Realtors: Are You an Interesting & Influential Personality on Twitter?

by Jeffrey on September 29, 2009

in For REALTORS

influence_pictureLast week there was a bunch of tweets/buzz regarding several top 100 lists of influential & interesting real estate people by Stefan Swanepoel and another by Dustin Luther titled 50 Most Influential Real Estate People on Twitter.  In the interest of full disclosure Stefan released a second list of 100 on which I was named.

In my mind Stefan is both an interesting and influential person and I think his goal was opening new conversations on Twitter, particularly for those new to social media.  I should also note that he always thanks people for a RT (re-tweet) and responds to direct messages – that is engaged and relationship minded.  Impressive for someone with 15,000+ followers!

After these lists were published, Marc Davidson over at www.1000wattconsulting.com/blog wrote a post titled Measuring influence on Twitter: Who “cares?” generating a large number of comments and discussion including a rather interesting offshoot of AT&T bashing.
The first part of Marc’s post was a conversation with Stephan and how he selected his list.  The second part of his post outlined a conversation he had with Joe Fernandez who is the founder of Klout.  Klout tracts influence across the social web according to their website and you can check out your score by signing up for an account.

Many of my fellow real estate associates might be missing the importance with Social Media and Twitter in specific.  Below are a few excerts from comments on Marc’s post:

Laurie Manny:

Given the amount of time Twitter requires, both in posting, reading and interacting one must pose the question: “Is the return on time invested worth the investment?” for real estate agents?

Twitter is just not that valuable for real estate agents. It requires a fairly large investment of time for a very small return.

Kevin Tomlinson:

There is not one consumer looking for real estate or a real estate agent on Twitter.

Compare that mindset to what Joe Fernandez of Klout had to say regarding Twitter:

96% of Gen-Y uses social media. They’re real estate’s next customer. What they value, how they search and how they decide will be guided on their platforms of choice and through the counsel of others across social media. Influence matters. An agent will one day matter to those consumers who themselves have built up social influence.

I guess the point that I am trying to make with this post is for fellow real estate agents to embrace social media in their business model.  Will it make you money tomorrow?  Probably not, but will it be an important factor in prospects finding and learning about you on the web in the future?  Yes, without a doubt.  It will take time, patience, effort, and sharing.  Look at Twitter as a relationship building tool.

I would strongly suggest that you read and bookmark Logic + Emotion with David Armano.  Talk about an influential figure in Social Media, he is the real thing.  David in a post titled Debunking the Myths of Social Media contained the following,

“The word you need to hyperfocus on is cultivate. Think of how one cultivates a garden. It takes several factors:

1. Passion for gardening
2. Patience
3. Willingness to weed, prune, seed, and grow. All the hard work that comes with producing fruit
4. Appreciation for the fruits that have been yielded
5. A desire to share the fruits of your garden with your neighbors”

Twitter, like everything in life is worth what you put into it.  Over the past year, I have grown in followers and picked interesting people to follow.  This does not happen overnight if you want to put together interesting and influential people to follow, or be followed for that matter.  Most everyone that has followed me has received a personal thank you.

Don’t be afraid to engage on Twitter.  The resulting conversations, sharing of information, and friendships that can be developed are both interesting & influential.  While many consumers may never follow you directly (Twitter - San Diego Real Estate Stream -can you blame them?), they are monitoring the twitter stream and looking for relevant real estate information in your area.  Twitter, combined with a well written blog is very useful in announcing new blog posts that may be of interests to the consumer.  After all, real estate is all about relationships.

Let me close with some thoughts from Melissa DelGaudio of www.honeybeeconsulting.com:

When I first started using Twitter, there were many people I followed simply because people suggested them. Many of those that I followed turned out to be great resources or people whose tweets I enjoy for one reason or another. Those who provided nothing of value to me, I simply unfollowed. The same thing will happen with the people who followed everyone on The Lists of Last Week (which sounds like a sequel to The Bridges of Madison County).

At the end of the day, no matter what Stefan or Derek or Hubspot or even Klout says, the only person who can decide who’s influential is you.

What are your thoughts?  @jeffreydouglass

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  • JD-

    Thanks for this post ... great reading for me.

