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YEO - Numbers That Mean Something

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with RealSatisfied

Last Thursday I wrote about Why Twitter Follower Counts Mean Nothing.

The post touched off some interesting public and private discussions. The number huggers are everywhere and their logic, in a very comfortable, that-sounds-like-something-i've-done-before, kind of way, can certainly appear sound. They ask questions like, "Why broadcast to 10 people when you can broadcast to 10,000?" Who could argue with that, right? <raises hand> The clue to the answer lies in the question itself.

Broadcasting?

Is that really what we're doing in the social media space? Some think so.  I don't. I received a direct message from Matt Rathbun this morning that contained a link to a page selling a Twitter Mini-Course Book. I'm not sharing his site. I'm not giving Snake Oil salesman link love. Matt wasn't kind in his analysis.

Matt Rathbun DM

The people who will succeed by treating Twitter, Facebook and other social networks like electronic direct mail are people who are selling “magic” solutions for growing your business to people looking for “easy” “I want results now” answers. And those successes will be short lived. Because that’s not how effective social media marketing works.

Engagement Is The New Marketing Metric.

Engagement through Social Media is aligned with how trust is built, how real relationships form and transactions result. "Working to build relationships (over time)" is not as easy to sell as "attract more customers now!" But those who see its wisdom will profit in the long run.

In 2008, Forrester Research rightly stated that "engagement" was the new marketing metric. "Using engagement, you get a more holistic appreciation of your customers' actions, recognizing that value comes not just from transactions but also from actions people take to influence others. Once engagement takes hold of marketing, marketing messages will become conversations, and dollars will shift from media buying to customer understanding."

All the numbers that really matter are related to engagement. Forester proposed a four "I" concept for measuring engagement.

  • Involvement tracks site visitors, time spent, page views and more (old-school stuff)
  • Interaction measures the contributions to blogs, photo and video creation and uploads, and purchases
  • Intimacy tries to understand consumer attitudes, perception, and feelings about a brand through surveys or monitoring technology as well as applications providing an interactive environment between brand and consumers
  • Influence measures the likelihood that consumers will recommend or advocate products or brands

I'm not against numbers per se. But the numbers must mean something. Would truly engaging with 10,000 be better than truly engaging with 10? Of course. But the key to the value in that statement is the word "engaging." How many people can YOU truly engage? It's going to be a different number for you than for the next person stumbling onto this post.

YEO (You Engaging Others) is not focused on YOU. It's focused on OTHERS. YEO is about communicating in a way that allows you to be heard above the noise. It’s about listening more than talking. And it's impossible to listen when all you're doing is broadcasting.

 

Comments (71)

Dan Magstadt
Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc - Lake City, FL

Great post Jeff & I can't agree more with Matt above - Content, Content, Content

Apr 24, 2009 02:45 AM
Robert Hammerstein
Christie's International Real Estate - Hillsdale, NJ
Bergen County NJ Real Estate

Jeff - I am also turned off to those mass tweets. I don't accept everyone who follows me as this is just another form of spam as we all know. I am picky when it comes to friends. Just my two cents. Thanks for posting again and so happy to see you on A/R again.

Apr 24, 2009 04:20 AM
Gene Riemenschneider
Home Point Real Estate - Brentwood, CA
Turning Houses into Homes

I am still trying to figure out how to handle and use Twitter.  It is like Real Estate, so many people are selling solutions; you know you need something, but which one is it?

Apr 24, 2009 04:31 AM
Chad Boyers
The Danberry Co.- Toledo, Perrysburg, Sylvania, & NW OH - Toledo, OH

Great post, great responses.  I'll take 100 good relationships over 10,000 followers anyday!

Apr 24, 2009 05:55 AM
Tom Larsen
The Larsen Protection Team - Williamsville, NY
We Shop, You Save!

Why did the houses in the 50's all have front porches? So neighbors could get to know each other on the front porch. If you think of twitter or facebook like that, you cannot go wrong.

