Klout describes influence as the ability to drive action, or other words persuade others to share a Blog post, listen to a song or recommend something you suggest through Social Media. Sites include Twitter, Facebook, Google, YouTube and many others.

One thing I have discovered about Klout is that it shows me others who have a common interest in topics of interest. It also gives me some guidance on my strong points and weak points for social media platforms I may be subscribed to. This way, I have an opportunity to take action on those sites to improve my visibility, activity, and participation. It’s called keeping score.

As business owners, REALTORS, or anyone else wanting to develop influence online, Klout will be a key program for you to use as a measuring device of keeping score. Yes, I failed to mention, you do have a “Klout Score” based on all the activities above, plus some.

Go check Klout out and join up, you never know when your next customer might ask you…………..What’s your Klout Score?

Why 2012 is the Year for Klout

“Expect the Best” Mike

Updated News: Realtor.com will be connecting Social Bios with site………….stay tuned

Well, here we go again my real estate friends with a few more new tools you may want to add to your box or you could be playing catch up in the future.

These are in no order of importance nor are they absolutely a must have, however you may want to evaluate the pros and cons of using or connecting.  Naturally, I would not be bringing these programs to your attention if I did not think you should use them.

This morning at 6:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time a press release was issued that Move Inc, acquired the award-winning company, SocialBios.com. This site will allow you to be able to see your social network connections in a new and exciting way. Last January SocialBios.com won the “Best New Real Estate Tech Start Up” award at Inman Connect.

This site will offer ways for agents and consumers to discover how they are already connected. It graphically shows the intersection between you and others as it can be tracked on social networks including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare and others.

I would suggest you get on this platform as soon as possible, create your profile and start exploring the site and the new connections it offers.  For more info, visit MOVE’s blog post on Move Trends and www.socialbios.com. Oh, by the way, Realtor.com is owned by MOVE. (For what it’s worth)

Google+ has been around for just short of 30 days now and has well over 10 million members using their social media site.

Google Plus has Circles to set up each contact to a circle; you just drag from your list to the appropriate group that you may have set up, for example: (REALTORS, Center of Influence, Ancillary Businesses, and Friends). Contacts can be added to multiple circles. You also have Sparks for Chatting, Hangout for live face to face video conferencing, and much more. There have been plenty of wonderful Blog posts written over the past 3 weeks about Google+ that I would suggest you read to become more aware of all the pluses. (No pun intended)

I highly recommend you just Google “Google Plus” and start your homework. You should also take 5 minutes to view the “Inman Next” Video produced by Chris Smith which gives you some food for thought about Social Bios.

My point here is to make sure you take the time to establish a profile on Google with complete contact information. This will be required anyway if you decide to join Google+ at a later date. Remember, if you plan to be found online, you need to be there.

“Expect the Best” Mike

You know I knew that from something I read awhile back, but had forgotten that not only can you read from you laptop, but also from your iPad, iPhone, Mac, Androaid, Blackberry and Windows Phone 7. That has me cover everywhere, except I am an iPhone kind of person. So anyway, thanks to Chris, I downloaded the app to my iPad and iPhone.

Then I Discovered …………….

Right off the bat I discovered that I can send documents right to my Kindle Account, including Word Docs and PDFs. I received a special address to send these doc’s to so I can access them at anytime right from the Amazon Cloud.

Now, I do use other Document apps for my business, however, this will become my new stash for articles and books to read. Below you’ll find a YouTube Clip from Amazon that demo’s the app. Hope you enjoy and try it out. By the way, thank Chris Brogan for the hot tip on twitter @ChrisBrogan

“Expect the Best” Mike

Below you will find two short videos that discuss Blogging functions, attributes, and a few tips that may encourage you to begin your journey. Blogging will generate leads, relationships, and boost your search engine rankings.

Do You Blog REALTORS? Check the Advantages

A blog also creates a historical record of the content that you share and is in reverse chronological order, where the latest content is always at the top of your Blog.

Real Estate Agents Blogging Part 2

Visit both http://mikebowler.net for additional ideas and tips and also visit http://LivingInGreaterLansing.com for a sample of how Blogging for the community works.

“Expect the Best” Mike

I’m still testing and trying to discover how it will relate to real estate. Brousing pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests seems to be the big thrust. Here’s a small clip I did to help you understand how it works.

Real estate agents reading this who have an iPhone or iPad or plan to buy one in the near future may find this clip interesting and be interested in joining the Facebook Group to improve your skills and learn about some of the best apps and tools available for iPhones and iPads.

LinkedIn Profiles are important for real estate agents. If you don’t have one or even if you do have one, watch this short video. A half baked Profile is worst than no profile at all. Hope you enjoy.

“Expect the Best” Mike

Three Facebook Groups all real estate agents should join.

• Tech Support Group for Real Estate Agents
• What Should I Spend my Money On?
• REALTOR iPhone and iPad Group

What’s Your Digital Plan for 2012 Real Estate Agents?

Are you overwhelmed yet? Here are a few questions and suggestions to help your business in 2012. Technology and innovation are only part of your business. This is still a people business

“Expect the Best” Mike

“Expect the Best” Mike

Below are some wonderful programs and apps that will allow you to shoot and share photos on the go and get extra exposure for your community and yourself at the same time.

When you have a free Flickr account, you can upload 2 videos and 300MB worth of photos each calendar month which maybe OK to start with. I upgraded to Pro for $2.00 a month and store all my photos on Flickr.

Here’s what you get with Pro

• Unlimited uploads and storage
• Unlimited sets and collections
• Access to your original files
• Stats on your account
• Ad-free browsing and sharing
• HD playback for high-definition video uploads

Note: I also use Picasa for storage

Sharing on the Go!

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and share their favorite recipes. I visualize REALTORS using Pinterest for promoting lifestyle, events, food, homes, and other highlights of the community you service,

Instagram is a fun way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures. Snap a photo with your iPhone, then choose a filter to transform the look and feel of the shot into a memory to keep around forever. Again, I would visualize an agent using this for promoting the community, special events, and occasional real estate highlighted photos. You can share the photo immediately on Twitter and Facebook.

Go check these site out and feel free to contact me if you have questions. If you like this, feel free to share it with other real estate agents.

“Expect the Best’ Mike 

The broker, owners, and managers need to take a serious look at their mission statement in your company, share that mission with your agents and create enough passion, excitement and enthusiasm for learning that everyone buys into the plan. That means also holding your agents accountable to learn the new systems whether it is forms online, RPR, listing syndication, or how to properly market their listings on the Internet.

Advanced sessions of Blogging, Smart Phone Technology, Cloud Computing, iPad presentations, electronic signatures and forms also need to be part of the agenda for anyone expecting to compete in today’s real estate market.

Developing an edge in today’s market requires that real estate practitioners be proficient in Blogging, social media, search engine marketing, and how to work with the e-consumer once they contact you. I am confident, that if you are a dedicated fulltime real estate practitioner, spend the necessary time each day working the opportunities above and start collaborating with other professionals on Twitter, LinkedIn and other great social media sites, you will prevail.

It is imperative that those real estate professionals who have come through this challenging market be fully prepared to take advantage of new steady growth that will be forthcoming. My point is that our industry needs to step up to the plate and sharpen our competitive edge by using good old fashion service integrated with new technology. Consumers drive the industry and have always driven it, however today they are looking online first.

Are they finding you, when they go to Google, Yahoo or Bing? If not, you owe it to your family, company, and yourself to get on board and learn this business all over again. All this is part of your newfound professional development, learning new trends, and adapting to a more complex industry, wouldn’t you agree?

“Expect the Best” Mike