Although new numbers out his week show that Twitter lags behind sites like Facebook in use, Tweeters are much more engaged with brands. I cannot say it enough: the site is a great opportunity for real estate brokers and agents to communicate directly with consumers! In an effort to reach this active audience, mega-brands are looking for ways to engage “FourSquarerers” at locations that make sense (think of your brand sponsoring the check-in at a great restaurant or other popular place in your area of expertise). Riding on the FourSquare wave of popularity, Facebook is looking to introduce a similar check-in interaction with users using a new location-based feature. I wonder if this will capture the imagination of people who have not yet joined FourSquare?

Need another tool for social media marketing campaigns? Check out Sendible, a social media marketing platform that allows users to engage with their audience and track results across multiple channels at any time. Anything to make life a little easier!

Sponsorships seem to be everywhere, from celebrities tweeting (a $46 million business last year) to cable television shows. Last week, SelecTV, a new interactive advertising/programming initiative – in which an on-screen icons alert viewers to interactive programming or advertising capabilities – was revealed. It will be interesting to see how seamless the integration is and its reaction from viewers. What are your thoughts on this?

Showing just how important social media has become, Gateway has launched a new laptop with a one-touch social networking button to allow users easy access to sites like Facebook, YouTube and more. In less than ten years we have seen a shift from social media channels using the power of the computer to now computers using the power of social media. Incredible. In perhaps more shocking news, YouTube announced, shortly after its 5^th birthday, that it has exceeded 2 billion video views per day. What an impressive growth!

A new survey out this week shows that women especially respond to positive reviews on community message boards. You should encourage your happy customers to write about you on influential websites in your community! What a great way to gain referrals.