TweetDeck - A Must Have Application for Tweeters

As some of you know I am starting a series of "Getting to know Twitter" blogs.  One of the things that stood out most to me was that there are a lot of new Tweeter in the real estate business.  As if getting rid of the mls books wasn't hard enough for some...(yes folks at one time we had a phone book sized monstrosity that actually come to our office every two weeks).  Social media has changed the way we market our business and build relationships and is going to continue to change it at a fast pace.

There have been so many things for us to learn over the past few years and it takes time to figure out how to effectively integrate them and not get lost in the mix.  I mean really, how are agents suppose to keep up with the millions of Tweets a day that stream through?  If you are only using Twitter on the web you have got to be asking yourself "What is all the hype about... this Twitter thing is dumb..."

TweetDeck has been one of the most valuable tools I have come across to manage my Twitter account, not become overwhelmed and to effectively use it as a method of generating business. 

From the login screen on Twitter;  go to the very bottom of the page and click on the link that says "Goodies"  A screen will come up that says "Widgets" on the left and "Applications" on the right.  Click on "Applications" and you will find "TweetDeck".  Begin your download and follow the instruction for set up.  It's really easy.

Below I am going to describe the sections of TweetDeck.  You can arrange your boxes in any order that you would like so I am just giving examples.  I have labeled them hoping that will help.  I will follow this up with a post on how to send a Tweet from TweetDeck, updating your Facebook status (MySpace if you are there) how to Tweet from multiple accounts, shortening url, and adding pictures and video.  So be sure to stop back or become a fan on Facebook for more tips.

TweetDeck Layout...

1.  Twitter Feed - This is where you see all the Tweets of you friends.  This will hold up to 100 Tweets at a time and continually feeds the latest Tweets.  Once you get a lot of people that you follow you will want to group them so you can see Tweets/Tweeters that are important to you.

2.  Mentions - aka @Tweal_Estate or @RealLifeSheri - When someone mentions you or publicly addresses you in Twitter that Tweet will show up in the mentions section of TweetDeck.  This makes it easy to follow what is being said about you, what has been retweeted (aka RT) that you have said and track communication with other Tweeters.

3.  Direct messages- This section displays your direct messages aka DM's.  A DM is when someone privately messages you in Twitter.  Instead of having to go to email to see if someone responded to you in Twitter you can see all direct messages.

4.  Searches- # (Hashtags) -This section(s) allows you to track Tweets that would be relevant to you.  For example above on the far right column I have a search set up for real estate Raleigh.  Anytime there is a Tweet that contains the words "real estate Raleigh" in any order by anyone regardless of it I am following them or they are following me I will see it in this column.  If I want to address them I can directly from there.

5.  Notification Window - There is a notification window that pops up on your screen if anything occurs in the boxes you have set up.  For example if I am working on this blog and someone says something to or about me and I don't have TweetDeck on my main screen the notification box will pop up.

Check back in soon for part 2 of TweetDeck for more information on how to use TweetDeck to manage your Twitter Account.  Tomorrows blog will be on how to pick a Twitter user name.  There is more to that than just picking something.  This is how people will get to know you and recognize you.  Be sure to leave a comment below with your Twitter address so everyone can follow you.  If you have any suggestions for future Twitter blogs please let me know.

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Follow me on Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/Tweal_Estate or @Tweal_Estate