, logo, slogan, business profile, phone number, links to website, and email address and then you will pick your Real Estate State and City. The next step is to choose which data you want to display: Roost.com data, Altos Research Chart, Education.com stats, and Walkscore. You will choose which ones you want to include by checking these options on your profile.

A few really slick things about this profile creation tool:

It builds your real estate tab on the right hand side as you add information so you can preview what it looks like.

It pulls the location of your logo and head shot photos so you don't have to go searching around for them on your computer.

It allows someone else to build the Real Estate Listings tab for you (such as a personal or virtual assistant).

When you are done click the button "Save Settings" at the bottom of the profile builder.

3. Add your Real Estate Listings Tab to Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page. Return to the Roost Social Real Estate Platform Application Page and Click the hyperlink"Add to my Page" located in the left-hand margin under the Roost logo.

You will get a pop-up box that says "Add Roost-Social Media Platform to Your Page". Click the tab "Add to Page" located next to the name of your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page. Click the link . You will get a pop-up box that says "Add Roost-Social Media Platform to Your Page".

Click the tab "Add to Page" located next to the name of your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page.

4. Return to your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page and click the "Edit your Page" hyperlink located under your Logo.

Under the category "Applications" find the one titled, "Roost-Social Real Estate Platform" and click the hyperlink "Application Settings".

You will get a pop-up box that says "Edit Roost- Social Real Estate Platform Settings". Next to the "Tab" option click the hyperlink, "add" and then click the "Okay" button in the right-hand bottom corner of the pop-up box.

5. Scroll back up the page when the pop-up box disappears and Click the "View Page" hyperlink at the top of the Edit the Page Screen. Click the >> sign at the top of your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page and look for the tab "Real Estate".

And BAM, you have you your new real estate listings tab and have made an important update to your Real Estate Facebook Fan page with a delectable new offering.

How To Remove those Unwanted Facebook Tabs from Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page

Hang with me for one more minute. In Part I of this series I mentioned that Facebook will only let you have four custom tabs on your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page. The "Wall" tab and the "Info" tab are static and unable to be deleted as of this posting. In order to make room for the upgrades in the upcoming Part III of this series, I want you to do some housekeeping.

We are going to remove the Discussions Tab and the Reviews tab that are on your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page when you first set it up.

1. Go to your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page.

2. Click on the "Discussions" Tab. You will see a pencil icon when you click on the Discussions tab. Click on the pencil icon and an option to "Delete" tab will come up.

3. Click on "Delete Tab". Your Discussions tab will be eliminated.

Repeat the same three steps exactly as outlined to remove the "Reviews" tab.

Now you have cut the fat and laid the table for a mighty feast and some hungry visitors. Today we have removed the Discussions and Reviews tab and added the delectable "Real Estate listings tab to your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page. In Part III we will add two additional tabs to your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page and in Part IV we will use that handy Static FBML application to build a Welcome Page for your visitors.

BAM.

If you enjoyed this post about Facebook, then check out these social media marketing and blogging how to's:

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" In Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page

How to Cut Your Real Estate Blogging Time in Half and Re-Purpose your Content Three Ways with the Time Saved

The Top 5 Ways to Prune Your Real Estate Blog

Subscribe to Blogging In The Rain, A Real Estate Marketing Blog

*************************************************************************************

Rebecca D. Levinson of Real Skillz is a real estate marketing consultant with 18 years of experience serving real estate professionals. Real Skillz Real estate marketing services include,

Blogging- See my Blogging Tune-Up Website for Details

Social Networking

Niche Marketing

Marketing Strategy

Branding- See my Branding Sanity Website for Details

Offline Marketing

Online Marketing

Special Events Promotion and Marketing

Holiday Marketing

Marketing Campaigns

Email Marketing (Content and Design)

Reputation Management

If you treat real estate as a business then Real Skillz is a desirable real estate marketing solution. Call #262-745-0715 or email rebecca@realestateskillz.com.

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" In Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page(Part I)

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:51:34 -0700

Via Rebecca Levinson, Real Estate Marketing Consultant (Real Skillz-Clear Marketing for Your Real Estate Vision):

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" in Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page (Part I)

If you're a fan of Emeril Lagasse then you know that everytime he knocks down a great recipe in front of a live audience he adds a little spice, a little kick, a little something extra at the end of the dish so when everything is mixed together and the cooking is done....BAM.

Emeril puts the bam in every one of those dishes he makes so the results are scintillating. Voila, that extra special something really knocks out your taste buds.

Facebook has a huge audience of willing participants as long as you're serving the right dishes for their hungry palates. How do you make sure those participants visit, become a member of, and refer your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page to their friends and family? Over the next four days I will dish you up five ways to upgrade with ease and put the "Bam" in Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page.

Download the FBML Static Application

The static fbml application will allow you to use html or fbml (facebook markup language) to create customized tabs for your Facebook Fan Page. Once you download the application (make sure you choose to install it on your Facebook Fan Page as opposed to your Profile page) you will find it under your logo on your Facebook Real Estate Fan Page.

Click "Edit Page" and you will see the static FBML application. Click on the "Edit" hyperlink and you will be able to create a customized tab for your Facebook Fan Page.

You will be brought to a screen that asks you for a box title "title of your tab" and a box for FBML. In the box for FBML insert your FBML or HTML. This is similar to when you create notes on Facebook or when you create a blog post and use HTML instead of the WYSWIG processor

Once you have added your content you will click the blue box titled "Save Changes" and then go back to your Fan Page. Click the "Edit Page" hyperlink under your Fan Page's logo again and then go to your FBML application which will look like this "name of your tab-FBML". Click "Application Settings" and then you will get a pop-up box that says "Edit Static FBML Settings".

Click the "Add" button next to the "Tab" option in the "Edit Static FBML Settings" pop-up box.

Click the >> sign next to your tabs if you don't see your new custom tab on your fan page. Your fan page will allow you to display six tabs- 2 predetermined- wall and info, and 4 custom. If you want to rearrange the order of your tabs, right click your mouse and drag your tab to the position you prefer it to be in on your wall.

If you want to create more than one custom tab, scroll to the bottom of your existing application page and click the hyperlink that says "Add another FBML box". You will do this each time you want to add custom tabs to your Facebook Business Page.

You now know how to create custom tabs and upgrade your Facebook Fan Page. In Part 2, I will discuss which custom tabs will accentuate your Real Estate Fan Page and how to get rid of or mask some of those Facebook tabs that just don't have that "bam".