    My 2 cents ... I know there's a lot of debate on these lists- and hey, it sure makes the day interesting for me to read from a lot of smart (and influential minds on the topic!)

    My thought is simply this... It's not ALL about the list, whose on it, who's not, although sometimes these lists do help me to find some really smart people to connect with and for that, I'm grateful!

    What's important is the association and connections you have with your circle, in your business and your community. These connections you have in real estate will help to push your business forward. For some of my clients, this may be only a handful of people who are raving fans who send them lots of business year after year and for others, their sphere is thousands. Allow Twitter and all of the other SM sites to be just another tool that you use to connect and engage.

    Personally for me, in the last 9 months or so, I have really enjoyed all of the new connections and conversations I have had thanks to Twitter. Whether or not I am on a "list", its been very cool to engage with agents/brokers and others in our Industry.

    (Stefan- it was an honor to be on your list. Just like Mike (@professionalone) I have always respected the work you do and the insights you bring to the real estate community! Thanks!)

    TF

    P.S. Thx for the book suggestion JD- I will check out!
  • michaelmcclure
    As I wrote on Twitter just a few hours ago (my Twitter handle is @ProfessionalOne), Social Media is taking the 80/20 rule and turning it into the 97/3 rule. That is, 3% of the professionals in real estate "get it" and are leveraging Social Media effectively.

    As Social Media matures and people start reaping the rewards that will stem from the relationships that they've created over time, the value of a long-term, patient mentality will become apparent.

    I've personally read and reviewed Stefan Swanepoel's Social Media Report, and it is excellent. Stefan is THE preeminent observer and commentator on the real estate industry in general. I've been reading his annual Trends Reports for years, and he has been a beacon and an oracle with no rival as far as I am concerned.

    Finally, with regard to whether Social Media is "real" or just a passing fad, check out the video at http://budurl.com/y3gu. Trust me, your eyes will be opened and your perspectives adjusted when you see what this video has to say. We are just entering into the age of Social Media. The game is changing RADICALLY and IRREVOCABLY.
  • Michael,

    Thanks for your comment, I am looking forward to reading Stefan's Social Media Report.

    Perhaps it will only be 3% of real estate that gets the importance of social media. I am hoping more will become involved in a positive and productive way - and raise up our profession from many of the silly things I am seeing on Twitter and Facebook today. Mmmmm, I guess I can hope.

    Keep up the good work, I enjoy your informative tweets!
  • Hiya, Jeffrey! This topic is certainly one that's raising a lot of eyebrows 'round the Interwebs, no? While I'm not sure, ultimately, what weight any of these lists actually carries, as -- regardless of the good intentions of their creators -- they're all, at least, a little bit biased, I think they offer a nice resource for people who are looking for good information. As I said on the post you referenced, each of us decides who's influential. The lists, however, are great jumping off places. There are lots of people with whom I'm connected now, that I wouldn't (or likely wouldn't) be were it not for lists like these. I appreciate you carrying on the conversation; there's certainly much to discuss!
  • Mellissa, your comment made so much sense to me that each of us has different expectations, goals, and ideals about what SM/Twitter is to us.

    What I love is meeting new and interesting people such as yourself from your comments on Marc Davidson's blog, and now we are having a conversation and your in my Twitter stream.

    BTW - I noticed you had an excellent blog on how to start with Twitter - for those new it is a good read:

    http://honeybeeconsulting.com/2009/07/07/trying...

    Thank you for stopping by and I hope to see more of you in our conversations.
  • Good balanced post Jeffrey on a topic that has really been hot the last week. Each person is the conductor of their own social media orchestra and the symphony you create and/or play is up to up. You can use the enormous power social media provides and become very influential or you can ignore social media and forego the opportunity to learn, make new friends and generate new business. Pick wisely and get actively involved.

    Stefan Swanepoel
    Author: Swanepoel TRENDS Report
    and of the Swanepoel SOCIAL MEDIA Report
  • Stefan, Thanks for the comments and inspiring the post. My hope is for more real estate people to become involved in a positive way with social media including Twitter, more conversations, more exchanging of ideas, and sharing with ourselves and Clients.
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