Ok...I have a confession to make: I am a Tweetaholic.
More than that, I'm a BAD Tweetaholic. I don't mean that I'm highly addicted to social networking (although that is certainly true). I mean that I am guilty of using Twitter incorrectly.
Yup. I'm a bad tweeter.
Twitter was originally designed as a micro-blog - a short snip-it of what is occurring in your life at this exact moment stylized in 140 characters or less. So...nothing worth of a full-blown blog...but, a snapshot of what is happening right now.
"I'm at Starbucks meeting with clients"
"Just closed on a $372,000 home! Party time!"
"Working on a blog post about being a bad Twitter user"
"Just washed the dog and now my house smells like wet St. Bernard"
You know....that kind of thing.
But, what it has turned into is something so much more for me. And, I am guilty of being a bad tweeter.
I am guilty of using it as a way to communicate and establish relationships with agents across the country and around the world like some kind of wordly rolodex. I am guilty if using it like a giant global chat room; a resource center that I would never had been able to tap without using Twitter.
Yup...I'm guilty alright. Guilty of using Twitter to my FULLEST advantage! I have learned more and met more supremely qualified people on Twitter than I had ever hoped to when I started this experiment. I have relationships with some of the industry's top dogs and have developed friendships with some of the best, most qualified people I have ever had the opportunity to meet.
I'm guilty of talking to my friends daily and knowing what is going on with their kids, their dogs, their farms, their commutes on slick roads, their caffeine addictions, their blogging habits, their successful attempts at becoming a blogging coaches, their followers and un-followers, their radio shows, their peculiar habit of wearing a tux to their closings, their work habits, their successes, their failures, their favorite foods, their favorite music, and even what color of underwear they have on currently. And...I share mine as well.
Oh...and the crimes get worse!
I am guilty of tapping into the business power of Twitter as well!!
Yes, I said business power! (And if you don't think there is business power in Twitter, you are very wrong...)
I have used Twitter to access agents (my customers) and am currently working with many of them on www.recr.com SOLELY because of my involvement with Twitter. In fact, since I joined Twitter over a year ago, I can attribute nearly $30,000 in COMMISSIONS for myself alone just to Twitter and the people I am working with on it.
Yup. I'm guilty.
I'm a bad Twitter user. I'm a bad tweeter. I'm a bad ‘Twit'.
But, I wouldn't have it any other way.
If you would like information on www.recr.com and how we can get you more closings, you should contact Clint at 800-977-7058 or follow Clint on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TheRealClint
Tweet Tweet! Meaningful, educational post...I too have made meaningful relationships and actually have a closing today from a Twitter referral...still am surprised at the number of professionals not using social media! You've just given them reason to...
Hi. My name is @HeyAmaretto, and I am a Tweetaholic and a blipaholic. I too use twitter incorrectly; I rarely post about breakfast. But I have learned from some of the finest minds in the country on there, met up and coming entrepreneurs and start-up creators, and just plain had fun.
Blip- I don't know, but I am addicted to that too. ;-)
Amber -- Thank you so much! SWEET WORK on the twitter closing!! Make sure you blog that to pieces! :-)
Diane -- MUAH! I know you use it incorrectly. LOL! I think I might have had something to do with that at some point or another. And, I will be writing a Blipaholic post soon. ;-)
@TheRealClint - Twitter is good for something other than announcing what's for breakfast? Hmmmm. I'll have to look into this.
@rerockstar -- Yeah, it is!! Really!! You really should check it out...LOL!
Ok, this was funny too! You're supposed to actually talk about business on Twitter?! (hehe) I've gotten some great chocolate recipes from someone who will remain nameless, and I've learned about someone's dislike of toast flakes in his butter (I won't say who that is, either). But I absolutely LOVE Twitter and wouldn't have it any other way!
~Renae - @renae_m4r
Hi Clint, So what's wrong with all that? I thought that was normal?? LOL!! One twitteraholic to the next!! I think Twitter is the perfect platform for someone like you to meet agents and explain your business to them? If you picked up the phone and tried to explain what you are selling to me and I didn't know you - "No Thanks, have a nice day". But since I have an established relationship with you I am open to listen and sign up. I think twitter is the perfect platform for you business.
I have a $600K listing under contract because of Twitter - so there!
Besides, I am getting ready to walk the dog? ;0) People who don't tweet won't get that, but I know you do!! Fun article and maybe some nay sayers will come over and check out twitter.
