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Twitter Adds Local Trending Topics

January 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
local twitter

Yesterday, Twitter added a feature that allows you to choose a specific location for your trending topics.  So, instead of seeing what is trending globally, you can look at just the United States or just the San Francisco area.  I think it is pretty cool to see how the trends are a little different depending on the location!  This also offers another way for business to connect locally with other Twitter users and to stay on top of what is important to your local area in real time!

Here is a screenshot of my Twitter page showing the local trends for San Francisco (the closest area to Sacramento).  Twitter also says they are working on adding more locations.

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Filed Under: Social Media, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

A Few Twitter Thoughts

October 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Recently, I have seen a lot of articles on the effectiveness of Twitter, how people are using Twitter, and what they are tweeting.  Some of the articles are interesting and thought provoking.  But, I think that measuring a direct ROI is missing the point.  Twitter is about building relationships, first and foremost.  So, you won’t always see a direct correlation between what you tweet and sales, it is a gray area.  What you do benefit from is building your brand and your reputation.  You prove that you are knowledgeable in your industry, that your company is willing to listen and provide help, and that you care about your customers.  Whether this results in immediate sales or not, it will pay off in the long run.  And whether or not  Twitter is just a fad, the idea behind sharing not selling, and building relationships is not going away.  There just maybe a different tool in the future.  For now, that tool is twitter.  So stop worrying about what you are getting and start participating.  Only then will you see results.

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Filed Under: Social Media, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Taking Online Networking Offline

September 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Last week, I attended 2 offline networking events that were related to online social networking.  The first was the monthly meeting of the Sacramento Social Media Club. The SMC holds monthly meetings that include speakers on various topics related to social media.  This month, the topic was education and social media.  The topic of education was very interesting and the ways to use social media and Web 2.0 to enhance education are limitless!  I hope that our education system can embrace all of the positives that technology brings without being too scared of the negatives that accompany it.  What is really great about the Social Media Club is how they explore the uses of social media in so many different industries.  The meetings show the possibilities of social media, as well as how flexible it can be.  There are so many uses of social media as a tool, and industries are coming up with new uses every day.

The second event was the Sac Tweetup.  This was a chance for Sacramento area Twitter users to meet face to face.  The event was great!  Every person I met was genuinely nice.  The idea of Twitter being a relationship tool, and not a sales tool, was extended to the face to face meet up.  I loved being able to meet in person so many of the people I follow and interact with on Twitter. For someone who is not very comfortable in situations where I don’t know anyone, the fact that I already interacted with many of the people on Twitter, made the experience much easier.

It is well worth it to attend offline networking and learning opportunities.  It just strengthens the relationships you have made online.  As well as allowing you to meet some completely new people!  Search out the tweetups happening in your community – or create one yourself!! Continue building your relationships!

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Filed Under: Business, Social Media, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

How can Builders use Twitter?

August 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I previously posted about the basics of Twitter.  Now, I am going to share some ideas on how builders can use Twitter for their business.  Twitter is such a great tool to share information.  And there is a ton of information related to homes and homebuilding.  You should be sure to not only post information related to your company, but to also include information your target audience would find interesting.  Provide valuable, interesting content and your Twitter following will grow.  Talk to the different departments about what information they have to share.  You can become a great resource for potential homebuyers by continuing to provide new and helpful information.

1.  Share links to your most recent blog posts.  There are ways to automatically post your new blog entries to your Twitter account.

2.  Share your Press Releases.  Any time you have a press release, post a link on your website and post a link on Twitter.

3.  Promote your events, such as Grand Openings, Model Openings, Sales Promotions.

4.  Run a contest – by running a contest, you can get your followers involved and connect with them.  Be creative and think outside of the box.

5.  Share information related to homebuilding, links to articles and other information about the industry.

6.  Share tips on the care and maintenance of your homes.  Get your customer service department involved.

7.  Answer questions from current and potential customers.

8.  Share new products or floorplans.

9.  Post home design ideas.  You can share links on Kitchen design, or selecting cabinets, or how to inexpensively decorate your family room, etc.

10.  Post links about what is happening in the neighborhoods you build in.  Maybe there is a Farmers Market, or a local fair.

11.  Provide information and links to restaurants located in the neighborhoods you build in.

12.  Have your design center share information on choosing the decor and products for homes.

Participation is very important when using Twitter.  You want to provide valuable content for your followers.  These are just a few ideas for ways you can use Twitter.  But there is no right or wrong way to use the tool, so start to think outside of the box.  Think about the valuable information you can provide and start to share!

