Realtors Can Absolutely Benefit From Twitter Use
Every day I meet with realtors who do not understand the value of Twitter or understand the Twitter network period. Most realtors act as small businesses and some actually are their own small businesses.
Small businesses can benefit greatly from using Twitter. Realtors are just like any small business. They work 24/7, 7 days per week.
Real Estate agents do not generate money when they are not working. Realtors can absolutely benefit from Twitter today but it will take time. Therefore it will not happen overnight.
Realtors can absolutely benefit from Twitter today but it will take time. #realtors #twittertips Click To TweetStart With A Good Twitter Profile
Your Twitter profile should showcase who you are. It should include your own picture, your area of experience, and your location. It’s all about location, location, and location in real estate.
If you need the sizes for your images check out this post I did a while back on creating your Twitter profile. Take your time doing this!
Creating your Twitter profile is an important step for others to follow you. A great Twitter profile will make a difference for you. Many realtors can absolutely benefit from Twitter using a great profile.
It will help others to decide whether to follow you or not.
I liked this Twitter profile below because of his photos and his name right in the bio. He also uses relevant keywords in the bio and has a link to his website. (Notice, no hashtags in bio!)
Your profile a great way to showcase who you are on Twitter.
Find Real Estate Peeps to Follow
Follow others in your industry. If you need help check out my growing Twitter List of Real Estate peeps. You can also do a search on Twitter for mortgage brokers, local folks in your area, and other related topics to your niche business.
Furthermore, I recommend you start following a couple of hundred folks. Slowly add to it over time and follow back those that may follow you first if their bio is of interest to you.
If you like to be really organized develop some Twitter lists. You can put people into groups by location area, interest, etc.
Become An Authority On Real Estate Topics
The best way to showcase yourself as an authority in real estate is to share what you know. Many people on Twitter are searching for news and answers to questions they have.
Here are some good examples of what other real estate agents are doing on Twitter:
What to Look For When You’re Buying Your Forever Home — via @SoldByDanny #realestate #homebuying https://t.co/kHNFukLV2V pic.twitter.com/6mtchFw2x4
— Xavier De Buck (@XavierDeBuck) March 10, 2020
What is a Real Estate Buyer’s Agent and Why You Should Use One! https://t.co/MdkHvNnhyb pic.twitter.com/GvnsJuWbt6
— Anita Clark Realtor (@Anita_Clark) March 5, 2020
3 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Moving Company https://t.co/DrDdOS5oPl via @keithchi @HiscockSoldTeam #ROC #RealEstate #moving pic.twitter.com/Rnmet4plcz
— Keith Hiscock (@keithchi) March 9, 2020
Share Tips For Home Sellers
Home sellers are looking for ways to get their homes ready to put on the market.
They may not call a realtor right away for fear of what they are doing or NOT doing. Be the one they tweet with a question.
Real Estate For Sale By Owner’s Usually Fail https://t.co/Lqora7i0a6 pic.twitter.com/5WwINd6uYq
— Bill Gassett (@massrealty) March 9, 2020
Share Tips for Home Buyers
People buying a home may not trust an agent YET. They want to just look at houses. He or she may not know yet what they can actually afford.
Some people don’t know who to ask first. You can be the first person they make a connection with.
Notice on this one below, it’s a retweet.
Home Insurance For First Time Buyers: What You Need to Know https://t.co/ch5lwkEEOW pic.twitter.com/mUt1DHHA7W
— Bill Gassett (@massrealty) March 6, 2020
Connect with Mortgage Brokers, Real Estate Attorneys, etc.
Connecting with others in the industry is an important tidbit. This can only help grow your real estate business. It is easier to meet new people on Twitter than on Facebook. Facebook is more about who you already know.
Twitter is more about getting to know other people. Even in the small state of Rhode Island, there are people I still have yet to meet.
Advantages and Disadvantages of a Reverse Mortgage https://t.co/zr5myXSUMP pic.twitter.com/VHQ1fcwsrf
— MadisonMortgage (@MadisonMortgage) March 4, 2020
How To Get a Mortgage if You’re Over 40 | Mortgage Advice in Liverpool
See More:https://t.co/SgyHPmlsX2#Liverpool #MortgageAdvisor #Over40 #Mortgage pic.twitter.com/gTZMJqtru7
— Liverpoolmoneyman – Mortgage Broker (@Lpoolmoneyman) March 10, 2020
Engage With Others On Twitter and See Why Realtors can Absolutely Benefit from Twitter
This is where realtors can absolutely benefit from Twitter! It’s like going to a local networking event except you are online. This is the key to success on Twitter – engage! Listen and respond to others.
