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"Twitter's of no value to REALTORS®". Really? Try this.

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with DriveBuy Technologies

It sounds like an odd thing to say, but in a way, Twitter is a lot like real estate itself in two ways:

  1. Many will try; fewer will "succeed" (and will give up prematurely).
  2. The relative few are lowering the reputation of both.

The fact that most agents and offices do not use twitter as productively as they should does not therefore imply that it is a waste of time! Such logic would lead us to believe that practicing real estate in the first place is of no professional value.

I am willing to bet that the rabble-rousing Twitter malcontents, and even those who understandably see no value in Twitter, have not seen it used in the way I am about to demonstrate. I have written about this before, but it didn't get much traction apparently, and I feel that few took note. Keep in mind that this is one of the easier ways to show just one way that Twitter can aide in effective REALTOR® marketing, but it is by no means the only way. I'll also add that I received the following results on my first try yesterday.

Before I show you, I'd like to invite you to try something similar in your own community and then to share the following with us here in the comments section:

  • Your search results. Were they impressive? Totally lame? Were you surprised?
  • Have you ever considered or been shown this technique before?
  • Your strategies about how to approach these prospective clients! On this point, I'd particularly like your thoughts. I have my ideas, but I'd love others!
  • Does this in any way change your mind about the value of Twitter to REALTORS®? And by extension, why do you think this technique isn't often discussed around the RE.net?
  • Whatever else you think is germane to the conversation!

Without further ado, Twitter's Prospecting Power!

Step 1: In my browser, I went to search.twitter.com

Step 2: I entered the following into the search box exactly as pictured (making sure "OR" is capitalized):

Step 3: You guessed it, click search.

Results: I've taken the liberty of blurring out the handles and including only relevant results.

From page one:

From page two:

From page three:

I could keep going, but I'm sure you get the point!

Good luck in your Twitter endeavors, and please share your answers to the questions posed above.

 

 

 

 

Posted by

Ian S. Greenleigh, Director - Sales & New Media, DriveBuy Technologies

Comments(138)

Doris Freeman
Zach Taylor Real Estate - Gallatin, TN
Broker/Agent, 615-961-7799

I not very tech but I guess I need to get with it.  I'm going to your first post andd see if I can learn something."thanks for the post"

Jul 15, 2010 09:23 AM
Doris Freeman
Zach Taylor Real Estate - Gallatin, TN
Broker/Agent, 615-961-7799

I not very tech but I guess I need to get with it.  I'm going to your first post andd see if I can learn something."thanks for the post"

Jul 15, 2010 09:23 AM
Doug Anderson
Tucker Associates Real Estate Services - Danville, CA
Bay Area Real Estate Views

Thanks very much for the info.  Just got going with twitter a couple of months ago so just getting the hang of it. ~ Doug

Jul 26, 2010 10:47 AM
Jewel Swinton
Wilkinson & Associates, ERA Greenville - Greenville, SC

I might have to give twitter another try.  Got some results with what you suggested for my city.

Jul 27, 2010 01:00 PM
Dave Halpern
Dave Halpern Real Estate Agent, Inc., Louisville, KY (502) 664-7827 - Louisville, KY
Louisville Short Sale Expert

phenomenal!

Aug 13, 2010 11:07 AM
Michael Izquierdo
LA Pocket Listings - South Pasadena, CA

Thanks for the great tip. I have already thought of several ways to add this to my marketing strategy.

Cheers!

Oct 01, 2010 03:37 AM
Gary S. Thompson
Masters Utah Real Estate - Cottonwood Heights, UT
Broker Associate, Realtor, CRS, SRS, SFR, e-Pro

I knew there had to be something to it - thanks for making that better understood!

Best! gt

 

Dec 07, 2010 02:51 PM
Gary S. Thompson
Masters Utah Real Estate - Cottonwood Heights, UT
Broker Associate, Realtor, CRS, SRS, SFR, e-Pro

I knew there had to be something to it - thanks for making that better understood!

Best! gt

 

Dec 07, 2010 02:51 PM
Pat Yoest
Century 21 Aadvantage Gold, 702-719-2100 - Las Vegas, NV
702-521-1442

This is a great post.  I definetly will try this to see if it works.

Dec 12, 2010 09:25 AM
Joan Whitebook
BHG The Masiello Group - Nashua, NH
Consumer Focused Real Estate Services

This is a great way to use twitter.... and I have used it in the past.  So far it hasn't resulted in a viable buyer, but I haven't given up.  I do the same thing with google alerts.  Time will tell.

Dec 12, 2010 09:32 AM
Danny Frank
JLA Realty - Pearland, TX
The Pearland Real Estate Expert

Twitter WORKS... Just use it as a tool... it is not the magic pill to fix all that is wrong in you business model. 

Danny Frank's QR Code

Jan 03, 2011 01:54 PM
Vince Sadler
Dream Town - Chicago, IL

WOW! This is great! I never knew you could use Twitter in this manor. Thank you for the advice!

Jan 04, 2011 01:08 PM
Debbie Barrera
REALTY AUSTIN-Austin, TX www.RealtyAustin.com - Austin, TX
Your Austin Texas Connection

Thanks from one fellow Austinite to another. Have a great day!

Jan 07, 2011 05:42 AM
Melanie Hedrick
Elite Texas Properties, the best homes from McKinney to Dallas! - McKinney, TX
972-816-7205

I've jumped on the Twitter bandwagon -- so far it's been an excellent source of information for ME.  Looking forward to learning more about using it as a business tool.

Feb 22, 2011 08:50 AM
John Talley
Hockessin, Newark, Bear, Wilmington, Middletown, Brandywine - Hockessin, DE
Real Estate, New Castle County, Delaware

Probably the best advice I've received today. I'm a late adopter on twitter. I decided to make 2011 the year I get totally wired.

Mar 29, 2011 11:57 AM
Sussie Sutton
David Tracy Real Estate - Houston, TX
David Tracy Real Estate for Buyers & Sellers

Well I missed this to begin with. So I am surely going to use it.

I use Twitter and I am trying to use it efficiently; however, this morning I see I am being followed by a bunch of people that I didn't know were following me....it seems the followers grew over night!

Another thing, these are not Texans! These are people from all over USA and other countries.... How did they decide to pick me to follow? I am befuddled.

Apr 11, 2011 02:08 AM
Jeff Hollister
Native Californian with 20 years serving OC Buyers & Sellers - San Clemente, CA
Real Estate Broker, Serving Orange County, CA

I used your suggested search with a few cities in my area. Most came up with no results, but  one had a handful.

Thanks for sharing!

Jul 31, 2011 01:08 PM
Tatyana Makarov
Century 21 All Points Realty - South Windsor, CT
Your Greater Hartford Area Realtor

OMG, I never thought about that! Thanks for sharing.

Have a great day.

Oct 18, 2011 06:24 AM
Wayne Zuhl
Remax First Realty II - Cranford, NJ
The Last Name You'll Ever Need in Real Estate

Wow. I just found your post, and just searched myself and I'm really disappointed. Definitely going to have to work on that - thanks so much for the advise!

Jun 24, 2014 01:40 AM
Mark Don McInnes, Sandpoint-Idaho
Sandpoint Realty LLC - Sandpoint, ID
North Idaho Real Estate - 208-255.6227

Looks like you may have got a bit more traction this time.  Thank you.  I will be giving it a try. 

Aug 21, 2014 11:49 AM