We see them every day... in fact it's almost as if a new Web 2.0 gadget or software tool gets pushed in front of us faster than we're able to take in and fully utilize the last one.

As Mortgage and Real Estate Professionals, we're concerned with two main concepts: Networking and Marketing - mostly as they go hand in hand. We count on these areas of our business for our survival! So, it's easy to see how we can be lured by new technologies that promise to spread our good news, stuffed in warm and fuzzy envelopes, to the masses with ease.

In the end, what we realize is that it's not the tool, it's the professional that matters. Tiger could whip any one of us using the worst clubs on the market, because he works his ass off. Likewise, the guy with a base level LG will outperform you with your new 3G iPhone every day of the week if you expect that phone to do all the work for you!

I've chosen to talk a bit about Twitter. Mainly because I just love this tool. It may be little, but it's mighty! And everyone from tweens to corporate execs to the good folks over at CNN is using Twitter to spread the good word about, well... whatever they want!

What is Twitter and... Most Importantly, How Can it Help Grow My Business?

First and foremost - like most good Web 2.0 apps - Twitter is free. And free is good! This web-based "micro-blogging" service lets you blast 140 characters of text to folks who have elected to follow you - known in Twitter-speak as your "followers."

Your short messages - or, Tweets - jump into the "twitterverse" via the http://www.twitter.com website interface, via your cell phone, or through countless web-app add ons like Twitterfox, for example. Those folks you choose to "follow" can be tracked via your web browser, add-ons, your cell phone, through an RSS aggregator, and most likely 10 other sources I've failed to mention. 

Lee Le Fever has a great video that succinctly describes how to use Twitter. I highly recommend it and all of his "In Plain English" videos.

How Twitter Benefits You

This one's easy. Twitter helps make you a real live person! "But I'm already a real live person!," you say. True - but do your clients and contacts truly see you that way? When they think of you, do they wonder how your kid did in her first ever soccer game as goalie? Do they even know you have a kid? Some may not care, but some will.

This is a big deal, because much of what we know about social networking involves getting past the storefront and moving into the home front. Oh, and there's no reason you can't announce things like open houses (with links to well-written and engaging landing pages) or block parties you are hosting. Trust me, this level of connectivity with your clients and prospective customers will make sales for you at some point. It really does happen!

Will everything you "tweet" be awe inspiring and groundbreaking? Will each little bit of banter score you a new client? No. But remember, people do business with people they know. How well do your clients know you?