When I first started on Twitter, I got comfortable by chatting with other real estate agents, most who I knew already from places like Active Rain. Over time, I realized something magical about Twitter- there are lots of non-real estate agents on the site, many who live right near me. Now, I don’t know about you, but in my real life,I don’t spend much time socializing with other real estate agents. I do have a small core of close agent friends who I hang out, with, but the group is relatively small.
They same is true for me on Twitter. I love interacting with agents, but I also really enjoy non-agents. As a matter of fact I seek them out. It is fun, I learn all kinds of new things, and I get to meet other bay area people that might know someone who could be a potential client one day.
I used to be a Twhirl lover, but over time, managing all of the people I follow became unwieldy. One day, I found a fabulous little program called TweetDeck. There are other programs such as TweetGrid which allow you to do the same thing, TweetDeck just happens to be my program of choice.
The fabulous thing about TweetDeck is the ability to create groups. As you can see in the screen shot, I have a group I call "SF Peeps". This group was created just for me to follow local people. Through this group, I can find out what hot topics are going on in the Bay Area, hear about events and tweetups, and keep my pulse on the local scene.
If I didn’t use groups, I really wouldn’t have a way to monitor what was happening locally. I follow so many people, I can’t keep track or remember where they all live. There are many different groups you could create in twitter. A local group, a group for agents, a group of tech specialists, whatever strikes your fancy.
While Twitter can sometimes be compared to hanging at a cocktail party, if you want to truly maximize its use, it helps to be organized and have a plan.
Applications to check out
TweetDeck– TweetDeck is a Twitter dashboard that you can use to set up groups. Please note: you can adjust the tweetdeck window to fit colors that are aesthetically pleasing to you. The default is a black background, which I find hard to read.
TweetGrid– a twitter dashboard that lets you search nine different dashboards at a time.
