I’m a new agent, with just a few people in my sphere of influence that I have actual phone numbers or emails for so Facebook is my main source of contact.

See these two articles that have influenced my response:https://www.techrepublic.com/article/what-tulsa-and-other-cities-are-doing-to-woo-remote-workers-away-from-silicon-valley/https://www.techrepublic.com/article/the-best-and-worst-cities-for-remote-workers/?

Your lease will have just as much influence on how well your property performs as your financing or purchase price.

That's how these "influencers" or whatever you call them make their money --- they are "selling" you something.At least you are asking to understand the realty. 

And if you’re worried about being able to save enough of your earnings to meet your retirement goals, building wealth through passive income is a strategy that might appeal to you, too.⁣⁣With affiliate marketing, website owners, social media “influencers” or bloggers promote a third party’s product by including a link to the product on their site or social media account.

Real estate is too much work to only earn the cap rate and not taking advantage of leverage removes real estates' primary advantage over other asset classes.Your long term expectations for inflation could influence your decision as well...paying low rate debt 5-10+ years from now is attractive to me.Middle of the road leverage is not a bad place to be either.

Some said internet leads, some said use your sphere of influence, others organize networking groups, and a handful insist on farming.   

This has shapedmy personality greatly giving me the ability to positively influence peoplethrough communication and presentation.My foundation is solid , I like helping the community, an excellent communicator and natural born salesman.

2- is this dictated, or influenced, by the areas I am investing in? 

All that mattered was the the land lord tried to exert influence on a disabled person's choice of where he was going to live, and that's a huge NO NO.Please...never, ever "suggest" to someone where they should live.