Why I choose to use the Active Rain Networking Site
Everyone who uses Active Rain has a few reasons why they love it.
For one thing, it’s fun. We get to read both serious information and pure nonsense, and we get to know people and look forward to hearing what they have to contribute.
For me, it’s educational. Since I write about real estate for agents all over the U.S. and in a few foreign countries, knowing “what’s happening” is important. I find myself fascinated by the differences in real estate practices from place to place, as well as the differences in how different markets are doing right now.
And as the face of real estate changes, it helps me to be able to follow those changes by reading about the challenges agents are facing each day.
But here’s a reason I probably shouldn’t reveal: I’m a little bit lazy, and Active Rain is easy.
As a non-techie, I can go to Active Rain and don’t have figure out how to get where I’m going every time I visit. If I go to Facebook I generally get lost and end up leaving.
What about Twitter? Who can actually converse in 140 characters? Not me. And trying to follow a conversation done in tiny bites is way too time consuming.
And then there’s LinkedIn. I read more and more about how important it is, but it takes way too much clicking around and searching for me. With my Wild Blue connection, I have to wait to get anywhere – and then when I do arrive and find that the article isn’t there, and I have to click and wait yet again… forget it. I’m outa there.
Real Estate Marbles looked like it might be a good place to be, but… Again, it’s too much work.
On Active Rain I can join groups and post to up to 5 each time I write. On Real Estate Marbles I can join groups, but then have to re-post to each of them one at a time. (Unless there’s some instruction I haven’t found yet.) And then, once you post, there’s no one there to reply. Most of my (very few) replies have been advertisements, not comments.
On Active Rain I can follow a conversation – and get an email for each new comment. That’s really useful if you’ve asked a question and are hoping that the original poster (or another visitor) will answer.
Yes, there are those other reasons – we write posts for SEO and to put our services in front of the people who might need them. And Active Rain is a good authority site that helps us all promote our own websites.
But the reasons I choose Active Rain as the place to be are simple:
It’s fun
It’s educational
It’s easy
If you haven’t joined yet, come and get acquainted.
Posted: April 11th, 2012 under blogging, real estate blogging, real estate marketing, real estate self promotion.
Tags: best social networking for realtors, blogging for business, blogging on Active Rain, social networking