Tag Archives: Facebook

2012 Self-Evaluation

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In the early stages of my career, I never took the time to see what was really working for me.  However at the end of 2011, I made the decision to hold myself completely accountable and frankly….kick ass in 2012.

I spent the last couple of weeks of the year self evaluating every detail of what I did in my business.  Obviously, 2011 was a little different due to my little hiatus I took over the year.  But nonetheless, there were some victories and some failures.  I took a step back and learned from them all. This helped my create my plan for 2012.

This is what I decided I have to do in 2012:

1. Blog every day starting today.  Blogging has always been my thing.  I was blogging before blogging was cool. I slacked of within the last year and I had to deal with the consequences. My many blogs have brought me a lot of successes and I am committed to making it a priority.

2. Continue to be active within the local and national associations.  I have found that by being apart of association committee’s has helped me be able to serve my clients better.

3. Get back to the basics.  Yes, social media has worked for me. But it’s not everything. In November and December I really focused on calling my sphere. It has helped my land a new listing coming on the market and 2 pending sales in the last week or so. I guess it really does work. I have also been sending weekly emails to my investor clients. There are so many amazing deals and my emails include the best of the best deals. From the responses I have received from them, I can tell its sparking their interest.

4. Learn something new. I am so over the whole social media stuff.  I get it. I need to focus on finding new ways to grow my business that doesn’t involve updating my Facebook status.

5.  Be Thankful. I’m still here and kicking.  I have a lot of cool people on my side

I can honestly say 2011 ended well and its flowing thru into 2012. This is going to be a great year!  I am going to push myself as hard as I can to make all my goals this year come true. Cheers to 2012!

New technology meets old technology

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I got out of going to a meeting this evening that is all about setting up a Facebook fan page.  They are going to learn how to do it from a-z and even what to name it.  The problem is I have one, I use it all the time and I have plenty of people who like it.  I have even gotten a few leads from it.  I have it connected to Real Bird to posts on it houses for sale and foreclosures so many times a day, it is connected to market and basic real estate information for Myrtle Beach, I am working on a Welcome Page and Link page for information for Myrtle Beach, etc. So I didn’t really need a session on walking me through setting up a fan page when I am way ahead of the game.  But that is the problem I face, I am ahead of the game when it comes to all new technology in my office.  I even use the new MLS program that we have come out with.  My BIC doesn’t even know how to use this new program, and she my age.  And when they see my business cards with my QR code on it they look at it as if it is some foreign alien image to them-which I guess it is.  I talk about running ads on Facebook, blogging on other things besides real estate on WordPress to get leads, linking WordPress to Twitter and Facebook and QR codes, and their faces go blank.  However, talk about direct marketing mailings, working expireds, FSBO’s and open houses, and they can talk for hours about that.  I am not saying everyone should be using the new technology or it will apply with the way the run their business, but they should at least be aware about it.  They should at least not be so shocked that social media does work and I have gotten leads for Facebook, as well as my running blog that is connected to Twitter and my networking and direct marketing.  They both can work if you work them both correctly.  Of course it does not help me if I have a question on our MLS program and no one in the office can answer my question because I am the only one who uses it.  I guess I will be busy in May when the phase out the old program.  Sometimes I often feel like they look down at me as this new agent coming in with all my social media ways; like somehow their ways are better than mine.  Neither one-on-one marketing nor social media marketing is better than the other, but statics show how much time people spend on Facebook and other social sites, so it only makes sense to try to connect to people there as well.  You still have to do the one-on-one networking and marketing.  So in my office it is really new technology meets old technology and old technology has no desire to learn about new or use it.

Responding to the #SOTU

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Last night, there were many responses to the State Of The Union Address. There were some that I agreed with and some I didn’t. While I normally keep my mouth shut about these things, the political environment in this country as of late has been less than desirable.

First off, I loved that Republicans and Democrats were forced to sit next to each other. You could tell that many were annoyed by this. It made me think of being a child and being forced to sit next to a kid I did not like.

Second off, I could barely wait for John Boehner to start bawling his eyes out. I have never seen someone in my life that was more emotional than John. The couple of times that I have seen him cry, I want to slap him across that face and say “Quit being a baby”. Then again, maybe I should not complain as women often speak about the lack of emotion in men.

I have to give a lot of credit to Obama for mentioning how hard everyone is fighting for their beliefs. His comment ” That’s what helps set us apart as a nation” , it’s very true of our country and it’s what makes us great!

Obama spoke highly of technology. I have to give him credit for bringing social media to the White House…or whichever advisor to him that made it happen. Nonetheless, we all know how important technology is. Obama stated:

“Thirty years ago, we couldn’t know that something called the Internet would lead to an economic revolution. What we can do — what America does better than anyone else — is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We’re the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It is how we make our living”

I completely agree. What would we do without technology. Could you imagine if it was the year 2000 and Y2K actually happened? I don’t think there would be a way for us to function. We live for instant communication.

The thing that hit home with me the most, is his mentions of education. I have one child in 2nd grade. His teacher is terrific and has really helped him grow as a student. She is a veteran teacher and is doing everything possible to help her students succeed. There is a great need for teachers of this level. Someone help this issue!!! Im scared of what will happen when my son enters 3rd grade!

I think many poiticians forget that hey are elected into their positions. I feel as if they forget that they are there so serve us, not the other way around. I struggle understanding views that many of them have and the fact that many seem like they have their own agendas. Look at Michelle Bachmann. She somehow gets airtime of television and makes so many comments that are completely embarrassing to me as a Minnesotan. She truly only cares about herself, at least from what I can tell. (Did anyone notice that her face looked really different? Facelift?)

His comment,
“We shouldn’t just give our people a government that’s more affordable. We should give them a government that’s more competent and more efficient. We can’t win the future with a government of the past.”, is what I believe the entire country wants and needs. Many issues suffer due to excessive political drama. We can’t ever forget the past and how we got here. As a history buff and a card-carrying member of the “Daughters Of The Revolution” this was one of my favorite comments all night.

“We must never forget that the things we’ve struggled for, and fought for, live in the hearts of people everywhere. And we must always remember that the Americans who have borne the greatest burden in this struggle are the men and women who serve our country”

I was slightly disappointed in his mention of job creation. This is one of the biggest issues that our country is dealing with. He has many times discussed this issue. But where are the Jobs? We need to focus on what is working. We need to make education better and affordable. I’m paying $5000 a semester for a college education. This is outrageous. As a real estate agent, I would love for real estate to completely turn around. I would love for my sellers to make a return on their investment and for my buyers to be able to know that after their purchase, they will have a job.

As Americans, we want it all. However there is no quick fix. We all need to take an active role in our government. My advice to everyone is to call your elected officials when you have a problem. Express your views and your ideas. We are all in this together and we need to work as a team to fix our problems and make our country better!

Sponsored by the Brooke Wolford for President 2016 (I’ll be old enough to run by then.)