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Top Three Social Networks to Join and Why

Cord of three strands Most of my social media handyman posts will be in response to questions asked by Realtors and others. Today's comes from Irina Netchaev, a Keller-Williams Realtor in Pasadena, CA. She asks, "What are the top 3 social networks that you recommend joining and actively participate in and why?"

First, let me say that "three" is the operative word. There is an old proverb that says "a cord of three strands is not easily broken." I think that's applicable where social networking is concerned as well. It's a matter of strengthening your social graph. Being networked with a given individual in three different places makes for a strong connection.

Here's my pick for top three:

LinkedIn - That's your business suit. While LI is not very conversational in its orientation, having a profile there has become expected. LI lends a degree of professional credibility. It is also the site that requires the least amount of upkeep.

Facebook - That's business casual. FB allows more of a 360 degree view of you, combining both professional and personal sides. Plus, it's a more conversational platform.

Twitter - This is the cocktail hour. Think of after hours social networking events and you've got Twitter. It's the most informal of the three and allows for the greatest degree of conversation.

Keep in mind my focus here is on creating three-fold connections to individuals. It's not enough that you have a presence on each of these sites, but that you leverage your presence to connect with others who are also present on each.

Social media is about being "social." Each platform offers its own distinctive advantages, but it takes all three to build the strongest connection. Plus, it gives you ubiquity. You're everywhere!

Tomorrow, I'm going to talk about three real estate specific social networks where you need a presence. Later in the week I'm going to dig down into Twitter and share how it's being used for business purposes. I'd like to hear your Twitter story as well. Please leave a comment.

Finally, if you have a question for the "handyman," email me at pchaney [at] gmail [dot] com. Or simply leave a comment.

Posted by Paul Chaney on 10/20/2008 11:56 AM

Comments (83)

Social Networking in the Online Marketing Channel

social media, social media marketing, social networking, facebook, twitter, linkedin

Post is included in group: Social Media Marketing
Post is included in group: WEB 2.0 Marketing on Steroids for Real Estate

83 Comments on Top Three Social Networks to Join and Why

OCT

2008

Paul, I love your analogies! How about putting a Feedburner link here so we can receive you posts by email?

Ginger

That would've been my list too Paul. Great post, and nice job of putting the 3 into perspective.

I am trying to figure out Twitter and how it would fit me. I'd appreciate any info you can come up with that you feel you can share.

Thank you. Take care.

@Ginger - Good idea. I'll do so.

@Cindy - Thoughts on Twitter are upcoming.

I love facebook, but you are right it does show a whole 360 degree view of your personality! I think I am going to try Twitter today. Blake

Thanks Paul for the input, this will be high on our to do list.

Thanks for the good info.

Thanks for the advice-it is very important to have a presense especially in today's market.

Great analogies here Paul!

LinkedIn is the perfect business suit. Reminds me of the movie "Catch me if you can" when the father asks the son,

–Do you know why the Yankees always win?
–Becuase they’ve got Mantle?
–No. It’s becuase the other team’s too busy staring at those damn pin stripes.

While agree with your comment about Twitter allowing for more conversation, in some ways I would place it as business casual, rather than Facebook. As far as I can tell, I'm is still seeing FB used primarily by people reconnecting with old friends and maintaining a much more social (rather than business) network. I'm sure some are using FB for business purposes, I'm just not seeing who and how it's being done more effectively than on Twitter or Plaxo.

I would suggest Plaxo as a third business option and maintain Facebook as a more personal/social application.

Great post!

Accidentally inserted the wrong link in the previous comment. Please forgive me! Here's the link to a recent post about Plaxo.

http://www.culturesmithconsulting.com/6-reasons-you-should-use-plaxo/

I use Facebook strictly for my personal social networking, ActiveRain for targetted professional social networking, LinkedIn for professional networking and also Plaxo/Pulse. I have yet to dive into Twitter for fear I won't be able to get back out and get work done!

Great list, but if you are a blogger I would also recommend BlogCatalog.com. basically the facebook or myspace of the blogging community.

Great list. Looking forward to your followng posts.

