It's been a long time since I've written on this blog...but I'm so bothered by a recent trend that needs to stop. I'm noticing many local real estate agents who are outsourcing their status updates on Twitter and/or Facebook. The also have the same blog posts. This is NOT what social media is about.
I'm afraid that a company or person who is promoting themselves as social media experts has sold these folks on an "easy button" and social media isn't easy (and it's really not that hard either). The real trick is that you need to be you--you need to be real. If you can't take 15 seconds to type 140 characters or less from your mobile phone when you're waiting for a client or at lunch--maybe you shouldn't be doing Facebook or Twitter right now...it's okay. Not everybody has to be on Facebook or Twitter or have a blog to be successful. Social media is far more than "just being there" or gaming for SEO (search engine optimization).
So please don't pay to have your personal status updated... Twitter prompts YOU to answer "What's Happening?" and Facebook asks "Whats on YOUR mind?" Neither platform is encouraging your updates to be artificial or "not YOU".
I'm sure these agents don't mean to be phony, insincere or spammy--this is the risk they're taking when you farm out your "personality".
In the great words of Oscar Wilde, "Be yourself, everyone else is all ready taken".