The Tweet Plan 2.0
By NikNik · August 6, 2009
The Tweet Plan is a simple way to share your resourceful tips and expertise with your network. You’ve heard of drip marketing right?! Well, the Tweet Plan is essentially “drip tweeting”.
Back in November of 2008, I created the Tweet Plan in order to streamline the resourceful side of twittering. I sent it to Darren Rowse (aka @Problogger), and he was intrigued and understood the value of better organizing your tweets to reach your network. Rowse published my tweet plan on his Twitter tips blog, Twitip.com. Shortly after, I modified the Tweet Plan specifically for real estate professionals and shared it here on MTO.
Well, the Tweet Plan is back and super charged with a new handy tool. In this new version you will drip your resourceful tweets using an auto-tweet tool called HootSuite throughout your day, but also share some spontaneous thoughts and experiences when you have time to! Let’s get started!
Step 1- Start a Tweet Topic List
Start with a tweet topic list, which is nothing more than an on-going list of topics you are passionate about, as well as your expertise. Here’s a quick example:
Step 2- Identify Your Resources
Visit and bookmark your favorite sites that provide great articles and media related to your topics and expertise on your Tweet List. Here are a few of my favorite sites:
Step 3: Schedule Your Drip Tweets
Now that you know where to find resourceful content, all you need is a great tool to automate your drip tweets to your network. My favorite auto-tweet tool is HootSuite. To get started, visit HootSuite.com and login with your Twitter info.
Next drag and drop the “Hootlet” into your toolbar.
Now you are ready to visit your favorite resource sites and set your drip tweets. For example, let’s say you visited the Cyberhomes Good Reading Blog. First, scan the site for a relevant article you’d like to share with your network.
After selecting the article you like, click on the “Hootlet” shortcut in your toolbar.
The Hootlet window will pop up and automatically create a tweet for you, including the article title, name of the Website, and shortened URL. You can then choose the “send later” link to schedule when you’d like that tweet published. You can also modify or customize that tweet with your own verbiage if necessary or even add you own opinion.
I recommend scheduling 5 drip tweets a day and staggering them out (i.e. 6:30am, 9:00am, 11:30am, 2:45pm, 7:00pm). And in order to better manage your time effectively, consider blocking time daily for a “Twitter Check-in”. During that time you will add new followers, send welcome messages, and schedule your 5 drip tweets for the day (or following day).
Step 4: Supplement with Spontaneous Tweets
Now if you’re sharing resource or drip tweets you ARE providing value to your network via broadcasting. But in order to become your network’s trusted advisor you should also be listening and responding. So try to make a little time each day (even if it’s only a few minutes) to scan your network’s tweets and respond back if you can relate, offer assistance, provide help, or just laugh along! Everyday moments and occurrences are very easy for people to relate to and engage with.
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Now this is an idea that I think is great. I always struggle with good content related tweets and personal tweets. This will make that problem essentially non-existent as I can set up my content tweets all at once…
It’s really easy to implement once you KNOW what you want to share and WHERE to look for that relevant info! Let me know if you have any questions! Happy tweeting!
Hey NikNik,
You and Reggie not only stole the show with your dancing but I would say you guys had the best content of the day at Inman Bloggers Connect ‘09. With the content you guys shared yesterday (much of which that is in this post) I am re-thinking the way I interact and use twitter. Time for me to make a tweet plan and do this right!
Thanks Again Guys – I had a blast and am filled with tons of new information!
Brendan…it was a pleasure meeting you in person finally. You already share rockin’ tweets with your network, but hopefully this will just help streamline your efforts a bit more. Looking forward to tweeting up with you and Morgan again soon!
I totally agree with Brendan! You and Reggie were awesome! Before yesterday, I was totally frustrated and overwhelmed with Twitter, but with this great plan it seems manageable. Thanks to you both for all these great tools (and entertainment too!).
You are most welcome! Learning should ALWAYS be just as FUN as it is informative!
I have been have the same discussion with the agents in our three offices. I’d love to share your post with the 100 plus agents in our offices.