Paul - you, Kevin Boer and Pat Kitano are in agreement here (just heard them at the C.A.R. Expo). I look forward to hearing morea bout how we can use each of these more effectively.

Jeff

The only I have not tried yet is Twitter...on the to do list.

Any others such as Orkut?

Paul~ I have yet to figure out HOW to use Twitter! Let me know when you do your post about it!

I think you made good choices Paul. I would also like to add www.Naymz.com only because my web site analytics tell me that I get a lot of people visiting my web site because of my Naymz profile.

Hi Paul - I use all of them..they are all excellent for their specific niche.

Hi Paul! Congrats on the Feature! I took your advice and signed up for Twitter. I then posted a new blog, giving you credit for inspiring me to Twitter! Now I am just trying to figure out what to do with it! I will wait until your next post about how to Twitter!

Thanks!

Paul - I am on all of these sites but am not sure that I understand how to use them effectively. I will look forward to future posts in your series.

Great Blog Paul. I can never stress enough to folks how important Blogging and Social Networking is to the success of their Websites.

Thanks for delineating the levels of each of the three social networks usefulness (business suit, business casual, cocktail hour). I can remember that.

Thanks for the tips, I have a lot to learn about social networking.

Paul,

With so many options available it's good to have a focus. As for the three cords that's the symbolism our pastor used to describe what's necessary to make marriage work. Heck, anything that means anything to you. Thank you.

Great way to break out the Big Three Paul.

Of course then there's all the "also rans" like Plaxo and Greader "sharing friends" and Plurk and the like. A question though:

"Do you find yourself distracted when using twitter? How do you manage your time and interests to look at new ideas but not get distracted and end up accomplishing little or nothing?"

Thank you Paul.

I am still scratching my head, trying to figure out the "point" of LinkedIn. It looks more like a directory to me, but it sure seems to get a lot of buzz. I will look forward to hearing your comments on Twitter. Your analogy to a coctail party is very descriptive. I have checked it out a few times recently, and really suspected that there may be coctails involved! Very casual.

Active Rain has many wonderful teachers. Thanks for the good post.

Is there anyway to just do one, and have it all translate.....I have my hands full with AR :)

Great information. Have yet to grasp the full functionalities of all of the above. Tutorials, please! Not only are we singing in the rain, now we are about to twitter in the......:-)

Hi Paul. I love the assertiveness of your post title, and agree with your assessment. Twitter has truly become such a rich place of useful information for me, competing even with my own blog reader! I look forward to your upcoming posts.

Hi Paul, I'm on all three but I don't know that I'm getting what I should out of them. More specifically, I don't really know what I should be doing to do that. Now that's confusing isn't it? But truthfully, I'm trying to learn it but don't always know the "why" I'm doing something.

Paul ... I look forward to your future posts! pippa

It just dawned on me that you are the guy I just started following on twitter. Your analogy was great, loved it. I do use all three & agree with your assessment of them. :)> KM

Paul...good post...too many social sites...How do you keep up?

I think for many of us, MySpace is still a great place to be. I've received dozens of leads, inquiries, invites, party invitations, announcements and emails from having an active page on that site.

Paul - Great reminder about the power of social networking. I am not currently utilizing Twitter but am learning more and more about Facebook and have been a heavier user of Myspace with some very solid success.

Paul, these are excellent social metaphors.

Paul - I agree with the networks on your list, and I was happy to see that I am a member of each one!

Paul, I have hesitated entering the world of Face Book but after reading your post and Jason's comment above, I will be jumping in! Thanks!

I'm connected to so many online social networks that I can barely keep track of them all. But MyBlogLog is great, because it makes it so easy to keep track of them all in one place.

I'm on Linked in and understand and like that one. But I do not under stand twitter!! So look forward to reading more about it. I did sign up and two people signed up to "follow me" WhY? I don't have a clue...I think one is in my area and the other is in real estate. Haven't delved deeper as yet.

OCT

2008

Paul, what great analogies! I am glad that these are the top three on your list since they already are the top three on mine... phew! Now I know that I'm on track. :-)

Thank you!!!

