Editor's note: This blog was originally published in July of 2014. It has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness. 

Not sure if you have time for Facebook? Make time - the reward is worth the investment.

Facebook continues to be the best social medium to use for real estate marketing purposes. Other platforms have their perks, but if you’re looking to grow your business through social media marketing, you should be focusing on Facebook (andreal estate blogging!). 

There are dozens of ways to use Facebook to grow your network and build your real estate brand. If you’re just getting started, try a few of these social to-do’s:

• Use your personal profile to connect with past clients and prospects
• Promote your listings and open houses
• Post on your wall and ask friends and family in your area for referrals
• Add yourself to Facebook real estate directories
• Use Facebook graph search to find new leads in your extended network

If you haven't started yet - don't hesitate! Now’s the time - and here’s why:

A home is a huge purchase, and it can be intimidating and overwhelming for buyers to figure out how to add a real estate mortgage payment into their budget. There are many unknowns.

It is your job, as a real estate lender, to make the pre-qualification and loan process as stress free as possible. In order to do so, you need to be prepared to thoroughly answer key questions your buyers are almost gauranteed to ask - and by answering those questions publicly in a lender blog, you can generate new business.

But how does answering questions generate new leads? Think about it... your leads are online looking for answers to the unknowns. If you have a keyword optimized blog post that targets your ideal lead and answers those questions, leads who never would have seen your name will suddenly find you very helpful and will be motivated to reach out to you personally with follow-up questions.

In today's Agent Insights post, Patricia Kennedy - a Real Estate Agent at Evers & Company Real Estate in Washington DC - talks about the do's and dont's for newbie agents. If you're a new real estate agent, read this post carefully and learn what you can do to be accepted in the industry with open arms.

Here's Patricia:

Ok ok, I admit it... sometimes I binge watch House Hunters. Though staged and highly predictable - I find the show entertaining. I enjoy "touring" the houses, reacting to the market values in other areas (which, as a southern Californian, means frequently saying, "Ooh- I could afford a mansion there!") and placing bets with fellow watchers on which property the hunters are ultimately going to choose.