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The power of social media

Wow, an exciting and interesting thing just happened.

I posted on Twitter a graph I created below showing the Knoxville area home sales month to month this year.

Knoxville, Tennessee real estate sales month to month for 2009

19 minutes later my phone is ringing and the news director for WATE , one of our local TV stations is on the phone saying his boss saw it on Twitter and asking permission to use it (with suitable attribution and a quote from me regarding our market) in a news story they're doing this afternoon about our local market.

I get quite a bit of positive feedback from my Facebook and Twitter activities and that phone call was further proof positive that people take notice of what you post there.

A couple of weeks ago I was in a bakery buying a loaf of bread and the guy behind me asked if I was Jim Lee the Realtor. I replied yes and he said I read your blog all the time. You're the only one in town that publishes the actual sales figures instead of just saying the market is great and it's a good time to buy a house.

My blogging has also resulted in a couple of live interviews on local stations including one time the news team met me at a listing and photographed me showing it to some buyers and then interviewed me in the yard (beside my sign) talking about the local market.

Facebook and Twitter directly led to these interviews and recognition in addition to bringing several listings and buyers to me.

If you're reading this on Active Rain you're likely already blogging but you need to make sure you also have a presnce on Facebook and Twitter; it will lead to business.

Jim Lee, CRS, ABR, GRI, ACRE, NAR Certified e-PRO Trainer
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Visit my blog: www.KnoxvilleTennesseeRealEstateBlog.com
Realty Executives Associates, Knoxville, Tennessee
See all Knoxville area Realtor listings at: www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com
(865) 693-3232, My Personal Toll Free # 1-800-662-2488 ext. 163
mailto:Jim@JimLee.com

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Posted by Jim Lee, Knoxville Tennessee Realtor® on 10/16/2009 01:49 PM

Comments (57)

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57 Comments on The power of social media

OCT

Jim - Congrats on the responses you're receiving for your work. And thanks for the reminder about FB and Twitter.

So did you post the graph as a picture embedded into Twitter? That's pretty impressive!

Congrats! Jim. I too have received business from Social Media. Family and friends still speak poorly of twitter but it has been beneficial for me! Facebook is the next hurdle. Much success to you.

Pretty easy too Christianne. You just go to TwitPic , create a free accout, and upload your photo. It's automatically posted to Twitter.

Thanks guys.

Hi, Jim! Thank you for sharing. I haven't utilized both my FB and Twitter for this purpose. Thanks for the encouragement. Now, a stupid question, how do you create the graph?

Great testimony for social media. It really does work for you. Twitter Power by Joel Comm is an excellent read for those of you not yet familiar with Twitter. There are a couple of steps that are free and easy to get noticed on Google.

Fill out a Google profile.
List your business on Google Local.
List your other sites in the Google profile.

No such thing as a stupid question Yolanda. Creating the graph is probably the easiest part.

I us this website (which I believe was created for schoolkids) which is way easier than using Microsoft Excel. You can easily create a graph like the one I did in about 5 minutes or less once you do a few.

Thanks, Jim! I wouldn't have found that site without your help. I use Excel for data gathering, but I find it difficult to create graphs with it. Not enough patience I guess. I bookmarked this post!

That is awesome Jim. I'm glad we have been friends on Facebook for a very long time now. Blessings.

How exciting Jim...good stuff. I never thought about using twitpic for that but I will now. :)

I've never thought to use TwitPic in that way either....

Guess I make 3 for Twitpic...you are the explorer and thank you for sharing this and the graph site. I have had great success with social media as well, every Realtor should be doing it!

Jim - This is great information. Love your software tools and how you used them. Thanks for sharing that. Your graph is very easy to do and clear to understand. Congrats on your success.

Never heard of Twitpic...will have to look into it. Thanks.

Hi Jim -- Very compelling argument, and I totally agree. The graph speaks volumes.

Hi Jim...well done, congratulations on your feature post. How did you do the Graph and what format for Twitter?

Cheers

Replies #4 & 7 have the answers Fred.

Thanks Chris et al, I love graphs because the proverbial picture is worth a thousand words. Easy to see if you're up, down, or sideways.

Very cool Jim. It is amazing how much attention what we write and say gets. I guess we have them all fooled!!

Job well dome my firend.

Great idea to post a graph. The potential for Twitter is unlimited. Thanks Jim.

Jim, Congratulations on the recognition. I haven't had much success yet with Twitter. Still learning

That's great. Good blog posts with information the consumer wants will bring results.