Perfectly said. You've nailed the descriptions spot on. I do love how you referred to twitter as cocktail hour :)

Thanks for the post, Paul. I must say I'm new to all this and have found the most benefit from Active Rain thus far. I use Facebook a little and haven't yet delved into Twitter, will give it a go.

You show the wisdom of Solomon with your three-fold analogy. Your suggestions are well taken.

Paul, that does seem like a good trifecta per se. We are on all three and that is a testament to Active Rain !!!

I've just started to expand to twitter and facebook and have alot to learn!

Great advice....those are the big 3, at least for now.

OCT

2008

Great Information, Will have to use this...

OCT

2008

@Ginger - Your wish is my command; Feedburner email subscription now added.

@Nancy - Orkut is now widely used in the US/North American, mainly in Brazil. On the other hand, if you're reaching out to Brazilians...

@Tom - don't know about the wisdom of Solomon, but thanks!

@Marlow - I'd love to know more about your involvement with MySpace; I got out of there when an old girlfriend began stalking me! :-)

@Melissa - I appreciate it. Glad to be an inspiration.

Info on Twitter is coming folks. Hang in there!

NOV

2008

Paul, I have been out of Active Rain for several months. I am glad to see you are still posting here. I hope all is well with you. Thanks for the post. I agree with your assessment of the top three! It is helpful to have an authority in the field reinforce the information.

I look forward to catching up on your blogs.

NOV

2008

@Jennifer - I'm glad to see you back at AR. How are things with you? I trust well.

thanks for your posting this is very helpful. I have found active rain and facebook very helpful. I will ck out the other two you suggested....thanks

Roger

Paul,

I am on all three - good to know that I'm keeping up with the times. :)

Steve

Thanks for pointing out the top 3. I got 'em covered. What's next?

Tomorrow, I'm going to talk about three real estate specific social networks where you need a presence. - did you do this one?

Hi Paul - I love that you chose these 3, as they're the basic ones I had been concentrating on the most. I love LinkedIn - clients find me there and I've gotten some great recommendations by being there. And who wouldn't just love their online 'cocktail hour'?? I love mine, and some days it's longer than others.

I look forward to reading your follow-up blogs!
@acummings

Oh and I LOVE your new header - really spiffy looking!

;-)

I use all three of these as well, but none do anything at all to help with links for the search engines. For that, I would recommend Naymz, Digg, and MyBlogLog.com. LinkedIn gets spidered, but the profile links are set with "nofollows". These other three (at least for now) haven't done that.

I'm not sure because the page is so complicated, but StumbleUpon.com will send your website more traffic than anything I've ever seen. That is one amazing bookmarking site.

And remember to try and put some links TO your profiles from your blog or somewhere so that they will get indexed and hopefully get a tad bit of Pagerank.

Shoot. As usual I forgot to login. That last comment was me...:-(

This is a great post... I've gotten 2 out of the 3. Work in progress... Thanks!

Thanks for the tips! I'm on all three but, am not quite sure just what to do with Twitter! Sounds crazy, I know but, I'm all over the place with social networks and have not taken the time to learn Twitter yet! Thanks again!

Debe in Charlotte

Debe, just jump in feet-first... you won't regret it. I just had a consumer strike up conversation with me tonight on Twitter about why he needs a Realtor.

Ditto Debe's comment! I understand most of the other social networks, and at least have a profile on most of them....but I don't get Twitter! I also get a lot of annoying messages from companies trying to sell me something. I made the mistake of signing up for Teetbeeps and get about four messages per hour of mostly ads.

I'm looking forward to your next Post on Twitter. Thank you for all the good information and guidance Paul!

Okay, Ryan! I have just one question--how are these folks finding me to send an email that they're 'following' me? I always go and see what I can find out about them and there's just a little blurb on the right side of the page and then a bunch of comments that don't mean a whole lot to me! I always click to follow them too, just because I think that's what I'm supposed to do! (No blonde comments, please)!