If you enjoyed this post about Facebook, then check out these social media marketing and blogging how to's:

How to Re-Purpose your Real Estate Blog's Content to Grow Your Email List in 5 Simple Steps

How to Cut Your Real Estate Blogging Time in Half and Re-Purpose your Content Three Ways with the Time Saved

The Top 5 Ways to Prune Your Real Estate Blog

Subscribe to Blogging In The Rain, A Real Estate Marketing Blog

*************************************************************************************

Rebecca D. Levinson of Real Skillz is a real estate marketing consultant with 18 years of experience serving real estate professionals. Real Skillz Real estate marketing services include,

Blogging- See my Blogging Tune-Up Website for Details

Social Networking

Niche Marketing

Marketing Strategy

Branding- See my Branding Sanity Website for Details

Offline Marketing

Online Marketing

Special Events Promotion and Marketing

Holiday Marketing

Marketing Campaigns

Email Marketing (Content and Design)

Reputation Management

If you treat real estate as a business then Real Skillz is a desirable real estate marketing solution. Call #262-745-0715 or email rebecca@realestateskillz.com.

More Twitter Tools Than You Will Ever Need!

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:48:55 -0700

Via Wayne Golliday (SEO Redefined):

Twitter folks are always looking for new Twitter Apps to use and try, so I have found a blog for you that has over 275 Twitter apps. I will let you peruse it at your leisure and maybe you can find something of interest there. 275 Twitter Apps

This person has done a good job of listing what is available and seems to keep the list updated on a regular basis. Let us know if you find something that seems to make your tweeting more fun or useful. I have looked over the list and found a couple of tools. I do know I tend to use TweeterTrendz more than any other tool out there. If you have not use that you should give it a try. It is also a good tool to see if anyone is tweeting about you or something that you might be interetsed in or current events

Do not forget to read my latest blog post Twitter Twatter.

Thank you for reading

Wayne

__________________________________________

Wayne Golliday
SEO Redefined
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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: OK, Impress Me!

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:45:53 -0700

Thanks Heather.

Via Heather Chavez, Real Estate Virtual Assistant (951) 961-0219 (Second Self Virtual Assistance):

This sign is up outside the apartment complex up the street from my house. Everytime I drive by, I am VERY tempted to walk inside, put my hands on my hips and announce, "OK. I'm ready to be impressed. Impress me!"

This is a good sign to keep in mind when dealing with clients, too. You want them to be impressed, don't you?

Heather Chavez, Real Estate Virtual Assistant

Following Others On Twitter Without an Account - Twitter Fast Follow

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:33:05 -0700

Via Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain):

Twitter has a new feature called "Fast Follow" which allows you to follow people on Twitter via SMS (short Message Service) and you don't even need to have a Twitter account to do this. I know that many Real Estate Industry professionals are still trying to get their arms around the concept of how to use Twitter effectively, but with this new feature, at least you can follow those who are posting valuable information and content for their followers.

Just text "follow + TwitterUsername" to Twitters "Fast Follow" at #40404 and you'll receive text updates from that user right on your smart phone. You may want to be selective, especially if you pay for your individual text messages on a limited phone plan.

Fast Follow seems like something that will appeal to those wanting to maximize social media advertising, but imagine all the passive non twitter users out there who want to receive information and updates from their favorite people, brands, and companies, but have no desire whatsoever to tweet themselves.

Now I know that you avid twitter users out there will instinctively want to try this out by following yourselves first to test it out, but the text message you'll get back might mess up your day and your ego along with it! lol~

Take a look and see if this is something that might work for you in your quest to get relevant content from those you believe provide it, and at the same time, see how other individuals and companies are using twitter to gain readers, followers, and grow relationships and business.

Check out the Twitter Blog for more details on their new "Fast Follow" SMS feature. Should I tweet this too?!

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Important Stuff Happening in Real Estate

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:02:21 -0700

Thanks Mark. I thought your point of view was interesting.

Via Mark Brian (Silver Star Real Estate LLC):

Today, the Obama administration is staging the Conference on the Future of Housing Finance at the Treasury Department. It is going to be moderated by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan in Washington, D.C., is billed as a first step toward housing finance reform. I have my doubts and would bill it as "How Can We Screw Up an Already Screwed Up Housing Market". Geithner has said the Obama administration plans to offer “a comprehensive reform proposal” for the housing finance system including mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae by January. Fannie and Freddie don't make the loans, but they do guarantee the loans made by others and purchase some loans for their own portfolios. Fannie and Freddie also extend credit to homebuyers by making financing available to lenders, and keep mortgage markets liquid by making mortgage purchases.

By extending credit with an implicit government guarantee, Freddie & Fannie do create a huge risks to the American taxpayers.The whole idea of Freddie & Fannie with a private profit and public loss structure, was flawed from the beginning. However, there is always going to be a need for some type of government involvement in the housing finance sector so that it remains viable in volatile economic times.

But to make changes right now is too risky considering the housing market has not recovered from the results of the last time the politicians monkeyed with real estate. And sadly, this is turning into another Republican versus Democrat spectacle. Don't get me wrong! Considering that the government backed nearly 97 percent of U.S. mortgages in 2009, something needs to be done.

First, the Republicans went on the offensive by releasing a policy brief that blames everything that went wrong in the mortgage market on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and everything that went wrong with them on Democratic lawmakers or company leaders, and on affordable housing goals Congress enacted in 1993. No real big surprise for politicians to blame everything on the other party or the previous administration. But I feel that most of the American people are tired of this behavior from the politicians and want change to Freddie & Fannie, but not by further destroying a fragile housing market. If the wrong steps are taken it could restrict credit, drive down home prices, increase foreclosures and slow the economy.

I have been rabidly following this and to tell the truth I do not have too much confidence in the politicians or policy makers to make things better. I have a sinking suspicion that this will turn into yet another way for the banks and large financial institutions to gain a stronger stranglehold on the financial system. Check out some of the panelists:

·         Barbara J. Desoer, President of Bank of America Home Loans (Now owns the smoldering remains of Countrywide)

·         Ingrid Gould Ellen, Professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy at New York University's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and Co-Director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy

·         Bill Gross, Co-founder and Co-chief Investment Officer of PIMCO, is the manager of the world’s biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co.

·         Lewis Ranieri, Chairman of Ranieri and Company, Inc

Gross and Ranieri developed the model for the private mortgage-backed securities market that was behind the rapid expansion of credit for U.S. homeowners.

·         Mike Heid, Co-president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (Starting to wonder if the banks will be well represented on the panel?)

