So you did it, you went ahead and started a twitter account for your business. Now what? While you probably won’t be tweeting about your breakfast options, or that funny comment you heard at happy hour you can still add your own personal touch.  Twitter is a great tool for sending out real time information to your followers, and can be effectively used in localized situations, such as for a real estate professional. So here are some things to consider.

Custom Feeds Are Key- So you figured freely posting live information would be a breeze, just hastily type a sentence or two and voila ! Instant communication to the world. Well my friend, you would be wrong. Take the time to customize your feeds. No one will read what you have to say if you are not reading what he/she are tweeting. You can find people by using the Twitter directory.

Stay Organized- Just like you group your phone numbers on your smart phones you should also categorize those you follow on twitter, fellow realtors, real estate enthusiast, you can even follow real estate publications in your area.

Get Localized- Just because there is a plethora of information out there does not mean you have to stay tuned to everything. Get yourself localized by finding out who is tweeting in your area. Real Estate is all about location and tweeting can help you stay on top of fellow realtors and new happenings in your area.

Mind Your Manners: Survive the Tweeting World

Remember that tweeting has it own set of rules, so keep these in mind when tweeting for business purposes.

1.Re-tweet: When you Re-Tweet (repost someone else’s comment) you are A.) commenting on something you like (which is always great) and B.) you are allowing your audience to exponentially grow.

To Re-tweet: Click “Re-Tweet” button next to a message you like and want to share with your followers, or simply just copy and past the message, don’t forget to add RT @ _____ (that would be the person you are re-tweeting).

2.Be thankful: For all those who mention you, make sure to thank them. You can check to see who mentions you by clicking on the @_ _ _ button on your home page. And do it every day, yes tweeting is a constant so be prepared to stay on top of what is going on.

And also make sure to respond to those direct messages you get, just say thanks. Beware, don’t start sending those annoying spam messages it is an easy way to lose followers and quickly.

3.Sharing is Caring: Don’t shy away from being personal and letting your spunky personality shine, after all this is twitter and it is all about connecting with people. Be genuine and in no time finding material to tweet about will be a breeze.

Social Media is a fun and personal way to keep your business growing. What are some other things that you have found helpful when using twitter?

Source: Inman News

Click here to view the embedded video.

ActiveRain currently has a membership of over 160,000 RE Industry members averaging 200 new members daily.  There are more than 1.3 million articles posted, with an average of 10,000 new posts monthly.  Two million+ visitors traffic the ActiveRain network each month, over 80% are consumers.  Only Rainmaker upgraded accounts receive Google traffic to their blogs and posts.  ActiveRain Members blog posts receive more than 500 views on average.  Activerain provides a wide of variety of tools, services, and solutions to the Real Estate community and to the consumer.

So you think this might be a good resource for your business?

• Think about building your realtor base nationwide
• AR is a cost effective way of starting a blog
• Access to Localism  you can sponsor your community ( if it is available )

Here is the link to an ebook that will guide you through ActiveRain

Wow ! I had totally forgotten about Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs until I read Peak by Chip Conley. The way he relates it to the business world, especially for someone like me who is intrigued by human behavior, is fantastic! I was a psych major and have a Masters in social work. My journey has taken me through sales & management, specifically in the real estate business and my successes & failures have been due in great part to my observation & understanding of people & their behavior as well as my own behavior.

So back to Maslow. Here is his Pyramid

•  At the bottom of the pyramid is survival – meeting a customers expectations. Here you are focusing on the basics … such as finding them a property.  Do you think that customer will be referring you if you just meet his/her expectations?
• At the middle of the pyramid is success in our social relationships and within ourselves. This is where we feel a sense of accomplishment as a business person. This is also where we create loyalty.Think who are you ad what are you Selling ? It is probably not what you think !
• At the top of the pyramid is transformation; meeting the unrecognized needs of your customers. This is where you create customers for life.

What are You Selling  to Whom?

Just focusing on the base needs will  never allow you to transform the relationship with customers to its greatest potential. Imagine the progression from survival to success to transformation.

Creating customer satisfaction will not ensure that your customers will be loyal to you and not wander, in an increasingly  promiscuous marketplace. Tapping into the desires of your customers may be the one and only thing that creates the differentiation between you and others. When a customers desires are met they are more likely to stick with you, and refer you to friends, family & colleagues.

 Chip Conley describes a parallel phenomenon  with the three levels of the employee pyramid above.

