Home > Blogs > Karen Anne Stone > Fort Worth Real Estate View

Active Rain Groups... What's The Point ?

Real Estate Agent with New Home Hunters of Fort Worth and Tarrant County

July 22, 2011 06:50 AM

I joined Active Rain in August of 2007. Since I was hoping that as many folks as possible would read my posts... every single post that I have written... I have "included" in the maximum of five of the Active Rain Groups. Every single one. And... they are not always the same groups. The ones I choose depend on what I am writing about.

To see why this might be a good thing for you to do as well... try this.

Think of each Active Rain Group... as being like a billboard in a different area of town. You have a product... and you paste that billboard ad on different billboards in the different areas of town... so you can display it to different groups of people who might be more interested in the ad... or in this case... "the post" that those in other areas (groups) can then see.

Example... if you were selling baby strollers... you would pick billboards in areas of town where there are young married couples likely to have kids.

If you were advertising a health club... you might pick billboards in areas of town near apartment complexes where young "active types" might live. Obviously, you would not use a billboard for your ad (your post) for power scooters for the elderly like you see on late night TV... in a area that has a lot of joggers. (and remember... in this example... the billboards on Active Rain... are free)

So... when you write a post... it would really help you if you picked five groups that are more likely to have folks who joined that group... that are more likely to be interested in the subject of your post.

If you do not include each of your posts in the maximum allowable five groups... you are missing out on a great chance to have more people see your posts... and then comment on them. And remember... the more comments you get... the more points you end up getting for that post.

Right now... if you write a post... you get 200 points for it. If you include that post in one of the Active Rain "Channels"... you get 225 points. And... if you end up getting a ton of comments... your points could go as high as 325 for each post you write. And that is NOT getting featured... just getting a lot of comments.

If your post gets featured... you get 425 points. And even that could increase if you get a zillion comments.

I hope this helps clear up some of the confusion I have noticed about a great Active Rain feature... the Active Rain "Groups."

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Greg Nino

RE/MAX Compass - Houston, TX

Houston, Texas

Karen,

Great post. I haven't actually entered a group and seen what was going on in about 3 years. The concept is really very antiquated, even for AR. I post to five every single time, but it's not relevant in my opinion because so many members don't go to those groups anymore.

Jul 23, 2011 05:21 PM

Pamela Seley

West Coast Realty Division - Murrieta, CA

Residential Real Estate Agent serving SW RivCo CA

Karen, good advice as always. Some of the groups have rules and sometimes it's difficult to know if a particular post will fit in that group or not. I agree with Karen #19 there should be an easier way to search groups.

Jul 23, 2011 05:29 PM

Cheryl Ritchie

RE/MAX Leading Edge www.GoldenResults.com - Huntingtown, MD

Southern Maryland 301-980-7566

You deserve a feature on this topic. How did you select groups?

Jul 23, 2011 09:46 PM

Frank Rubi

Frank Rubi Real Estate, LLC - Metairie, LA

FrankRubiRealEstate.com

Karen, great information and simple breakdown on why groups and how to use them.

Jul 24, 2011 02:33 AM

Jerry Newman

Brown Realty, 210-789-4216, - San Antonio, TX

Texas REALTOR, San Antonio Military Relocation

Hi Karen, This is some excellent advice anyone who is not taking advantage of joining various groups. This was the BEST advice that I received from a few of mentors like Bliz, Cindy in Indy, and Charita. I plan to re-blog.

Great Featured Post!! I have joined over 40 groups already.

Jul 24, 2011 02:35 AM

Don MacLean

New England Real Estate Center Inc. - Easton, MA

Realtor-Homes for Sale- Easton, Mass 02356

Karen great break down and analogy to help get those in the know.

Thanks for sharing

Enjoy the day

Jul 24, 2011 02:54 AM

The Somers Team

The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia - Philadelphia, PA

Delivering Real Estate Happiness

Karen - The groups are important to break down to a more focused topic for sure ! And to get your blog that more exposure.

Jul 24, 2011 02:59 AM

The Somers Team

The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia - Philadelphia, PA

Delivering Real Estate Happiness

Featured in " Build a Better Blog " group on AR

Jul 24, 2011 03:00 AM

Michael Setunsky

Woodbridge, VA

Your Commercial Real Estate Link to Northern VA

Karen I agree this give your post more visibility. I'd like to see AR increase the number of groups we can post to at one time.

Jul 24, 2011 03:28 AM

Deb Brooks

Brooks Prime Properties Wichita Falls Texas - Wichita Falls, TX

Karen Anne, this is very well explained! Like little communities. It is so good to see you still active after all these years. You are one of the faces I enjoy seeing so much! Hope you are doing well and just keep blogging! Hugs,

Deb

Jul 24, 2011 03:51 AM

Morris Massre

Pembroke Pines, FL

Real Estate Instructor Broward County Florida

I'm all for it, but the last time I did it I was deleted. Apparently someone didn't like my topic. I was invited to this one though, don't know why.

Jul 24, 2011 04:20 AM

Malik Crichlow

GoodBuy Homes NJ Essex & Union County Real Estate specialist - Maplewood, NJ

Maplewood,SouthOrange,Union Real estate

Karen,

You have cleared up some questions for me, thanks for sharing!

