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An Open Letter to Active Rain Staff and a FEW AR Members

By
Real Estate Sales Representative with Keller Williams Cornerstone Realty

An Open Letter to Active Rain Staff and a FEW AR Members

 

A few of of you may have noticed that we have mostly been INACTIVE on Active Rain for the last three months.  A few may have not noticed and some of you may have been glad! lol

But we miss the Active Rain community and decided we still want to participate but first wanted to share why we have been inactive.

We are big fans of Active Rain University and watch most of the webinars and many from other social media and general webinars for Realtors.

We feel that the Active Rain staff and a few AR members are not true to what the consensus advice of these webinars teach in at least three categories.

  1. Spend most of your time prospecting and working leads and limit social media time to 30 minutes per day.
  2. Meet and greet people and network - belly to belly is still one of the most productive methods of business generation.
  3. Use video and sound bites - people today are overwhelmed with information.

So we have tried to follow these guidelines and at the same time participate in Active Rain "cloudbursts of you", meet-ups, and other contests.  Unfortunately, we have not been awarded points on several occasions because our activities did not meet the Active Rain Staff or a few AR members guidelines.  So we wanted to illustrate a few of those in hopes that AR staff might "practice a little more of what they preach".

But before we do, we want to address "it's not about the points" crowd.  Yes, that is true.  But our points system is a good pseudonym for our Google Juice.  The more posts, the more creative the posts, back links, etc. the more we rank in points and will also rank in Juice.  So it is about the points.

Addressing the three points above will hopefully outline our frustration.

1.  In reference to point number one....Many of the contests on Active Rain have a 300 word minimum.  While there are topics that may deserve a 300 word post and we certainly don't advocate posts so thin on content to be useless; a well written 300 word post will often greatly exceed the 30 minute time limit a day.  There is even a contest floating around requiring a 300 word post every day of the month! Unless the post topic deserves it, 300+ words also violates point number 3 - be brief!

2.  Now, let's move on to point number two.  Meet ups are a great activity and work very well in large cities where there are enough active AR members to get a group of 6-12 people and network together.  But Ocala has fewer than 6-12 AR members who even use Active Rain on a regular basis.  A meet up of ONE person would not be much FUN or very PRODUCTIVE.

So when I was vacationing 1400 miles from home last Summer,  I went out of my way driving an hour to meet another AR who also drove an hour out of her way to do our own "meet-up".  We thought the AR staff might give us credit.  But did they?  No! Because it was not a "scheduled" meet-up during the meet-up month!  So sharing a glass of wine with some some members you already know in a large city qualifies more than a meeting of two AR members from two different states.

 3. And last, but not least, point number three....  Likewise a "cloudburst of you" was not recognized because the 5 tweets were substituted with 5 Vine video tweets.  Vine is Twitters new 6 second video.  Read again point 3!  People are overwhelmed with info from all media sources.  Video and especially short videos are the choice of the majority these days.

 

 

So once again, Active Rain staff, you might want to "practice a little more of what you preach".

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Comments (16)

Richie Alan Naggar
people first...then business Ran Right Realty - Riverside, CA
agent & author

Fascinating bit of feedback here...Lets see where and how ti goes...thank you

Jan 31, 2014 12:09 AM
Bob Miller
Keller Williams Cornerstone Realty - Ocala, FL
The Ocala Dream Team

Thanks Richie.

Jan 31, 2014 12:47 AM
Scott Larson
BHHS/Utah Properties - Park City, UT
Park City, Utah Real Estate News

I can't argue with anything you put out there.  I hope your post gets noticed.

Jan 31, 2014 02:22 AM
Fernando Herboso - Associate Broker MD, & VA
Maxus Realty Group of Samson Properties - Clarksburg, MD
301-246-0001 Serving Maryland, DC and Northern VA

I can just imagine. .a person writing 300 words for 30 days straight. . .taking about 1.5 hours for each. .45 hours spend. .a whole week of a full time job plus!

To get points?  no way!

To get leads. .maybe. .

To get comments?  just from other Realtors . .not from the public ..for sure. .

There is a lot of other things I can do for a much higher ROI 

how about lead generating for 40 hours. .calling SOI 

I just hope my competition is participating in all these contests. .. 

 

Jan 31, 2014 02:35 AM
Debbie Holmes
John L. Scott - Boise, ID
Gets the job done!

Glad to have you back.

