You've no doubt heard of Twitter by now. But it is worth the effort? Will it help your real estate business? You may have delayed a year or two on Facebook before, only to realize now how useful it can be for generating referrals and keeping in touch with your sphere. Don't make the same mistake with Twitter! Here are 5 reasons I came up with for you agents on the fence:

Reason #1: Following other top agents in your market.

Even if you never send a single "tweet", you can sign up and follow the top agents in your market. You already know how useful it is to talk with other agents to stay on top of your local market: new listings coming on, pocket listings, new developments, and general industry gossip. With Twitter, you can stay constantly aware of this chatter even if you're in the office all day.

Reason #2: You'll add people to your social sphere you won't find elsewhere.

A few days after setting up my own Twitter account, I was "followed" by another agent even though we had rarely spoken and weren't connected on any other social network.

Reason #3: A large social sphere is an asset for winning listings - and selling them.

During listing presentations, you probably tell your client about all the great networking and marketing you plan to do to get the word out. Once you've established a large following on Twitter, you'll have even more credibility to back up your "Master Networker" claims. Though you absolutely shouldn't be constantly spamming your followers with every tiny price change, use sparingly Twitter can help you get the word out quickly.

Reason #4: It's a great way to unobtrusively stay in front of potential buyer and seller clients.

In the "old days", potential buyers and sellers might drive around their ideal neighborhood and see which agent has the most signs. These days, those same individuals may very likely go online and see who's talking about that neighborhood. When they search "dallas real estate" in twitter, don't you want to be the one who pops up?

At the same time, many past clients will likely be folllowing you on Twitter. Often times getting referrals means staying top of mind with past clients - I'm sure you've felt the frustration of missing out on a transaction because a past client simply forgot to mention you. If they're constantly getting tweets about your real estate activity, they're a lot less likely to forget next time they're talking to a friend who's about to buy.

Reason #5: You know you're going to be using it in a year anyway, once everyone else is (just like you did with Facebook!). Why not do yourself a favor and get ahead of the curve?

About Me:

I'm an active real estate broker, with both a California state salesperson's license and a California state broker's license. I'm also the founder of My Single Property Websites, a simple, inexpensive marketing tool for real estate agents and I write mainly on my real estate marketing blog.

 

36 Comments on 5 Reasons To Use Twitter in Real Estate

JUL
15
288,366 Points 3 Featured Posts

Maybe the best reasons for now and  year from no there will be something else right.

8:03pm • #1
603,255 Points 34 Featured Posts Outside Blog Hit Router

Carlos 'n Charlies restaurant started following me today!!  Why?  Who knows, but they might need a house one day.

8:14pm • #2

You never know who will read what you have to say, make it good!

8:44pm • #3
Outside Blog

4 Reasons Why I Agree With Michael About Using Twitter

1.  I would hate it if everyone I know was tweeting and I wasn't.

2.  You meet a lot of very nice people online in Twitterville.  Once you're at it for a little while you learn how to target your audience so that your message can get out to Tweets in your georgraphic area.  You'll also figure out how to not read every tweet that comes to you.

3.  If you pick interesting people to follow, you'll pick up a lot of information that you might not otherwise hear about--mortgage info, FHA info,unemployment statistics, lots of info that has impact on your business. .

4.  Twitter can be a very useful tool, but as with all social networking, there is a learning curve and it takes time for it to produce results.  I  think that if you tweet only about your listings, sales, etc. you won't be as effective and folks will just skim by your tweets.  Twitter (and most social networking) is about developing relationships.  Relationships take time.  If you give it time, it should reward you.

Great post, Michael.

9:03pm • #4
100,360 Points 1 Featured Post Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Hit Router

Nice post Michael. I was very hesitant to start Twitter as it seemed way too confusing and I kept putting it off. I'm glad I finally took the plunge.  Now that I'm a regular,  I find it very beneficial and pretty easy. I thank my friends here on AR for introducing me to Twitter. Feel free to follow me at @cleverealtordan and I'll follow you back.

dan

9:51pm • #5
JUL
16
Outside Blog Hit Router

still trying to figure twitter out myself and how it can help my business.  You can follow me @laurelrealtor

8:23am • #6
160,161 Points 15 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Great reasons Michael, you should also add a twitter badge with a link to you on all your blogs now.  You know you can tweet your blogs directly from AR when you post.  It's a great feature.

8:34am • #7

Great topic Michael!

