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How to Maximize Your Social Media Time

By Tim White

Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker Woodland Schmidt - Hart, MI

April 03, 2009 02:29 AM

Crazy Guy You want to do it.

You need to do it.

You KNOW you need to do it!

But where do you find the time to squeeze in building your web presence? How do balance dealing with current business, while at the same time build for new business?? You already have to much to do! It's too much! ARGHHHHHHH!!!

Stop. Breathe. Relax. Wusaahhhh...

Perhaps my favorite and most often used quote is, "Work smarter, not harder." So how can we apply this to Social Media? I'm going to share a few techniques with you that I use. Try them, see if they work for you.

Step 1: Commit!

Set aside an hour a day to post a blog, add some friends, read some blogs, something SM related. I tend to do a lot of my blogging at night, after the kids are in bed. I plan on an hour, but I usually get swept up in it, and am up til crazy hours. I get swept up in it because I...

Step 2: HAVE FUN WITH IT!

You can meet some truly fascinating people on sites like Twitter, FaceBook, and here at ActiveRain. Don't focus ALL your posting on listings and market analysis. There's a time and a place for this, and it's not everywhere and all the time.

Build your network by sharing a funny joke or story. Comment back and engage in conversation. You'll be amazed at what you can learn. I know I have been. I have to work really hard to convince my wife I am "working" when I'm giggling my fool head at off at someone's Twitter post.

Step 3: Multi-Task your multi-tasking!

Many sites allow you to broadcast your blog to several different sites. For instance, when I post this blog, it will go to:

http://activerain.com/blogs/timwhitehomes
http://www.timwhiteblog.com
http://localism.com/neighbor/timwhitehomes
http://localism.com/mi/hart
http://www.twitter.com/timwhitehomes as a tweet linking back to this blog

Then I will go to FaceBook, where I will share the link on my personal profile, AND on my business page. That's SEVEN different URL hits, all from one blog. Oh, and all of those have links leading back to my main page.

Know what's really cool? My friends on Twitter will "ReTweet" the link, and my FB friends will share the links, and so on and so on. My words of wisdom (hahahaha) will spread like a virus through cyberland.

Step 4: KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)

You don't have to write a book! In fact, longer posts can be a turnoff for some. Try to summarize your idea, and hit the highlights. If people want to know more, they'll ask! That's why this one is so long! You don't need to be Robert Frost or Ernest Hemingway, but good creative writing that sparks interest will generate more hits. I learn a lot about this by reading other people's blogs, and learning from them. Try it!

Recycle Step 5: Reciprocate!

You love it when people recommend your stuff, right? Well, so do they! Build yourself up by building others. Over half of my Twitter posts (Tweets) are ReTweets and or replies that promote the work of others.

Call it "karma", call it "spreading the love", whatever. I call it common sense. The more you help others, the more others are going to help you.

For my next blog, I'm going to attempt to explain Twitter, and how it can help you grow. If you haven't subscribed to my blog yet, WHY NOT??? It's a click away, and you'll make me smile :)

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Comments(36)

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Jeff Daniel

John L. Scott Ocean Shores - Ocean Shores, WA

Managing Broker, John L. Scott 360.581.9020

Nice post Tim, setting aside the time to come up with creative content is my biggest problem. Posting the same info over a bunch of blogs, etc. is the easy part.

Apr 03, 2009 04:12 AM

Joe Pryor

The Virtual Real Estate Team - Oklahoma City, OK

REALTOR® - Oklahoma Investment Properties

Good post. What I am trying now is to first blog on my web site, then copy and paste to Active Rain with a slight change of headline and content, I also do post to Active rain alone, and then I go to a site that allows me to view all the social bookmarking spots for my blog, and change the headlines on each one, including Facebook. I am excited to see how many show up on Google off the same post.

Apr 03, 2009 05:04 AM

Matthew Naumann

Exit Realty Charleston Group - Goose Creek, SC

Goose Creek, SC Real Estate Agent

Tim,

Great post. I love your insight on reciprocation, especially with idea of retweets and Twitter.

Thanks,

Matt Naumann

www.mattnaumann.com

Apr 03, 2009 06:06 AM

Edie Cooper

Coldwell Banker - Miami Shores, FL

Hi Tim,

I really enjoyed your social media blog. You should feel honored. I am a virgin blogger, that is, and yours is the first time I am leaving a response. I am trying to stay current and the only way you can do that is social networking.