You may be surprised to hear folks talking about wanting to sell their home or buying a new one. I once found a person looking for a home in my town.
She began asking questions about different neighborhoods in the town.
What NOT To Do On Twitter
- Do NOT only post your listings! I must say it again. Do NOT only post your listings. No one wants their Twitter stream flooded with only listings. Boring! I see too many real estate agents doing exactly this on Twitter and many from their Facebook accounts. That is the lazy way and it will not grow your Twitter following. It will not provide you with any engagement.
- Of course, you may include some tweets about your listing just do it cleverly and stick to the 80/20 rule. Share 80% of others’ content and 20% of your own. That’s the golden rule. That is how realtors can absolutely benefit from Twitter.
- Do NOT protect your tweets. If you protect them no one will see them unless you allow them to one by one. Not only is it time-consuming but senseless if you are in business. You are on Twitter to be seen and heard. People will want to connect with you and not want to wait for an approval process. Can you blame them?
[clickToTweet tweet=”Do NOT only post your listings – Real Estate #Twittertips” quote=”Do NOT only post your listings – Real Estate #Twittertips” theme=”style2″]
Other Great Tweet Examples to Learn How Realtors can Absolutely Benefit from Twitter
Now this tweet below is cool because it has a video. I would only recommend this in your 20% of shares. Therefore doing only this will NOT work on Twitter.
Check out my Newest Listing… Click here to view the full tour of this beautiful home off of Mary Lane in South… https://t.co/n1vJLe8lly
— Robert Colello (@Robert_Colello) May 14, 2016
The next tweet is quite boring. The info comes directly from Circlepix – an automated service.
Check out my #listing in #Ellsworth #ME https://t.co/SocZB8FUnN #realestate #realtor pic.twitter.com/CyRkAs3eLU
— Janet Bosworth (@janetbosworth2) May 14, 2016
Can you see the difference in the style of the 2 tweets above? I’m sure you do and remember to be creative as you can when sharing property listings on Twitter.
Ultimately, being creative on Twitter can set you apart from the others on the Twitter feed.
Top Reasons Why Realtors Can Absolutely Benefit From Twitter?
- Make new connections by engaging.
- Become an authority in your local area or niche.
- Generate leads.
- Bring people back to your website or blog.
- Promote listings or yourself 20% of the time.
A Bonus Tip for Real Estate Agents on Twitter
Once you know people on Twitter you can message them. Yes, a DM is a direct message on Twitter. But, only use it after you have connected with someone for a while on the Twitter feed.
If you jump right to a DM it appears spammy. But this is a great way to chat with someone privately and get their email address or phone number.
Yes, a DM is a direct message on Twitter. But, only use after you have connected with someone for a while on the Twitter feed. #Twittertip Click To TweetNeed More Tips Getting Started With Twitter Today?
Purchase My New Updated eBook – How to Tweet and Thrive on Twitter on Amazon.
If you are a real estate agent I’d love to hear from you in the comments below on how Twitter has helped you.
In either case, I’d still love to know what tips you could offer other realtors that are starting out using Twitter.
She has 30+ years of experience in marketing/advertising with 11 years of experience in content marketing, social media, blogging, and SEO.
You can purchase her eBook about Twitter on Amazon, or take her Instagram class on Udemy.
- 3 Steps To Finding Your Ideal Online Business Partner - March 22, 2023
- Essential Considerations When Selecting a B2B eCommerce Platform - March 21, 2023
- Navigating the Challenges of Online Small Business Growth - March 21, 2023
Hi Lisa,
Any business can benefit significantly from Twitter. Their social media management team just has to know and use Twitter best practices to achieve positive results. But I find it unpleasant when I see and hear some marketers say, “Twitter is not for me.” Simply follow the Twitter marketing tips, and you will have success!
Thank you Moss. Yes, so many are feeling too comfortable on Facebook but you can’t chat with anyone there unless you are friends first. And the news is quicker on Twitter. I appreciate your coming by and stay safe Moss!
I think Twitter and Instagram both are the most important for marketers. Thanks for sharing such kind of information.