Hey Renae -- LOL @ both of those statements...hehhee
Audrey -- WHOOOHOOOO on the listing!!! That is awesome!! LOL @ walking the dog. :-)
What's this Twitter thing everyone keeps talking about? :-)
Points well made. You do an awesome job reaching out to agents!
@RailLife
@RailLife -- Hey Nick...You should look into it...its wild. :-) And, thank you very much!
Hi I'm @NjReGirl and I am a Re-Tweetaholic and also guilty of using Twitter incorrectly. I am mucho guilty of re-tweeting other people's tweets as a way of meeting and staying connected with some of the most powerful and informed minds on Twitter :)
@NJReGirl -- Heya sweetie! I was going to send you a link cause I knew you needed to confess. :-)
Your awesome - thrilled you are a "bad" tweeter:)
tweet tweet
@courtneycooper
Clint - I'm working on it, just can't seem to get it going. I tweet for a while then slack off. I guess I need to practice.
Courtney -- No...YOURE awesome! thanks for the compliments, darling!
Lisa -- follow me...Id be happy to help you! :-)
Clint and Kathy, don't you think that if someone that follows you on twitter doesn't like what you do - easy "unfollow". I have taken classes and they have said twitter should be a mix of personal, business and retweeting/ promoting of others? Make it what you want No one can keep up with what is what!! Have fun, be informative and respectful.
Great post.
Like everything it is what you make it. I find it is about time management. A good use of AR, Twitter, Facebook, and Linklin is good for business and personal growth.
Good luck
Tony
@tonygrego
Audrey -- Agreed!!! :-)
Tony -- time management is hard thing for people to get a hold of...But, I agree with you.
Great post. As an "arrogant twenty-something", I feel that other generations aren't using social media to their fullest potential. Building your online presence is essential--especially if you're the sales industry. Why not do it the easy way--it's FREE? But you know all of this already. The peopole that need/should read such conent aren't generally reading blog posts...vicious cycle of sorts.
And congrats for taking exploiting the powers of social media! My aunt was resistant to LI, I had to create it (and her FB, too!)--within a week she'd reconnected with 360+ contacts and signed a $20K! And I got flack for all the "invite" confirmations. Sheesh. I'm done--for now.
@Magnificole -- Arrogant?? LOL! I have not seen that side of you yet. ;-) I do agree about the generational gap on social media. I still believe that anyone that doesnt "get it" should hire someone that does. :-)
Nice work on your Aunt's profiles...gotta like it when a plan comes together. :-)
I just started using twitter...It is good to hear success stories. I am SOOOO not there yet!
Lisa -- Feel free to follow me. Id be happy to help you in any way I can! :-)
Hi...ummm...my name is Todd and...ummmm...I use twitter to... ah...
Jeez, this is so hard to say...
Umm...
I guess what I, uh, wanted to say is that I umm...I uh...use...uh, you know, twitter to um...
Man, I never thought it would be this difficult! You know, I can quit whenever I want! I'm HERE aren't I?!
...
Alright, alright... I use twitter to communicate with clients, market properties and keep up with my friends, many of whom happen to be clients...
There! I said it!
-----------------------
Silliness aside: what never ceases to amaze me is the dug-in-heels approach to social media and the interent that many folks have in this day and age. Information FLOWS. Twitter is kinda like a boat on all of the information flowing on the 'net. If the new economy is to be based on information and data, doesn't it make sense to be as close to the information and the data miners as possible?
Is twitter overwhelming? Sure is... But I submit that it's overwhelming because of the sheer potential that's within the networking that we do. As with anything in sales, you need to find your groove.
Does everyone need to be on twitter? No, but you can not ignore social networking and it's impact, both now and in the future, on business.
The paradigm is shifting. Are you ready for a ride?
Oh, I almost forgot...
Great post! You make some great points. I will have to research this a little more... ;-)
Clint - I feel your pain. I have used Twitter to make friends, solidify relationships, recruit agents, start a radio show, and more. I guess I, too, am a Tweetaholic.
@ToddWaller -- ROTFL!!! Nice work!! :-) That is one of the best comments I have ever received on any post I have written...LOL!
Jason -- Welcome to the club, my friend. ;-)
At least there's a name for this affliction :) I have it some days as well but I can manage it, really I can. I think it must be contagious too because now everyone in my house has it. Hmmm.
