Twitter is an amazing resource for me. Not only do I learn a lot by following very smart people, but I am able to leverage my relationships by asking questions and post content that could be beneficial to my followers.

I don’t have tons of follows, I have decided to grow my list organically. As I post people find me and follow me. Sometime when I get the email I don’t have lots of time to follow through and see if this is someone I would like to follow as well.

This is a post to share a simple program called Topify. It has enable me very quickly to figure out who people are who are following me and whether or not I will be following them.

You can sign up for Topify at www.topify.com.

Plain and simple it saves me time. When someone decides to follow me I am sent an email. The email

• Has buttons to easily follow or block them
• Number of followers
• Number of updates and their engagement level
• Their bio
• Samples of the Tweets

I think topify sends better twitter email notifications. Even better, if  I am reading the email on my Blackberry I can follow back by just replying. I can even reply with a direct message via email. With a click I can either follow, or block.

If you do follow someone Topify sends a confirmation message.

Sign up at Topify. Change the email in your Twitter profile to the one topify gives you and you can take advantage of this easy to use program.

It is 10 o’clock Monday morning – do you know where your company’s reputation is? As sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook become intertwined with business uses, real estate companies need to establish guidelines and best practices.

Whether we want to admit it or not, companies are learning that social networking, used properly, can be an effective business tool. We know by experience that having your sales associates involved in the community can enhance your company’s reputation and bring in more business. We are now embracing the concept that our  sales associates can blog, tweet, and participate in forums and social sites and also increase  business — so long as it’s done right.

But how do you monitor the conversation? You need a social media policy that explicitly lays out what is and isn’t permissible, both on the company’s network and outside of it if sales associates presenting themselves as representatives of the company.

If you do decide to take the “easy” way out and just block social networking sites at the company firewall, remember that what people post from home can still affect your company’s reputation.

How to get started
Consider creating a task force with people in your company who understand policy and procedures and others who are responsibly using social media. Together they can create a company platform. As always, before you can develop a policy, you need to define the company’s overall attitude toward social networking.  A well executed social media strategy helps consumers and licensees follow an online dialogue protocol that shows promise of a successful outcome for consumers in real estate transactions. Create a statement that reflects the company’s mission statement and commitment to the consumer.

• Do you know what your agents are doing on the web?
• Do You Know Where Your Agents Are Placing Their Listings and
  What Other Listings They Are Claiming
• Copyright Dos and Don’ts
• Logos and Company Names – Who has the authority to start an
  Online Group using a Registered Trade Name?
• Q & A Platforms –  Are they generating leads in the discussion thread, or are you putting your real estate license at risk?

Social Media Tools To Monitor and Maintain Reputation Management Controls
Educate agents in the correct use of tools to avoid problems and pitfalls and  engage consumers in a fashion that will BUILD and ENHANCE a company’s reputation online.
Remember to always reward responsible interaction on line.  If you can show examples of online fires doused as well as positive examples of building reputation online your sales associates will be better informed.

Consider hiring a social media director for your association or your company.

Brokers and agents need to learn how to use tools to MONITOR their online presence.
Google or Yahoo Alerts. Set up alerts  based on your companies name, principals names, etc. These alerts will send you an email every time one of your search words is found by the search engines.

http://www.google.com/alerts
http://alerts.yahoo.com/

Twitter Search
http://search.twitter.com
http://tweetbeep.com

StepRep
http://myfrontsteps.com
Yelp
http://www.yelp.com

Here are some other reputation management tools to look at. They charge a fee but will do the time consuming work for you.
Privacy Gurus
http://www.privacygurus.com/firm.php
Quality Service Certified
http://www.qualityservice.org
Incredible Agents
http://www.incredibleagents.com
Real Estate Ratingz
http://www.realestateratingz.com

The real estate industry has finally gotten the message. The consumer wants information fast, furious at the speed of . . . your email, text, facebook app or twitter app. According to the 2009 NAR Report on Technology tools used by REALTORS® 45% of us have now adopted and email enabled phone.

Congratulations! First is becoming “more valuable” than “best.” NAR in their profile of Homebuyers and HomeSellers (available for a free download from Right Tools, Right Now on Realtor.org) says that 60-80% of consumers work with the first agent who responds to them. So being able to reach and communicate with a consumer when they are interested in learning about real estate is important. Calling them back then they have gone on to other things will not help them as much. So we need to be connected!

Now the next step. Which applications can we use to make this science of staying connected more fun and engaging? Here are a few of my favorites.

Using your device as a Tethered Modem for your laptop Blackberry requires a call to your provider to unlock the port. They software is on your laptop. Using your sync cord to connect your BB to your laptop, use the software to dial your laptop on to the internet. For all other devices, they let you use the data contract with your phone. Check out a website called uneFabrics.com. They have software to download for almost every model. Their software makes it easier to connect.

Texting For those of you who like to text but would rather use voice to text consider using Jott.com or ReQall.com Both programs convert your voice into emails, text messages, reminders, lists and appointments. Not only can you use your VOICE to TEXT but every text message or email that you send is documented in your email. All you do is sign up for an account, add all the people you want to send messages to. Call the phone number supplied and JOTT recognizes your cell phone number and asks you who you want to JOTT. You can JOTT to your email to leave yourself messages, set reminders and do blog posts and twitter posts.

Handango.com is a great site for any device to find an application for anything you are looking for.

Apps to Consider:

• Dictionary of Terms

• Mortgage Calculator

• Voice notes and MMS/SMS messaging

• Instant Messaging

• GPS

• Real Estate Search

• Calculator

Real Estate Search

Realtor.com, Trulia and Zillow have mobile apps to search for properties. Of course the new Zillow Iphone App is  available. Consider SmarterAgent.com for a great search program for all other phones.

Last but not least, visit the mobile page on Google at m.Google.com they have lots of great free tools that you can add to your phone to make your business a little bit easier and your life just a bit more fun.

It is Friday Link of the Week!

I love research! Matthew Ferrara, the CEO of Matthew Ferrara & Co., my friend and colleague always seems to find amazing statistics. Because we are focusing on best practices on the web for marketing properties we always looking for information that proves that what we teach is right on!

What Realtors spend money on advertising

This graph is in on article on VHT’s web site titled “Experienced Agents Spend more Money on Advertising”

Great article, here are some of the highlights:

• Agents spend an average of $600 per listing.
• Many are confused by the myriad of sources of what to spend their money on.
• Some STILL spend money on newspapers, and 20% think the medium is effective.
• 90% of respondents said they used brochures for marketing their listing; 88.8% used postcards; and 83.3% used newspapers. Some 41.1% stated that they purchased TV ads.
• Many find on line advertising very effective for promoting property. BUT they said they still have a hard time convincing sellers that newspapers ads DO NOT work.
• Onlne advertising’s top three slots according to this article were Realtor.com; Craigslist and Google were the top national sites.
• Many agents wish there was one stop distribution mechanism. Wonder why they haven’t heard of Nls.point2.com, Listhub.com, or Realestateshows.com?