 

Tom Larsen

www.nypropertyinsurance.com

Apr 24, 2009 07:11 AM
Anonymous
Lisa VonBargen

Rock On! I like the comments about not giving Snake Oil Salesman link love and using Twitter and FaceBook like front porches. Lisa

 

Apr 24, 2009 07:31 AM
#57
Derek Noggle
Beach & Luxury Realty, Inc - Lake Mary, FL

Reminiscent of Jerry Maguire - "Show me the money!" 

It makes sense.  You can't influence without the other "I's," and what good are the other "I's" if you can't influence?

Apr 24, 2009 07:57 AM
Joe Pryor
The Virtual Real Estate Team - Oklahoma City, OK
REALTOR® - Oklahoma Investment Properties

I want to here more from you about Twitter. I remember the good old web 1.0 days when the snake oil salesman said he good give you more hits, when that was not what you wanted. At least the 2009 version has updated his BS. A rose is a rose? Merde is always merde. Sorry is my French sounds like Oklahoman.

Apr 24, 2009 08:09 AM
Georgie Hunter R(S) 58089
Hawai'i Life Real Estate Brokers - Haiku, HI
Maui Real Estate sales and lifestyle info

Point well taken.  Congrats on all the great comments.

Apr 24, 2009 10:58 AM
Rene Fabre
ARFCO Media - Renton, WA
Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts

Jeff... I agree. We're in the relationship business and that requires genuine participation. This is a new age and most of us are giving it our best to embrace social media with transparency and distance ourselves from greed capitalism. We're attempting to build communities where we are present, visible, have value, and contribute.

It blows me away when after a two hour talk about social media, someone will approach me and ask, "Is there a way to automate this?" I say, no...

Great points... thanks.

Rene'

Apr 24, 2009 11:37 AM
Lane Bailey
Century 21 Results Realty - Suwanee, GA
Realtor & Car Guy

I have not jumped on the "follow and ignore" train... and I won't.  I want to have a lot of followers, but I would rather have friends and two way conversations.  It is harder, though...

Apr 24, 2009 02:43 PM
Heather Fitzgerald
REALTY WORLD-Harbert Company, Inc. - Greenwood, IN
REALTOR Greenwood Indiana Real Estate

I love the YEO, and haven't gotten how people would care about twitter, but was worried I was geting old enough that I wasn't embracing technology at the same pace that I used to.  Glad I came across this.

Apr 24, 2009 03:55 PM
Sharon Alters
Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty - 904-673-2308 - Fleming Island, FL
Realtor - Homes for Sale Fleming Island FL

Jeff, I'm with Gail. I have 200 followers and can't find the people I want to connect with because of all the other tweets. I don't want to unfollow people because that seems rude but what else do you do?

Apr 25, 2009 09:03 AM
Esko Kiuru
Bethesda, MD

Jeff,

This makes you think, because what you say is so true. If the contact you make with others on social media sites is superficial, the chances are predictably small that it'll result in many business transactions.

Apr 25, 2009 10:59 AM
Brett Fagan Bozeman Montana Real Estate
Taunya Fagan Bozeman Montana Real Estate - Bozeman, MT
Boutique Luxury @ ESTATE House, Bozeman, Montana

I wasted time Twittering, and now doth Twittered time waste me...

Apr 25, 2009 01:30 PM
Carin Arrigo-Zimmer
TopBroker Network Real Estate - Orange, CA
TopBroker Network Real Estate

Jeff, your thoughtfulness and insight are always appreciated. Thank you for inspiring me to think, think, and think some more. =) Not only does having thousands of followers have the potential for very little YEO, communication gets lost in translation.

Apr 25, 2009 05:41 PM
Monica Bourgeau
Portland, OR
Business Coaching

Hi Jeff - I quoted you in my newest blog post on Twitter, I hope you don't mind! Engagement is the most important factor in marketing going forward.

May 05, 2009 05:09 AM
Jeff Turner
RealSatisfied - Santa Clarita, CA

Kevin & Monica... of course I don't mind. :)

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