Monica -- Hello, darling! I can manage it too...It doesnt run my life. I can even start to control the shakes when Twitter is down...really, I can. ;-)
Hi Clint ~ A couple of months ago I didn't even "get" Twitter. When I signed up at AR I started using my dormant Twitter account too, (I read here that it was a good idea)....Anyway, fast forward to now, I'm really starting to get into the Twitter thing and know now what all the fuss is about.
I've even recommended it to a local attorney who I thought would benefit from it. (Particularly vocal and networky kind of guy). He's not going for it right now - he doesn't know what I'm talking about! Funny thing, I was where he is not too long ago.:-)
Denise
Denise -- Hi Denise! I think everyone is where you were at some point. When I started, I was totally clueless as to what it was...and just jumped in with both feet. Sure glad I did. ;-) Please follow me...be happy to network with you more!
I love Twitter! Have not yet figured out how to get a closing off of it - will be following you to find out more about it! And sorry, but I don't want to know what color of undies you are wearing!
Great post Clint! I'd flag your post for a gold star, but see that you already got that.
Good on ya anyway!
@TheRealClint - What would we do without knowing what you are having for dinner. Who else can get us excited that they got an $8k check in the mail they don't plan to share with us:) Keep up the work being a #badtweeter!
Sheri - aka @RealLivingRE
Fabulous ad copy here... made me want to read it!!! I enjoy Twitter but I get most of my business from Facebook and my blog. Have yet to use Twitter to my full advantage.
Emily -- You and I both! ;-) Please do follow! Much appreciated!
Joel -- Thanks, brotha!
@RealLivingRE -- Hi Sheri! LMAO @ $8K and not sharing....LOL! Love ya...!
Stacy -- Thank you very much! Feel free to follow me. Id be happy to help any way I can!
Soo... There's some "other" way to use twitter??? :-) I guess I'm a #badtweeter too. I made it to twitter because of your AR post "How SEX Helps Me with Twitter". I couldn't resist clicking, and haven't left twitter since. I logged on, and thankfully found you and the always AMAZING #twitterqueens. I'm still in training and trying to figure out how I survived BT (before twitter).
I can not tell you how much I have learned about our industry, my community and other things I find interesting or important by being engaged on twitter.
Sad to say, my husband called my cell phone the other day and asked where I was. I paused, and for a moment, considered saying "If you followed me on twitter, you'd know." He was having a bad day, so I spared him the sarcasm - BUT, It's true! Will recommend to him another time, perhaps.
Thanks Clint!!! You Rock!
@laoden
We used to use Twitter to shout out more noise into the megaverse each time we posted a blog or had a new listing...but then we started retweeting other people's hard work, and responding to their rhetorical questions, and talking right to them, and the strangest thing happened...they started talking back. We started making friends. And they started retweeting our blogs. And we started getting bunches of hits on our website and blogs from Twitter.
I'm still not convinced this Twitter thing works...;)
@davemurrayteam
Lisa -- Im so happy to hear that!!! :-) That made my whole day! Love me some #twitterqueens!! :-) And, Ive used that line on my wife!! LOL!
DMTX (Dave) -- Yeah, Im pretty certain its just a fad. :-)
Clint, seeing your blog gave me the courage to post my twitter questions. Thanks I have had great responses and became featured myself! The information I am getting it PRICELESS!
Kristin -- I am very very pleased you posted your questions and that it was featured!! Very happy to have you as a follower also!! And, if you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask me!
Doesn't sound bad at all if you put that kind of money in your pocket! I feed my blog to Twitter and get a lot of followers but confess to not really knowing how best to using it.
Corinne -- I have a blog feeder into my stream as well. But, I use it to be as conversational with people as humany possible [given obvious time contraints. :-) ]. It is much funner to me to operate that way and enteract with people on levels that transcend just a business/client relationship.
WRONG, you are the kind of Twitter user we need more of Clint, in fact I am following you and have been for quite some time (that sounds alittle creepy, ahahah) anyway the people that really are bad tweeters are the ones that just post links and links and more links and auto DM and auto tweet and never respond to anything.
It is one of the greatest untapped business network tools that we have for free that our industry has just barely begun to see the potential.
Consider this I am a uber early adopter in my market area. We all are, this hasn't even hit the fan yet.
Keep rockin' the network and be personal/relvant.
Cheers!
How Tweet it is! I am just getting up to speed on Twitter and am glad to hear that it has enhanced your business in so many ways.
Chris -- Creepiness aside, Thanks for the follow! :-) And I couldnt agree with you more, Chris!!
Joan -- Its wonderful! Highly recommended!
Love your post! Sign me up, I wanna be a 'bad twitter' too. Let's start a support group.....LMAO!
