I was chatting this morning with a buddy of mine, Mark Green, the guy behind Top of Mind Networks about social media, mortgage marketing and a recent conversation he had with Brian Brady. Like many of us out there, Mark is new to social media and has been trying to navigate the divide between how to effectively use social media to drive sales and build relationships and using time for more traditional marketing vehicles.
It turns out that Brian was nice enough to give Mark an hour or two of his time and walked Mark through how he uses social media effectively day to day.
Now Mark and Brian are teaming up to put on a FREE webinar where Brian will share how he uses social media as communication and business building tools. Awesome! I consider this a must see… check it out.
| During this 45-minute session Brian Brady will explain:
1) The ultimate goal of social networking PLEASE register early, mark your calendar, and be on time. We’ll begin at exactly 1pm EST (10am PST). |
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Ooooh, something must be in the air. I just got off the phone with Mark Madsen of http://www.wannanetwork.com and he was kind enough to take me through 30 minutes of social media & social networking 101, which to my joy, really isn’t rocket science. I’ll be eager to hear what Mr. Brady has to add. What an exciting time for Mortgage Professionals!
I have utilized social networking sites for about 3 years now to build my network. For some time, my focus has been primarily on Facebook, with MySpace and LinkedIn serving as occasional outlets. Just recently I took my efforts to the web by creating my website: http://www.tuesdaystip.com
By providing industry information for the “average” homeowner, I have reconnected with a huge network (approximate 1,400 contacts on Facebook alone) of friends and family. It is the single most effective form of advertising for me. When handled properly, you can keep your network informed of industry changes, demonstrate your expertise, and empower them by teaching them tidbits about the industry that most professionals are not willing to disclose.
Anyone who is not utilizing social media is missing out on a huge opportunity to grow his or her business.
The ultimate goal of social networking? Learn how to do nothing while making it seem like you’re working. Discussing the mustard sauce at that new restaurant hardly qualifies as work, but if you’re doing it on a social network, then it’s ok.
I’d have to say as great as social networks can be for networking, they can be total productivity killers too. I know I can attest to plenty of time wasted on them.
Signed up and looking forward to the seminar!
I have signed up for the webinar in hopes to learn how to network effectively, I’ll be back!
@Ling and @AZForeclosuresGuy: You have hit on the whole point of why everyone is engaging in the conversation regarding Social Media…. Everything encompassed within the very broad and general category of “Social Media” is a tool….. a tool that can be used productively or not so much.
The point is that many people are making inroads into building out their networks, spheres of influence (as much as I hate that term as it was pushed into my brain over and over when I was a newbie originator and people I worked for were trying to get me to market to my family and friends……when I had no clue what I was doing… YUCK.) and are making money by utilizing SM as an efficient means of connecting with others and getting deals done.
Take the internet as a broader example…. can you waste time on the internet? All day…. Can you make money on the internet? YOU BET!
It may be helpful, it may be not… the key is you know how it can be and how it can’t be. Just done signing up… and I’ll see what I can get. Thanks for sharing this…
Great “merger”. Two giants in the networking world are sharing their skills….and for FREE. Great…news indeed.
I’ve had a difficult time deciding whether Facebook, Twitter, etc would be good tools or a colossal waste of time. They’re already so inundated with worthless chatter and complete nonsense, I see very little opportunity to stand out from the gazillions of people all trying to carve out their little corner. On the other hand, many people thought the same thing about blogging, and yet some of us managed to find a small niche.
I’m still thinking.
Social networking can be great, so long as you don’t spend too much time just “chatting” with friends online…though all the friends I’ve made online are fantastic, it is all too easy to get sucked away from actual work and into just chatting with everyone for much longer than I meant.
Social networking can be so fantastic for building up your readership and page rank AND get you connected to people in your fields.
It is amazing how much my business had grown just from contacts made through social networking; it truly is a gold mine if you spend the time doing it.
I know this is a little off topic, but in regards to social networking I wanted to comment on the power a network group has: Facebook tried to change their policy to say they could keep the rights to personal information, even after profiles were deleted-after the protest by thousands of facebook users all over the web, Facebook since decided not to change their policy. Nice to know we can work together for the common good!
Social Networking is such a great way to increase business if you are able to stay focused on working
lol
Social networking is a gold mine for finding, helping, and reaching new clients and slowly building yourself up as an expert in your area-and it is lots of fun, so a win all around.
Oh phooey, I missed it. Do you have any idea if it will be played again? I just signed up with Linked in and want to learn more about how to use it effectively.
Hi Ned:
I don’t know whether they plan on providing a link to hear the recorded session. However, I do know that Brian Brady will be hosting another webinar, but this time, will cover LinkedIn and Meetup.com. The focus was primarily on Facebook on Friday. I contributed an article on Top Of Mind that breaks down the “meat-n-potatoes” so to speak, of what was covered on Friday. Go to: http://www.topofmind.com/blog. I hope this helps. P.S. The webinar was quite good!
Social networking is a huge waste of time – if you don’t have a purpose. I’ve wasted a ton of time online as well, but I’m willing to be honest with myself about it. Measuring success with any marketing strategy requires frequent checkups.
@Trace – Whats up brother. Mark has told me that you’ve been a big help to him as well with regards to his social media education.
@Victoria – It was a pleasure to speak with you on the phone last week about the web stuff. You’re already a great writer on your current blogs, and I’m excited to watch you grow and become more powerful online.
@Ling – Your statement is 96% correct about people pretending to work. The 4% of people who actually know how to use social networking for business and SEO, as Dan Leavitt suggests, are the people that I fear and want to network with.
There are a ton of shiny objects that distract people online, and I’m ok if my competition gets caught up in that noise. Sorry, I’m a loan officer in Vegas, things are fierce right now.
Trace, thanks for posting about the webinar. People really seemed to like it.
If anyone’s interested in viewing the replay, we just posted the video on our blog at http://www.topofmind.com/blog.
The full URL is: http://www.topofmind.com/blog/index.php/2009/02/webinar-replay-brian-brady-on-facebook-and-social-networking/
Trace,
Thanks as well for posting this as I haven’t talked with Brian in a while, but I know him well enough to know he is a great marketer, especially when it comes to SM. I will visit Mark’s site and watch the video and I encourage others to do so.
@Ling and @Phoenix, sure there are people who post what they are eating, likely even what their latest bowel movement looks like, but they are the few. Blogging, and even microblogging (FB or Twitter) is an extension of yourself, a way for people to get to know you and know your level of expertise as well. If you bring everything together successfully, people will want to work with you before they even contact you for the first time, which I say daily in my own businesses.
Sorry I missed this, I’ll watching the replay later this afternoon. But your comments make sense, as long as you are spending time here with a specific purpose, the 5 new contacts a day for example. My question is- has anyone seen a strategy for finding that elusive “Now Buyer”?
I spent the time at the webinar it appears to be something that might work..but I’ll be on the sideline checking in every once in a while.
I have utilized social networking sites for about 3 years now to build my network. For some time, my focus has been primarily on Facebook, with MySpace and LinkedIn serving as occasional outlets. Just recently I took my efforts to the web by creating my website: http://www.tuesdaystip.com
By providing industry information for the “average” homeowner, I have reconnected with a huge network (approximate 1,400 contacts on Facebook alone) of friends and family. It is the single most effective form of advertising for me. When handled properly, you can keep your network informed of industry changes, demonstrate your expertise, and empower them by teaching them tidbits about the industry that most professionals are not willing to disclose.
Anyone who is not utilizing social media is missing out on a huge opportunity to grow his or her business.