Real Estate Investors: Use The Internet To Your Advantage

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Your ability to adapt to change will define you and your business. Regardless of what business you are in, the environment is constantly changing. It was just a few years ago that short sales accounted for nearly half of all real estate transactions. This year, they may make up less than 20 percent. In order to stay on top of your business, you need to be willing to adapt to change and embrace technological advances. You may have sworn off the Internet and still have an old cellphone, but eventually the business will pass you by if you are not willing to adapt.

If you step back and think about it, the Internet is truly a remarkable thing. Instead of bemoaning the fact that it can be annoying and everyone is attached to their mobile device, you should look at it as a positive. There is no greater time to learn about or to grow your real estate business. The best thing about this time is that you don’t personally need to be an expert in order to take advantage of this. If you do a basic search, you can find someone that will be able to walk you through how to set up your website, take advantage of social media and navigate the many investing sites.

Once you have the basics out of the way, you can use the Internet even further to grow your business. LinkedIn, Activerain, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even Craigslist are just a few of the sites that you should be using. Most buyers currently look online first when buying or selling a house. You may not be selling, but you can bet that anyone you are working with will take a few seconds to look at your Facebook page or one of the other websites. If you are not on these sites or not very active, they may feel you are not the right person to work with.

Social media is without question the fastest way to grow your business. Going to investment club meetings is important and beneficial, but at an average meeting with 200 people, you may personally connect with 10, 15 if you really work the room. With social media and networking sites, you can connect with that many people in an hour. Every time someone shares a blog post or connects with you, there are many more people that can see it. Your 200 Facebook friends or 100 LinkedIn contacts can quickly double in just a few short weeks. This isn’t magic, it is the reality of doing business in 2014. You can still value your personal contacts and interaction, but you can get the process started online.

Taking advantage of the Internet also means using apps on your mobile device. Many investors no longer need to have a dedicated office. Between their phones, laptops and tablets, they can do virtually anything from their cars or at a coffee shop. IPhones and smart phones can make your business much easier, if you know what to look for and how to use them. If you don’t know where to get started, find someone who may have a technological background or ask your friends on Facebook. Surely you have heard of Facebook, right?