Cindy -- Thank you so much! We should start a #badtweeter support group. ;-) I think thats a great idea!
Clint, it sounds as though the tweet experiment has gone well for you, congrats.
JAmes -- Yeah, you could say that. ;-)
Clint --- what a great way to be bad --- I like it -- congrats on the feature, too.
Mama Liz
Liz -- I know! :-) If you cant be good, be good at it, right? hahahha! Thanks, Liz!
Nice work. Still am not really using it...need to wake up maybe.
Chuck -- Its great once you get over the initial shock of it all. ;-)
Hey Clint, just started following you. I love twitter - but can't attribute any business to it yet.
www.twitter.com/jblanchardhomes
Twitter is a jewel and a tool. Like my nails. Except not as expensive to keep up.
I have 2 radio shows, then I get off the air and Blip. God I'm ruined.
@CandiceD
Yeah, Twitter's cool. What's really amazing is that sellers still don't understand we use it to SELL properties. And neither do most of our local agents.
Hi Clint~ I am on twitter, but do not really know how to use it for business...or really understand it...
This makes me want to step it up a notch...
Clint: you bad. (and that's great)... I've met more awesome people, created some great relationships, got deals directed to me, did on line interviews and collaborations, and found more cool stuff on the net than I could ever hope to... all because I don't understand Twitter... I just do it...
Clint, great post. Tomorrow I'll go back through and follow everyone who has posted. I'm @RealtorLori
@laoden - you cracked me up! I'm always telling my husband that if he'd get on Twitter or my blog, he'd know what the heck I was doing! LOL
Clint,
I'm not a tweetaholic yet, but I know I'm heading down that road. I am following you!
@marcye435
Jennifer -- Thanks for the follow! Just did the same. ;-)
Candice -- Yes, it is indeed both! Im not on the radio...yet...but, Im a huge Blipaholic also. ;-)
Vickie -- I have several resources that you can use to help overcome that issue.
Jon -- Good, that was the intention. ;-)
Rene -- And I think that is a key point that most people miss with Twitter. You dont need to get it...you just need to get IN it. ;-)
Lori -- Thanks!
Marcy -- Im following you back. ;-)
Clint,
Again, you hit the nail DIRECTLY on the head. I could have written this blog post for you - in fact, I have in that EVERY DAY I am telling everyone I know these same things that you've written here.
And I have a confession to make: I am about to stop doing this. Why? Because YOU CAN'T TEACH OLD DOGS NEW TRICKS, and because you can lead people to education, but you CANNOT, CANNOT, CANNOT make them learn.
They have to WANT to learn. They have to WANT to master new tricks.
So, my focus is changing from "Hey, everybody, check out this AMAZING new frontier of interactivity," to a new perspective, which I would describe as "How can I eliminate my competition by being smarter and leveraging all this great new technology and the EXPLOSION that is Social Media to its fullest advantage?"
Sorry if that sounds "capitalist pig" of me, but I believe we are on the cusp of MAJOR cultural transformation. Those who see and leverage the opportunities borne of this change will be the next to dominate. I see. And now it's time to leverage.
Keep on Tweeting in a free world,
Michael McClure
Michael -- Man, I could have written your comment for you. ;-) We are definately cut of the same cloth, as it were, when it comes to our approach to social media.
With regards to the remarks of people WANTING to learn...again, I concur. You cant help anyone that doesnt want any help. Unless they are willing to accept that they dont know everything and can learn something new, its a wasted effort to attempt to force it on them.
Keep up the good fight, my man!
Bbbbb- bad... Bad to the Bone.. bb-bbb BAD to the BONE.
Another out of the park post from @TheRealClint --- have you started introducing yourself that way.. because seriously.. I have become @Brell ... and am getting a name tag to prove it!
You - my friend are an inspiration!
@Brell
Brenda -- Well, Im sure glad you think that way!! :-) I should get business cards for @TheRealClint :-) Hmmmm....need to call printer. ;-)
You know it's funny because I often feel cheesy and sometimes get teased from my collegues when I use twitter as it was meant and tweet something like "Came home from a long day only to find that the horses had left manure on my side of the carport AGAIN."
But that is how twitter was meant to be and so I have to throw those tweets in the just to keep things lively.
Jean-Paul -- I do that also...I tweet about everything. my dog, my kids, my car, my neighbors...nice things only...:-) But, I think it allows people to recognize that I am a real person and I have the same issues they do...Im just willing to talk about the. ;-)