How Twitter Can Help You Sell More Real Estate - Part 1 of a 2 Part Series

I've written several posts in the past few months about how to use Twitter and tools for Twitter but have repeatedly gotten the question, "Can Twitter Help You Sell More Real Estate?" I mean that's why we're all in this business isn't it? To help people buy and sell real estate.

No this isn't some get rich scheme and I'm not going to tell you how to get 2,000 followers today on Twitter. Being successful on Twitter is really about using it as a tool for going back to the basics of real estate - RELATIONSHIPS! 

So how can Twitter possibly be used to develop relationships and sell more real estate? When I started writing this post, I realized that it was going to be longer than a single post, so I've broken it up into three separate posts where I will detail how we are using Twitter:

1.) Organizing the Noise
2.) Engage and Be Engaging

1.) Organize the Noise on Twitter

Before Twitter can be useful, you must find a way to make sense of the "noise". We currently have more than 2,000 followers all sending Tweets about a wide range of topics - that can be a lot of noise coming at you at once.

So, the first step is making some sense of it all. My favorite tool for this is Tweetdeck but there are others that will do the same thing, Seesmic Desktop or Tweetie for Mac users. I will focus this discussion on Tweetdeck since it is the one I work with daily but feel free to experiment with other tools.

Tweedeck is free to downloand and free to use. It is available at Tweetdeck.com.

In Tweetdeck, you have a column for all of your friends on the far left, followed by any replies or direct messages.

Choose Who You Follow Wisely

You have to establish a purpose for using Twitter. My purpose is first and foremost to connect with people in my community, to become a local expert on my community, to learn about topics I am interested in, and to stay in touch with friends and Realtors across the country that I share an interest.

My purpose on Twitter is not to hit a million followers like Ashton Kucher just did. I am seeking meaning from the tool and don't want to spend my entire day on Twitter.

With those goals in mind, I follow people that are of interest. This will help you control the "Twitter Noise Factor" also. To get started, you will need to start following some people, you can find them here on ActiveRain or through searches.

I have a folder set up in Outlook for my Twitter messages. All of the messages from Twitter go into this folder and I go through them once a day. I am set up to receive a notification when someone follows me on Twitter (this can be changed in the settings tab). When someone follows me on Twitter, I view their profile before I follow back to decide if I want to follow them. I will also sometimes use the "Block" feature if the person is clearly a spammer. This helps me from getting distracted with Twitter when I'm working with a client or on a project.

Set Up Groups and Searches

Twitter has general search capability that you can use at http://search.Twitter.com to search all Tweets, this can be helpful if you want to do a broad search of all users. Tweetdeck also allows you to set up searches so you can follow tweets on a particular topic.

You can even set up Tweetdeck to view your friends' Facebook statuses! These tools can be found on the Tweetdeck Toolbar at the top of the screen.

Set up Searches: I find it helpful to have a search set up for Missoula since that's where we're located. I also have searches set up for conversations that I like to participate in such as about RE Bar Camps (Portland is #REBCPDX and Phoenix is #REBCPHX and Social Media Tuesday - the radio show with ActiveRain members Jason Crouch and Ken Cook #JCKC).

The hashtags just help to establish a specific conversation but they are not required. Anyone can set up a hashtag for any word, group, or saying, you just have to start using it to set it up.  I don't search #Missoula (with the hashtag), I just search Missoula (without the hashtag) for local conversations.

I find the local search to be the most helpful for connecting with people in my community, and I am also able to learn about events, weather, breaking news stories, jobs being offered, and more by following my local search.

Using the local search will allow you to identify individuals that you would like to Follow on Twitter (and that will hopefully follow you back), people who are coming to the area to visit, or better yet - people who are moving to the area and that need assistance!

To set up a search using Tweetdeck, just click on the Magnifying Glass on the Tweetdeck tool bar, it will bring up a box for you to enter your search term. Tweetdeck will automatically set up a new column for you so you can view that search term. You are limited on the number of searches you can view at one time on Tweetdeck but you can add or change them at any time.

Use Groups: Another tool that is extremely helpful for organizing the people on Tweetdeck is the use of Groups. I have friends on Twitter and people who tweet about topics of interest are marked as a Favorite on my Tweetdeck. I will also add someone to a group if we've had a good discussion on Twitter so we can talk again. 

The Groups that I use are "Favorites" for people I know or want to learn from and "Missoula" for people who are either located in the area, have indicated they will be visiting, or that are moving here. I try to keep this simple but you can customize the Groups to meet your needs. 

Read Part 2 in this series to find out how we are able to "Engage and Be Engaging" on Twitter.

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Kevin and Monica Ray are Missoula Real Estate sales and marketing professionals for Access Realty in beautiful Western Montana. We provide services in, but not limited to: Missoula, Superior, Alberton, Saint Regis, Lolo, Clinton, Turah, Potomac, Florence, Corvallis, and Hamilton.

For more information on Missoula Real Estate or surrounding areas, they can be reached at 406-207-1185 or online at www.AccessRealty.net.

By TwitterButtons.com