#effot not earning

[bethf1300]

Artists of the Everyday

Revisiting inspirational books I’ve been revisiting favorite books on my shelf – two that stand out are written by Eugene Peterson. Leap Over a Wall is about David’s life, and Run with the Horses is about Jeremiah. I wish I had dated my notes in these books. I may have been reading them for more than 20 years. A chapter in Run with the Horses is perfect for January when we reconsider our…

[goatpaste]

Lisa Lisa lets the pillarmen live, but doesn't give them an aja stone for the ultimate transformation?

I think in a world where the pillar men live and coexist in some form alongside humans, I think there would be a "nobody wins" type situation?

I think joseph and wham would have to fight at least once or twice, that's just blossoming romance ykno?

But I think between this and that whatever reasons I don't have fully in mind right now, the stone gets destoryed. And insteed of victory for either side, no finale grand reward for their effots. They just have to learn to keep existing with what victories and earnings they can find at the end of it all as they pick up the peices of their existence now shattered. Lisa lisa having to let the pillar men live and hope that turns out ok and the pillar men having to go on unable to touch the sun.

In general I think its just me wanting to find an excuse to have them still be sun avoiding because I think it makes for better story telling? If that makes sense ykno

[theokbrowne]

Beginner’s guide to social media for real estate (part 2)

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Is LinkedIn for real estate agents? How about Twitter and Pinterest?

Last week, we ran down the details on how to dissect a social media platform’s numbers to determine whether it would be a good fit for real estate marketing.

If you specialize in representing buyers, look for a social media platform that:

Boasts a large percentage of U.S. users

The largest percentage of those users includes those who are at least 45 years old.

Those users earn $88,000 a year or more.

Listing agents should ensure that the social media platform:

Has a large percentage of U.S. users

The largest percentage of users includes Americans age 40 and older

These users earn at least $90,000

The users primarily live in the suburbs

In part 1, we dove deep into Facebook and Instagram statistics. Today we take a look at LinkedIn for real estate agents, along with Pinterest and Twitter. Which social media platforms are right for your lead generation effots?

LinkedIn for real estate agents

LinkedIn is, at its core, a networking platform. Many agents believe that it’s only good for B2B leads or employee recruitment.

That couldn’t be further from the truth.

“LinkedIn is the hottest B2C social media platform in town” according to Geraint Evans at Econsultancy.com.

In fact, Amazon, Target, Starbucks and Sony Music Entertainment use the platform to reach consumers, not other businesses.

While its user base is largely international (only about 25 percent reside in the U.S.) its other demographics pencil out perfectly. Unless you’re chasing Millennials because only 13 percent of the users are members of that cohort.

The primary LinkedIn users fall in two age groups: between 30 and 49 years of age and 50 to 64 years of age. They earn more than $75,000 a year and “41 percent of millionaires use LinkedIn,” according to Omnicore Agency.

Omnicore also finds that “the average CEO has 930 connections” on LinkedIn. And, as we all know, CEOs buy and sell homes like everyone else. All in all, using LinkedIn for real estate agents seems like a solid way to find clients.

Pretty Pinterest

Nearly half of Pinterest users hail from the U.S. The median age of a user is 40, although most who actively “pin” are younger.

Other demographics of interest to the real estate agent looking for real estate leads include:

40 percent earn more than $100,000.

The largest pool of users (34 percent) live in the suburbs, but nearly as many are city dwellers.

Although 80 percent of current Pinterest users are female, 40 percent of new users are male, according to Omnicore.

Pinterest is a dynamite lead generator if used consistently (almost daily). Is it dynamite for a service business, such as real estate? Some agents swear by it.

To get an idea of what they pin, visit Hopkins, Massachusetts agent Bill Gassett’s boards or those of Rochester, New York agent Kyle Hiscock.

Yes, Pinterest is a time- and labor-intensive platform but the learning curve is quicker than Instagram’s and if you use an image editing site such as Canva, you can pop out your pins quickly.

By the way, the experts at Omnicore say that the top category in the U.S. right now is “Art, Art Supplies & Hobbies.”

Caroline Forsey at Hubspotclaims that, last year, the third most popular category was “DIY home renovation projects.” Now that’s a subject fit for real estate boards.

Twitter – overrated?

