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'Must-Have' Social Networking Sites in your Marketing Strategy

By Michael Ouellette

Services for Real Estate Pros with VIO Media Group/ HItxt.com

March 31, 2008 04:18 AM

Whether you are new to the whole social networking thing or have just been apprehensive to add them to your marketing strategy now is a good time to start testing the waters. In my opinion social networking is the best way to market your brand online. It provides the ability to connect with people who are likely to be interested in what you have to say, providing that you are not just simply spamming. If your a business trying to market yourself online, here are my top 11 picks for social networking sites that you simply must have in your marketing strategy.

Squidoo: I really like Squidoo for business marketing because it gives you a chance to market yourself through your knowledge. Share the knowledge you have relating to your specific area of expertise to connect with the right audience.
Wikipedia: Is there anything you can't find on Wikipedia? Even arguably one of the best online social networks can be found on Wikipedia. You can build a reference page relating to your business as well as connect with other users on Wikipedia's Community Portal.
Gather: Gather is the thinking social network. Community members generally discuss politics, economics world events, etc. For most businesses branching out online these are typically the people that you are looking to connect with.
YouTube: A no-brainer. My grandmother has a video on YouTube. Well, not really but just about everyone else does. The brilliant thing about YouTube is that people are not only uploading videos, but they are also watching them...by the millions. If your business does not have some kind of video content on YouTube you are missing out....video = viral.
Technorati: Probably the most important blog network online. If you have a blog register it here now, Technorati publishes top stories across it's network daily.
StumbleUpon: StumbleUpon is simply a toolbar that sits in your browser that allows your to channel surf the web. When you start doing this you will connect with like-minded individuals interested in similar content. I recommend this for the more guerrilla online marketer, but it is effective..
Digg: Digg has a huge following online because of its optimum usability. Visitors can submit and browse articles in categories like technology, business, entertainment, sports and more.
Facebook: In the beginning Facebook was primarily a bunch of college kids trading pictures from last night's kegger. Well, Facebook has grown up and is a very important site for professional social networking.
Twitter: Probably my favorite social networking site mostly because of it's innovative nature. You can connect with and keep track of where your contacts are and what they are doing.
Del.icio.us: Social bookmark your way to better business with sites like del.icio.us, which invite users to organize and publicize interesting items through tagging and networking.
Blogger: Blogger represents a huge blogging community, providing you a fantastic platform for getting your blog in front of a much larger audience.

You probably noticed that MySpace is not on the list. I was actually torn on this subject but ultimately decided to leave them off. I might rate them as number 13 or 14 in order of importance. My take on MySpace is that although the community is important because of it's size alone, relevance and targeting can become an issue.

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Adam Waldman

Westcott Group Real Estate Company - Hauppauge, NY

Realtor - Long Island

MICHAEL - Thanks for the comprehensive list and the descriptions of what each has to offer. There is so much to choose from that I think that I end up signing up for too many things and do nothing with them. By the way, do you know if it's possible to use Technorati with your AR blog?

Mar 31, 2008 11:48 AM

Kat DeLong

Realty ONE Group Mountain Desert - Prescott, AZ

REALTOR

This is an awesome and super helpful LIST!! Thanks for sharing. I have many of these, but not all...so, tomorrow, I'll be busy!

Mar 31, 2008 01:03 PM

Thomas E. Elder

Mortgage Broker Compliance Consultants - Forest Hill, MD

Founder, Mortgage Broker Compliance Consultants

Thanks for the info, I found it very useful.

Mar 31, 2008 02:19 PM

Michael Ouellette

VIO Media Group/ HItxt.com - North Attleboro, MA

hitxt.com

Hi Adam - Yes you can claim your AR blog in Technorati. That's a great point and definitely worth your while.

Mar 31, 2008 02:26 PM

Doreen McPherson

Homesmart ~ Scottsdale ~ Tempe - Tempe, AZ

Phoenix Arizona Real Estate ~

Nice list and descriptions Michael. I have heard of all but one. What I didn't realize is, that some are actually social networking sites. I'm with some of the others on keeping up with it all. Maybe it's age. :) I guess I need to get busy.

Mar 31, 2008 02:50 PM

Ann Cummings

RE/MAX Shoreline - NH and Maine - Portsmouth, NH

Portsmouth NH Real Estate Preferrable Agent

Hi Michael - thanks for putting this list together and explaining why you chose them. I am already on most of these, now I just need to utilize them better than I am.

Ann

Mar 31, 2008 02:56 PM

Judy Orr

HomeSmart - Scottsdale, AZ

Scottsdale AZ and surrounding towns

I have heard of all of these and have profiles on most. However, I also don't think they're all local real estate-centric. It's hard to get a local real estate article "dugg." And in order to be noticeable on these sites and get your links out there you do have to spend time. Time digging stories (or using the other bookmarking sites). I'm always torn between spending time on those kinds of sites vs. time on my own websites or at least spending that time on a real estate related networking site like AR.

