It’s Spring and love is in the air…so are birds…and as you walk down the street you hear the twitter of birdies and their babies flying about, preparing for the summer ahead. You might even be enjoying one of those fluffy, sugar-coated pieces of heaven we all know and love as “Peeps”. If you’re doing either one of these things, other people want to know and they want to know RIGHT NOW. That's where Twitter comes in...
Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? (Source: http://www.Twitter.com)
You have probably heard recently that people are ‘twittering’. For those of you addicted to Facebook and posting status updates, Twitter could be the next best thing to chocolate covered Peeps. (Do they make those? If they do, please let me know where to get them!) But what IS it anyway and how can you use it to benefit your business?
The jury is still out on how Twitter will fit into business, if it will be used at all. Can it go beyond a simple utility that lets people know what you're doing from the grandest of achievements to the most mundane? It seems that the more we retreat into the confines of our offices, delving into the anonymous, ubiquitous world of the internet, the more we long for social interaction and connection. Could it be that the world has gotten so small and yet still feels so big that we all feel completely disconnected from each other? Well if you do, then start Twittering. It allows you to talk about what you’re doing each moment of the day with all of the people who have decided that they care enough to become one of your “followers”.
Once you’ve setup your Twitter account, chose those that you will “follow”. When you follow someone, you are updated when they post to their account. If you’re a news junkie or talk show fan, you can follow your favorites. Find out what their next shows are and get breaking news. Taking it one step further, you can keep in touch with friends by following them and their daily actions. Once you follow them, you’ll get notified when they make updates and you can reply to those updates any time.
How could Twitter benefit your business? If you use Twitter for personal AND business, you might find that you get inundated with too much mindless, mundane updates for it to actually work as a networking site (I prefer Facebook myself). However, I am always open to feedback from those of you who have gained positive connections and/or sales through Twitter (Contact me if you have!) Where I really feel it benefits is from a research and development standpoint – listen to the tweets and you might find it ‘sweet’.
Use Twitter to….
Simply Listen and Learn. As real estate professionals, and especially if you own a real estate business, you should always be keeping up with the latest news and events in your industry. By now you should be getting preference specific news updates like Google alerts on those topics that you care about- your market, local area economic concerns, real estate technology etc. (If you’re not, you better start…email me if you need to know how to set this up). You need to keep up on this information to remain an educated, well-informed service professional for your clients. In keeping with that objective, Twitter CAN help you stay informed. Follow organizations like Inman News, the Real Estate Channel, and even your own local association for updates on things that affect you, your business and your clients.
Learn about your competition. What better way to find out what your competitors are doing…each day more and more real estate businesses are adding “corporate profiles”. Usually a staff member or even an executive is posting updates to their page about their latest business happenings. If you’re lucky, they’re posting information about their newest marketing campaign, strategy, expansions, management practices and more. They’re so busy bragging themselves up, suddenly you know as much about them as their own agents.
Learn about your clients. Regardless of what age range you cater to, get your clients enthused about social media. If you have someone contact you through your website, search for them on Twitter. Follow them if you find them. Read all about their daily lives, family and things they care about then make sure you stay on top of it. If they post that they are sad they lost their dog, send them a note of sympathy. Let them know you care. Thoughtfulness is the key to prosperity.
Remind you what is important. As I was writing this, I took a break to be with my three month old son. He was blissfully playing on his back with a play gym I recently bought him. As I approached him, his eyes lit up and he smiled at me. There was something wonderfully sweet about the fact that he has no idea what Twitter is…or the internet for that matter. I’m going to enjoy and relish in the first few years of his life where he is not inundated with constant communication and social networking. I’m sure by the time he is five he’ll know more about all of this than me…but until then, I’m glad all he’ll know or care about is the color of his “Peeps” not the amount of his Tweets.
Happy Socializing!
Labels: Internet Marketing, Real Estate Marketing, Social Media