Debe in Charlotte

NOV

2008

Debe - no blonde jokes here. I was a bit baffled by Twitter at first too. People will find you lots of different ways and follow you. Some will be local and want to follow. Some will follow you because they hope to sell you something (doesn't work) and others will follow you because someone else they know follows you or they see something in your profile that interests them. Whatever the reason, it's good to have followers, because that's who will be reading your tweets. I personally don't feel the need to follow everyone who follows me. When I get notification of a new follower, I go check out their profile and decide then if they're interesting enough to follow. There are plenty who follow me that I don't follow, and there are plenty that I follow, who don't follow me. If you follow interesting people, then the tweets in your stream will be of interest to you. I hope this helps, but if you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I'm happy to help.

I also have not quite figured Twitter out. I have an account but don't know what to do with it. Anybody have some quick start tips? How do you tweet without logging in? Can I just send tweets from my blackberry? Lemme know. Thanks.

Ryan - After reading your comment, the word "peeps" has new meaning...

Paul, I agree with your recommendations. I am finding that Flickr is closing in on Facebook (for me) and wish there was a feed from Flickr to Facebook. Then, I would be REALLY happy :-)

Great post! I have to learn Twitter now! Barb Averell, Prudential Preferred Realty, Associate Broker, Butler Branch Manager

Great information, thanks so much for sharing, I'm part way there and now will finish a profile in all three. thanks again..

Good info and descriptions of each thanks!

I am signing up for linkedIn today. I am on facebook and got a blog already..

While I have the LinkedIn and facebook under control, Twitter is a bit more complex (as simple as it really is). Tips on that would be great!

I'm still working on getting over to Twitter. I keep hearing that it is a place I need to explore.

NOV

2008

Very readable blog - I love the format and analogies.

I found this very helpful - I ready had a Linkedin account have done minor tweaks, also had a facebook account(have not used much) and have made it just a bit more business like. I just used it to connect with friends only now I put my real name and what I business I'm in. The Twitter that all new to me, so just started to tweet. I was talking to my sister yesterday about all three networks- pretty much repeated all what you wrote she was looking to change jobs, now today she is looking for a new job. She just got laid off so now she gots to network all she can, its alright she wanted to leave. Thanks for the explanation difference of the three.

NOV

2008

Paul, First I have to tell you that I loved your "handyman" moniker as I own a handyman business ... and while I've taken to calling myself "mshandy," I'm still in search of a better line so you've give me the courage to keep experiementing. I get LI and FB, but find Twitter challenging. I've set it up and twice tried getting into it but learned you need lots of other plug-ins or whatever they're called.

From the other comments here, sounds like many of us are still challenged by Twitter so maybe you could give us a short tutorial, i.e. install these 3 other things plus ...

From one handyperson to another, a BIG thanks.

NOV

2008

For the past year I have been geting in all these networks but only now am really spending the time and you are right: I am starting to recognize people I do not know. You are right again a social network would only work if you are "social".

NOV

2008

Does anyone know which is more popular, Linked In or Plaxo? I use both but find my area is more Plaxo based.

Good information. Lots of challenge to get comfortable to use the networks but worth the effort.

@woodlands - I think of Plaxo almost as an also ran. However, if it's fruitful and productive, by all means use it. Love to hear more about how you're using it.

NOV

2008

Hey Paul, that's a GREAT list, and I belong to all 3! Let me also encourage that it's extremely important to connect with other Real Estate professionals and colleagues on real estate specific social networks.

Please consider adding Townizen.com to your list of social networks to actively participate on. Townizen is a social network built specifically for real estate and it has great productivity tools for real estate professionals.

I think in the Web 3.0 future, we will start seeing more and more of these social networking tools become indispensable to our professions and become industry specific. LinkedIn is a great example of a professional network, but many ppl's LinkedIn profiles are beginning to resemble their Facebook profiles. LinkedIn shows us that professional networks are important...but it also shows that we need our professional networks to be more industry specific in order to have any value. With "industry specific" social networks, people will start taking part in what I call "productivity networks": networks that help us increase productivity in our professional lives. So people will use tools like Facebook to manage their social lives...while using tools like Townizen.com to help manage their professional lives.

Hope you can check out the site and let me know what you think!

DEC

2008

I think yu're right about being active on the networks - it doesn't do that much good just to be listed on them.

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