Presentation: Newspapers, Social Media and the Future of Reporting

The next Real Estate Technology Meetup is scheduled and the speakers confirmed. We have Gillian Shaw and Kirk LaPointe from the Vancouver Sun coming to speak to our group. Here are the details:

Presentation: Newspapers, Social Media and the Future of Reporting
Speakers: Gillian Shaw, Technology Reporter @ Vancouver Sun and Kirk LaPointe Managing Editor of Vancouver Sun
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The Vancouver Sun’s Gillian Shaw (Technology Reporter) and Kirk LaPointe (Managing Editor) will be on hand to deliver a talk on a few topics that are of great interest to real estate professionals from all over North America. In this “fire side” chat, Gillian and Kirk will discuss:

* Getting on the Media’s radar
* How the Vancouver Sun uses social media and online tools
* The future of the news/reporting business

I look forward to seeing you all there. Meetup is open to real estate professionals from all over. Be sure to RSVP here so that we know how many people to expect.

Twitter Prinicples to Tweet By!

These are the principles I Tweet by on Twitter.

First let me say there are no rules on Twitter, besides their terms of service, which I am sure you are all intimately familiar with (sarcasm intended!) Having said that their are no rules there are some principles that I think you should live by on Twitter. Depending on your purpose for using Twitter (assuming you have a specific purpose in mind) some of these principles may or may not apply. Enough of the pre-amble let’s get down to the principles.

1. Conversation – In my opinion Twitter is not just a place for broadcasting. If all you say on Twitter is “look at me” “buy my stuff”, then your followers will quickly tune you out. One exception. If you are a business offering deals on twitter, then it is okay to broadcast about your deals because people are following you to get the exclusive deals.

I approach twitter with the thought, “How can I say something on Twitter that will (1) help build Reachd (2) Help others succeed in their business”

2. The Follow Back Debate. I don’t follow everyone that follows me. Why? I don’t want to. Some of the people that follow me are spammers. When you follow me, I actually take the time to look at your profile and determine if you have anything of value to say.  If we form a “relationship on twitter” could it help your business or my business. Some people think this is an arrogant stance but that’s up for you to decide. If you are using a business account for Twitter, I think you should follow back everyone that follows you. In the case of your personal account I don’t think it is required.

3. Think before you Tweet. This tip comes courtesy of @Gillianshaw of the Vancouver Sun. She said, don’t say anything on Twitter that you do not want published on the front page of your local newspaper. Google is also indexing your Tweets, so think before you tweet.

4. Keep it Real. I love my business, I’m passionate about my business and about helping business owners. I also have personal interests and a family and when appropriate I allow some of those personal things to leak into my twitter posts. Twitter is a great way for people to get to know me and not just my business.

Those are a few Twitter principles that I tweet by. They are not really how to’s but more guiding principles. What would you add to the list?

Share this post on Twitter or share your comments on this blog

Committed to Your Success
Rodney Bartlett
Lead Instructor – Reachd.com

How to Add a Tweet This Link to Your Website/Blog

If you are using wordpress this is quite simple. You just need to add the tweet this plugin to your wordpress install.

If you are not using wordpress and you want to add a link to your site that will allow people to write a tweet about your website on twitter with just a click of a mouse, a little more work is required. I posted a little video below to show you how I’ve added a tweet this link on our website

Below is the code that is required for your to write a tweet this link

<a href=http://twitter.com/home?status=Write The twitter post here that you want everyone to see on twitter.>Add to Twitter</a>

Above where it says, “write the twitter post here that you want everyone to see on twitter.” You just need to change that take to be the unique message that you want everyone to see. Be sure to include two things in that little message.

1. Your twitter user name. For example: That message could say, “Reading a blog by @rodneyb Read it here http://blog.reachd.com”
2. Be sure to add the link back to your website or blog in your tweet this link
3. Test your link to make sure that it is not longer that 140 characters.

That should about do it. Once you start adding this to your website / blog / videos, you should see an increase in traffic to your website and will see your followers on twitter increase. Don’t just take my word for it. Add it to your site and test it out.

Did you like this post? Tell Your Friends on Twitter or Tell your Friends on Facebook

Twittering Too Much will Get you Unfollowed

I mentioned this on Twitter the other day, but found it to be a little bit of a pet peeve of mine so wanted to share it here as well. (View the video below for online demo of twitter stream crowded with one person – if you are reading this via email you will need to go to the original post to watch the video)

Just a word of warning for Twitter users. Don’t tweet too much. Tweeting too much too fast will fill up your followers Twitter stream and you might find yourself getting unfollowed. This is especially true if your posts on Twitter are automated.

How much twittering is too much? This is difficult to answer because if you don’t tweet often enough you will find that your following is not growing.

A few rules of thumb in regard to Tweeting too much.
1. Say something of value. Don’t just spit out mindless content that I could find anywhere on the web.
2. Be a real person. Stats are fine, but if all you posts are stats and data on twitter, I begin to wonder is there a personality behind those stats?

Those are just a few of my thoughts is you don’t agree drop a comment or share your thoughts about tweeting too much.

