I’m going to come right out and say that I hate how so many of these “social media experts” spout off about how nowadays you have to integrate yourself into the social web, that you and your business will be relegated to the halls of obscurity if you fail to do so. I spend a lot of time online, perhaps even too much, and I see these kinds of statements being thrown around all too frequently.
Most of the time I take statements like this from these social media types as nothing more than a sales pitch to get people or businesses interested in hiring them to create a facebook page for them. But under the surface of many of the cliché statements being thrown around there is some truth to be found.
Case in point is Melina Tomson. Melina is a local real estate broker who is owner of the Tomson Burnham firm. On top of owning her business, she has expanded her presence with a website and a blog. Blogs are social by nature, and The Real Estate Jumble has done a fine job of creating a mini community all of its own.
Beyond her website and blog, Melina has also joined several social networks including Facebook and Twitter. She can be seen on these networks interacting with people, both on a personal and professional level. My memory sometimes fails me, but I also think she was one of the first local people I talked to on Twitter.
Melina Tomson is someone who “gets” it. She knows what social media is and how to use it the right way. I say this for the following reasons based on actions I have observed:
- Some businesses treat Twitter as an outlet solely for advertising. Melina doesn’t. Scan through her timeline of Twitter updates and you’ll see a real person having real conversations with others. The subject sometimes drifts to topics related to real estate, but that’s to be expected (and encouraged).
- She has a blog that complements her business well. A corporate website is something every business should have, but a business blog allows the owner to interact with customers (or potential customers) in a way that is not possible with a static website.
- She has integrated herself into many different circles in an unobtrusive way. This has expanded her presence in far greater ways than a local ad could ever do.
I could also go on about how I think she’s doing a fantastic job with her blogging and the methods she’s using there, but that’s a subject for another day.
I’m not in the market for a house right now, but I know that when I am Melina Tomson will probably be the realtor that comes to my mind when the need arises. That is because in my mind I now associate Melina with real estate and it is all because of her excellence in how she’s managed her online social identities.
Melina is doing things right. She has put herself “out there” without putting anyone off, which is something many businesses haven’t been able to do. Without question, I would recommend her as a prime example for other small businesses on how to leverage social media to improve their business.
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