Byron…share away! FYI- I just uploaded the new version of “Twitter for Real Estate Twits” here on MTO, which includes the tweet plan and the other tools and tips we shared at Inman. Enjoy!
I was so disappointed I couldn’t see you and Reggie present, but I was manning our pod. I knew I would be able to find it all on MTO, and I look forward to creating my own Tweet Plan, as well as taking it back to Shelly, Smarter Agent’s head of PR, to start creating one for the company.
It was great getting to meet you in person! Those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting Nik_Nik know she is always ‘On’, but I didn’t realize to what extent until we were taking a cab from Beer with Bloggers to our next stop of the evening. I was crying from laughing so hard as I listened to her explain the importance of social networking to our cab driver. He was intrigued, but how could he not be?! He had one of the best in his front seat explaining how he could be the GO TO Cabby of San Francisco!
Thank you for all the great articles and feedback you provide. I look forward to your tweets, blogs and links on a daily basis!
I had the best time with you Jen! I think “social media consulting” via cab rides could make for a great business model! PLEASE tell me when you’ll be visiting again….because I’d drop everything for you!
Loved your Twitter Tips in SF AND the dance
which I unfortunately I only caught on the Dakno stream. Very cool! The idea of a Plan to stay on track is excellent for those of us who are easily intrigued by “information” and bright shiny objects.
I’m hoping that Dakno and Inman will post the video soon to their sites so we can share. But in the meantime, all the new tools and tips are in the new verson of “Twitter for Real Estate Twits”. Keep up the great tweets!
The Tweet Plan 2.0 http://tinyurl.com/nl58b9
Love it!
How to effectively use Twitter: The Tweet Plan 2.0 http://bit.ly/14pyEC
Thanks. Doing a search, to figure this out, and ran into this post…go figure. Missed you @ Inman…
FYI, Perry Belcher suggests posting in at a faster time period, every 5 min or so. This way, the posts are mor in the eyes of the viewer. Not sure. Maybe split test?
Sometimes tough to find good content to tweet about. I will snail mail you some goodies soon too. Almost in alpha..
Thanks, Edde Godshalk
The Tweet Plan 2.0 http://tinyurl.com/nl58b9
Don’t be fooled, people don’t even read 1% of all the crap that is sent out daily on twitter. If you would invest your time working on a community around your site, you would get a much better result then investing time in a hype that probably will blow over rather sooner then later.
I know people who had thousands of followers and one day their account was closed for some unfathomable reason. Everything lost.
Would you invest in something like that? When you put time and effort in your blog, you will have a real asset, while twitter is just a hot air balloon which can explode in your face any minute.
So sad that you totally miss the point of Twitter, not to mention that you’re so misinformed! The only tweeps getting their accounts suspended are spammers…can’t say I’m sorry if that happened to you. Twitter is NOT about the # of followers you have anyway, it’s about creating relationships and providing relevant & helpful content to your target network.
Most of the smart real estate folks I interface with are using Twitter as a conversational tool to answer questions, share their expertise, and YES, drive traffic to their blogs! If your blog is your online homebase and you care about building community shouldn’t you be using strategies to promote your blog content. Social networks like Twitter and Facebook have been sending 20% more traffic to my blog than Google lately. That’s clearly a result from utilizing the social component of these networking sites.
But I guess you’re the type of guy that believes the world is flat too!
Great plan NikNik!
I am in the process of setting up my Twitter account and learning how powerful it really is. My wife has been on there for about a year and has built great relationships with people all over the world using Twitter AND it drives a ton of traffic to our real estate investing site and blog.
I liked that you included Step 4: Supplement with Spontaneous Tweets, because that is truly where you will build that bond with your followers and those you follow. At least, that’s what my wife tells me!
I’ll be sure to check in at MTO more often. Thanks for the post!
The Tweet Plan 2.0 http://tinyurl.com/nl58b9
The Tweet Plan 2.0 http://tinyurl.com/nl58b9
Reason #13 you are one of my favorite “Human Aggregators” Nik_Nik, This post is wonderful
I love this great info Nik Nik, and HootSuite. Have wanted to do this for a while since I have the RE and horse sites and it sure would help. Thanks for all you do for me, and your many fans.