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We recently wrote about how to optimize your profile on ActiveRain, one of the top social networks dedicated to real estate professionals. Last week, ActiveRain released the following infographic and study based on the responses of 1,758 real estate professionals.

Of these real estate professionals…

22% of the respondents made over $100K a year and 21% made under $35K a year.

47% of the respondents are male.

The average age was 51 – 60 years old.

The average income was $55 – 65K.

The average time in the industry was 6 – 10 years.

The highest level of education of the respondents was college graduate.

The following are some interesting insight into the usage of technology, social media, and marketing & advertising strategies between the highest and lowest earning real estate professionals.

Technology in Real Estate

When it comes to using technology, the most successful real estate agents are spending $3-5K per year on the stuff. This budget is spent on having an IDX website, CRM (customer relationship management) or lead management tool, and maintaining an email newsletter.

Social Media in Real Estate

When it comes to social media usage, the most successful real estate agents spend their time on the following networks to market their business.

ActiveRain – 62% of successful real estate agents use it compared to the average 54% across all respondents.

Blogger – 26% of successful real estate agents use it compared to the average 22% across all respondents.

WordPress – 52% of successful real estate agents use it compared to the average 46% across all respondents.

Facebook – 91% of successful real estate agents use it compared to the average 90% across all respondents.

Twitter – 65% of successful real estate agents use it compared to the average 59% across all respondents

LinkedIn – 84% of successful real estate agents use it compared to the average 81% across all respondents.

YouTube – 54% of successful real estate agents use it compared to the average 44% across all respondents.

Realtor.com / Move.com – 65% of successful real estate agents use it compared to the average 61% across all respondents.

Zillow – 60% of successful real estate agents use it – the average was also 60% across all respondents.

Trulia – 64% of successful real estate agents use it – the average was also 64% across all respondents.

CraigsList – 66% of successful real estate agents use it compared to the average 68% across all respondents.

Homes.com – 27% of successful real estate agents use it compared to the average 27% across all respondents.

This goes to show that blogging is popular amongst half of the respondents and social networks dominate in the order of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, ActiveRain, and YouTube.

Marketing & Advertising in Real Estate

Last but not least is marketing & advertising. The average marketing budget is $5-10K for successful real estate professionals compared to the average $1-3K. Strategies used by the most successful real estate agents over the average include purchasing leads on the Internet (18%), paying for clicks from search engines (21%), hiring an agency for Internet advertising (26%) and SEO / blogging (26%), using direct mail (62%), and advertising in local newspapers (29%).

What is the most effective marketing or advertising methods? The top three written in answers were personal referrals / word of mouth, blogging, and B2B professional referrals.

There you have it – what separates the top real estate professionals from the rest. Are you using these strategies?

Contributing writer Kristi Hines is an online marketing consultant, freelance writer, blogger, and social media enthusiast.