I know a real estate agent that was crazy about Wikipedia until they started using no follows. I made my first Squidoo lens and had so much fun with it that I made a non-real estate related lens. But I'm still not sure how much interest a one page local real estate or area lens truly creates. Since I like lenses I'm still trying to figure out how to use it to my advantage. It is also time consuming to make a decent lens.

Add all of this to my multiple websites and although I now consider blogging as a hobby I also have to draw the line as to how much time I can spend on all of these new social sites popping up every day.

Mar 31, 2008 03:07 PM

Paul Kaplan

The Paul Kaplan Group, Inc - Palm Springs, CA

Mid Century/Modern homes in Palm Springs - www.Pau

I have to agree with you Judy. I did a search on Digg for Palm Springs Real Estate (my area) and found a few listings....but only 2 hits max...so just wondering how effective that is.

As far as the Squidoo lens, I can't quite figure out how that is supposed to help my business either? I signed up for some of the other sites listed too, but after spending about an hour on each today, can't quite figure out how to use them, or how they will benefit me either. I figure I probably need to devote a day to each of them. Cursious what the return will be?

Mar 31, 2008 03:14 PM

Audrey Hoffman

VoteAudrey blog - Columbia, SC

VoteAudrey

Thanks for not putting MySpace in the top 11. :)

Mar 31, 2008 04:08 PM

Geoff Scowcroft

Coldwell Banker - Studio City, CA

A couple of these are new to me. I love LinkedIn and use that site quite a bit. I've also been working with Plaxo.

Mar 31, 2008 05:50 PM

Bob & Carolin Benjamin

Benjamin Realty LLC - Gold Canyon, AZ

East Phoenix Arizona Homes

So many locations, so little time. Thanks for the post and the info. Appreciate it.

Mar 31, 2008 06:57 PM

Anonymous

Kieran Loughman

Hi Michael. Thank you for your info. I'm amazed by the company I keep. I wish more of it would rub off.

I'm hoping osmosis will work for mr

Thanks

Kieran loughman formerly Hinham Ma

Mar 31, 2008 09:56 PM

#48

Misty Thomas

Houston Realty - Crosby, TX

Realtor Crosby, TX

Great information! Thank you for posting!

Mar 31, 2008 10:55 PM

Russ Ravary ~ Metro Detroit Realtor call (248) 310-6239

Real Estate One - Commerce, MI

Michigan homes for sale ~ yesmyrealtor@gmail.com

Thanks for the great list. I need to check if I am on all of them. Thanks again

Apr 01, 2008 12:17 AM

Sally K. & David L. Hanson

EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI

WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

Thank you....as soon as I find my cloning machine, I will be sure and get right on this...Yicks....sooooo many networks....soooo Little TIME !

Apr 01, 2008 12:44 AM

Tony Fantis

Fantis Group Real Estate - Salt Lake City, UT

Realtor,Principal Broker - Salt Lake City

Great list...I'll get right to work! I also recently signed up with LinkedIn. Seems to be particularly professional, as far as social networks online go.

Apr 01, 2008 02:00 AM

Christy Powers

Keller Williams Coastal Area Partners - Pooler, GA

Pooler, Savannah Real Estate Agent

Just when I thought I had them all, you had to list them. I must admit, you named a few I have never heard of. I will have to check them out!

Apr 01, 2008 05:06 AM

Esko Kiuru

Bethesda, MD

Michael,

There is always room for improvement in my mortgage marketing strategy and your list is very intriguing. Have to explore them more in detail and then decide which one(s) to include. Thanks for sharing.

Apr 01, 2008 11:00 AM

Rodney Bartlett

Reachd SEO Training - Vancouver, BC

Michael,

Thanks for the post. Social Networking is a great way to keep in touch with potential clients and can be used to influence your search engine rankings.

Here are two sites that I have used some. There are similar to squidoo in that you can post content. I've found that they do perform well in the SERP's

http://www.hubpages.com (does really well in search engine)

http://www.wetpaint.com

Social networking can eat up your time... my advice. Have a goal or end in mind.

Apr 02, 2008 04:26 AM

Megan McGonigal

Integrity Real Estate - Northeast, MD

CRP - Cecil County, MD & Harford County, MD Real Estate

Hi Michael, I have not even heard of some of these. I am bookmarking this page to check them out later. I am new to the whole social networking thing and am setting up accounts. It is all so time consuming!!!! Hope it helps.

Apr 02, 2008 08:46 AM