If an outlier, by Malcolm Gladwell’s definition, is someone that exists and acts outside the normal experience, then an inlier would be one who exists and acts as part of it.

I  propose we refer to an inlier as someone in a mainstream user base … the majority … someone who is, statistically at least, like most other users.

By this definition, social media adopters to date are not inliers. They are not the rule, but exceptions to it.

This has been my argument and purpose for building a learning community and question-answer site around social media and digital marketing.

The rest of the country, not Silicon Valley, New York, Boston or Austin, doesn’t Tweet, blog, check-in or post. via What Inliers Think About Social Media | Social Media Explorer

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Did you catch this insight?

“Blogging on a real estate related web site makes sense to me nowadays, though I questioned the efficacy in 2010.”

Lot’s of other folks in the real estate industry are embracing blogging and dipping their toes into social media. (Okay, maybe they are diving head first into Facebook.) Many of my new clients are Realtors who recognize stale, static websites and third-party template sites are no longer effective business tools.

Real estate agents are eager to learn social media and WordPress.

Where do they start? My suggestion is to read, read and read more. Here are blogs I think are helpful to agents just getting started.

Not a real estate agent? Don’t skip out just yet. You’ll find the majority of the suggested blogs helpful, too.

NOTE: All URL addresses are ready to paste into your favorite feed reader. Click the blog title to review online.

Keep Up With Facebook Changes

• All Facebook – http://feedproxy.google.com/allfacebook
• Inside Facebook – http://feeds.feedburner.com/InsideFacebook
• Wildfire – http://feeds.feedburner.com/wildfireapp

New to Social Media?

• Duct Tape Marketing – http://feeds.feedburner.com/ducttapemarketing/nRUD
• Social Media Examiner – http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/feed/

Real Estate Specific

• 1000 Watt Blog – http://www.1000wattblog.com/1000_watt/atom.xml
• Amy Chorew – http://feeds.feedburner.com/TechnologyStrategiesForRealEstate
• Are We Connected? – http://feeds2.feedburner.com/areweconnectedcom
• GeekEstate – http://www.geekestateblog.com/feed/
• Mortgage: Dan Green – http://www.themortgagereports.com/index.rdf
• REtech South – http://www.retechsouth.com/feed/
• Social Media Marketing Institute – http://www.smminstitute.com/blog/rss.xml

Real Estate Bloggers

• Denver: Kristal Kraft, Realtor – http://www.kristalsellsdenver.com/denverdwellings/feed/
• Nashville: Brian Copeland, Realtor – http://feeds.feedburner.com/nashvilleandbeyond
• Pasadena: Irina Natchaev, Realtor – http://www.pasadenacarealestatehomes.com/RSS
• Phoenix: Jay Thompson, Realtor – http://feeds.feedburner.com/JaysArizonaRealEstateBlog
• San Diego: Kris Berg, Realtor – http://sandiegohomeblog.com/feed/
• St. Paul: Teresa Boardman, Realtor – http://feeds.feedburner.com/typepad/TLoY

Gadgets, Geeks and More

• Dan Zarella, Social Media Research – http://feeds2.feedburner.com/DanZarrella
• Dropbox (a must have free application) – file sync that works!
• Evernote (another must have free application) – http://blog.evernote.com/feed/
• Matt Cutts; Gadgets, Google and SEO – http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/feed/
• WordPress for Beginners – http://www.wpbeginner.com/feed/

What blogs do you recommend for someone ready, willing and eager to learn social media and blogging? Add your suggestion in the comments.

Yes, it’s okay to recommend your blog. I reserve right to remove the link if the self-promotion is deemed less than helpful.

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The image is from the Online Marketing | Sweet Tea Group edition. Articles are shared by 381 people on Twitter who talk about social media, online marketing and social business.

I find the digital newspaper an easy way to quickly scan the latest updates when I’m on the run.

Today’s featured web marketing articles include:

• Top 75 Apps for Enhancing Your Facebook Page
• 25 Ways to Get More Social Media Followers
• The One Thing About Social Media That Most People Don’t Think About
• What CFOs think about social media
• The 12 Days of Tweetmas « Birmingham Blogging Academy
• 5 fun facts about “It’s a Wonderful Life”
• What They Want For Christmas

Like what you are reading? Subscribe to our email newsletter for action oriented online marketing guidelines which save you grief.