·         S.A. Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer of Radian Group Inc (Read carefully what they do)

·         Marc H. Morial, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Urban League (Good)

·         Alex Pollock, Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (Read their vague description and it sounds like lobbyists for big business)

·         Ellen Seidman, Ellen Seidman, Executive Vice President for Mission and Strategy, at ShoreBank Corporation , and Chair of the Board of Directors at the Center for Financial Services Innovation (both are out of Chicago..hmmm)

·         Michael A. Stegman, Director of Policy and Housing for the Program on Human and Community Development of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation ( Good)

·         Susan Wachter, Richard B. Worley Professor of Financial Management, Professor of Real Estate, Finance and City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School (Good)

·         Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody's Analytics (Meh..)

Look at the names on the list and think about who they want to have on the panel and why? I also notice that they do not appear to have anyone from NAR and that concerns me since REALTORS can contribute so much hands on experience and vast knowledge about housing and the current financing problems that consumers are facing when buying or selling real estate. Please also consider the reported criticism from affordable-housing advocates raising concerns that the Obama administration is excluding consumer and community groups from playing prominent roles in this conference.

And right now, Fannie and Freddie play a key role in the Obama administration's efforts to fix the nation's housing problems through various programs targeted at helping struggling homeowners. And that is a good thing in my opinion but how long can we keep propping up the housing market? Fannie and Freddie were placed under Treasury conservatorship in September 2008 due to the expected losses on their books from bad home loans but please remember who had the idea for loosening the lending standards: Politicians!

But I feel that we need a secondary mortgage market of some sort that includes some government participation & oversight, but that will protect the taxpaying hardworking average American and help to make sure that anyone with decent credit can get a mortgage so that they can buy a home!

I am not sure if I will want to watch but the event will be streamed live on www.treasury.gov. But my prediction is that we need to let our elected officials know that the housing market is far too important to the American economy for them to screw it up. And in many of the past economic downturns, it has been real estate that helped to get the economy rolling again!

Updated

Excerpts from Politico of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s Opening Remarks at the Conference on the Future of Housing Finance: “Fixing this system is one of the most consequential and complicated economic policy problems we face as a country. … We will not support returning Fannie and Freddie to the role they played before conservatorship, where they took market share from private competitors while enjoying the perception of government support.

“We will not support a return to the system where private gains are subsidized by taxpayer losses. We need to delineate more clearly the public policy goals of how best to promote reasonably priced and stable mortgage costs for most Americans from how best to provide access to affordable housing for lower income Americans. … The failures that produced the system we have today were bi-partisan. The solution must be as well. This is a test for Washington. The stakes are high. The housing industry supports millions of jobs. For many Americans, their home is their largest financial asset.”

Mark Brian Silver Star Real Estate Office 864-225-1883

Please Visit My Website to View Upstate SC Real Estate

Some very valuable tips on preventative measures against Identity Theft

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:57:06 -0700

Valuable information worth repeating.

Via Ralph Gorgoglione (Relocation Certified -HAFA Certified -John Aaroe Group, Inc.):

Some very valuable tips on preventative measures against Identity Theft

1. Do not sign the back of your credit cards . Instead, put ' PHOTO ID REQUIRED .'

2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the 'For' line. Instead, just put the last four numbers . The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.

3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have It printed, anyone can get it.

4. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine . Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place.

5. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

6. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).

But here's what is perhaps most important of all:

7. Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number.

The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, if it has been stolen:

1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888- 397-3742

3.) Trans Union : 1-800-680 7289

4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line):
1-800-269-0271

If you are willing to pass this information along, it could really help someone that you care about.

How To Create and Maximize Your ActiveRain Blog Post

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:50:57 -0700

Via Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain):

How To Create and Maximize Your ActiveRain Blog Post

The AR community has grown and evolved with thousands of new members, millions of posts, some really cool features, and great SEO and consumer traffic. Many of the members who sign up and join ActiveRain start off very excited and ready to Blog, but then find themselves stuck. We have many members who ask What Should I do Next?

Having a profile setup and then just lurking around the community, not knowing where or what to do next, seems to be an age old trend. "What should I Blog about?" "I don't have the time!" "I'm not a writer or blogger!?" and "Why Should I Blog?" are just some of the common questions and concerns I hear time and time again.

It's time to get some answers. It's time to get your "Blog" game on!

ActiveRain members have created a very powerful on-line resource for both members and consumers that is second to none. There is ton of information here covering a wide variety of topics and discussions. So where do you find out what makes the ActiveRain Blog Post different than any other Network or Blogging platform out there?

What tools and options are available and how do you use them? How is Blogging on ActiveRain different than blogging on Wordpress or Blogger? Do you have questions like these and are you trying to make cents sense of it all? In just one hour, we're not just going to tell you, we're going to show you. If content really is King, then knowledge about content and "How To" must be Queen!

What's taken years to learn (through trial and error) will be shared with you in a "flash" of time, if you want it.

Click Here To Learn How To Create and Maximize Your AR Blog Post

* The Blog Cycle and Purpose - Connecting All The Dots
* What's The Difference Between a Website and A Blog
* Finding "Your" Blogging Voice and Transparency
* The Keys to Building Your Blog Resourse Library
* Where to Find Unlimited Content for Blogging
* What To Write and Blog About and Why
* How to Create Powerful and Inviting Blog Titles
* What Makes Bad Content vs Great Content
* How to Generate MORE Traffic and Leads
* How to Track Statistics and Use Analytics
* Strategy on Using Keywords and Tags Effectively
* Why Achor Text and Back Linking Are Crucial
* Using Channels, Groups, and Topics as Tools
* What is The Truth and Power of the ReBlog
* The Evolution of Posting Listings - What's Changed
* When, Why, and How Often To Create New Posts
* Using Syndication to Get Maximum Exposure
* Understanding SEO on ActiveRain and Outside Blogs

The purpose of ActiveRain and this vibrant network is to provide a community atmosphere where Industry Professionals can network, have fun, learn from each other, share their knowledge and experiences, and grow their business via referrals, SEO, and Blogging. If you're new to ActiveRain, or you've been lurking around for months now, or you've left AR and now you're back, or maybe attended a RainCamp and you're just not sure what to do next, I hope you'll take advantage of this opportunity and join us. It all starts with YOUR Blog!

Important Note: This training is open to any and all members. Some tools and information we'll be sharing will only apply to RainMaker memberships. We'll explain the differences, and also provide you the opportunity to explore the "RainMaker" membership with no risk or obligation if you're interested.

EDIT 6/1/10 10:00pm
"Try This Link To See If You Can Watch The Recorded Session"

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Who's Calling The Shots on ActiveRain - The New "Called Shots" Feature

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:45:18 -0700

For those who haven't seen/heard about 'called shots'.

Thanks Brad.

Via Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain):

We have a new feature which I'm sure many of you have already noticed on your "MY HOME" pages.