Hi Rachel, yes Instagram is important too today to reach a younger audience and female, the ones who are making decisions about purchasing homes 🙂 Thanks for coming by and have a great day.
Most real estate agents make the same mistake when trying to sell houses on Twitter; they use Twitter solely as a real estate push-marketing platform. Tweeting only when you have a new listing or blog post is not going to yield positive results.
Hi Samantha, welcome to Inspire to Thrive. Oh yes – I see that a lot. It does not engage anyone on Twitter by doing that push-marketing. It’s more about providing useful info and engaging with others. Thanks for coming by and have a great weekend Samantha.
Thank you for the article Lisa. As I told many people before, it is not about necessarily how much you know but about who you know. Real-estate is no exception.
Hi Ronald, welcome to Inspire to Thrive. I love that quote “It’s who you know”….On Twitter it’s getting to know others by engaging with them and not tweeting out all about you and your listings. Thanks for coming by Ronald. Have a great day!
Lisa thank you for taking your time to write this blog. This is very informative and truly believe that social media is transforming onto it’s own powerhouse for SEO. LinkedIn is a wonderful place to network! I have made more connections on LinkedIn than any other social media website.
Hi Sarah, you are welcome. Welcoe to Inspire To Thrive. Yes social media can drive traffic to your site and help up your SEO score. It can also up your websites score ranking with more shares. The two are intertwined. I love LinkedIn too, it’s a great place to network professionally. Are you on Twitter as well? Thanks for coming by and have a great day.
First of all i would like to thank you for this great post Lisa.
Social Media like twitter really can help to grow business if can be handled in right manner as you mentioned in the post. It is necessary to share information related to business time to time which helps to build new connection with many people. Social media is not only to read other post you have to contribute what you know.
Hi Vinita, you are welcome. You make a good point about contributing about what you know. That helps you to become an influencer too along the way. Thanks for coming Vinita and have a great rest of the day there.
Wow, this is a wealth of knowledge. Your points are very valuable and knowledgeable. What a great in-depth overview of the steps a real estate agent should be taking. Definitely gonna help some people out!
Hi Pat, Thank you. I see you are in real estate in Canada, do you use Twitter for your real estate business? Thanks for coming by Pat!
Great article. Twitter has definitely helped me build brand awareness to my name as a realtor. I’ve gotten sellers and buyers tell me they saw my post on social media which gave them confidence in me.
Hi Christian, welcome to Inspire to Thrive. Thanks for coming by and I am glad to see Twitter has helped you along the way. How long have you been on the Twitter network?
Amazing post, Trust me, I didn’t know about real estate benefit from Twitter. But after reading your post, I am really surprised. But it’s effective. Thank you very much for sharing your post with us.
Hi Leon, welcome to Inspire to Thrive. Yes, there are many benefits for realtors to use Twitter today. It’s amazing how many still do not use the platform though. Thanks for coming by and have a great day!
Hello Its my frirst visit here and i liked the types of benefits we can get from twitter. Thanks for sharing !!
Welcome to Inspire to Thrive Vin. Are you using Twitter now? Thanks for stopping in and have a great day!
Hey Lisa,
Great advice! I was just working with a really talented real estate team in Tampa that had put significant time into growing their social media audience, but they had neglected investing any time on Twitter. I believe this stemmed from a misconception of the benefits that can be gained from social media in real estate. As you pointed out here, SM shouldn’t be solely used as a place to pitch your listings. Far too many use social media like it’s a one way street– simply passing along their own message and listing properties, but not opening up any dialogue and not engaging their audience in any meaningful way.
Thanks for the insightful post,
Stephen
Hi Stephen, welcome to Inspire to Thrive. Thank you. I see it every day, agents just love using Facebook but overlook Twitter. They sign up for Twitter, send a few tweets and give up. It takes a little time and investment of time over the long run. It’s about networking and not shouting one’s own stuff over the crowd. Did that team in Tampa finally use Twitter? Thanks for sharing your story with us here Stephen.
Hi Stephen, welcome to Inspire to Thrive. Thank you. I see it every day, agents just love using Facebook but overlook Twitter. They sign up for Twitter, send a few tweets and give up. It takes a little time and investment of time over the long run. It’s about networking and not shouting one’s own stuff over the crowd. Did that team in Tampa finally use Twitter? Thanks for sharing your story with us here Stephen.
