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How to Use Twitter to Get Clients and Referrals

By
Real Estate Agent with Kline May Realty

Twitter is the fastest growing social networking site on the web today. It is a great resource for real estate agents because there are certain to be users in your geographic area that are using Twitter religiously, plus you can gather ample amounts of news, marketing ideas, articles, tools, and general intelligence. If you aren't using Twitter yet, you best sign up today. You won't regret it. I'll even give you some tips on how to gain clients and referrals...

TWITTER SEARCH IS YOUR BEST FRIEND

Twitter Search - Get Results

Ah, the Twitter Search. An amazing tool. We are based in Harrisonburg, VA, so I'll use our city as an example. Once logged in to Twitter, agents can go to http://search.twitter.com and type in various search terms to see what other Twitterers are saying. You can use this to your advantage!

For example, we want to know when folks are talking about Harrisonburg. So, I type "Harrisonburg" into the search box. In 0.2 seconds, there is a list full of recent tweets with the word "Harrisonburg" in them. Sweet! Now what?

Use this list to your advantage! In the past, I've followed someone and replied to someone because they tweeted about moving to the Harrisonburg area, or mentioned a job interview in Harrisonburg. They'll likely need a real estate agent like myself when moving. If I can't help them with a home purchase, I can get them in contact with a property manager. I can make a new contact. I can put them on my mailing list and keep them informed of what I'm doing in the local real estate market.

With every connection you make on Twitter with a local resident, you'll make hundreds more. You'll be the friend-of-a-friend, the follower-of-a-follower, and with all of those connections, you'll have created a large network full of potential clients and referrals. Please one, and you'll likely get more.

Twitter isn't about following random people for the sake of following someone. You should have a strategy with each follow. As real estate professionals, we need to be constantly looking for new ways to market ourselves, and Twitter is a fantastic resource for gaining new clients.

Go. Tweet. Search. Success!

 

 

Andrea "Andy" Tolbert
HD Realty - Sanford, FL
Broker, Safety Expert, Instructor

Always looking for new ideas for Twitter, Thanks!  and I love the search feature.  Try out TweetDeck if you haven't already, it keeps you organized a little better.

Jul 27, 2009 08:04 AM
TIM MONCRIEF
Tim Monciref - Austin, TX
Over 2,000 homes sold…..

Thanks for the input.  The more input, the more motivation to put more time into a twit or two. 

Jul 27, 2009 08:14 AM
Chris Rooker
Kline May Realty - Harrisonburg, VA

Yes! We do use TweetDeck. It streamlines the Twitter experience. You can set up searches in TweetDeck and keep them present at all times so you'll get notice of your search being tweeted in real time. Quite nice, indeed!

Side note: I also heard that Google will start indexing tweets, so it is important to put thought into tweets, especially the first few words. You might get searched!

Jul 27, 2009 11:26 PM
Michael J. Perry
KW Elite - Lancaster, PA
Lancaster, PA Relo Specialist

Great post !!! I just signed up 2 weeks ago ! I'll use your Harrisnburg idea ! Thanks

Jul 28, 2009 06:11 AM
Anonymous
Select Referrals

Yes we can use twitter to get clients and referrals .Twitter is great resource for real estate referrals.We can get referrals from twitDeck.

Aug 09, 2009 06:12 PM
#5
Randy Havel
Cedar Park, TX

Great info, glad I found this, already springing into action!

Sep 10, 2009 06:37 AM