Since we released the new "SUGGEST" for feature button, we've been getting a really good response from members helping us to find and report suggested content for the ActiveRain Feature Board. You'll notice today that we've placed a new metric "CALLED SHOTS" counter in the status area of each members "my home" page. This little tracker tool will tally a total of how many posts you suggest that actually get featured.

Calling a shot simply means you've selected a post by another member that you feel should be featured.

To do this, you would have to have clicked on the "SUGGEST" button in the upper right corner of their blog post. If you suggest a members Blog post to be featured, and it is selected, then you will have "Called The Shot" and get the kudos. When a member accumulates enough "Called Shots" they'll earn a new badge.

In order to prevent gaming, members may only suggest a maximum of 5 posts per day, so be careful calling your shots, don't waste them, we may have some additional surprises and rewards for those members "calling the most shots" around here.

Thank you for helping us keep the network growing and for keeping the community fun! Your support in suggesting features has been awesome, and is making a huge difference for our moderators and for the variety and quality of content that our visitors and traffic are being exposed to while visiting ActiveRain.

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My Bright Idea -- To Be SHARED With My Colleagues on Active Rain

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:17:23 -0700

Thanks Carla. I like this idea.

Via Carla Muss-Jacobs Principal Broker/Owner EBA Portland LLC | www.EBAPortland.com | (Exclusive Buyers Agent Beaverton Portland):

Several months ago, I had an idea. I ran it by Bob Stewart, and he said he'd feature it once it was done. Then I talked with my web guy -- because I am NOT A COMPUTER PROGRAMMER.

My web guy was ALL for it . . . he even had a few suggestions. And then . . .

{Sounds of Crickets Chirping}

NOTHING!! I tried calling him, emailing him . . . "Hmmmmm . . . what's up with our project?"

I was diappointed to say the least, and thought my bright idea would not come to fruition.

Well, after reading a few posts today, and this one in particular by Active Rain member Richie Nagger Foreclosed Owner Renter To Squatter Trespasser Part I and . . .

ESPECIALLY, AFTER READING THE COMMENT MADE BY JEANNA DIXON got me to think about my idea. Jeanna writes, in part:

". . . I wonder who is tracking the statistics for foreclosures that took place DURING the modification process? . . . Why are WE ALLOWING THIS?"

I think it's time for me to share my idea. But first, a little background:

On Feb. 26, 2010 I posted a blog Too Little Too Late -- Short Sale Speculation.   One of the comments I read was from our own Missy Caulk. It was right after reading Missy's comment that the LIGHT BULB went on for me. . . . READ MISSY'S COMMENT

With that comment, this was my bright idea:

I want to develop a VIRTUAL walk on Washington. A website where Americans who have been affected, are affected, and will be affected by the "financial crisis" can have a voice.   I've registered the domains: TheVoiceOfTheAmericanPeople.com . . . and . . . TheVoiceOfAmericas.com for the project and currently, they are parked.

My conceptis to have a Virtual Walk on the Mall of Washington, where Americans can register, write what happened to them as a result of the manipulations on Wall St., and the banking industry.  Foreclosures, Short Sales, Bankruptcy, Loan Modifications, ruined credit, displacements, loss of homes, loss of values, loss of the American Dream . . .

And with each registrant telling their story, their email will be AUTOMATICALLY FORWARDED to their representative -- local, and national.

This crisis AFFECTS US ALL, and NO ONE (Senators, Congress, Local Politicians) SEEMS TO BE LISTENING TO US -- THE VOICE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!!

THE WORST FINANCIAL CRISIS OF OUR GENERATION. . . and The Voice of the American Peopleneeds to be heard. Not the BIG BANK LOBBYISTS -- who have done a great job keeping the truth of HOW MANY AMERICANS THIS HAS AFFECTED -- silent and . . . unfortunately with MANY, apathy runs high. Out of sight out of mind. I would like to hear from The Voice of the American People.

Please share your thoughts. I have no idea what else to do at this point. I think the idea is a worthy one! I NEED A PROGRAMMER!!

THERE IS A FACEBOOK FAN PAGE BUT IT'S A WORK IN PROGRESS -- BUT PLEASE "LIKE IT" SO I CAN GET THIS THING RUNNING!!

THE VOICE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE -- ON FACEBOOK

-----------------------------------------------------------

~ Representing Buyers Since 1999 ~

Carla Muss-Jacobs, ABR, CEBA, e-PRO, Realtor®

Principal Broker/Owner
EBAPortland, LLC
YOUR Exclusive Buyer's Agent

(503) 810-7192 / Carla@CarlaHomes.com

CHECK OUT www.EBAPortland.com for Home Buyer TIPS!

All rights reserved (c)

Alan's List of Internetiquette Rules

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:13:04 -0700

Rules to think about. Thanks Alan.

Via Alan May, Coldwell Banker Evanston Realtor, Evanston Real Estate (Evanston Condos, Evanston Homes, North Shore Homes):

Here on Active Brain we are fairly civil to one another, but on many other sites, (such as those that rhyme with Pillow, & Foolya as well as others), they seem to be a little bit of the Wild Wild West, with little, ineffective or no moderation at all.

Commenters and questioners are often subjected to, how shall we say, colourful language, sarcasm and outright attacks by semi-anonymous posters, with little else to do but hang around waiting for their next victim while hiding behind interesting double-entendre Icons and Screen names. Since many of these internet sites don't require any true identification, we've all seen participants who's method of disagreement tends to be insults and harassment, and then ducking back behind their anonymity.

I thought it might be appropriate to post Alan's List of Internetiquette and guidelines for a happy, happy internet playdate. So, without further ado, here are "Alan's rules for InternetPlaytime".

• COMMENTS
   When commenting, try to add value to the conversation. As tempting as it is to respond with "yeah... I agree", it's better to add some explanation such as "Yeah... I agree... This is the best explanation of dual-agency I've seen in print, and Alan is an internet God". In fact, I really like that language, feel free to copy & paste it, and simply replace the subject matter with whatever is being discussed at the time.

• SALES PITCH
    As tempting as it might be, please try to avoid the "Hard Sell". The Internet is the place for buyers and sellers to find you and learn about you. They don't want to wade through your listings in post after post.   They aren't here to hear to you say "Call me, pick me, choose me". Be a valuable member of the community. Add value to conversations, give reliable responses, and be the voice of reason. You won't ever have to say "Call me"... buyers and sellers will beat a path to your door.

