and

http://www.twitip.com

That should answer most of your questions.

Or do you have to grap tips and tricks here and there?

My point is, advising agents to embark on this without some kind of guidance is not very good advise?

I comment because I care.

I enjoy reading everything that you and Dustin bring to the table and I think this discussion has helped us all grow.

I look forward to the ongoing discussion of :

*Appropriate us of Twitter for business
*How use to Twitter to brand your self
* How to use Twitter to connect IRL

It’s a bit dangerous to post here.

I know this may shock you and the others who know me and think of me as “techguy” of sorts. But I’m probably be better categorized as more of a RE “pragmaticist” and “researcher” and after you read this you’ll probably call me a “antagonist” and “contrarian” AND possibly a “HERETIC”…

So the heaping question is, “what’s the yield?”
$$$/month, week, year?

This question may look innocuous, but by delving deeper, it will start to pull and challenge the roots of the RE tech community (sorry).

With a degree in Finance and a background in Economics, I know with all options being equal (efficient market theory), an investor will pick the vehicle with highest return with the shortest payback period.

-So-

Replace the word “investor” with “REALTOR”, “vehicle” with “marketing strategies” and assume EMT (efficient market theory) means that the agent is fully aware of his/her options to choose what marketing will work the best.

Now the question is, who is making more money?

Blogger/Social Media Maven v. FSBO/Expired Listing Leader/Cold Call Cowboy?

After spending the last 13 months chest deep interviewing over 50 top coaches, speakers and agents in the world, I’ve found that every single case of “million dollar babies” and “super producers”, agents who make over $500,000 a year NET to the bottom line, do so on an almost pure blend of Active Prospecting using telephone and mail.

They are not substantively twittering or blogging with any real “conversation” intentions.

-and since-

TIME is the ultimate in limited resources and the only true fixed variable to measure success; leads/day, appointments/week, $$$/month, I’m throwing this next statement out as subject for debate and evolution…

What do you think is the optimum blend of time is spent generating business?

How is your day scheduled?

What tasks and actions are they comprised of?

Who is really rocking it with the SM? Define rocking it.

Has anyone tracked, tested, or case studied this before?

It would be very interesting to study the best of breeds from both camps and see who has more money at the end of the month, quarter, year.

From my own experience in launching an enrichment based educational web service to agents, at the end of the day, they want more money in their bank accounts, (give me ROI or give me my money back).

Kind of like “give me liberty or give me death”, but not as harsh.

A corollary thought, after learning what works best from each side take the “best of breeds” from each “skool of thought” and create a hybrid model of the modern real estate success. Could sound something like -The Ultimate System to Modern RE Dominance-

Well I hope I’ve made some good points, looking forward to feedback (no rotten tomatoes) and if you would like to share the numbers behind your yield, I’d love to interview you!

Warmly,
Justin Zimmerman

Just because the web has now provided tools to build brand through self publishing, posting, anything, anytime, won’t necessarily accomplish this. Your name might be more recognizable to more people but it won’t build your brand.

A brand has to be tied to something that people can anchor to.

Honda – Tied to mechanically sound engineering.
Apple – Tied to flawless design.
W Hotel – Tied to a wonderland hotel experience.
Zappos – Tied to relentless service.
UPS – Tied to prompt, dependable delivery.
Wav Group – Tied to helping real estate firms understand its market and its brand position within through research, analysis and published reports.
1000watt – Tied to helping brokerages and media companies navigating the complexities of web 2.0, branding and communication.

Proper branding means that everything these brands do should act as a touchpoint to their meaning. The better each touchpoint conveys their meaning, the better the brand.

What are you tied too? Do you know? And if you, are you managing each and every touchpoint which includes every post, comment, tweet, etc.

Real estate has been taught to blast the neighborhood with flyers, bus stop bench posters, shopping cart ads and template websites filled with forms and bio’s and Hobbs Herder glossy tri-folds showing agents as humans. And through it all, why do people get toungue tied trying to voice the difference between most agents?

Twittering the things you do is cool. Don’t stop. But I advice trying to tie to something that also supports what you stand for.

Earlier today, I Twittered about U2 and their upcoming release and the marketing techniques they are employing that I find brilliant and the tie ins I see for real estate. I feel that type of post support my brand, both personal and professional.

So here is an example for you guys.

Suppose your agent brand position is tied to – representing local real estate through up-to-date, instant market centric information, consultation and hyper local knowledge and service.

Which post supports that brand better?

a) Stuck in traffic, boring. Wish I could beam myself places.

b) Stuck in traffic sucking on a swizzle stick listening to Sweet Thing on the Country Music Channel.

c) Stuck in traffic and just learned a local developer was granted permission to build condo complex downtown. K’ching. Reaching out to clients right now.

If you could prudently, skillfully, apply your efforts into really building up a brand based on simple, proven brand formulas, imagine how much more successful you would be?

Over the holidays, write down a statement that defines your brand. Then look over the bulk of your past Twitters and see if what you’ve posted supports your definition of yourself. If it does, bang on. You are doing it right.

Some leeway is acceptable. But the more you pay heed to connecting these dots, the more your worth and value will be better communicated. You will see an increase in readership. And business.

I stake my career on this.

And, thanks much to Dustin for his original post and allowing us to educate each other here on his blog.

Marc