Jul 24, 2011 05:34 AM

William Johnson

Retired - La Jolla, CA

Retired

Hi Karen, Nicely explained and comprehensive. As I was reading all the comments, comment # 64 by Morris jumped out and I thought it might be one I could answer.

When a member joins a group, there are guidelines the member agrees to, to be a member of the group. Good moderators for any group look to see if the post actually is written to meet those guidelines.

If it isn't, typically,an e-mail would be sent out explaining what the deficiency is. If the post is deleted, the member also gets an e-mail (default) from ActiceRain stating that the post was deleted.

Some members have taken offense with this process and actually feel bad because they didn't understand what actually took place and they may even quit the group.

I would like it if AR changed the system and did not send out the 2nd (default ) e-mail and leave it to the moderators to handle it. I certainly know this first hand as I founded several groups and they are moderated by other caring members that only mean well and actually want to keep the integrity of the group's guidelines adhered to.

In this case, the matter of fact e-mail from AR duplicates the process and having received more than one of these over the years, it is not a happy experience. In fact it makes you feel like you aren't wanted to be even a part of the group and that is not the case at all.

I have thought of writing this as a post but your post was so good and one of your commentors likely experienced what I mentioned ( had his post deleted from a group ) and you can tell from his comment how he feels. "Left Out".

This comment sent from my iPad.

Jul 24, 2011 06:02 AM

Peter Pfann @ eXp Realty Pfanntastic Properties in Victoria, Since 1986.

eXp Realty, Victoria BC www.pfanntastic.com - Victoria, BC

Talk To or Text Peter 250-213-9490

Hi Karen,

Excellent information and good inspiration not just for the newbies, but the older members as well, as over a short period of time we all progress from the student to the teacher in one way or another here in the rain...

Jul 24, 2011 06:44 AM

'The Diamond Group' 'A Cut Above The Rest'

The Diamond Group @ Keller Williams - Lubbock, TX

Lubbock Texas Real Estate

Good information Karen, I wasn't sure what the group benefits were

Jul 24, 2011 06:58 AM

Karen Anne Stone

New Home Hunters of Fort Worth and Tarrant County - Fort Worth, TX

Fort Worth Real Estate

William in #66: Honestly, when I see a comment like yours... I wonder about where MY head has been... so to speak. I have been here on Active Rain for four years, now. Since August of 2007. I belong to perhaps... actually it might be better to say that I have "joined..." approimately 90 groups.

Why ninety ? Because I have a wide range of interests... and know that IF I want to go to a group... which I seldom do (except for the WordPress group)... it will be easier for me to do... cuz I joined that group, and now know where to find it.

First of all... the "wall of words" in your comment makes it very hard to read for these "older eyes" of mine. It would read much more easily if it were in perhaps four paragraphs, or so. Kind of like THIS comment is.

That being said... I have never, ever had a post that I included in a group... tossed out by that group.

But, then again... from what I have seen... the great majority of posts that get "tossed"... usually have something to do with listings... mostly in that "Postlet" format... and they really don't belong in whatever group the writer included it in.

Your comment makes "Groups" sound so incredibly more complicated than I have found. I mean, way more complicated.

It's really simple. No password to remember. No secret handshake. No "decoder rings." (that's for the old folks like me, here.)

But... there are some folks on Active Rain who seem to just go crazy on trying to interpret "the rules of the group"... when it is much more simple than that. That is why I used the "department store" analogy in my post. Maybe I should have made it a grocery store analogy.

Rules ? Simple. Like, if you are a local farmer, and want to sell your organically-grown veggies at the local Kroger... you're not going to stock them on the same aisle as the toilet paper products are. Dumb example, I know... but that is how the groups work. Write a post... and if you want to put it somewhere... put it where it makes sense as far as who will then be more likely to see it.

Thanks for reading this... and have a great week.

Jul 24, 2011 07:18 AM

Eric Michael

Remerica Integrity, Realtors®, Northville, MI - Livonia, MI

Metro Detroit Real Estate Professional 734.564.1519

Hi Karen, I always to to post mine in 5 groups as well. Just seems like I don't get any comments from the people on AR except most of the same people that always comment on mine. Or maybe I have to step up my blog writing skills? Who knows. I'll just keep working on it.

Jul 24, 2011 07:40 AM

1~Judi Barrett

Integrity Real Estate Services 116 SE AVE N, Idabel, OK 74745 - Idabel, OK

BS Ed, Integrity Real Estate Services -IDABEL OK

Karen Anne, I post to the five groups usually. Sometimes I make a conscious decision not to because it doesn't seem to fit anywhere.. I've even created groups for my own posts such as "Animals for Adoption" since as a public service, I post the animals that ARK is seeking homes for.

Jul 24, 2011 02:09 PM

RhondaHeaslip NanaimoRealEstate

RE/MAX of Nanaimo - Nanaimo, BC

I always post to groups as well. It makes a lot of sense and gives your posts more exposure.

Jul 30, 2011 05:40 PM

Joni Bailey

101 Main St. Realty - Huntsville, TX

Your Huntsville / Lake Livingston Area REALTOR®

Well this one must be a 425er! You certainly received a lot of comments! :))) Hope you have a wonderful weekend! :)))

Aug 06, 2011 05:42 AM

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