• DISAGREEMENTS
   It's inevitable that there will be disagreements with some who are posting. Feel free to disagree, but try to do so 'respectfully'. Y'all remember respect, don't you. It's that method of conversation that we used to have when we had to have conversations face-to-face. If you wouldn't feel comfortable saying something to their face, in front of you own mother... then perhaps you ought to try to reword it... hmmm?
    If you find someone breaking the sites rules... please don't be "confrontational"... flag them, and let the site handle it. Don't worry, the readers are smart enough to recognize a show-off, or bully, when they see one. Please don't feed the trolls.

• COPYRIGHTS
   We all know you're clever. Not to mention incredibly good-looking, but try not to make yourself look even better by copying and pasting someone else's stuff, and passing it off as your own. It's so easy, today, to find plagiarism on the internet, and you can rest assured that someone who's perusing your comments or your blogs will undoubtedly check... and when they identify that you "stole" that incredibly highbrow paragraph from Chaucer, they're going to "out" you, and you'll feel very much the fool. Just don't do it.
    You also open yourself (and Active Brain, or whatever platform you're currently using) to a potential lawsuit, and a whole passel of expenses (that's right... I said "Passel"). Ask Lenn Harley...she'll explain further.

• ETHICS AND ACCURACY
    As Realtors (and Real Estate Agents), when talking about Real Estate, we have an ethical obligation to be accurate and honest. And be very careful when commenting about Real Estate practices in states other than the one you practice in. The rules change dramatically from state to state. If you comment, be sure you know what you're talking about.

• SPELLING
    Most sites (Active Brain included) have spell check. Please avail yourself of its functionality. It takes only a few moments, and is so, so helpful. I don't automatically discount the comments of those who have the occasional misspelling, but when there are multiple misspellings per paragraph, or even per sentence... it sure does slow down my enjoyment of that post.

• PARAGRAPHS
    For those of you who like to wax on, and on, and on... please try to break up your verbosity with paragraphs. I don't really care if you use them properly or not... just break it up visually, so we don't have to slog through a single 4,000 word paragraph. If you really feel up to it, add some graphics... it makes your post that much more appealing, and readable. It makes us think that you actually gave some thought to your post, and you care what people think.

I'm sure there are lots and lots of "rules" that I haven't addressed.... care to add?

ALAN MAY, Realtor®
Specializing in Evanston Real Estate and North Shore Real Estate
-------------------------------
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, 2929 Central Street, Evanston, IL 60201
847.425.3779      Cell: 847.924.3313      Email: Almay@aol.com

Evanston Real Estate & North Shore Real Estate

Accelerate your Business with Smartphone & Workflow Applications

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:11:05 -0700

Thought this looked interesting. Still thinking about the IPhone and Droid and am always interested in ways to streamline my work. Hope these are helpful to youj. Thanks to AR Approved Business Builders.

Via ActiveRain Approved Business Builders (ActiveRain - Approved Business Builders):

The number of programs required to run your business is overwhelming. Finally, there is a solution that truly simplifies daily tasks allowing you to work faster, smarter and simply increase your income by leveraging technology.

ActiveRain Channels - Real Estate Technology and Tools

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 14:26:09 -0700

Was poking around in AR today and rediscovered this. Thought I'd reblog it.

Via Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain):

ActiveRain Channels - Technology and Tools - It's A "Discovery Channel"

Everyone knows how excited I get about all the new, cool, and useful technology that's available here and out on the web. Turns out, and it's no surprise, that I'm not the only one who loves to share tech tips and tools with others. Many of us create posts on AR, sharing our findings and information with others in hopes that it will be helpful to them in their business. We add them to channel, give them a topic, submit them to our Blog, then we go on about our day.

Today I saw a post by member Jim Lee sharing Wordle, a cloud tagging tool that was very interesting. Then I saw he added his post to the Technology and Tools Channel on ActiveRain. Curiosity always gets the better of me, so I clicked on the Channel and was "Blown Away" at all the members who had written posts about various Technologies and tools they had discovered too. Want some Tech and Tools?

Here's what I discovered, there is a ton of content covering...

Technology | Twitter | Google | Websites | Photography
Video | Facebook | Social Networking | SEO

Each of these links within the Channel will take you even deeper where you'll find even more focused content on each subject matter. There is an alphabetically sorted "Topic" index at the bottom of the Channel that you can search through in detail. There's even a "Most Popular Topics" index on the right hand side of the Channel page. As you click on specific topics, you'll notice a "Top Contributor" section within that Sub-Channel. This Channel Navigation structure applies to EVERY ActiveRain Channel. Did you know this?

Holy Cow! I work here everyday and didn't even realize how much the Channels have grown. It's awesome!!

Just out of curiosity... again, I used the search tool on AR and searched for "TIPS and TOOLS." WOW! More than 800 posts have been written just using these two keywords. For me personally, this will save me a ton of time looking for exactly the kind of stuff I love and that I'm always searching for. Talk about discovering a goldmine, I'm feeling like a 49er today!! lol~

There are so many areas to find great content on ActiveRain: The feature board, the Blogrolls, inside the groups, subscribed bloggers etc., just don't forget to grab your remote control once in a while and skip through some of the ActiveRain Channels. It's just like your television, you never know what you'll discover until you start flipping through some of the channels. Also, make sure that you're adding your content to the proper channels so you'll get additional exposure to those looking for your specific topics.

The Technology and Tools Channel IS My new "Discovery Channel!"

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A Little Blue Fish is My Inspiration

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:14:14 -0700

Thanks Heather for reminding us to keep our chins up. "Dory the little blue fish" is a great idea. Everybody needs a gimmick and it sounds to me like you've find yours.

Via Heather Chavez, Second Self Virtual Assistance (928) 412-4469 (Second Self Virtual Assistance):

It's funny to think that you can find inspiration from a cartoon character. But, lately, circumstances have forced me to look in some weird places to keep a positive attitude. And, I happened to land upon Dory, the little blue fish from "Finding Nemo". Since Dory's only got a VERY short term memory, she's always happy to meet new people (even if she's known them for a while), she manages to make friends with those who should be her enemies ("What's a little bite like you doing 'round here") and is always in an upbeat mood ("Swimming, swimming...just keep swimming"). Not a bad way to live, if you think about it. So, no matter what life throws at me, I'm just going to keep swimming with a song in my heart and a smile on my face.

Heather Chavez, Real Estate Virtual Assistant - Second Self Virtual Assistance: When There Isn't Enough of You to Go Around!

The New "Like" Button for Facebook on ActiveRain Blogs

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:10:46 -0700

Probably most of you have already heard about the new "like" button for facebook on the AR blogs. Thought it might bear repeating if you didn't the first time.

Via Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain):

"Like" WOW, I'm "Like" Totally Stoked - The New "Like" button for Facebook on AR.