Twitter is a great resource and tool that anyone in the business of marketing, whether it be themselves or a company, should be using.  But one of the keys to remember is that you need to treat it as a part of your professional brand.  If you are using your account that profiles you as a real estate pro, tweet that way.  Be professional, resourceful and useful, and those following you for real estate purposes will really take notice of each tweet you post.  Don't get in the habit of tweeting useless stuff.  Too many people fall into that scenario.  I remember what my mother used to tell me, "If you haven't got something useful to say, don't say anything at all!" 

Brian - one way to look at Twitter and how it can help your business is to treat it as your marketing megaphone (only quieter and without the squealing sound)... it's a way to get your info on listings out there and drive that important web traffic to your preferred destination.  With ReTweets, your original Tweet can take on the "ripple in the water" effect and potentially hit thousands of more leads.  It's free (no counting your time of course) and popular right now.  It just makes sense... if you do it right.  I'm sure you'll be great at it.

wow... long response.  you can follow me @modrewmarketing  (tweets will be MUCH shorter than this!)

8:54am • #8
102,217 Points 4 Featured Posts Hit Router

Careful how you phrase this: in the Commonwealth of Virginia "pocket listings" are not allowed.

9:05am • #9

Twitter is a great way to comment on almost everything, and for those who are catching up on facebook, here is a link to a slide show application that links up your listings into your facebook page.

Great way to let all your family and friends see just what you can offer.

http://www.elistit.com/facebookApp/Overview.aspx

 

Greg

 

Greg
9:13am • #10

I'm one of the top producing agents in Houston and still don't use Facebook, and Twitter is probably the dumbest "social network" to date! If you want business you need to get in front of people, not set behind a computer all day texting about nothing while waiting for the phone to ring.

Russell Miller
9:24am • #11

Michael - I agree about following and learning.  Simply using Twitter as a quick look at what's going on at particular moment is very helpful.  Also follow major new organizations and get the news as it's breaking... 

9:40am • #12
181,155 Points 1 Featured Post Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Hit Router

You know I am just getting into the facebook thing and actually starting to connect and see how it can be effective.  Twitter has been hard for me to get my head around, but I have not given up on it.

10:26am • #13

I like the idea of adding the fact what we post on ActiveRain and Facebook to listing presentations.  Thank you!

Sharon Parisi
10:46am • #14

Thanks for all the comments!

 

Will - Thanks for the heads up, when it comes to the various laws ignorance is definitely not bliss!

 

Karen - Thanks for letting me know about the twitter badge, I'll add it.

Michael Lapeter
11:12am • #15

i may be laughed out of the park, but i think twitter is useless

11:25am • #16
1 Featured Post Outside Blog

Ok, you've conviced me, I'll go twitter. I'm still a little foggy on how it works, but I trust you active rainers!

11:30am • #17

Where's your "Follow Me on Twitter" link on your blog?? :)

11:32am • #18

Sounds good, I'll have to give Twitter a try. Thanks for the tip. 

12:19pm • #19
Hit Router

Thanks for the nice blog. I have been tweeting, but still have a lot to learn about it.  Thanks for sharing!

12:27pm • #20

I've started a relationship with a FSBO that way who is impressed with me for being on Twitter.  His house is under contract, but he'll need a place to buy after he rents for awhile.

12:34pm • #21

Michael,

Thanks for the reminder.... I simply "forget" Twitter's value!

Kathy Opatka

12:34pm • #22
3 Featured Posts

I haven't been using it since a lot of updates I read on facebookmake no sense and seem kind of lame at times....but I will go with number 5 and you peer pressured me into it. ;)

12:37pm • #23
Localism Sponsor Outside Blog

I always am intrigued when people say something is dumb because they personally haven't figured out the value in it. 

Remember the lyrics from the Joni Mitchell song TWISTED? -  "They all laughed at A. Graham Bell. They all laughed at Edison and also at Einstein"

I've heard Twitter described as a never-ending cocktail party (without the cocktails) where you mingle with everyone.

For those of you who would like to learn how to apply Twitter in the Real Estate world, there's a great FREE e-book  you can download - put out by Nicole Nicolay.  It's called  TWITTER FOR REAL ESTATE TWITS.  It has some very specific techniques to for using it in a profitable manner.  Nicole has some wonderful ideas - and no I don't work for her. :)

I've started doing some of her ideas in the last 60 days or so and while I cannot say that anyone on Twitter has begged me to be their Realtor, I can tell you that because of Twitter I am engaged in ongoing conversations with about a dozen local people that did not know I existed in until I met them on Twitter.  