Thanks,

Edie Cooper

Next comes the photo,right???

Apr 03, 2009 06:13 AM

Daren Krause

Keller Williams Realty - Austin, TX

"That's SEVEN different URL hits, all from one blog." Efficient set up. What percentage of your leads do you generate on line?

Apr 03, 2009 06:35 AM

Brien Berard

Remax Professionals Laurel MD - Laurel, MD

Maryland Real Estate Agents - Laurel Real Estate

Internet marketing is a system just like anything else. I try to do it first thing in the morning. I blog on my personal web site first, then ActiveRain and finally I post on Craigslist.

Apr 03, 2009 06:49 AM

Simone Bercu

Metro Referral - Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Not state specific Real Estate - GRI, e-PRO, AB

Tim, are you smiling? I joined your blog, yesterday.

I get the KISS part and the Reciprocate! However, I still do not know how to broadcast it all over. I know Google picks my blog a lot and Point2Agent sends it to Point2Homes, but I just signed up to Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter, and have no idea where and how to find the addresses. The URLs end with "home." I do not think that is right.

Apr 03, 2009 09:57 AM

Christine Donovan

Donovan Blatt Realty - Costa Mesa, CA

Broker/Attorney 714-319-9751 DRE01267479 - Costa M

I'll look forward to your post about Twitter. I learned a lot about it at ReBar Camp yesterday but could still use more.

Apr 03, 2009 11:10 AM

Mary Kent

Five Star Real Estate - Grand Rapids, MI

Grand Rapids to the Lake Shore

Hey Tim-I like you already! I see we're Michigan neighbors! I love Hart, spent a lot of time there in my 20's...concerts and such..val-du-lakes? I'm learning the waters of AR, something new to learn everyday! Best to you~

Apr 03, 2009 11:19 AM

Charles Stallions

Charles Stallions Real Estate Services - Pensacola, FL

850-476-4494 - Pensacola, Pace or Gulf Breeze, Fl.

I have been keeping up with your post but I still can't find the time that you seem to find. I guess my days are just too short.

Apr 03, 2009 12:46 PM

Patsy Overton

Patsy Overton Interiors, Atlanta, Georgia - Duluth, GA

My husband has also caught me laughing out loud at a blog post while I'm supposed to be working! Can't work be fun? Thanks for the great tips.

Apr 03, 2009 02:02 PM

Roland Woodworth

Benchmark Realty - Clarksville, TN

Benchmark Realty

Tim: Great information.. I'm still trying to get my post to go to facebook too... not sire what I did wrong.. its not working.

Apr 03, 2009 04:18 PM

Amy Zender

Bellingham, WA

Okay... I subscribed. Are you smiling? Congrats on the Gold Star, and truly very useful information. I have bookmarked it for future reference. I have done it all, but not Facebook yet. I'm holding out. Is it really helpful? I'm all about having fun with it! Who else would write about Darth Vadar in their blog (you guessed it!) Moi! Cheers,

the Bellingham Realty Girl, Amy

Apr 03, 2009 04:53 PM

Amy Zender

Bellingham, WA

Oh, and a sincere thanks for serving our great nation. You'll never know how that moves me. My father and husband are vets (Army and Marine Corps, respectively). You are a brave soul, and I tip my hat to you. Cheers and Semper Fi.

Amy

Apr 03, 2009 04:55 PM

Tom Davis

Harrington ERA,DE Homes For Sale, $$ Save $$ Buy Today ! - Dover, DE

FREE Delaware Homes Search!, $$ Save $$ - Find Homes! Delaware Realtor

Yes very true and Lol about "telling your wife that your working"...yes spending a lot of hours at the computer and laughing might make her wonder what your doing online so much.

Great post!

Thanks,

Tom Davis

Apr 03, 2009 04:56 PM

Harrison Painter

GoGladiator Media - Carmel, IN

New Media Consultant

The "chirp" on Tweetdeck drives my wife crazy!!!! LOL

Thank you for sharing this great information, and I hope to see it motivate more people to get out there and utilize this awesome tool!!!!!

Have a Profitable Day!

Harrison Painter

Harrison Painter - Gladiator Real Estate Investments

P.S. Oh yeah.......Tweet Me!!!

