New Marketing era, What are you doing differently ??

Blog, blog, blog, read and respond, comment on others' blogs, articles and newsletters, join as many industry related online groups as you can. I also see the value in Linkedin as it is a business to business venue. But I agree with you some of the other social networking sites i.e. Twitter, My Space, Facebook et.al just takes too much time for the value recieved unless your a social butterfly and just spend hours on end on the computor. But if you do that it leaves very little time for being in the field and prospecting, showing, selling, etc. . Youtube works great if you're doing video.

Facebook is not only a great tool for locating your high school sweetheart, it's also a powerful business resource for real estate agents. With more than 150 million active users, and more than half of them outside of college and 30 years old and older, facebook is a great place to connet to those first time home buyers. Here is a way to help agents connect, its a slide show application that shows your listings directly on your facebook wall.

The website that built the application is http://www.elistit.com

 You will need to sign up to this web service before adding the application to your facebook profile.

I think Facebook and LinkedIn have comparable business merits, although they rank a couple of rungs below blogging on my marketing ladder.

You asked a lot of questions.  a few quick answers,  Much of the alternative energy is too expensive and people are concerned about being ahead of the curve (Investing in tech when things go another direction.  You look too young to remember Beta-max, ask your parents.)

Blogging takes time, but done right it will drive people to your web site and establish you as an authority.

Kareem - Sounds like you could join some special interest groups here and start reading. Some of my recommendation is:

AR Newbie
AR Question of the Week
Active SEO
Blogging & SEO
The Art of Marketing You
Realtors
Rainmaking

There's just too much to list. You may read more than you post.

Also, there are several bloggers that you may want to follow. Brad Andersohn's recent post about writing for blogging could be the very first place you start.

I know it can be overwhelming. But put them in bite-sizes so you dont get too overwhelmed and get burn out.

I am simply being myself!  Sharing my personality, my knowledge, my experiences. I love Twitter because it's fun, short, simple.  I love Facebook because you can reach out to a wide audience.  Either way, choose what you prefer and resonates more with you, just be yourself and offer YOUR insights with everyone.  For more info, contact me!

You have to see the web and it's apps (like twitter, facebook, linkedin, personal blogs) for what it and they are.  A means to connect, share and market.  You can make any of the tools you use work for you, if you put the time in, actively updating, commenting, participating and making what you contribute worthwhile to your target audience. 

Blogging is great, but why stop there?  Why not share your blog with your twitter, facebook and linkedin connections.  The way I like to look at each of these apps is as your personal ripple effect.  They help spread your word through your contacts to new contacts that you may have never been able to touch base with. You blog, then push it through your apps to spread it out on the web and let the quality of your blog reach as many people as possible. 

But remember, the quality of your message is what will determine the success of your marketing efforts.

There is potential in every app out there, you just have to look for it, realize it and then make it work for you. 

A.J.

(by the way, spent my honeymoon in St. Marteen.... LOVED IT!!)

I'm really trying to figure out the marketing aspect.  That is one reason I spend so much time here on AR.  The one thing I am sure of if you do it consistently you will get results.

I think the agents and companies who will thrive during this down market are the ones who are thinking "outside the box".  I've started a new ad campaign for listings and included writing a blog on each new listing.  The other day I got a call within hours of posting a new listing blog from a woman in Texas moving to my area very soon, wanting an agent to work with. 

I am using lots of online advertising to advance my Google ranking.

Good evening sir,

Having never been to the USVI I would not have an idea of what your market would be like.  I hope that things have started to head upward and the sun is warm.

Don't be such a stranger and do more writing about you little corner of the world.