Image by mike912mueller via Flickr

Since my early days of social media, I have been telling people what close bonds I have created with people who in many cases, I have never met face to face.

I have met clients, made friends and even met my own love: Morriss, via social media. There is something very powerful that can happen when you share yourself with others and it can truly change your life. I know my engagement with people on Twitter especially, has changed mine.

One of the first people that I got to know via social media was a guy named Clint Miller. Clint is a real estate lead generation specialist from Montana. He is a down and dirty, tell it like it is, REALLY real person. His genuine spirit shines through his writing on his blog, his Facebook statuses and his Tweets. I have spoken with Clint on the phone several times, but we have never met face to face.

He checks on me when I get quiet online (including once when my cat was stepping on my keyboard while I was out and sending odd tweets) and is a person that I count as a true friend.

Well, Clint has been dealing with some really bad stuff lately as he battles cancer and many of us have been wondering what we could do to help him in this difficult time. My friend Diane Haley Brooks asked Clint what he needed and his main concern was being able to Skype with his young boys while he was away for extended periods undergoing treatments.

Diane reached out to a group of us known as the TwitterQueens to see if we thought we could get enough people to contribute towards and iPad for Clint. A group of amazing people came to the front including: Diane Guercio, Debbie Kirkland, Chris Griffith, Amy Cesario, Kappy Mann, Cyndee Haydon, Audrey June-Forshey and myself.

We spent some time planning and shooting video for Clint (which Diane Guercio edited into a beautiful tribute) and then clicked send on the iPad. Clint received it yesterday and it was like Christmas for us! He was pretty excited, too!

I take the time to share this with you so that you understand the real power of social media…the potential for good and giving that exists in a way that never has before. My friend Diane Guercio said that she loves the fact that we live now because 30 years ago we probably wouldn’t know each other…isn’t that amazing?

I leave you today with a challenge:

Go onto Facebook or Twitter and say something nice to someone just because. See if someone seems sad and send them a private pick me up message. Offer to help, share a smile, be there and be open. Let me know what amazing things happen to you!

I came to Florida to speak at the Florida REALTORS State Conference and enjoy the Real Estate BarCamp Orlando event. It was an amazing week of sharing social media tips, teaching Twitter and video blogging, visiting with great friends and enjoying some warm sunshine.

When leaving Massachusetts, I had been concerned that I may be flying into Irene…oddly enough there was no effect from the hurricane in Orlando, whatsoever. Going home, however, was another issue. We are unable to get out of Florida before Wednesday due to all of the backlog on delayed flights. Our friend Debbie Kirkland brought us up to her house in Tallahassee where we are hanging out for a few days.

Besides the fact that I really miss my kids, it isn’t such a bad problem to have. I have been watching Twitter and Facebook and am amazed at the pictures and videos I see posted! Westfield looks to be dealing with a lot of flooding and I hope my friends and clients are all doing well.

I had a wonderful time speaking and teaching social media this week, but I am looking forward to getting back to Park Square Realty where I can use my expertise to help people who are buying a home or selling a home in Western MA.

I will be presenting “Tweet Success:How To Market Yourself on Twitter” to the attendees of the Florida State Conference for REALTORS. It is an honor to be presenting along with so many amazing stars in the real estate field.

I will also be attending (and perhaps facilitating a session) at the RE BarCamp Orlando on August 24, 2011 just prior to the conference. It will be wonderful to see many great friends, learn from the best in the real estate social media space and meet new friends!

This will be my second year at both functions and I had such a terrific experience, I can’t wait to return!

Will you be there, too? Let’s connect!

QR Codes (Quick Read) are dimensional bar codes that can be scanned with a smart phone and enable print materials to go mobile on your mobile browser.

REALTORS can use this in a number of inventive ways and the best part is they are FREE and easy to implement and trackable!

Be sure to register for my power lunch and learn session at the Greater New Haven Association of Realtors.

Would you like me to speak about QR Codes or other social media marketing for REALTORS? Contact me through the green contact button to the left.

Lately, though, I have been missing the “Twitter of old”. When I first joined Twitter, it was an underground social media experiment of sorts. It wasn’t indexed on Google and most people had barely heard of it. That lent itself to allowing those of us pioneers to get some time to mingle. When I first began, it was exciting to have all these new people following me. I soon realized, however, that while the number of followers can fool you into feeling popular, many of these people never actually TALKED to me. I gravitated towards others who wanted to socialize and converse and have made some powerful and amazing relationships (including meeting my boyfriend @mmpartee).