In the same last 60 days, I've been on floor duty about 10 times, hosted 4 open houses.Those two activities have also netted me some new folks in my "SOI". The total for those two activities has added about the same number of new people as  from Twitter.

I've also connected with several Realtors from different parts of the country - no referrals yet but how can it be bad to get to know and keep up on what's going on elsewhere - and to build a network?

So - if I had to choose between Twitter and other marketing ideas - I wouldn't. I'll do Twitter AND Open Houses AND floor time and everything else I can.

If anyone wants to follow me on Twitter (not that I have all that much to say that's interesting) come on in to the party.  I'll follow you back.

1:06pm • #24

We love Twitter (I'm @troygeorge)! It helps us styay on top of current info and if you use complimentary programs you can (kind of) automatically follow people in your area talking about the same topics you are. One way to think of twitter: sending a 140 character email to the entire world and anyone can look at if they choose to. We see about a 2% click through on our links. Thats better than any direct marketing and its free.

Troy George
1:20pm • #25
117,900 Points 4 Featured Posts

Michael I agree with all your points and want to add one.

Agents, if you're going to tweet about a lisitng and put a link in there for people to learn more, PLEASE make sure your photos show the house well. I was following an agent who promoted one of his listings and when I followed the link it was the worst set of photos I'd ever seen. The fact that the property wasn't decorated to sell didn't help, but even still he didn't seem to have a clue what features to focus on in his shots. That was all I needed to write him off as someone to recommend to my clients, after all there are plenty more agents to choose from in his area!

I have personally found Twitter to be very beneficial for all the reasons Michael mentions. I've been on there less than a year and have over 1000 followers. I measure the click thru's from my tweets back to my sites and I know it's generated web traffic for me.  If you want to see how I use it, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/stagingdiva

 

 

 

 

1:46pm • #26

Michael - great post!  Frankly, I'm a little frustrated by the number of people/media who describe Twitter as if it were a bunch of people tweeting every time they go to the bathroom or leave for lunch.  Twitter is a great place to meet people, both those who are potential clients locally and beyond and those who can help you grow your business and yourself.  Rich Casto tells us "In order to grow your business, you must first grow your own personal capacity."  Twitter can expand your mind and your base of knowledge. 

I have a personal experience of a customer twittering his dissatisfaction with our company's website.  It turned out to be user error but within 60 minutes of his tweet we were able to change our website to make it more intuitive and respond to him to let him know we had changed it.  We never would have known about that customer's issue w/o Twitter. 

But it's OK with me if agents decide to stay off Twitter - the more opportunities for my agents!  Thanks for writing the post.

 

1:46pm • #27
Hit Router

Reason #4 is very convincing! Thanks for the post!

11:15pm • #28
169,825 Points 6 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Hit Router

Interesting read. I have more people following mow that wehn I first started, and some of them I don't even know. I'll have to figure out how to use it for business. Have to thank Rick for the link to Twitter for Real Estate twits - very helpful read, I would imagine. I'll have to write a post about it when I've seen the results of what it can do for me.

11:36pm • #29
JUL
17

You have hit the "jackpot" with your post.  Great post.  Maybe I need to get more active.  I have an account but there is so much other stuff I have to keep up with too.

10:24am • #30
193,283 Points 2 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Yeah, if you such an avid fan, where's your twitter badge on your blog?

11:05am • #31

Our broker is currenly conducting a class on new technologies for real estate and Twitter was discussed.  You make a valid point on why to get involved.  Thanks!

Cathy Holloway
12:44pm • #32
JUL
21

I agree I need to make sure and do it at least once a day and get into the habit, when I constantly update and get alot of followers

9:18am • #33
JUL
25
JUL
28

I have added "Follow Me on Twitter @Realtormatt" to my e-mail signature on Outlook and through the MLS, and I have had numerous prospects and clients follow me.  I also send out a postlet on all new listings to my followers.  I think it's a fantastic way to stay in touch with your sphere. 

1:44pm • #35
AUG
14
1 Featured Post Outside Blog Hit Router

Thanks for sharing Michael. I am looking into using Twitter. I will keep you updated

12:47am • #36

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Michael LaPeter

San Francisco, CA

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Resonant Properties

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