Real You: The social media allure

I'll admit it. I'm hooked on Twitter and Facebook. And I'm there, almost too often. But in my defense, I love it out there. Yesterday, I discovered the Women Entrepreneur Festival taking place in New York and on the hashtag #wefestival. Following the tweets, I was almost in the room. It was so inspiring. Meanwhile, on Facebook, I watch my high school and college friends' children grow, share in their accomplishments and meet new friends with shared interests - from all over the world. I've also started my first ever fan page and it's almost silly how joyful I become when another person "Like"s my Kaira Rouda Books page. (Sally Fields, anyone?)

I've found folks to be either all in or completely disdainful when it comes to social media. And what I will say, to those who remain in disdain, try LinkedIn. It's like sticking your toe in the water. Move on from there.

As I wrote in Real You Incorporated, the real world really is on online; and you should join the fun.

Real You: The Fun of Constant Learning

Recently, I hosted a a webinar for the Women’s Council of Realtors. The focus was on how to get your business up and going as a new sales associate in the real estate business. The thing is, the advice for new real estate entrepreneurs is the same for new entrepreneurs in any business. Today, you are your strongest competitive advantage. It all starts with you. Your personal brand, clearly articulated, is your killer app. Your shining story. Uniquely yours and there for you to use to connect with your perfect customer. We spent a lot of the webinar discussing personal branding and target marketing. As you know, the ability to target, truly reach the right customer at the right time, has never been better. But it’s also really confusing to folks unfamiliar with the social media tools and platforms. I know, I’m learning every day, too.

For yesterday’s presentation, I created a chart—a hierarchy of sorts of how to present the Real You on the web. It starts with your website. There, you and your company tell your story to your target audience, clearly and with passion. Next, start networking. Online, the best place to begin is LinkedIn. Next step, Facebook. And once you’re comfortable with those two platforms—and perhaps you’ve added a blog—then tackle Twitter. If you’ve done your Real You chart , the words you see in front of you should often be found in the 140 characters you post on Twitter.

Trying to explain it better, a woman named Linda chimed in. She said she’s begun to think of LinkedIn as a Chamber of Commerce Small Business Meeting. Informational, flat and decorous. She considers Facebook a business cocktail party, where people are sharing a bit more of their personal side and conversing freely. (Hopefully, not too freely). I asked, so what’s Twitter?

She hadn’t decided. So I’ve been thinking about it. I love Twitter. To me, it’s about sharing thoughts and insights closely aligned with your personal brand and business brand in the world. In that sense, perhaps Twitter is the fly on the wall at the cocktail party. Gleaning the best, most concise insights and sharing them outward. At least, that’s what Twitter can be at its best.

The best way to learn about what any of these platforms can do for you and your business—or the business you are dreaming of creating—is to jump in and learn.

Cheers! And thanks for the learning, Linda!