Twitter has always been my favorite social media platform because it is quick and agile and everyone’s experience is defined by who they follow, so each stream is unique. That being said, I have been spending less time on Twitter and couldn’t quite put a finger on why.

Last night I figured it out. I tweeted that I missed when people on Twitter tweeted at me with conversation and not sales. I longed for the day when the stream was more than an endless pitch of blog posts and ponzi scams. Was I ever gratified when out of blue several people started actual conversations with me. Many of them are “old twitter friends” and several were people I had never chatted with. I was energized and excited that Twitter could still hold that positive result for me.

I tossed out that we should create a movement to take back the “Twitter of old” by committing to strike up at least three conversations on Twitter a day.

I added that I thought we should use the hashtag #3Tweets to be accountable to each other.

My plan includes doing some Twitter pruning for the first time ever. I never really felt the need to thin the herd before, but after last night, I feel like it is time to create space for conversations with people who want to engage.

Of course I use social media venues, including Twitter to share my blog posts and business ventures. BUT….I still talk with people most of the time. If you are using Twitter as one neverending commercial sales pitch, say goodbye to me now while you still can.

If you feel the same way as I do, drop in on #3Tweets and share the conversations! I am @LesleyLambert, Twittervangelist!

It is no secret that I am a big fan of all things social media and technology in real estate. Using location-based applications is no exception. I have been using applications like Brightkite, Foursquare and Gowalla for a couple of years now in Western MA and have spent a lot of time thinking about how I can utilize them to help with exposure in the local Western MA real estate market.

Last summer I wrote a post on this topic for Agent Genius magazine geared toward sharing some of my thoughts on how location based applications like Foursquare can be used in a marketing and branding sense to expose real estate agents to a new market.

I was beyond flattered when REALTOR Magazine emailed me and asked if they could use some of my post as a quote in an upcoming article on the same subject. Yesterday my broker presented me with the magazine and when I saw the article I was even MORE excited because I shared space in the story with Todd Carpenter, NAR’s social media manager. Todd and I have had the opportunity to meet a few times and I am so honored to be quoted in the same story!

If you want to take a look at the REALTOR Magazine story, click here. I am so proud to see my quote followed up by says Lesley Lambert, a sales associate with Park Square Realty in Westfield, Mass!

If you are interested in learning more about social media, technology or location-based applications you can contact me. If you want a REALTOR who is using new media techniques to help her clients achieve their home-ownership dreams then definitely contact me!

I love the unconference platform and have since attended numerous different camps, but #PCWM remains my favorite for several reasons.

#1- I love meeting other people in my area who share a love of all things internet geeky. I know most of them through Twitter and it is a favorite thing of mine to get to meet them face to face and share our passion.

#2- Western MA is full of some amazing talent. We might seem to be a quiet little backwater to some, but if you scratch the surface you will discover that we are densely populated with some truly brilliant and generous people. I am thrilled to be surrounded by so much enthusiasm and intellect.

#3- We have the MOST fun. From the pre-party (new this year), through the day of camp and the wrap party you will hear laughter, see smiles and hugs and genuine happiness. It is over way too soon every time. There was mention of making PodCamp Western MA a two day event next time and I vote YES!

#4- Ideas. No matter how far I travel into tech savvy-ness, I learn new things and get fresh ideas every time. Last year I learned about QR codes and implemented a very bleeding edge real estate marketing campaign. This year I got some awesome ideas on content sharing and inspiration to delve deeper into my video blogging. It is always a rich environment for new thoughts I can use as a REALTOR in Western MA.

#5- Energy. It is so invigorating to be around this group of people. I get new energy to resume projects and the Podcamp fever extends into my work week giving me joy.

I taught a new (for me) session this year: “How to shoot, edit and upload video in 15 mins with your iPhone”. It was a small niche session filled with interesting people and we decided to use our time to execute a video on the spot. Here it is:

I also did a video with all my other pics and footage from the events:

This event over the course of the last three years has been instrumental in a sea change for me in both my business and personal life. It has enriched and deepened friendships and opened my heart and mind in wonderful ways. Thank you to my wonderful boyfriend, Morriss and our friends Jaclyn and Kelly for organizing yet another fabulous Podcamp! You guys should be very proud of the event and its ripples.

