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.

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.

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 – 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.

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!