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I truly enjoy connecting with other folks who enjoy marketing and using the internet to build their business. It’s enlightening to learn from those who make their living as consultants to businesses interested in using the internet as a business tool. It’s what I do for a living, too.

The social media seminars that put me on edge—the same way fingernails on chalkboards put me on edge—are created by those who choose the reactive path to a social media help desk.

Social Strategists are multi-dimensional and risk takers…

We have to be. This new media industry is part web design, part communication, part marketing, part social, part strategy, part innovation, part creativity, and part empathy.

Passion counts for everything.

Brian Solis believes we must embrace social science to bring a human touch to our brand, our products and our processes to help us find our voice, our mission, and our purpose.

The art of humanizing communication is my strength—it always has been. Whether this is a natural gift or a by product of dysfunctional family systems no longer matters.

What matters is the finely tuned intuitive ability to rally business stakeholders and lead efforts across departmental channels.

I embrace the proactive, strategic approach of a Social Media Champion.

What path are you taking? Whose path are you following?

Related articles

• Who to Hire For Your Social Media Management Needs in 2011
• Social media marketing budgets set to rise in 2011
• Just Friends, Dating or Married?

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I read Olivier’s post early this morning, yet never got back for the comments.

Olivier’s tweet late this afternoon to Chris Abraham‘s  posted comment helped round out my thoughts on the discussion.

Chris begins:

Outsourcing to an agency is like hiring a wedding planner so that you can actually enjoy your own wedding and guests.

The bride and her family choose the planner and the planner works with the family until everything is right, but when it comes to the ceremony and the reception and all the details, a majority of the staffing and operations are taken care of by other people

The following is my comment in response to the analogy Chris used:

I’m with you on this one Chris and appreciate the wedding planner analogy. However, a wedding ends the day of the ceremony. Where does the planner go then?

My clients are advised at the time of our proposal that we are in this for the long haul; in sickness and in health, if you will.

What if the business doesn’t “get” social? Are they consigned to wait in the wings, always the bridesmaid, never the bride? Are their friends and family to stand silent knowing disaster lies ahead and let them fail? I don’t think so.

As a trusted partner/adviser in the business relationship I meet my partner/owner where they are, not where I think they should be; or even where I think they might be. Together we venture forward as a couple/team—each partner learning the nuances and idiosyncrasies of the other. In time, we’ll share mutual friends and learn to complete sentences of the other.

I believe it is possible for a business to outsource their web marketing—including social networking—to a partnered representative.

Maybe I can’t outsource my presence for Thanksgiving dinner (Olivier, Point #2) or a wedding.  But, I can choose my  partner.

What do you think? Do you outsource social media? Would you consider doing so?

Photo via Flickr: Carlos Mendoza

Related articles

• Can you outsource your Social Media presence to an agency?
• 10 Essential Rules for Engaging Customers via Social Media
• Small Businesses Change Social Media Expectations

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My interest piqued when Cavett quoted the advice given to him by Jack Paar.

“Kid, don’t come out and do interviews — that’s dull,” the veteran TV host told him. “That smacks of clipboards, and ‘What’s your favorite color?’ That’s junk. Just make it a conversation.”

Exactly! Just make social media marketing a conversation.

We want to have conversations with people. Not a brand. Not a car. Not a shoe.

And, we want them to be like us. Regular folks with similar interests.

We need—and want—to share our humanness with people who understand us. We are hard-wired for being human in a social and personal context.

And yet, social media marketing clamors with noisy blaring from marketers seeking to create a sale, not a relationship.

I like the definition shared by Dick Cavett.

“Conversation is when people simply talk; not take a test on the air with Q and A. It’s when something said spontaneously prompts a thought and a reply in someone else.”

Today we have the opportunity to connect with one another and share our lives without geographic limitations. It is within these conversations we support one another, build trust and share experiences—we socially connect.

Yes, web marketing is part of my life and through our conversations you’ll come to know my passion for helping other small business owners succeed.

In the meantime, can we simply talk?

