By now most everyone is aware of Twitter (unless you’re my parents), but you may not know or understand how it works, and just how powerful it can be.

For those of you that have been living a somewhat sheltered life (or with my parents), Twitter is a micro-blogging social networking site. Each post is limited to 140 characters, hence the ‘micro-blogging’ label. At first glance, for most of you Twitter probably seems like so much pointless, mindless drivel, spewing out what people ate for lunch, what their dog ate for lunch, or that their car broke down. And, if you follow people that write about such mindless crap, then yes, it’s completely pointless.

A word of caution (and I’ve said this before, often): don’t underestimate the power of Twitter. It’s real-time, high-speed information sharing like we’ve never seen before. Take the plight of US Airways Flight 1549 that crashed on the Hudson River – news of the crash broke on Twitter before any of the major networks had even heard about it.

What you get out of Twitter has everything to do with who you follow and what you share. Who you follow brings you the news and information you find useful and valuable. What you share gives others, your followers, information they find useful and valuable, and will hopefully want to re-share (ie. retweet) with their followers.

Businesses of all types have grasped Twitter as another marketing channel, promoting free and paid content, sales messages, surveys, promotions, and support updates. One industry that seems to be divided about Twitter is real estate – some use it to their great advantage, while others struggle to comprehend it and the purpose behind it.

The reality is, there’s nothing to figure out – it’s not rocket science, and it’s certainly not hard to understand. It’s simply an ongoing stream of information and randomness. The tough part about Twitter isn’t understanding it, it’s controlling and managing the streams so that what comes into your consciousness is relevant to you.

Some great tools for managing Twitter are Twitter Lists (accessed through Twitter and a number of external apps), HootSuite (my personal fave), ping.fm and TweetDeck. There are a ton of others out there, it’s simply a matter of trying them out and finding one that works best for you.

Incorporating Twitter in your real estate business is more than just Tweeting out links to new listings, virtual tours and open houses. You’ve heard, “Build it, and they will come”. Have something useful to share, and they’ll read it.

Twitter – and other social networking sites – are simply another way for you to communicate with others, and them with you. You wouldn’t call a prospect and tell them you just ate a grilled cheese with pickles; they’d probably think you were nuts and never have anything more to do with you. So please don’t be compelled to share that same sort of thing over other communication channels. Blog posts, the latest industry stats, market trends and changes, proposed construction, and so on – that’s something useful that people will want to read and share.

Keep the grilled cheese and pickles to yourself.

Lisa-May Huby, Director of Marketing

I’m often asked by new recruits, “What’s the one thing takes up the most time for a Realtor?” Or, I hear Realtors complain about the dreaded time-waster: showing feedback.

Back in the day, it was just plain courteous to give an agent good quality feedback on a property they had listed and I had shown. But, as the saying goes, that was then – this is now.

Now, the sellers’ agent seems to think that providing feedback is passé; or worse, too demanding of their time. And, sometimes trying to track down and get feedback from the showing agent by phone is a greulling experience. This is a dilemma that has numerous drawbacks and implications. First, feedback sheds some light on possible objections buyers are experiencing while seeing the property. This information could help us eliminate that objection(s) and create a more saleable listing, and assist in a short days on market sale. Providing feedback to the seller also increases our value proposition and helps justify our commissions. The bottom line is, just do it!

Having a quality feedback system is crucial in developing a good value proposition and creating great time-management. RealtySites PLUS™ has taken the pain away for you, with a state-of-the-art automated feedback system. When you have a showing, you click 4 buttons; listing, feedback form, office and agent then submit. The showing agent then receives an auto-generated feedback form with multiple questions, and room for comments. When submitted, the form goes out every day for the next 3 days. Once the agent responds, you’re notified by email, and all you have to do is approve the feedback. It’s then automatically added to a secure area that the seller accesses online from any computer, called “Client Corner”. The seller reads the feedback, and voila! You’ve done your job efficiently and effectively. The great thing about RealtySites PLUS™’ Feedback Manager is that you can also customize and edit the feedback form or create your own in seconds.

To find out more about this and many other great time-saving features, go to www.RealtySitesPLUS.com and sign up for one of our free webinars. It will be the best 1 hour you’ve spent online in a long time.

TLC, President & CEO

As John Lennon so eloquently penned, “It’s another year over and a new one just begun…”, but now what? For starters, let’s all hope the economy continues to improve so we can enjoy a prosperous New Year. These are great words of inspiration and, quite possibly, just wishful thinking – unless you actually have an action plan to implement what’s necessary to make 2010 prosperous.

I can’t tell you how many friends and associates have told me they’re “cautiously optimistic” about the financial forecast for 2010, and I always ask them, “what are you going to do to improve your personal financial situation?”

One thing you can do TODAY, to guarantee more success this year than last is to embrace technology. I realize my message may sound self-serving, so don’t ask me why it’s vital to success in today’s market, ask one of our clients. They’ll tell you just how RSP has helped them grow and actually increase their business, despite the economic challenges we’ve faced over the last 18 months, how easy it is to use, and how much time they’ve saved by putting this technology to use.

There is something to be said about working smarter, not harder, and that’s why RealtySites PLUS™ is garnering so much attention. We know you’re in the business to sell homes, and maintaining a website can be a time-consuming and daunting task for anyone, especially if you don’t consider yourself to be “tech savvy”.

Let RSP do the work for you!

Create an online experience that will drive consumers to your website and keep them coming back. Plus, save time and effort with RSP’s automated features, keeping your clients and leads in the loop so you don’t have to.

Let’s hope that 2010 is a great year for Real Estate. You can help ensure it’s a good year for you by improving your online presence and consumer experience with the RealtySites PLUS™ technology: it’s there, use it.

Rob Matton, Director of Sales

Previous Real Estate 2.0 posts discussed conversation, communication, and transparency. This final instalment will cover information. Instant information, that is.

Providing instant information should be a priority when you’ve got a captive audience on your website. You need to give your online visitors easy access to information they want, without making them meander thru your site viewing page after page.

You literally have just seconds to captivate online consumers before they bolt from your site, so this MUST be a priority. Adding something simple, like pdf downloads of moving checklists or tips for adding curb appeal provides helpful information for visitors quickly and easily. To make it easier to search your listings, try creating unique ID numbers for each listing, and add a search function on every page of your website so visitors can get to the exact property listing they’re looking for.

With RealtySites PLUS™, you have lots of options that will get information in your online visitors’ hands instantly (or, in some cases, almost instantly). Customize your menu items to include pdf downloads or articles visitors can read online, and don’t forget about automating notices. You’ll blow your clients’ minds when they receive a note or instant message (IM) from you advising them of an upcoming open house for a property they viewed online.

TLC