by Matthew S. Gerchow
There is a new market that investors have to learn to stay competitive in this market and that’s the internet. More specifically it is Web 2.0 and social networking.
Ever since the first wave of internet companies most folks have been reluctant to invest too much time into any particular internet strategy. Having a free email service and online faxes are probably the two concepts that have stuck with us until now.
All of these new strategies have given so much power back to the individual. One person can bring down an entire organization by posting a less than positive review about a company. Funny thing is, most people trust a Joe Shmoe review over a multi-million dollar public relations campaign. Who can blame them with the amount of fraud and deceit that is perpetrated by large corporations each year.
Are you clear about Web 2.0 and what it is?
If you are like most people, Web 2.0 is this foggy new concept that leaves you with more questions than answers. In simplest form it is a broad concept that covers all of the websites that are bringing the new technology to market. These new sites allow a greater manipulation and distribution of content than ever before.
What this means is we now have the ability to communicate with 1000’s of investors swifter than ever before. Messages can be passed along throughout the web with an ease of publication that has never before been seen. Investors can make a few clicks and all of the content from one author is published on your site each day without any extra time invested. Copy and paste a few lines of computer code and you now have YouTube videos represented on your site instead of on YouTube.com.
Many, many strategies and sites fit the Web 2.0 description but the basic necessities are creating a personal blog and having profiles on the various social networks like MySpace, Facebook and Real-Estate-Investing.com. You can also do social bookmarking, article writing like the one you are reading now, download mobile phone applications and so much more.
Let’s bring this back around to Real Estate Investing. How do you use Web 2.0 in your real estate business? First, networking is now a breeze. You build a twitter profile and people all over the planet start following you. You join a few of the REI social networks and find other investors to chat with in your area. Finding other investors with more experience can often pull you through to the next level. You can make a video of your property and distribute it to 100’s of video sites at one time with TubeMogul. The possibilities are really endless. Just like in the marketing days of yesteryear, the creative bird usually gets the worm.
You want to establish yourself as an authority or expert in your particular niche of the investing world. The more exposure you can get for yourself and your business, the more opportunities will flow your direction. Web 2.0 levels the playing field so you now once again have a chance to be the first in the mind of your potential sellers. The trick is you have to figure out where they are and what they are doing online. Then put your marketing information dead in their tracks. By building a reputation ahead of time people can Google your trust factor before they trust you with their most valued possession.
Maybe you are thinking, “Great, something more to spend money on.” Hang on, that’s the best part of Web 2.0, the majority of it is free. It will take you a few hours every week to make your posts and whatnot but there is very little to no out of pocket expense. A small price to pay for an equal voice in the real estate investing world.
The better you get at making fresh content, the less time you will have to invest to obtain the same effect. The nice thing about the internet is once you produce the data it’s out there and you will reap rewards for umpteen years to come.
The last real estate downturn has left people searching for answers and a new plan of action in their investment businesses. While the Web 2.0 strategies might not be cut and dry, Web 2.0 is definitely the direction investors are now headed.
About the Author:
As we all know
Real Estate Investing can be a crazy business. You have to network with the very best to get the best deals. Before they start a membership fee, sign up for a free lifetime membership with
real-estate-investing.com and start a blog, read some articles and meet a few investors in your area.
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