If you haven't seen it yet, you will, and it might just be because you saw it on someones Facebook Wall. The new "LIKE" button on AR has now been added to every public post for you and all your friends, comrade's, associates, and subscribers to share on Facebook.

It's easy to do! If you like the post you're reading, scroll down to the first area where you would "Flag", "Bookmark", or "Email" the post, and just click on the NEW "LIKE" button. That's it! The link and post will now show-up on your Facebook wall. You can even like your own if you want to do some shameless self promotion of your AR Blog Posts on Facebook. Imagine all the possiblities and positive results this could have on you, your AR friends and associates, and the content you can now share with others on Facebook! I THINK IT'S VERY COOL!!

Hey - I really think I "LIKE" it, how about you? If you do... you know what to do!! LOL~ (Big Smile) :-))

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Top 50 Google Tools for Business

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:07:59 -0700

Saw this one a few days ago. It's really helpful. Plan to investigate just about all of them. Another top notch tip from Brad. Thanks so much.

Via Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain):

The Top 50 Google Tools for Business

This compilation is for all of you out there who use Google for searching and SEO, but may not be aware of all the other tools and services that Google has to offer for your business. My inbox used to get so many questions about many of the links and tools below, it seemed like a good idea to bring them all into a single location for your review and use.

I know you'll find some of this information helpful or useful to you and your Business.

Image Courtesy of Wikipedia

Google Alerts – Get email notifications from any keyword or phrases used on the web.

Google Buzz - Start and share conversations about the things you find interesting.

Google Blog Search – A sophisticated way of searching the web specifically for Blogs.

Google Books – Google has a ground-breaking agreement with authors and publishers.

Google Business - All of Google's On-line Business solutions for small and large Business.

Google Checkout – Find it online, purchase it with Google’s Checkout tool.

Google Chrome – The fastest and cleanest Web Browser for PC’s and MAC’s.

Google Custom Search – Create your own custom search engine for your Website/Blog.

Google Desktop – Take control of PC or MAC Desktops, find anything faster and easier.

Google Dictionary – Don’t knock it till you try it, watch out Webster.

Google Directory – The Web organized by Topic and placed into Categories.

Google Earth – Explore and share the World in 3D. Add your photos and Videos.

Google Finance – Track and Edit your Portfolio, Charts, and Graphs.

Google 411 – Dial Directory Services and Information from any phone for FREE.

Google Health – Organize all your medical records and store them on-line.

Google Images – The Ultimate Image search on the Internet.

Google Maps – The best way to map out directions and share with others.

Google News – All the news you’ll ever need and find in one location.

Google Patents – Every US Patent is search-able with the full text.

Google Product Search – Find any product in one location instead of searching sites.

Google Scholar – Looking for a specific paper or Scholarly articles, find them fast.

Google Toolbar – Allows you to add search, share, and contribute to your fav browser.

Google Trends – For those who want to know details about search engine trends.

Google Videos – Used for searching only Video and Vlogs on the Internet.

Google Web Search – Still the #1 search engine tool with the #1 advanced features.

Google Web Search Features – The best search tool for movies, music, books, etc.

Google Code – This is a developer tools, used for APIs and other resources.

Google Labs – One of the best Online Tech Playgrounds on the Web.

Google Blogger – Create your own Blogspot Blog, it’s easy and free.

Google Calendar – Setup and use a Global Calender that you can share with others.

Google Docs – Create spreadsheets, presentations, documents, and more.

Google Groups - Use Groups to connect with others and share ideas and discussions.

Google Knol – Write a Knol and Share what you know with others. Learn too.

Google Mail – Google mail has so many great features for email, and it’s FREE.

Google’s Orkut – It’s a Google Social Network, stay connected with others.

Google Picasa – Upload and store, find, and share your photos and images.

Google Picnik - The newest online Photo and Graphics editing addition to Google.

Google Reader – Delivers everything you want to know from the web back to you.

Google Sites – Create your own websites and group wikis for private or public use.

Google SketchUp – Allows you to Design, Build, and Create 3D models and images.

Google Talk - Talk to friends, send IM’s, communicate with others via computer.

Google Translate – Helps you and visitors to view any site in any language.

Google’s YouTube – The second most searched site in the World. Youtube.com.

Google Mobile – Take Google on the Road, & don’t leave home without your phone.

Google Maps for mobile – Just as good as GPS, view maps, directions, get un-lost.

Google Search for mobile – Search the web from your phone anytime from anyplace.

Google Pack – Get the entire Google Pack for your PC or MAC.

Google Voice – The best way to manage phones and services FREE. (invite only)

Google Wave – The future of email and real time collaboration. (invite only)

Google Wonder Wheel - A Wonderful Wheel of relavant search terms.

Take a few minutes to explore what some of these great tools can do for you and your business, then make sure you keep an eye on Google in the future, their development team creates and produces new products at the speed of light.

Did I miss any? Do tell! What is YOUR favorite NEW Google Tool or Product?

Stay on top of everything Google is Doing – GOOGLE

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ActiveRain's NEW "Suggest For Feature" Button

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:05:06 -0700

Great idea to feature the folks who work real hard to write original articles to make our lives easier. Thanks Brad.

Via Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain):

Today we launched a new button on ActiveRain. The "Suggest Feature" button.

With the volume of great content and fantastic Blog posts being submitted daily from our RainMakers, we have created a new and powerful tool that allows members of the community to make suggestions for posts and articles they feel should be featured on our home page. This is a very powerful new tool, and with great power, comes great responsibility. :-) It is similar to the new Facebook "LIKE" button that we recently added.

As long as I can remember, the controversy of what does, and does not get featured has seemed a mystery or at best, a guess. ActiveRain's moderators have done a fabulous job in my opinion of sifting through the thousands of daily posts that go up on our network. It is a very difficult and time consuming task, and it's no longer humanly possible for us to review every post submitted by members for a potential feature.

The ActiveRain Community has been built and established based partly on our members "ideas and suggestions" and we're not changing our culture now! We are looking to our members, and the thousands of eyes (instead of just the few of our own) to suggest and submit to us, any posts you feel are worthy and have good content for our Feature Board. Now YOU (our community) can help us moderate and play a significant huge role in what our community stands for and represents.

By clicking on the new button, you'll be endorsing that member's Blog post, and sending us a link to consider for the coveted and infamous golden star. When you click on it, nothing will happen except the button will turn Grey. Behind the scenes, it will send the link to our staff for their review and possible selection. So here's your chance to help run the ActiveRain Feature Board. There is no limit to the amount of posts you can suggest to be featured, but you can only select the same post one time.