• Money is at the base of the pyramid it creates a base motivation
• Recognition/success creates commitment
• Transformation at the top creates inspiration & meaning

How many companies are actually looking at these things? Most are so busy at the bottom of the pyramid they cannot get out of their own way.  I highly suggest they read the book, Peak by Chip Conley. He took his company in a down market, to the top by focusing on aspects of this pyramid.

I challenge you all to focus on your customers and to start listening to what they are telling you. There is alot of information between the lines!

Here is a video on how to use Postlets

Postlets are a great way to get your property noticed. Where other Agents may post their property listings on Craigslist and other sites, a property listing done on Postlets outshines them all.

You can also post the same flyer on various sites like: Craigslist ,Facebook,FrontDoor, GoogleBase,  HotPads  
MySpace ,Oodle ,Trulia , Twitter,  Zillow 
This is a major time saver. Vflyer is another program that is also very good. 

Please participate in the survey below

As real estate agents we all want to be easily discoverable  on Google. Well now is the time to add a google profile to your marketing arsenal.

Rismedia states that 30% of all Web searches are conducted to find other people so it stands to reason since Google is the number one search engine that having your google profile can only help you.

If you don’t have a google account you need to sign up for one and then fill out the profile. You can add your website and other profiles on Facebook & Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, etc.

Add information that people may search for like current employer, other companies you worked for, & schools you’ve attended.

Here is a short tutorial on Google Profiles

Make sure you check off “display my whole name so I can be found in search” and make sure you do not display your email address. When you enable the contact feature people can contact you directly from your profile. Of course add a photo!

This may be google’s segue into the social media world to compete with Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter & Flickr …so hurry and get in on the action!

Google Profiles is a great way for real estate agents to promote their visibility and build business.

 If you have kids at home, I am sure that at times you begin to wonder – what are they doing online all the time?  Their answer many times is that they are spending time on Social Networks like MySpace and Facebook.

Here is a quick look overview on Social Networks.

Social Networks are not just for kids anymore.  Here are some interesting articles to read to grasp the magnitude of Social Networks in business (Click on the links to read more):

•  Social networks can have real business benefits.
• Understanding Social Networking
• IBM to launch social networking center – Network World

It is clear that at this point online social networks are becoming mainstream business tools. So what if anything does this have to do with real estate?  In real estate being “well connected” is key. Look at any top producing agent and you will see that many of them have great connections.

In the real world, we join BNI groups, PTA’s, Junior League, Chambers of Commerce, Condo Associations, Alumni Groups, etc.  The real estate business is all about networking, so its obvious that there is real value in supplementing your real world activity with some online networking.

Social Networks are a way to reach out to your sphere of influence and their sphere of influence on a regular basis.  How often have you experienced the real estate agent’s nightmare of running into an old acquaintance in the mall only to hear “I wish I had known you were in real estate.  I just bought a house.” ? Imagine how much more business you could have done in your career had you just been able to keep in touch with everyone you knew in high school, college and your life before real estate.  Now multiply that by everyone they know.  The implications are huge!

 Social Networks are still in the early stages with much of their business potential is still to be discovered.  The one thing I know for sure is that you need to be there.  

 So go on and sign up one some of the Social Networks out there.  Here are some of the ones that I am on.

 Join Linked In !

Users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profile to notify friends about themselves.

Join Facebook!

Have you joined other online Social Networks that have brought you business? 

I don’t know about you but I know that I want my middle name to be “the”… Randi “the” Manager to be with in Aventura, Fl. Randi “the” Manager with the most productive office in Aventura, Fl.  Seth Godin writes a great blog that I receive every day. I particularly thought the blog about “The” middle name was relevant to our business. The whole idea of farming is becoming “the” realtor in a certain area ! Fortunately I have many agents whose middle names are “the”.  We work together to make them “the” real estate professional  in the area they choose to work in.

Some Tips for Farming

1. Know your numbers! Check the turnover rate in the area you are going to be farming. This is done by the dividing the number of properties that closed during a calendar year by the total number of properties in the  subdivision or building . The higher the percentage the more turnover thus more possibility for business! No point in marketing an area that has no turnover.

2. Be consistent. if you are going to be using direct mail do it regularly once or twice per month. If you are going to be blogging that needs to be done on a regular basis.

3. Know Your competition.

If you are looking to change your middle name the “the”, contact me I’d love to help!