Apr 03, 2009 06:22 PM

The Somers Team

The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia - Philadelphia, PA

Delivering Real Estate Happiness

Tim - Rock on ! Great post and recommendations. I can easily get swept up in spending more time for our social media stuff but I am glad that I do. It is hard to keep up with, especially the technology side of things. Still, am glad we have the discipline to devote some time each day towards it. BTW, subscribed to your blog since it was so easy to do. Maybe you can do the same with us ?? : )

Apr 04, 2009 12:43 AM

Tim White

Coldwell Banker Woodland Schmidt - Hart, MI - Hart, MI

Sorry for the delayed responses folks, I was out playing Marine this weekend, getting in some good training in the field. Let's play catch-up!

Tom - Stop wrestling it, give in, and have fun! Resistance is futile...

Ryan - "Juicy Content" - I love it! Keep up the great work!

Amy - When you post your blog in here, you can post it to several locations. Play with the tabs at the bottom of your post and experiment with the different post categories. Next, link to your blog everywhere you can. On facebook, share the link in your status updates. Link it in a Twitter post. If you have several web domains, forward them to one central location. These are a few suggetsions. Someone tipped me to ping.fm on another blog. I haven't tried it yet, but I will be playing with it today. Subscribe to and read other social media player's blogs, as well.

Christianne - I am typing with one hand now, and rubbing my ear lobe with the other. Wusaaaa :)

Jeff - I started making notes on my BlackBerry throughout the day, to create a database of ideas to blog about. I drove by a school the other day, and saw a sign that annoyed me. I made a note, then blogged about it later. Best tip on what to blog out: ANYTHING! Good luck!

Joe - You are spot on. I am careful with that, however, to be sure to spread some original content around. Also, some blog servers have TOS stipulations against that kind of thing, so be careful. As long as you are changing things up even a little bit, though (which it sounds like you are) you should be ok. Great comment, thank you.

Matt - Thanks! Twitter is a very underutilised tool, because it takes using it in conjunction with other media. Fun fact: Twitter went from 6 million to 8 million users in under a month. Think you might want to get in on that kind of action? I do!

Apr 06, 2009 04:15 AM

Tim White

Coldwell Banker Woodland Schmidt - Hart, MI - Hart, MI

Edie - I am SOOOO honored! Thank you! So where's the photo??? :)

Daren - Right now, I'd say 30%. However, I'm breaking new ground daily, and my goal is to take it to 50%.

Brien - Great! Craig's List is another good spot to go to. Thanks!

Clark - I just started tagging my own name. I plan to continue doing so. My intent is that when a prospect wants to know more about me before working with me, they will be able to google me and find plenty of info. Tags increase your visibility and you want to use the right ones. For example, if you specialize on ocean front properties, I would be tagging "ocean frontage" or something similar often.

Simone - I am ear to ear! OK, when looking for those URL's, be sure to view your page from the viewer's perspective. For example, in active rain, click on the view my blog tab. If it still doesn't look right, log out, or use someone elses computer to get the URL. You can also delete a lot of the extranneous info, and end up with something like www.timwhiteblog.com

Christine - Today, I promise! Twitter blog coming up!

Apr 06, 2009 04:25 AM

Tim White

Coldwell Banker Woodland Schmidt - Hart, MI - Hart, MI

Mary - Right back atcha! Love the hat, by the way!

Charles - I sleep maybe six hours a day, max. Old Marine Corps habits die hard...

Patsy & Emelyn - Thanks for focusing on the fun part! That should have been Step One, huh?

Roland - Copy your link and share it on your FB page. It will take less than a minute. If you really want it do it instantly, you can set your blog to post to Twitter, and you can set Twitter to post to your FB status automatically. This tends to annoy some people, however, since if you Tweet a lot, you status then changes every couple of minutes. Use with caution, but it does work.

Amy - LMAO, I love the Darth Vader story! The Force is strong with you. I am so smiling, you have no idea. I'll probably end up with laugh wrinkles, but so what? Thanks for the service comments as well, and hats off to YOU, for being a military spouse/daughter. I know firsthand how hard it is on the families, as well.

Tom & Harrison - Glad I'm not the only one! Just remind the wives that they can laugh all the way to the bank when the leads come pouring in and we're selling like crazy!

Smiley Face Chris & Stephanie - Thanks for the subscription! I did, of course, reciprocate, by subscribing as well, before I started replying to all these comments! I read some of your blogs while I was there, and I instantly saw that I can learn a lot from you guys!