Most consumers have a love-hate relationship with Twitter. They love the immediacy Twitter affords but are quickly annoyed when someone clogs their feed with spam-like tweets. When used effectively, Twitter can be a powerful communication and brand-building tool for real estate agents. On the flip site, real estate agents that tweet too frequently or fail to provide value in their tweets run the risk of alienating current and future clients. Opinions about the most effective way to use Twitter as a social media tool have been split fairly evenly between broadcasting and conversation, Twitter’s two most prominent uses; however, a study by social media scientist Dan Zarrella, tips the scales decidedly toward broadcasting.

In an analysis of actual Twitter usage posted to his blog, Zarrella found that broadcast tweets generated a higher re-tweet rate than conversation tweets. Zarrella equated higher re-tweet rates with superior ability to spread information and disseminate marketing messages. In his study, Zarrella discovered two interesting correlations that real estate agents should be considered Twitter Best Practices:

1. Tweets that contain links have a noticeably higher re-tweet rate. Zarrella found that Twitter feeds with a 60% to 80% link percentage resulted in the highest re-tweet rates.
2. Tweets that generate few replies also enjoy high re-tweet rates. Zarrella discovered that Twitter feeds with 0% to 10% reply rates enjoyed the highest re-tweet percentages.

Zarrella’s take-away: Broadcasting interesting and information-rich content is a more effective use of Twitter than conversation.

Twitter “conversations” appear to be a fad that is nearing the end of its 15 minutes of fame as Americans tire of the glut of trivial tweets that clog Twitter feeds. The ascendency of far more versatile smartphones as the nation’s go-to communication device has ensured the eventual demise of Twitter as a conversation medium. However, Twitter’s broadcast value still makes it an effective real estate tool. Sending out 2 to 3 information-rich tweets per day can help you build your brand and expand your client base.

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