If you listen to the hype surrounding Twitter you may think that it’s the end-all, be-all when it comes to real estate lead gen.

Wrong.

First, “80% of Twitter’s users aren’t American,” according to Paige Cooper at HootSuite.com. But, that’s just the beginning of why you shouldn’t waste even a minute of your precious marketing time there.

Most users are between the ages of 18 and 29

Only 20 percent of users who are within the age range of a typical home seller use Twitter

The largest share of users lives in cities

“Emarketer predicts that Twitter will only add 500,000 American users in 2019,” according to Cooper.

The largest percentage of Twitter users earn between $50,000 and $74,999 according to Pew Research.

Twitter “Usage among U.S. adults drops as age increases,” according to Shannon Tien at Hootsuite.com.

Unless those in their late teens and early 20s are members of your target audience – your most likely real estate client –Twitter should be last on the list of social media lead generation vehicles, well behind LinkedIn and Pinterest.

There are a lot of ways to waste time and money in real estate marketing. To get the best ROI, choose your social media platforms wisely. Determine which attracts your target audience and you’ll find the best fit.

Running out of marketing ideas? Here are some fresh ways to get new leads and listings.

How do you use Facebook to get the most out of your business? In this video, we explore how every agent can use some simple tips to grow their business and get more leads:

The post Beginner’s guide to social media for real estate (part 2) appeared first on Easy Agent Pro.

from theokbrowne digest https://www.easyagentpro.com/blog/beginners-guide-to-social-media-for-real-estate-part-2/

[omcik-blog]

New Post has been published on OmCik

New Post has been published on http://omcik.com/hc2-still-wants-long-term-care-insurance-blocks/

HC2 still wants long-term care insurance blocks

HC2 says Continental Insurance will acquire more blocks of run-off LTCI business. (Photo: Thinkstock)

Continental Insurance Group lost money in 2016, but it still wants to make deals with long-term-care insurance issuers.

Phillip Falcone, the chief executive officer of HC2 Holdings Inc., the parent of Continental Insurance, says HC2 is maintaining significant LTCI servicing capabilities in Austin, Texas, as the Continental Insurance home office, to support future growth.

Related: HC2, Aegon let investors peek into long-term care insurance units

“I think it really gives us a leg up over the competition, as it relates to long-term care, for people to know that their portfolios will be run in-house, and not be outsourced,” Falcone said last week, at a conference call with securities analysts.

HC2 — a midsize, New York-based conglomerate — held the call to go over fourth-quarter and 2016 earnings.

HC2 owns subsidiaries that do everything from installing cables on the ocean floor to distributing natural gas motor fuel. The company as a whole reported a $67 million net loss for the fourth quarter on $454 million in revenue, compared with a net loss of $12 million on $360 million in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2015.

HC2 hired James Corcoran, a former New York state insurance superintendent, to set up Continental Insurance in April 2015. The company closed on acquisitions of two blocks of LTCI business at the end of 2015.

Continental Insurance now has 87 employees servicing LTCI policies for 93,000 people.

The unit reported an $812,000 operating loss in 2016 on $142 million in revenue, compared with a net loss of $176,000 on $2.9 million in revenue in 2015.

About $71 million of the unit’s $79 million in 2016 earned premium revenue came from LTCI policies. The rest of the revenue came from blocks of life insurance and annuity business acquired along with the LTCI business.

Continental Insurance hopes to expand further by buying closed blocks of LTCI policies, reinsuring LTCI coverage, winning contracts to administer other companies’ blocks of LTCI policies, and acquiring LTCI issuers.

In investor presentations, HC2 says the Continental Insurance effot to invest in the LTCI and life insurance sectors fits with the HC2 strategy of “taking advantage of dislocated and undervalued operating businesses.”

Falcone said during the conference call that one reason for optimism about the LTCI unit is regulators’ changing attitude toward LTCI rate increase requests.

In 2016, in Texas, one increase turned out to be bigger than the company had hoped. Originally, the reserves for the LTCI policies looked about $8 million weaker than they had in 2015. The premium increase was enough to make the reserves look $11 million better than they had looked in 2015, according to HC2’s 2016 financial report.

Related:

Goldman’s Fels says long-term care insurance is ‘ripe for M&A’

What does that Harbinger LTCI deal mean?

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