What Is A “Mortgage TweetMeet” ?

Since engaging with the Twittersphere back in early February 2009 I have been amazed at how far it has come and the amount of people I have conversed with. True, it took me a long time to get to grips with and to understand how it can be used properly for business purposes, but a bit of perseverance is now paying off.

Of course there have been many detractors, the piss-takers and technologically inept who continue to see social media as a waste of time.

But with anything new and different, as Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said, “All truth passes through 3 stages : First it is ridiculed, Second it is violently opposed, Third, it is accepted as being self-evident …”

Those who do not embrace social media as a way of communicating to and learning from the very clients you aim to attract, risk being left behind in the future.

Not only has it helped us with our PR, but it has also given us some enquiries and a fully signed up introducer.

Leaving the B to C part aside for a moment, it is really the B to B side which I have really been blown away by. The number of times that people within the property industry as a whole, not just mortgage brokers, but lenders, solicitors, estate agents, journalists and property investors engage with comments you have made and before you know it you are part of a wider conversation with many interesting people you would maybe otherwise not have met.

It was during one such “conversation” that we picked up an Estate Agency introducer who has since passed us more than a dozen leads and during another, admittedly a very late night one, that the idea of the TweetMeet was developed by myself and Lea Karasavvas.

At its simplest, we just thought we had been conversing with many people we had never met and we should put that right over a few drinks. However, after a while it began to take on a deeper significance and the idea of trying to unify brokers, lenders, solicitors, surveyors and agents became a more far-reaching purpose.

After the pressures that our industry has faced over the past few years, and continues to face, it is important that everyone connected to the industry, from those at the coal face to those running businesses, come together to discuss these issues openly and honestly.

So far there seem to be around 100 people signed up and it would be great if there were many more. With the kind sponsorship of Tiuta to help things along I hope it will be an enjoyable event.

As with anything like this, there are some simple rules:-

1. The first rule of the TweetMeet is that you must talk about the tweetmeet!
2. Please make an effort to chat to everyone there, at the very least to introduce yourself, no cliques!
3. The event is Charterhouse Rules, so anything you say cannot be directly reported as having been said by you without your absolute agreement, which should help promote free discussion.
4. Enjoy, drink and network, but please no direct selling or poaching/recruiting on the night.
5. Feedback so we can improve the event for next time.

The event is totally informal, no long speeches or seminars, so feel free to wear what you like, relax and enjoy.

As my mate Lea Karasavvas stated: “This gives us an opportunity to remind each other we are all striving for economic recovery and that by working together, and not against each other, we can ensure it happens. It’s a chance for an industry brainstorm, done in a social environment, between influential business categories within the mortgage industry and will hopefully encourage extremely positive working relationships that will benefit us all.”

The event takes place in London on Thursday 23^rd June 2011 from 7pm at The Alchemist, 133 Houndsditch, London. The evening is planned to be an informal networking event, under Chatham House rules.

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