Relationships are where the magic happens. It can also be a time waster if you’re connecting with the wrong people so it is important to stay away from the wrong people. So who are the 7 types people in social media to stay away from?

I love social media.

As the real estate marketing specialist on my team, it is my job to market my listings and website. I also use social media to connect with consumers and referral partners. Social media allows me to meet and connect with more people than I could possibly do physically. To me, not only is it the biggest asset – to connect me with the potential clients, clients....people who have questions. It saves time. I do have to watch what I do on social media or I can get off task easily. 

Relationships are where the magic happens.

It can also be a time waster if you’re connecting with the wrong people so it is important to stay away from the wrong people.

So who are the 7 types people in social media to stay away from?

1) The Original Time Waster: This type of person may between career choices and will want to pick your brain. They will ask many questions about your business or a business you had been involved in. This person should not be confused with the person who ask just a couple questions. It becomes a point when this type of person will take advantage of your friendship. The conversations will go from being beneficial to a dump fest or a woe with me public outcry. I once met a loan officer who was the Original Time Waster. He really didn't know what he wanted. He also had many personal issues going on and he got social media friends to feel sorry for him. He eventually burned quite a few people and left the area. As a small business owner, you want to be really careful with these people, because they’re not beneficial to your business. In fact they may hurt your business reputation.

2) The Spammer: The spammer is hard to carry on a conversation with. Trying to engage with a spammer is like talking to a 3 month old baby. You can do all the talking and they will sit there and smile. They're too busy posting messages and promoting their agenda. They're even notorious for posting the same exact message multiple times and over many groups. If you comment or ask a question, they typically will not respond because they're busy posting. I've talked to a few and asked them why they post so many times. The responses I have heard back are “it is about the numbers””The more people I meet, the greater chance I can sell . . . “ or “I was posting because I figured people wanted to read it.” Spammers are great at killing the mood of a Facebook group and turning a Facebook group into a ghost town.

3) The So Called Expert Know It All: The trouble with the So Called Expert Know It All is they annoy people. They're too busy trying to prove that they are right and they will kill the conversation by cutting off debate. They will make fun of anyone who has an opinion different than their opinion. They have a knack for locating great discussions and sharing opinions only to ruin it by jumping in and forcing their way of thinking onto everyone else. They think their business is the center of the universe and how dare anyone have a different opinion. When they hop into a conversation you will notice that only people with their opinion will stay in the conversation. These type of wrong people represent the exact opposite of what social media is supposed to be about and are typically found on politically motivated sites and groups.

4) The Shameless Self-Promoter: This person has an agenda and they will keep wasting your time until you bite. Social media is full of these type of people. They want you to read their blog, watch their video or follow their link. They have an e-book or training seminar they want to sell. If you have a conversation with this type of person they will mention their promotion. They want to schedule an appointment with you. They're good at mentioning the DEAL, like “Save Now” “Training Starts Next Week” or “Once I Sell Out, I'm taking my Site Down.” Their great at pointing out the millions they have made and they want to share it with you, if you act now. These people have the same skills of the spammer. They will steal ideas and present them as their own. Stay away from this type of person in social media who does nothing but hawk their own stuff. Don't confuse this person with the marketer because there is a difference. The difference between being a marketer and being a shameless self-promoter is people tend not to enjoy speaking with the latter.

5) The Professional Social Media Employee: This person gets paid to spend their day to post data on behalf of their client. There are a few good ones but for the most part, most don't really know what their tweeting on Twitter or posting on Facebook. It is hard to engage with them because if they receive a detailed or technical comment or reply, they pass it on to the boss and wait for a reply from the boss. Carrying a conversation with this type of person is like playing a game of “Words with Friends” with a person who takes a day between the moves. The lag time kills the conversation. Be cautious of affiliating yourself with these people. It’s not that their bad people, but there’s nothing more dangerous than a person with too much time on their hands. Personally, these people are wonderful people who have great social media skills. Dealing with these people is like that of a relative who keeps you out to dinner for hours just because they have nowhere to go after dinner.  Just like our relatives, we love them, but they can also be great time wasters. If you value your time during the business day, tread lightly. If you want to connect with the Professional Social Media Employee, connect with them on their personal time.

6) The Habitual Complainer: 

I guess somewhere it became acceptable and even encouraged to use social media as the diary of why your having a bad day. You’ve probably met these type of people, right? They’re the folks who always appear to be having a bad day and who spend all their social media interactions yelling and screaming and kicking their feet. Do yourself a favor and avoid these folks. Now don't get me wrong, I understand people have problems and sympathize for them. I have had my share of problems like blindness, diabetes and injuries. I just don't go on social media and do the “Woe with Me” stuff. The people who do are looking for attention and I’ve found that too much exposure to negative people can ruin your mood and your day. Negativity attracts more negativity. Surround yourself with positive people who are excited about what their doing and the people their talking to. Because excitement is also contagious. And which would you rather catch? I know I want to be surrounded by positve people, don't you?

7) The Social Media Guru: Hey, don’t get me wrong. I like gurus and a lot of my friends are social media gurus. It’s not that they’re bad people, it’s just that they often will not bring much value to your business. What do I mean? How is connecting with XYZ social media guru in New York going to help your business in (your city)? As a small business owner, you don’t need to be connecting with hundreds of social media gurus on Twitter and Facebook. A couple is all you need. Read their blogs on Google Reader is ok, connecting with them on social media is useless, other than letting your friends know that you're connected to a famous person. I meet those people all of the time at networking events and they will tell me that social media doesn't work for them. After analyzing their social media presence, I notice that they spend their time retweeting social media gurus and commenting on the same social media gurus walls. Connecting with the Gurus will have little impact on your business.

So now that I shared with you the people to stay away from on Social Media, I'll post the type of people you should focus connecting with on social media tomorrow.

I hope this post will help you become more successful with using social media. By connecting with the right people, you will find that social media will not be a time waster and will in fact help your business grow.

If you’re selling your home, and would like to connect with potential buyers....let’s talk.

Who you connect with says as much about you, as the thoughts and ideas you post.  Pick the right people, get the right results!

If you would like to connect with me, feel free to connect with my social media channels below.

Facebook Profile – http://www.Facebook.com/KansasCityRealEstate

Facebook Real Estate Network – http://www.Facebook.com/KansasCityRealEstateNetwork

Twitter: http://www.Twitter.comDowellTaggart

RE/MAX sells more homes than any other real estate company.
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