Many real estate agents are puzzled with the changes we are experiencing in today’s real estate market. There has been a dramatic Paradigm shift on how we conduct our work habits on a daily basis. The rules of business are changing, especially the real estate industry.

One of the most frequent things I hear from agents is: "All this Internet Marketing and social networking is just to overwhelming” Yes, it can be overwhelming, if you allow it to be.

The real estate professional must meet the needs and expectations of the Connected Consumer. I hear questions from some agents about what we as an industry have not grasped or become proficient in, as professionals. Examples are: what’s cut and paste, how do I setup a signature, what’s an auto-responder and how do I get a personal domain name? These are basics that every Realtor should have down pat in today’s market.

My suggestion to those Realtors who want to build their brand, build their clientele, and generate additional business in today's market is to keep it simple and do the following:

1. Get a domain name

2. Get a Web2 website that allows the use of the latest technology, (IDX, Video, Podcasts, and Plenty of pictures)

3. Setup a Blog with Great content, RSS, and proper keywords and links back to your website.

4. Signup for LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and other places you can place your profile, links to your Blog articles and website.

These are the new Realtor basic tools that have replaced or complement what we as an industry have been doing for years. Learning to interact with the “connected consumer”, creating a web-based marketing strategy, and utilizing the latest high-tech advances will differentiate you in the marketplace and enhance your career.

1. Getting a domain name: Brand your own name or community if you can. Keep in mind that if you change companies that you are affiliated with, your name won't change, nor your service area. Examples of domain names are: MarySellsRealEstate.com, JohnSoldMine.com or AgentBill.com. I prefer my name MikeBowler.com, because someday, I may just be a writer or consultant and can still use the same domain forever. There are many places to obtain domain names like www.GoDaddy.com, www.InternetCrusade.com and others you can Google.

2. Get a Web2 website that allows the use of the latest technology, (IDX, Video, Podcasts, and Plenty of pictures): The whole purpose of a website is to display listings and informative information that buyers and sellers search for. The e-Consumer does not care how many designations you have behind your name or how many millions of dollars of real estate you have sold in the past, they want to search homes and learn about mortgages. If over 80% of buyers are searching the Internet prior to contacting a Realtor, and over 80% of those consumers are working with the first agent that contacts them, There are many great companies out there providing wonderful websites with good content, ability to have IDX, numerous pictures, Blog capabilities, and drip mail. I would suggest you visit other agents websites to compare features, however, I must caution you that there are many websites setup and on the Internet, that are not completed or updated on a regular basis. This could give you a poor impression of the provider, who is not at fault. Your interior pages of a website will prove to be valuable as you become more aware of deep linking into your site through your Blog posts.

3. Setup a Blog with Great content, RSS, and proper keywords and links back to your website.

A Blog is a Website; however it’s alive and is something you are constantly updating with interesting real estate content, information, and viewpoints to keep your readers coming back again and again. The Blog not only educates your readers, but also drives traffic to the site for searching listings. Blogging is more attractive to the search engines because of the fresh informative content, and allows you to use related updated keywords or tags that target what your audience may be searching for. Keyword marketing includes subdivision names, school districts, street names, home styles, features and benefits of buying. It's always important to also include the most popular potential keywords, such as real estate, homes, houses, interest rate, mortgages, and the name of the community. There are thousands of keyword possibilities.

In today’s real estate market, I encourage real estate agents to have a Blog in your business plan to market your business and drive traffic to your listings. In addition to driving traffic to your listings you can become the go-to person for educating your buyers and sellers with great articles, tools and updates on the real estate market. A well designed and written Blog will attract buyers, sellers, other Realtors, and related ancillary businesses to you and your sites. It also creates business connections you may have never had by not Blogging.

You may ask, what do I write about? As a real estate agent you are in a position to write about hundreds of various subjects based on the activities you perform on a daily basis. Think about the different responsibilities you have with each listing you take, that entail, preparing the home for sale, legal documents the seller needs to be aware of, explaining disclosures, title work, various financing methods, lead paint, open houses and numerous other parts of the transaction. As an agent you also know many ancillary businesses such as appraisers, home inspectors, mortgage originators and attorneys. You experience something new almost every day in this business that you could write and share with consumers and your peers.

So, how do I get a Blog and what’s it cost? You have many choices and most are free. Active Rain, Real Town, Trulia, Wordpress, TypePad and others will get you off to a fast start and cost you nothing or very little depending on the features. Some of these Blogs also provide an agent an opportunity to network with other professionals. I normally separate one Blog for consumers and another for networking. I suggest you visit Active Rain, RealTown and Trulia where you can signup free and become acquainted with many great posts being made daily by Real estate professionals from around the Globe.

4. Signup for LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and other places you can place your profile, links to your Blog articles and website.

Social networking can be very rewarding in many ways besides contributing to your business. Just having the opportunity to connect with old friends, classmates, and family will become something you will begin to look forward to on a consistent basis.

LinkedIn is geared more toward business, allows you to place a free profile, resume, links to your websites, blogs and other things like photos, slides and PowerPoint presentations.

Facebook is very popular for staying in touch with those I described above, posting what you're currently up to, a link to your latest post on a Blog, or an occasional plug for one of your new listings. I have learned more about my family, friends, community, and other people on Facebook than any other social networking site. Facebook is a great place to network with other Realtors in groups that share marketing ideas, solutions to challenges in our market, and new technology.

Twitter is the micro-blogging site service that enables its users to send and read other users' updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. As more people begin to follow you on Twitter, you begin picking up great contacts. We had a Tweet-Meet here in Lansing, Michigan, where 45 of us showed up at Biggby Coffee Shop. It was a hour well spent talking with those who you have followed on Twitter and Facebook, exchanging business cards and sharing our good company.

All the above sounds like plenty of work, a devoted amount of time, and effort. Your clients and customers are on the web everyday and most Realtors are not there yet. Set yourself apart and begin to develop an Internet marketing plan today!