Disabling the Twitter App in Facebook

One of the best discoveries about social media is that you can start to link your different accounts together through apps and different websites. The value in this that your twitter post can then begin to show on Facebook or FriendFeed or what ever social media tool you like to use.

Some people that have come to our classes have added the Twitter app to their Facebook account. What the twitter app does is it updates your Facebook status with your latest twitter post. This is great if….
You rarely log into facebook
But is it not so great if…
…you are really active on Twitter and begin flooding your friend’s streams with your posts on Twitter.

I received a question earlier about how to disable the Twitter app. Rather than trying to write out a post step by step on how to do it, I just made a quick video. I remember the first time I disabled twitter app in facebook it took me a while to find the option so I figured others might have the same difficult.

If Twitter is overwhelming your facebook friends, I hope this little video will help.
(If you are viewing this post via email, you will need to visit the blog to watch the video.)

Twhirl One of Many Twitter Apps

In a previous post I introduced you to some of the Twitter Apps and plugins that you can use to make your twitter world “easier” My biggest recommendation on this front is to choose a tool because it allows you to complete an objective faster or easier. In this post I’ve added a short video that discusses why I am using the Twhirl app a bit.

Here are the two reasons:

1. It allows we to manage multiple accounts (@reachd & @rodneyb)
2. The app is integrated with search and I can save multiple searches.

Watch the video below (if you are viewing this via email you will need to visit the blog to watch the video.)

Choosing Your Twitter Applications

For a tool that only allows you to type 140 characters there is a seemingly unending list of tools, widgets, gidgets and plug-in’s to help you get “more” out of Twitter. When choosing a twitter tool or website to use keep a couple of things in mind?

1. What specific objective does this tool help me accomplish?
Are you looking at a tool or website because, “It’s the one all the cools kids are using these days.” If so then stop that. It is not a good move. Always have a clear purpose in mind of how you want to use twitter and look for tools that will allow you to make better use of Twitter.

2. Choose a tool that fits into your current work flow.
You already have a system of doing things and a manner in which you like to work. It is sort of your work comfort zone. If some new Twitter app or website comes along which helps you meet one of your Twitter objectives, but is cluttering up your work space then I would pass on that Twitter website or app.

3. KISS approach
As with most things in life the Keep It Simple Stupid principle is usually always the best approach. Apply this to Twitter means you might have 1 application that you use and maybe a handful of website. But over complicating things with multiple desktop apps and endless supply of Twitter websites is well.. stupid! Twitter is a simple tool that can easily be made complicated. Avoid the temptation to make it complicated!

Below is an example of one simple Twitter website that I have used some. The website is called BudURL. It helps me accomplish one simple goal with my tweets. I can shorten and track URL’s. This is important to me because I use Twitter for promotion. Since I’m trying to “sell” stuff on Twitter, I want to know which of my “ads” are people clicking on. There are other tools and websites that will do similar things but this is one that I am using. Watch the video demo of BudURL below. (email subscribers: visit the blog to watch the video)

Again this is one of many tools. What tools, apps, websites do you use to make better use of Twitter? and more importantly – Why did you choose those apps?

Twitter Newbie Talks about Twitter Success

I love stories like this so had to share it with you. Wendy McLeod is a realtor in Vancouver. She is not a young tech savvy entrepreneur BUT she is committed to the success of her business so she is learning how to use these new tools for her business. Below is 2 minute video of her telling a story of how she got a buyer referral via Twitter. She’d only been using the tool for a month and is still working to find her way around, but has already experienced some success.

Watch her story. I hope it will encourage you to learn and start using more online tools to promote your business

(If you are reading this post via email you will need to go to the blog to view the video.)

Do you have a story of how Twitter, Facebook or even Google Adwords has helped grow your business? Share it in the comments below.

How has Twitter Helped Your Business?

Twitter is more than a fun and interesting distraction. It is a great way to network and build connections that you might not have other wise built.

Below is a YouTube video, in which one of our past students talks about how Twitter has helped him. The video is a testimonial about Reachd. I’m not just posting here because Rob says nice things about us, but because of the story that Rob shares about Twitter about half way through the video.

Rob tells a story of how Twitter allowed him to connect with a local writer in his market. The writer got an idea for a story from Rob and is now going to feature Rob in the upcoming story. Nice!

Twitter – simple tool, 140 characters & now Rob is going to be featured in his local paper.

How has Twitter impacted your business? – Share your comments below or message me on Twitter with your comments @rodneyb

Not using Twitter yet? Learn how to use twitter for your business.

(If you are reading this post via email, you will need to visit the Reachd Blog to view the video)

The New Facebook Fan Page

Have you checked out the new Facebook Fan Pages yet? I shot a quick video and embedded it below for you. The main reason that I am excited about the new Facebook fan pages is because according to Facebook the fan pages are suppose to show more activity in the news feed. Up to this point this has been one of the main drawbacks of the Fan pages. Very little activity would make it to the News feed of my fans and friends but with the new pages this is changing.

If you don’t have a Facebook Fan page, you can set one up for free. These fan pages show in the search result so it is a great way to manage your reputation online.