You may also notice that the "Flag" this post icon is no longer available at the bottom of each Blog post, we're currently working on a replacement option for reporting members concerns and flagging posts.

Our hope is that before members suggest a post, they'll keep in mind the culture, "The ActiveRain Weltanschauung" and the "Community Guidelines" upon which this network and vibrant community were created and built. What "BEST" represents not only ActiveRain and our community, but what Best represents us as an Industry. I truly believe that giving more of this decision to our members via this new option will benefit us all as a whole.

YOU have been "The Voice" of AR since its inception, and now YOU can be the "Eyes and Ears" as well. As we start relying more heavily on member suggestions, you may notice a change in the type of posts that make up the feature board. We're looking forward to your responses and responsiveness, and we're also excited about witnessing where this will take us in the future with the ActiveRain Feature Board. :-)

Download The ActiveRain "HELP" Toolbar for your Browser

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Top 5 Tips for Growing Your Facebook Page

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 08:23:15 -0700

Thanks so much for the tips.

Via Real Bird (RealBird Inc.):

By now, most of you have heard about Facebook Pages and many of you have set up one or more for your real estate business or local communities.

I noticed that most real estate Facebook Pages however have very little content and low number of Fans. Our RealBird Facebook Page has been growing nicely and I thought I share some of the things that we learned. You may be able to apply these techniques to your own Facebook Pages.

1) Your Facebook Page should be a community, so allow your Fans' posts to show up on your Page Wall

Pretty much most of the real estate related Facebook Pages I saw show only the Page owner's posts. It's a major fail in my opinion. I suspect, that is is due to the fact that this is the default settings when you create a Facebook Page, but also because many Page creators consider their Facebook Page to be just another of their own websites. What you really want to do is building a community and engaging users and nothing engages them more, then seeing that their own voice will be heard, i. e., their posts shown on your Page Wall. They will notice this by seeing other fans' posts being shown and that will encourage them to share as well.

Don't worry about "spam" for the following reasons:

People only spam when there are enough people to reach with their shady activity. In which case you are already in a very good position.

Facebook requires authentication for posting on walls, and this closed system approach reduces the chance of outragous spam messages.

Even with the above mentioned Wall settings, your users' posts will NOT stream into other fans personal profile, nor to your Facebook Page widgets. The incentives are very low for spammers.

Finally, you can easily delete spam messages and block particular users and if nothing else works and your Page is overtaken by spammers, you can roll back to the default option and show only your own posts on the Wall.

The gain you get by allowing fans' posts to be shown is way bigger than the annoyance of the unlikely spam activity

To enable this settings on your Facebook Page, use the "Edit Page" link under your logo, then under the "Wall Settings" select the "Posts by Page and Fans" option as shown on the image below

2) Add the Facebook Page Fan widget to your blog, website and single property websites. Add it everywhere !

So where do fans come from? Below is a list of possible sources (not a complete list):

Facebook suggest your Page to a Facebook user based on some internal algorithm (e.g. their friends are already fanned your Page)

When somebody fans your Page, this action show up on their friends' live feed

Fans invite friends to fan your Page

Fans comment or post on your Page. An action, that is also shown to their friends

You advertise your Page on Facebook or other ad networks

Fan Box widgets of your Facebook Page on your websites and blogs

The last one is very important and one that cost you no additional money and can be very significant in terms of aggregating fans from many different sources. For example, we have our Facebook Page widget posted on every possible places. On RealBird.com, on the RealBird member area sidebar, here on ActiveRain, on our corporate blog and other places as well. Many of our RealBird members added their Facebook Page to the RealBird single property websites and RealBird Property Search as well.

It is also important to note that the Facebook Page Fan Box widget which actually shows a sample of your Fans is way more productive than just having a Facebook button. It not only provides a one-click fanning option to your website visitors, but it also make your outside websites and blogs more personal by showing faces of real people. This is another undervalued option and most of the real estate sites including major national sites skip this step and only add a Facebook button. If it is technically possible, make sure that you add the full featured Facebook Page Fan Box widget to your blogs and sites, not just a simple button. Conversion rate (visitors to fans) will be significantly higher.

3) Ask questions and add "call for action" posts

Remember, the goal is to create a community of fans, not just a one way broadcasting system. To encourage your fans to participate, make sure you have posts that ask questions. Not all of them will receive replies, but eventually some of them will. But the very fact that you ask questions and use "call for action" terms will make your Facebook Page look more personal and hence increase engagement over time. There are poll applications that you can add to your Facebook Page, but I think the simplest and more personal option is the way to go. Whenever we share a technology or an interesting product on the RealBird Facebook Page, most of the time we ask our fans to see what they think about it or whether they already use it. It is as simple as adding a question to the end of the post with a question mark at the end. A good example is Mike Conner's Living in Olympia Facebook Page with high level of user engagement.

4) "Like" and comment on fan generated wall posts

I noticed on many successful Facebook Pages, that the Page owner replies or at least "likes" most if not all of the user generated posts. Just like allowing your fans to see their own posts on the main Wall, replying to fans is another important way to keep them engaged and show them that their voice is heard. That they are not posting into the void, but there are actual people out there who noticed their posts.

5) Do not overload with auto-posts, but mix it every now and then

There are many ways to autopost your external content to your Facebook Page and they may be useful as productivity tools, but I found myself getting bored on Pages that are clearly automated systems. There are exceptions, e.g. major blogs like TechCrunch, where I do not mind that their Facebook Page is mostly a delivery channel for their blog content, but in most cases, it makes a really boring content and completely not engaging one.

As a rule of thumb, most Facebook Pages should have one or two posts by the owner per day. Remember, the main interface where your fans will see your Page's posts is their own personal Facebook live feed. They may have hundreds of friends and hundreds of fanned Facebook Pages, all of them competing for the same live feed user interface. Don't expect that your content is the most important for them. If you have too much posts on your Facebook Page, it may overtake their personal user interface and eventually they are going to unfan your page or hide your updates. I did that before with some Facebook Pages and not because I did not like them, but for the above mentioned reasons, there were just way too many posts coming in every day. This does not contradict the fact that you allow and show Fan posts, because those are not syndicated to other fans' live feed.

Having that said, you also have to have a consistent stream of new posts. Post too much and they will unfan your Page, post too few and they will forget about you and your brand. For a typical Page, I suggest 1-2 posts per day. It's not a firm number just a guideline, you may post a little more, you may post less, but keep these considerations in mind.

To demonstrate where our RealBird Facebook Page is so far in terms of fan count and growth and for transparency reasons, please see a screenshot of our recent Facebook Insight stats. It shows a very nice growth in terms of new fans and a pretty flat unsubscribe level.