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Filed Under: Homebuilding, Internet Tagged With: , ,

Using the Web for Contractors and Builders: What is Twitter?

August 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Fotolia_13744139_XS
You have no doubt heard of Twitter, whether on CNN, a Sprint commercial, or even a recent Best Buy commercial.  You know it is growing rapidly.  But, you may not know how Twitter can be useful for you.  When you first join, it is a little overwhelming and confusing.  As you continue to use Twitter and participate by sharing thoughts or interesting articles, you will begin to get how it works.  Twitter may not be for everyone, and many feel it is too time consuming.  I feel it can be an extremely useful tool to get your name out there.  Since it is free, what have you got to lose?
First, what is Twitter?  Here are some of the basics.  It is a micro-blogging site, where you are asked the question “what are you doing?” and given 140 characters to answer.  You will follow other people on twitter and this simply means you can see what they are posting.  Other users will follow you; therefore they can see everything you are posting.  The more you participate, the more followers you will gather.
Some of the other terms and usages are the @ reply, the re-tweet, and a direct message or DM.  If you post a tweet using @username, then you are replying to that user. And this is called an @ reply.  A re-tweet is a post using RT and is simply repeating another user’s tweet.  If someone has posted something you agree with or find interesting, you can re-tweet it to share it with your followers.   A direct message is a message sent to another user that is only seen by that user.  So it will not show up to your other followers.
It is important to approach Twitter with a plan.  There are many useful tools to help you manage your Twitter account.  I use Tweetdeck.  Tweetdeck is a free desktop twitter tool.  You can create columns and group together your followers, see your @ replies and see your DMs.  You can also easily reply or re-tweet others from Tweetdeck.  Tweetdeck also now allows you to manage multiple twitter accounts.  There are other tools like Seesmic, as well as many programs available for your phone.  I highly recommend finding one of these tools that you like and using it.  It is much easier to manage Twitter this way.
It is easy to get lost in twitterland.  So decide when and how often you will spend time on Twitter and stick to it.  If you are using one of the above mentioned tools, you won’t miss any mentions or @ replies.  You can commit to getting on for an hour in the morning, respond to any mentions and post or re-tweet some new information.  If you stick to a plan, twitter won’t seem as overwhelming or time consuming.
That is the quick version of what Twitter is.  My next post will be some ideas for how builders and contractors can use Twitter.

Fotolia_13744139_XSYou have no doubt heard of Twitter, whether on CNN, a Sprint commercial, or even a recent Best Buy commercial.  You know it is growing rapidly.  But, you may not know how Twitter can be useful for you.  When you first join, it is a little overwhelming and confusing.  As you continue to use Twitter and participate by sharing thoughts or interesting articles, you will begin to get how it works.  Twitter may not be for everyone, and many feel it is too time consuming.  I feel it can be an extremely useful tool to get your name out there.  Since it is free, what have you got to lose?

First, what is Twitter?  Here are some of the basics.  It is a micro-blogging site, where you are asked the question “what are you doing?” and given 140 characters to answer.  You will follow other people on twitter and this simply means you can see what they are posting.  Other users will follow you; therefore they can see everything you are posting.  The more you participate, the more followers you will gather.

Some of the other terms and usages are the @ reply, the re-tweet, and a direct message or DM.  If you post a tweet using @username, then you are replying to that user. And this is called an @ reply.  A re-tweet is a post using RT and is simply repeating another user’s tweet.  If someone has posted something you agree with or find interesting, you can re-tweet it to share it with your followers.   A direct message is a message sent to another user that is only seen by that user.  So it will not show up to your other followers.

It is important to approach Twitter with a plan.  There are many useful tools to help you manage your Twitter account.  I use Tweetdeck.  Tweetdeck is a free desktop twitter tool.  You can create columns and group together your followers, see your @ replies and see your DMs.  You can also easily reply or re-tweet others from Tweetdeck.  Tweetdeck also now allows you to manage multiple twitter accounts.  There are other tools like Seesmic, as well as many programs available for your phone.  I highly recommend finding one of these tools that you like and using it.  It is much easier to manage Twitter this way.

It is easy to get lost in twitterland.  So decide when and how often you will spend time on Twitter and stick to it.  If you are using one of the above mentioned tools, you won’t miss any mentions or @ replies.  You can commit to getting on for an hour in the morning, respond to any mentions and post or re-tweet some new information.  If you stick to a plan, twitter won’t seem as overwhelming or time consuming.

That is the quick version of what Twitter is.  My next post will be some ideas for how builders and contractors can use Twitter.

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Filed Under: Homebuilding, Internet Tagged With: , ,