Related articles

• Tamar Abrams: Dick Cavett: Get This Man a Show!
• Cavett’s Conversations: ‘When People Simply Talk’
• How to Craft a Marketing Story that People Embrace and Share

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Join me for a glass of sweet tea and share the blog posts and Twitter links that caught my attention this week.

Lifehacker introduced Joliprint Bookmarklet this week—perfect for avid Google Reader folks!

If you tend to do most of your reading in RSS form, this bookmarklet will save you a step or two in the process of printing your favorite articles. Just drag the bookmarklet into your bookmarks bar and select the article you want to print in Google Reader. Hit the bookmarklet and your browser will begin downloading a printer-friendly, attractively formatted version of the article in PDF format. It will keep all the regular formatting, links and pictures, but with a readable two-column layout, page numbers, and nice headers to go along with it. Hit the link to check it out.

Joliprint makes it easy for me to share web articles with you.

Friending Strangers On Fakebook showcases the investigative skills of Ike Pigott as he explores the question:

Do you still think you need to be connecting to everyone in Social Media? After Farmville and Mafia Wars, the biggest games on Facebook involve your data.

You can use the hyperlink above and jump over to Ike’s post, or view the pdf version now.

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UPDATE: Dec. 12, 2011
These instructions were originally published in Feb 2009. Facebook has made multiple changes since then, so the information here is no longer applicable.

UPDATE: Dec. 1, 2010
Thanks to Hal’s comment for pointing out recent menu changes have shifted the location of Applications to the left navigation menu of your Home page. The “How To Sync Your Blog To Facebook Using Notes” below instructions are updated.

This post (originally published in Feb 2009) is the most frequently visited on my site. Facebook changes warrant an update.

In addition to using the  Notes application to sync your rss feed to Facebook (directions below), there are other 3rd party applications you can use:

• NetworkedBlogs manages publishing your posts to your Facebook profile, fan pages, and your Twitter accounts.
• Social RSS allows you to add your blog/favorite RSS feeds to your wall or a dedicated tab on your profile or Facebook Page. It updates automatically and lets your readers subscribe to the feeds if they wish!
• RSS Graffiti allows you to publish multiple RSS/ATOM feeds on your Facebook profile’s & pages’ walls and automatically pushes them to the news-feeds (Facebook homepage) of your friends & fans.

How To Sync Your Blog To Facebook Using Notes

1. Login and Open up your Facebook Profile Page.
2. Click on Account > Application Settings Applications are now located in the left navigation menu of your Home page. Scroll down to Notes, then click to edit. Browse Notes will appear under your image.
3. Choose My Notes, then click Edit import settings.
4. Enter the url for your blog’s rss feed (or your regular blog url – it will detect the rss feed!) in the “Web URL” Box, and check that you agree to their terms.
5. Click “Start Importing”
6. Verify it’s importing correctly, and click “Confirm Import” in the upper-right corner.
7. Voila! Every entry on your blog is now being imported into Facebook!

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1. Join a friend for lunch.
2. Take your dog for a walk.
3. Clean out your closet.
4. Balance the checkbook.
5. Go shopping.
6. Schedule time for your client.
7. Get an oil change.
8. Run by the cleaners.
9. Get to the bank before 2:00.
10. Work on that creative business idea.

Instead, you are stuck on the phone with tech support, feeling more frustrated by the minute. The time you spend fighting with technology is money down the drain. And yet, you are afraid to hire anyone because the budget is tight.

Don’t despair.

Amazing as it may seem to you, there are lots of folks who thrive on solving the same problems that reduce you to tears. You can find them on the internet – gurus, experts, geeks, and wizards rank high on Google when you search “fix my website.” And you can find even more folks when you add “social media” to the search.

How do you know who is right for your business?

You need someone who is an integral part of your business team. (They don’t need to be a full-time employee.) Someone who will take the time to understand you, your business and your clients. Someone who will take care of your website, as well as other technology marketing solutions. Someone who will provide strategic counsel and guidance—and keep you from calling tech support so you can get some work done.

Drop me a note and let me know why you need a web guru. I know lots of folks eager to help.

Photo Credit: memekode

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Participation was animated. Sharing of tips and practical applications was open and generous—the hallmark of a good unconference.

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