Jan 31, 2014 08:58 AM
Diana Zaccaro Broker Associate
ZOOM Realty Group - Cocoa Beach, FL
"The Accidental Blogger" Cocoa Beach, Florida

I have to disagree about the meetups. I host the Cocoa Beach meetups and attendance is usually 4 or 5 members but it is fun meeting new people and sharing contacts and other info. A meetup doesn't have to be big to be worthwhile and every meetup I've hosted has been time well spent for me.

 

Jan 31, 2014 10:32 AM
Bob Miller
Keller Williams Cornerstone Realty - Ocala, FL
The Ocala Dream Team

Thanks Scott.

Jan 31, 2014 09:06 PM
Bob Miller
Keller Williams Cornerstone Realty - Ocala, FL
The Ocala Dream Team

Thanks Fernando for commenting and doing the math!  Love the part about hope competition is participating in the contest.

Jan 31, 2014 09:08 PM
Bob Miller
Keller Williams Cornerstone Realty - Ocala, FL
The Ocala Dream Team

Thanks Diana.  Glad your meet-ups have been sucessful.  Since Ocala is to small to have one, cannot judge.  But mystery meet-ups should be given some credit as well.

Jan 31, 2014 09:10 PM
Kerrie La Guardia
ActiveRain, Community Manager - Kirkland, WA
Let it Rain!

Bob, thanks for letting us know your thoughts, without expressing them I'd be left in the dust.  Please allow me to address a few of your points above.

MeetUps - I have to disagree with you on this.  The feedback from a MeetUp consisting of 2 people has been super positive leaving me with the motto, "whether 2 or 20 show up, it's always a good time".  Sometimes that one-on-one interaction gets the ideas flowing and friendships formed, without the 'Rain it would have not happened.

I appreciate and love hearing of members driving out of their way or meeting up with other Rainers on their vacations.  This happens A TON and in order for me to stay consistent with points and policies, I stick to awarding them during the designated MeetUp week.  If I gave out points for every member that got together and had a cup of coffee or broke bread, I'd be doing so all day every day.  It's just not in the cards so the designated MeetUp weeks are what works.

Contests - Hosts have come to me to ask whether a person should be eligible for points even though he or she didn't complete a certain requirement.  I leave it up to their discretion, as they are the host, but try to let them know that participation is much more valuable to the community than a specific requirement, I don't tend to sweat the small stuff.  I hate to let the cat out of the bag but I'm pretty lenient when members come to me with their mishaps and most likely award all or part of the points.

If you ever feel you deserve points for a contest or were somehow overlooked, I am always here, email me at kerrie@activerain.com or give me a ring at 425.952.6828.

It's nice to see your face and have you back!

Feb 17, 2014 12:56 AM
Lynn Afton
Greenridge Realty Oakmont - Big Rapids, MI
REALTOR® Near Big Rapids, MI, Mecosta County

Kerrie, thank you for this information, which I saved in my ActiveRain file. 

At least 3 times I have not been awarded points after completing all tasks, filling out forms and posting the link in the original contest post.

After the month following the contest and no points awarded, I had went back to try and contact the contest host, and the contest post was already gone from the list of contests.  Now I print out the contest post and keep it until I have the points.

Thank you!

Feb 21, 2014 07:17 AM
Bob Miller
Keller Williams Cornerstone Realty - Ocala, FL
The Ocala Dream Team

Thanks Lynn.  Looks like I am not the only one frustrated by these contests.

Feb 22, 2014 12:18 AM
John DL Arendsen
CREST "BACKYARD' HOMES, ON THE LEVEL General & Manufactured Home Contractor, TAG Real Estate Sales & Investments - Leucadia, CA
Crest Backyard Homes "ADU" dealer & RE Developer

I know I'm a little late for this party but I just ran across it looking for something else. I promoted two AR MeetUps. The first one was a bust as only I and one other person was in attendance. Needlessto say I was too ashamed and embarrassed to even think about asking for points on that one.

Thought it might have been the location but I used the same location the second time. Voila! We had a small, intimate and very friendly group of 7. Feel free to check it out.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/4359415/an-activerain-meet-up-southern-california-style-in-cardiff-by-the-sea

It was actually a lot of fun and you just can't beat that location no matter what. I was so happy with the success of that on that I'm now trying to promote a meet up between Trulia and Active Rain now that we're one big happy family.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/4369677/announcing-the-first-north-san-diego-trulia-meets-active-rain-meet-up-

Haven't had any RSVP's yet. But then Trulia has never been as socially inner active as AR so I'm not holding my breath. Plus I'm not really sure about the vibe between the two is yet. I sense some skepticism, doubt and even a little disdain for some reason and it's more from AR than Trulia.