How awesome..... I like stories how blogging brings presence.

thanks for the tip... can't wait to try it!

Congrats Jim. Recently I read a great post here on AR about twitter. To tweet ir not to tweet? Now we have a great testimonial. :)

It is always kind of fun to get recognized by the media for what we do...

Jim, glad you have all the bases covered. Great evidence for you in your local market area..

Jim this is wonderful and it is very helpful for me to hear these kind of stories, since I'm a newbie. Congratulations!

That's great Jim! Sounds like you have earned the areas "most trusted agent" reputation. That's a tough title to earn. Good for you! I may just have to borrow your idea :) Thanks for sharing the info!

I had no idea how to load photos to Twitter, let alone graphs. Great info!

Jim- I haven't tried the graph yet but I just went to TwitPic and uploaded a photo! Thanks, opens up a whole new world.

Great info. I have to get on Twitter sooner or later. I don't have the time to do it right now though

Jim- Thanks for the heads up about twitpic. Looks like another valuable twitter app. I'll have to set aside some time, next week, to update some graphs.

Very cool Jim. It's always nice to get noticed and pick up some leads!

Jim - I think the fellow in the bakery made a good point. What's the use in saying the market is good or great if you don;t have the numbers to back it up? Truth is, if you don't provide the information, someone esle will!

Michael

Good for you! Congratulations on the great response to your blogging... Is there a way to just blog on one site and connect to all of the social networks? I did hear something about AOL doing this, but is there anyone else?

Jim, thanks for sharing the links for the graph and twitpic. Hadn't thought about using twitpic for that, either.

Sherry, most of the social networking platforms, including AR let you cross post to others. For example you can auto forward your blog here to Twitter and my Twitter account then forwards that Tweet on to my Facebook account

Very easy to multiply your efforts by using these tools.

Jim, Thanks for the story and the encouragement. I like the fact that you used the graph instead of words!

Hi Jim - In a social media session last night at our board we discussed using graphs and statistics as images. Until then I had never thought of using an image to convey data, but now you've reaffirmed that this is an effective use.

Jim - congratulations! Social Media has been a great tool for us as well, we've been interviewed on the news 4 times in the past 4 months to talk about the market, social media, and taxes. I think it helps that the local newscasters follow us on Twitter :)

Jim - that is great! I saw that post of yours and thought it was really interesting. Apparently others did as well! Go get 'em!!

Thanks for the post. It gives hope to those already doing facebook and twitter and makes us feel it is worthwhile.

Thanks for the reminder that I need to work on my Fan pages and Twitter more frequently.

Jim - Congrats! This kind of thing seems to happen more and more often for me these days. Keep it up!

OCT

I'm using Facebook, but still need to get up to speed on Twitter. Seems like I can only handle a few things at a time. Your article encourages me to keep pressing on. Thanks

Thanks so much for this share. I really see the value in social media this way. I also liked the good ideas shared by the comments above. awesome.

Jim, thank you for the information. I'm still trying to figure out the whole Twitter thing!

That's great. Social media works. It is where everyone is getting their news from anymore.

Nice and simple yet carries the facts. ongrats on the call, I have never really hartnassed Twitter very well, maybe I need to try again. Anyone doing a webinar on Twitter? I need it.

Congrats! Thats a really positive response from using social media. Thanks for sharing thats encouragement for the rest of us to keep on using social media.

Right on... thanks for sharing. I've had similar experiences... the one that gets me is walking into a room and people will look familiar, then I realize I've seen them online, or they've seen me. It's happening more and more... I love it.

Never mind the great response to your twitter and facebook posts which you are to be congratulated for. I'm thrilled by the tips I've gotten as I read thru the comments! So congratulations, and thanks for the great tips.

Thanks guys. Stuff like this is here to stay and consumers are looking at it everyday. I like using graphs to tell a story because you can instantly see and understand what's going on.

That is awesome Jim. I hadn't thought of using twipic this way either. I do have the market report posts sent to twitter from here and have a few followers on Twitter. Cool, I'll have to do this too. ~Rita

Jim - Congratulations. I have had good luck with Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. It seems that journalist like the new media. I had a similar experience and couldn't agree more with your post.

OCT

Way to go Jim, it's nice to get feed back that what you are doing is helpful to someone. Thanks for all the information you post I will check back often.

We're having a very high profile murder/kidnapping/rape/carjacking/robbery trial in Knoxville right now. Local media reps and interested followers are getting and giving a play by play from the courtroom by using the hashtag "#CNTrial"

My first "Twitter trial".

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What does the graphic say?