Tweeting and Twitter Feeds

Twitter is an amazing and often confusing digital platform that has grown into a must-do marketing tool for many real estate agents.

If you go to your Twitter page (and if you don’t have one yet it’s super easy to sign up at twitter.com) you’ll see on the left the number of Tweets you’ve made since you’ve joined, the number of folks you’re following and the number following you. Those who follow you are, perhaps, potential clients.

In the center of the screen you’ll see your Twitter stream – posts from people you’ve followed. It can make a great deal of sense to have one Twitter account for your business and another for your personal life – the Twitter streams become easier to make sense of such an arrangement.

Marketing with Twitter

You can get an idea of what sort of Twitter real estate marketing is going on in your area by using the search tool up at the top toward the right with the magnifying glass. Enter something like real estate in San Diego or San Diego real estate, using your town of course. Add agents to the search to find out which agents are using Twitter and what they’re doing. If you’re in a rural area you may have to do some experimenting to find the right combination of search terms.

Watching these feeds over several weeks will show you how real estate agents in your town are using Twitter. Check back several times a day while you’re doing your research. Click on links, even follow some people or organizations. You’ll soon get a feel for how it all works.

You’re likely to find listings posted by agents, links to office websites, and to articles on various real estate topics that may or may not pertain to the area searched. All of these and many more are designed to inform the public about what the offices or agents are up to .

You can do exactly the same thing or make up your own version of your Twitter marketing. Like so many things digital, Twitter is a moving target.

You’ve got to have followers

Although some people will do searches for specific people like real estate agents on Twitter, your best shot at successful Twitter marketing is to collect followers. You do this by letting folks know that you’re on Twitter by:

• Linking to your Twitter feed on your website… maybe on every page.
• Putting your Twitter address on your business cards as well as your website.
• Adding your Twitter address to every advertisement you do.
• List your Twitter address on every press release you do.
• If you use a magnetic car sign add your Twitter address as well as your phone number and website.
• Your For Sale sites should carry your Twitter address as well as your website and phone number.
• Remember to tell people you’re on Twitter – it’s surprising how often they will find you there if you let them know.

Take this approach and gradually your followers on Twitter will increase. Some of those people who follow you will be potential clients which is why you want to Tweet your new listings, changes to your website, announcements of new designations, articles that help both buyer and sellers, etc.

Use Twitter to stay abreast of real estate news

You also want to use Twitter to stay current on real estate news. Follow Realtors at https://twitter.com/realtors for a solid flow of information.  As you find other real estate news sources you like, follow them.

It probably makes sense to limit the number of news sites you follow to five or ten – it’s easy to get into overwhelm with Twitter.

Next month I’ll talk about hashtags and  Tweetdeck – ways to manage your Twitter information and posts.

If you have questions about Twitter ask them here and we’ll probably answer them right here as well.