But having been a member of both AR and Trulia for several years I've found the experience to be very successful for helping our company generate a Nationwide website presence that has resulted in quite a lot of biz for us over the past several years and the momentum is building even more.

I too have traveled quite a bit and have reached out to other AR communities one of which was a trip to Seattle to visit friends and family which was coincidently during the same time AR was hosting a Springtime Meetup in Kirkwood which my wife, Janis, and I attended.

While there wasn't a huge crowd the folks that I had an opportunity to meet and the warm welcome we had from everyone was a fabulous experience. The next day Kerrie invited us to visit AR HQ which was an unbelievably great experience. We even left with AR T-Shirts and umbrellas which we've taken all over the planet with us.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/3204019/from-san-diego-to-seattle-a-big-thanks-

I've even hosted a few visitors from other areas over the years and ended up meeting some great folks one of which was:

@www.AtHomesCharlotte.com | Savvy + Company Real Estate - Charlotte NC
Vendor of the Week | Happy Buyers, Happy Realtor® – Lender Recommendation – NEVIN WILLIAMS I am writing this long over-due letter of recomme...

We met at one of my local watering holes in Encinitas broke bread and tossed a couple of local Crafts back. While I agree in part that few if any of these interactions mustered up any legit biz I consider them very worthwhile as there's always something new and interesting to learn from any experience. But more importantly I love meeting folks from anywhere and everywhere.

Hope you accept my rant with a high five. Looking forward to meeting you sometime.

Apr 21, 2014 06:48 AM
Bob Miller
Keller Williams Cornerstone Realty - Ocala, FL
The Ocala Dream Team

Thank john for your comments and sharing.  Would like to meet up with you as well.

Apr 22, 2014 07:37 PM
Fred Cope
Reliant Realty in Nashville, TN - Nashville, TN
Looking For Homes With A Smile

Bob, I admire your laying the cards on the table.  At present, I am more spectator than contributor; but I signed up in 2008 BECAUSE I FOUND MORE INFORMATION, MORE HELP, and MORE SUPPORT on ACTIVRAIN® than ALL of the other real estate and blog platforms combined.

When Brad Andersohn was here, he dropped everything to walk me through some problem.  I think he took about 45 minutes of his valuable time.  Bob Stewart did the same thing on another occassion; and God bless Kerrie, she has always listened, and helped.  Other staff members do the same--I think there is something in the water.

Points are important, a you said; and when I have had issues, Kerrie looks like Dale Evans riding in of Buttermilk, and I know the good guys do more than yodle.  Not once have I felt as though I was short changed.

I support Kerrie's position on random hookups--my grandchildren would love having Christmas anytime two of them get together, but we follow a calendar to have order in our lives.  I believe (1) the POSITIVE at AR outweighs any negative.  (2) I believe Kerrie and the staff are open to discussion, and doubt you will go away without a fair hearing.  (3) I know that when circumstance keep me from greater participation, it is my loss.  And (4) I don't think anyone requires participation  in anything here; but they work hard to afford opportunities to all.  I did the 30 blogs in 30 days, and came no where close to losing an hour and a half per blog.  I probably invested that or even more time; but it was put into valuable study, research and polishing some writing skills.  Everything was an investment.  Think of the dollars spent on lead generation, smatphones, signs, lockboxes, and continuing education.  Do we really need it all?

There are people on here that teach more in one blog, or comment than some CE instructors do in an eight hour class.  I gain a better ROI on my time here than my money makes on investments, or my taxes accomplish in the District of Columbia.

I hope you stay, and that we get to know one another in the days ahead.  How many Rainers are you following?  I have been unable to find a bucket large enough to tote away what I get out of this site.  god's speed. 

Feb 09, 2015 08:18 AM
Rebecca Gaujot, Realtor®
Lewisburg, WV
Lewisburg WV, the go to agent for all real estate

I agree with Kerrie on the meetups. I am in a small town, some Realtors have signed up for AR, but can't get them to blog or attend a meetup. 

Dec 11, 2015 11:46 AM