Well, this would not be a best-practices post unless I use it to gain some new fans for our Facebook Page so I added our Facebook Page Fan Box widget below and invite you to fan us on Facebook. So here we go: if you liked this post, please Fan our Facebook Page below. It only takes 1 or 2 clicks :) Thanks.

-- Zoltan
RealBird.com

How to Use Video and Youtube to Enhance Your Blog and Business

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 08:07:29 -0700

Looks like a great opportunity to power up your business.

Via Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain):

ActiveRain University - How to Use Video and Youtube to Enhance Your Blog and Business

How are you using Video in Real Estate and on your ActiveRain Blog?
Are you creating or using Video Listings, Virtual Property and Community tours? Does your video show up on Google Earth? Can your videos make you money? Want to generate more traffic to your videos and visitors to your Blog? This week at ARU, we are going to be sharing some things about video and Youtube that will be very beneficial to your Video library on Youtube and your Blog on ActiveRain.
Here's a few videos I had fun creating, Can you guess which one had over 2.2 million views?
(It probably won't be the one you think...)

Video Is important to your Real Estate Business
We're going to show you some Youtube video secrets and tips and how to use some of the tools that are available. Youtube just changed their format and the look and feel of their site. They've added a few things and moved some stuff around. These are just some of the ways you can now optimize your video and channel, and we'll show you how.

7 Tips You'll Need To Know and Use

Creating Outstanding and Unique Content

Optimizing Your Youtube Channel and Profile

Using Keywords Cleverly In the right places

Adding URLS and Proper Hyperlinks

Linking and Embedding Videos Everywhere

Video Sharing and Youtube Settings

Ping Your Youtube Channel

Do's and Don'ts of Embedding Video

Getting Beyond The 10 Minute Video Limitation

Getting More Visibility, Traffic, and Views

Learn useful techniques on how to use Youtube, one of the Top 3 most searched sites in the world. Grow and promote your Blogs, Websites, and Local Business using video strategies that have worked successfully for others and have resulted in increased traffic, customers, and paychecks.

Embedding video into your Blogs and sites is just one small key ingredient to using video and Youtube. You don't need to be an expert at this stuff, but you should know what things work and which ones won't. Come join us for a FREE "power-hour" of creating and using Video and Youtube for your Business, this will be one of our best video training and support classes at ARU.

Register For The Youtube Video Training Class

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ActiveRain University Calendar Real Estate RainCamp The ActiveRain Manual

Walking Plates to Success / Susan Brown, Your Texas Connection, Keller Williams Realty

Alice C. Wilson, virtualexec-assist (VirtualExec-Assist) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:25:53 -0700

Susan Brown's "Walking Plates to Success" is a definite read. She gives good, down-to-earth examples of her methods to reach goals. After you check out her tips, then look at her real-life "walking plates".

Via Susan Brown (Keller Williams NE, Kingwood Texas (Humble & Atascocita too)):

Walking Plates to Success

Goals

Outline

Execution

One child I know told me she was going to make walking plates with her grandma. Walking Plates? (Translation at the end of the blog) I wasn't sure what she meant, but it started me thinking.

We can learn a lot from children. Their viewpoint is less complicated than ours. And they aren't afraid to ask questions. Plus they still listen because they don't want to miss anything. A friend's grandson asks her each time they get together, "What's the game plan Grandma?" You've got to appreciate that mindset. He wants to know what is going to occur in their time together. What will they achieve? In what order will events happen? And what participation is expected of him?

We all need a game plan, especially for the business of real estate. As independent contractors, we have a lot of leeway in creating our outlines to success. Working at home can have distractions. Working at an office doesn't change that either - a different set of distractions come into play. But we still need to use our walking plates to lay out our path so those distractions won't disturb our ultimate goal.

Personally, I like to set out my plan daily, weekly & monthly. The daily plan probably changes the most. A client appointment may need to be added. Or a not-to-be-missed webinar may come up. I move my walking plates around to accommodate changes. The weekly goals include client updates, blogging & social networking. And the monthly goals include my sphere mailings, print ad entry, website evaulation & community meetings. These are broad strokes and will be more detailed as each item is completed.

My walking plates will line up each month to get me back to the starting line so I can follow my path once again. Oh, and the Walking Plates...you've probably figured out by now that they are Stepping Stones!

Susan Brown, Your Texas Connection sells real estate in Walden on Lake Houston, Eagle Springs, Summerwood, Atascocita, TX, Kingwood Greens, Royal Shores & Kingwood, TX - just to name a few! Susan's the team leader for Your Texas Connection at Keller Williams Realty NE. Visit their website for more in depth info about the team and what they can do for you. Or call Susan direct (281) 415-1454 if you'd like her to start working on your behalf today!

Alice C. Wilson's Blog

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Afterall, remember weirdo Werner Von Braun? We now have footprints on the moon.

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Using SMS to Grow Your Real Estate Contact Database

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" in Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page (Part IV- THE FINALE)

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" in Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page (Part IV- THE FINALE)

How to Create a Welcome Page on Facebook

How to Add your Blog to your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" in your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" In Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page (Part III)

How to Add Your E-Newsletter to Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page

How to Add An Extended Info Tab To Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" In Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page (Part II)

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" In Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page (Part II)

How to Add Your Real Estate Listings to Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page

How To Remove those Unwanted Facebook Tabs from Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" In Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page(Part I)

Five Ways to Upgrade and Put the "Bam" in Your Real Estate Facebook Fan Page (Part I)

More Twitter Tools Than You Will Ever Need!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: OK, Impress Me!

Following Others On Twitter Without an Account - Twitter Fast Follow

Important Stuff Happening in Real Estate

Some very valuable tips on preventative measures against Identity Theft

How To Create and Maximize Your ActiveRain Blog Post

Who's Calling The Shots on ActiveRain - The New "Called Shots" Feature

My Bright Idea -- To Be SHARED With My Colleagues on Active Rain

Alan's List of Internetiquette Rules

Accelerate your Business with Smartphone & Workflow Applications

ActiveRain Channels - Real Estate Technology and Tools

Technology | Twitter | Google | Websites | Photography Video | Facebook | Social Networking | SEO

A Little Blue Fish is My Inspiration

The New "Like" Button for Facebook on ActiveRain Blogs

Top 50 Google Tools for Business

ActiveRain's NEW "Suggest For Feature" Button

Top 5 Tips for Growing Your Facebook Page

How to Use Video and Youtube to Enhance Your Blog and Business

Walking Plates to Success / Susan Brown, Your Texas Connection, Keller Williams Realty

Technology | Twitter | Google | Websites | Photography
Video | Facebook | Social Networking | SEO