RISMEDIA, December 9, 2009—As changes take place with technology, the Web and how consumers engage, interact and respond to the marketplace, real estate professionals looking to grow their brands and their careers must learn how to integrate the changes into their everyday practice. More leads, more business and more efficient use of your business resources are yours if you integrate some of the ideas and concepts presented in the National Association of REALTORS® Web 2.0 & Social Media Course.
Real estate has become deeply impacted and has benefited from Web 2.0, social media and social networking. “Now that I have devoted some time to really using it as a marketing tool, my free Facebook page will get me about $3 million to $4 million in sales volume,” says one e-PRO® graduate. Go to www.realtown.com/about/web-2-0-testimonials to read more testimonials on the subject.
This course has been designed as an online experience, a community and a reference resource. You have four months to complete the course of instruction. During the four months, you can print or save any of the course material. Throughout the course, there are review questions, field trips, video clips and writing exercises designed to reinforce the learning materials and help fine-tune your communication and writing skills. Links to Wikipedia and other sites are used throughout the course to define words that you may not know or about which you would like more background information.
Course Structure
1. The course consists of four sections.
2. Each section consists of:
• Introduction
• Learning Objectives
• Key Concepts
• Review questions as you progress through the course
• “Virtual Field Trips” that send you out to various websites with tasks and then reporting back inside the course
• Essay Questions
• Exercises
• Conclusion
3. Course concludes with a final examination and a Web 2.0/Social Networking Audit and Action Plan
Course Learning Objectives:
By the end of the course, you should…
• Be able to describe the concepts, principles and core characteristics of Web 2.0
• Understand the differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 concepts
• Understand what is meant and intended when knowledgeable people refer to Web 2.0
• Have a cursory knowledge of the set of software subsystems or components that make the Web 2.0 Revolution possible
• Become familiar with some of the generic applications such as social media, blogs, text messaging, etc.
• Become acquainted with “usability tools” that help create a distribution and organizational environment for user-generated information and content
• Understand specific social networking applications built upon Web 2.0 principles and technology
• Understand how real estate-related Web portals can help you with your business, from both a buyer and a seller perspective
• List the ways social media sites can be of benefit to your real estate business
• Understand the security aspects of identity and why it is important to protect certain aspects of your identity when completing online profiles
• Understand Federation and Single Sign On, and their potential use and benefit in the real estate business.
• Understand how Web 2.0 fits in the context of your business
• Review the planning process in the real estate business
• Understand the key elements to maximizing your Web presence
• Recognize key components of search engine optimization
• Identify the key aspects of real estate prospecting
• Identify the real estate sales cycle
• Review generational information and its significance in the future of real estate sales
• Define key elements of an MLS in a Web 2.0 world
• Create a Web 2.0/social networking action plan and audit
To sign up, just go to http://eProNAR.com. Existing e-PROs can get the new course at no cost as part of a course review.
Mike Barnett is CTO/VP of Technology for InternetCrusade’s RealTown.com.
For more information, visit www.realtown.com or e-mail Mike@MikeBarnett.com.