Today I want to share my favorites with you and I hope you will peruse their posts and enjoy as much as I do.

#1- Exploring Western Massachusetts.
This blog is an everything Western MA site with wonderful posts about events, places and history of this great part of the world.

#2- The Jump, WriterJax
The musings of the eclectic and entertaining Jaclyn Stevenson. You just never know what you will find when you visit this blog, but it is always fun!

#3- Holyoke Home
from their about section: One couple. One dog. One garden. One achingly lovely historic brick row house in Holyoke, Massachusetts. One very cool city. One VERY LONG renovation ‘wish list.’ One project at a time? We’ll see. I love antique homes and can appreciate what they are sharing through their process. Also a very positive view of the city of Holyoke.

#4- Berkshire Country Homes
Even though my town of Westfield is just at the foothills of the Berkshires, every time I visit those lovely mountains I feel that I am a world away. Marlene’s posts take me there when I don’t have time to drive.

#5- Cooper Green Design
While I don’t know this designer personally, I enjoy learning about Green living architecture and find this blog to be a great resource and food for thought.

BONUS

#6- Wooing Your TQ
This one is really #1 for me, but since it is ABOUT me, I thought I should share it as a bonus. Morriss has created this lovely homage to our romance and I find it very sweet and inspirational!

I am always on the lookout for new local blogs to peruse…what do you recommend?

I didn’t know of anyone else that was using these in their marketing so with an adventurous spirit I set forth creating my own plan.

During the course of the last year the use of QR Codes picked up a lot of attention in the real estate space and a lot of nay sayers, too.

Many people don’t see a reason for QR Codes or the hype that they have picked up. I have quietly continued with my use of them and about once a week someone (a programmer or another agent) will reach out to ask me how things are going.

Since people (at least some people) seem interested in knowing how it is going for me, I thought I would write a post.

The first thing that other agents want to know is how many leads I have picked up or have I had any sales directly from a QR Code. The answer is none and no. But I didn’t expect that to happen, not for some time. I also think that question is sort of like asking how many leads you have gotten from having a smart phone.

QR Codes are bleeding edge stuff and I live in a very suburban area. I figure it will still be a year before consumers really start to “get it”.

Which usually brings the next question, “Well then, why are you doing it?” Answer:

I am intrigued. I like the fact that they turn print materials into mobile ready information and that they are a green friendly solution to flyers and other printables. They are more trackable than a regular print ad and they are notable in their uniqueness. Staying abreast of mobile marketing is a big part of my business plan and I want to be a leader in my business space.

Also, they are becoming more mainstream. In the course of the last year I have seen major department stores using them in ads, sports stores using them in displays and most of my bills have one printed on it, too.

The sales of smart phones is on the rise and with that, mobile smart technology is bound to become more popular.

As to what I have learned over the last year:

#1- I was doing a specific property code and web url on a rider for each listing. This is not only not cost effective, it is wasteful as the metal rider is useless after that home is sold. I have switched that to create a url and code that will deliver the buyer to an easy to navigate general listings page and I can keep using the riders over again.

#2- There are a LOT of ways to generate and track and promote your codes. I have tried Clikbrix and am just now trying Toor.me

While I like both sites and appreciate that they are very easy to use, one thing that keeps me from using them more is that I have to fill in another page of information. I am already filling in an MLS form, ad forms, web page information, blog posts, etc. I find that I often put these mobile sites to the back burner because of form burnout.

#3- You want some kind of tracking. Sure, you can’t reach out and contact the people that scan your codes (but I think that would be creepy anyways), but you can see which codes are working and re-think your strategies. There are lots of ways to track: via a company like the ones mentioned above or by tracking the url with a service like bit.ly or my preference goo.gl.

#4- Be creative. Anyone can create a code for their listing, but what ELSE can you do with them? I put one on my business card that opens up my online business card so clients can easily save me to their smartphone without having to type. I also put one on this year’s business holiday card that opened a video with a holiday greeting from me…thereby making my holiday card an interactive multi-media experience.

Well, I have work to do so I will wrap this up, but I will finish by saying that I know I have yet to scratch the surface of how a QR code can be used for real estate and plan to keep experimenting. I will keep you posted!

It got me to thinking, I wonder what other people think of automated DM’s?

Well, what do you think?