Twitter we’ve all heard about this phenom thingy. What is Twitter exactly, how do you use it properly and why the hell should you most certainly be using it in the real estate or any other industry on the planet?

For starters as of today…

Twitter is already the 36th most visited website in the world and climbing fast according to Alexa.com, I expect it to hit top 20 website by the end of the year or higher. That s a pretty good reason to get yourself on there and benefit from the immense traffic on the site.

Next Twitter is estimated to have 100 million members possibly by the end of 2009.

Over HALF of all Twitter members are age 35 or older.

Over 51 of Twitters make over $60,000 a year.

Twitter is NOT MySpace or Facebook, or what I call the teeny bopper and booty call sites.

Twitters are mostly professionals, business owners or at least wanna be business owners.

63 of users have college and/or graduate school degrees or attended.

76 of Twitter users have wireless internet.

What this means to people in the real estate or any other industry? These Twitters are highly educated, high tech and affluent buyers that can and will need your services someday soon.

Next why Google will for sure buy Twitter this year I believe, because of the REAL TIME search capabilities.

What does that mean you may wonder?

Unlike Google where you type a keyword phrase in and on first page you usually get a lot of spam sites, articles, press releases, article directories and things not related to your search.

With Twitter if you put in say real estate Austin Texas , you will instantly see who in the world at that EXACT time or at least in the last few hours has been talking about real estate in Austin Texas.

You then can join that conversation, send those people a direct message on Twitter, maybe refer them to someone, follow them on Twitter to build a relationship with them, answer there question or direct them to your blog or website for more info.

It’s basically like these people are raising their hands waiting for you to help them. This is why you should be spending hours on Twitter daily, yes hours no kidding.

This is the TRUE POWER of Twitter, that s never been seen before in the marketing, sales and business world.

Twitter also helps you build your incoming links to your personal or business blog and website for free. The more followers you have and tweets you do, the more incoming back links you will generate to your sites. More links = more traffic = higher search rankings more the keywords your going for = more $$$ for YOU!

Wikipedia states: Twitter is a free social networking and micro blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users updates known as tweets. Tweets are text based posts of up to 140 characters in length which are displayed on the user s profile page and delivered to other users who have subscribed to them (known as followers).

So like a regular blog that you may have on ActiveRain, Wordpress or Blogger. You can build your personal brand in your niche, you can grow and show your expertise in your field, you can help educate and inform potential prospects on your Twitter profile.

These are just a few reasons why you must have and use daily a Twitter account, to stay competitive or have the edge over others in your real estate or any other niche.

Ben Jordan is the founder of: http://www.mobileaustinnotary.com. Mobile Austin Notary a Texas notary and Texas loan signing agent company that covers the entire state of Texas. Rated as one of the top: http://www.mobileaustinnotary.com. Austin Texas Notary service providers because of their Texas sized customer service, use of cutting edge technology and vast experience.

Social media is the utilization of online communities to promote sales, create business opportunities, and increase the exposure of a particular company. In today’s world, we spend more time online than anywhere else! Social media allows businesses to tap into the steady source of users that are registered through popular online communities. By reaching out to users through these web communities, companies can then create a rapport with the average consumer. Businesses can understand what their target audience is and how to fulfill their needs.

Popular social media sites that are usually targeted include Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, Facebook, Twitter and many more. These sites give businesses the opportunity to keep in touch with the world and familiarize users with their brand name. Providing updates about various products, and latest advancements of a company, gives consumers something to think about. These updates can lead interested and curious users back to the company website to find out more information. Businesses can discover new target audiences that they hadn’t previously considered through this method of marketing. From analyzing the type of users who showed interest in their company, they can then alter their marketing techniques to effectively increase sales. Being linked to online communities will give businesses and their websites a steady flow of fresh traffic.

Companies interacting through online communities will maximize their number of back links which will help their SEO campaigns. The popularity of a brand name or company on a web community all depends on how much they can provide to their loyal consumers. The more you give, the more you will get in return. For example, a company promoting special offers, discounts, imagery, video and gaming entertainment, will be more popular than companies that merely register and provide a paragraph of information. The idea is not be as focused on selling and to be more interested on putting your customer at ease. By providing entertainment and information for your customer this will add a personal appeal to your brand name and they will be satisfied knowing that you’re not just trying to sell your product.

If you don’t know where to begin, using social networks to drive quality traffic to your website can be a confusing experience. It is important to first assess the quality of the community you want your company to be a part of and whether it will attract the right kind of consumers. If a community will not bring you quality traffic to your website then there is no point. If you have a website that sells dentures you definitely don’t want to waste your time joining a community catered to younger generations! Maybe a social network for 50+ would be more ideal? Once you have narrowed down the network websites right for your company to be affiliated with, you should then scope out if there is already a company profile existing. If this is the case, you will have to formulate a strategy to have your profile stand out from the rest.

Creating a profile through a social media network may not be something that will click right away. Social networking is definitely a trial and error method which will give you the results you need only by checking out what works for you and your business.

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