Lisa, thank you for the tips. I am certainly in the group of people who just don’t understand how to leverage Twitter properly to grow. Probably one of my biggest mistakes is just posting listings in my account, but quite frankly, that was only after a lot of testing, tweaking, and time investing trying to engage with people on Twitter. Sometimes I just wish marketing was a bit easier you know.
Hi James, welcome to Inspire to Thrive. You are not alone in that. It is hard for realtors to spend the time. It does take a lot of time to engage and tweak along the way. I find using lists really helped me stay more focused. Have you tried those? If you tweeted tips for home buyers or home sellers that would be a good way to share your knowlegde too instead of just tweeting your listings 🙂 I hope it helps James.
PS – I noticed you do have a blog, another great thing to share away!
I certainly find using social media a challenge but definately see the benefits of putting in the effort. I like some of your tips , especially the one of showing yourself to be an authority on real Estate. That is something i can work on. Thanks for the great post.
Hi Greg, oh yes, if you blog you can definately become an authority with sharing others useful content on real estate and your own. It does take time and effort. You are welcome and thanks for coming by Inspire to Thrive Greg. Have a great day!
Hi Lisa,
For any business, Twitter is not like other marketing tools. You cannot go out with a banner that says “buy me”.
For realtors, it’s important to develop long term strategies that will allow to build a loyal following, and then leverage that following into viable costumers.
Thanks a lot
Omar
Hi Omar, welcome to Inspire to Thrive. Oh yes, – that is for sure. So many make that mistake too. Especially with real estate. They jsut tweet out, come see my new listing…Boring! It is about those long term strategies that take time. Time to network and get to know others before they will ever buy from you. Thanks for coming by and have a great rest of the weekend.
Hi Lisa,
Well, the information you have shared can help the real estate companies to use twitter in a beneficial way. I can use this technique to make my contacts more strong.
Hi Carol, welcome to Inspire to Thrive. I sure hope it does help realtors. I see so many just sharing their listings and not engaging on the Twitter network. Love to know your Twitter handle too Carol. Thanks for coming by and taking the time to comment too.
wasn’t using twitter for awhile until recently this year. Think twitter is a good platform for helping build a brand and one of the downfalls with Twitter you must post a lot. I think marketers and realtors don’t focus on Twitter as much as Facebook, YouTube or other social media networks.
Think people forget about the engaging and interacting with people on social networks. Thanks for the awesome post!
Hi Paul, welcome to Inspire to Thrive. Oh yes, you must post often there but with the right tools you can do it easily. Engaging and interacting is key on social media – no matter which channel you are using. It takes TIME. It’s either time or money with everything, right Paul? Thanks for coming by and have a great weekend ahead.
Hi Lisa,
I agree that realtors and almost any business owner can benefit from the wonders of social media sites such as twitter if you know how to market and connect with customers in the right way. The ways you have described here are wonderful, and like you have pointed out, you will always want to find the most relevant free information and share it with potential buyers. This will help to establish you as an authority, and help you to gain the trust of your clients. Great post. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Lawrence, welcome to Inspire to Thrive. Thanks for coming by. Yes, any small business can benefit as well from Twitter. Becoming an authority really helps on that network, when one retweets one of your tweets you will see activity immediately! Have a great rest of the week Lawrence.
Hi Lisa,
It was worth reading your post.
You explained the benefits that can a Realtor can get from twitter. There is no doubt that if you are running any business or trade then social media can be a great platform to reach a huge no of people quickly.
Social media has been used by almost every business to expand and find new market. Twitter is a powerful media to reach a huge no of people.
Many of realtors are already using twitter and get a lot of customers through it.
Your tips are amazing that will help all the business to use twitter in a different manner.
Thanks for sharing with us.
With regards,
Saurav
Thank you Saurav, yes it does get to people quickly. That is why too many have to tweet more than just once if they are trying to get a message out there. It’s interesting to see how many are using it, how many have stale Twitter accounts and there are still many believe it or not, that are NOT using Twitter at all. Thanks for coming by Saurav and have yourself a great day!
The Real Estate niche is hard to target but Twitter sure has a bunch of realtors and investors who are looking to connect with people in the same niche. 🙂 Personally, I find it hard to market on Twitter, still after launching a Twitter campaign. However, I find that Twitter is really good for amplifying brand awareness.
Hi Terinah, welcome to Inspire to Thrive. It is a little harder to target than say a retailer. It’s not something everyone buys every day, week, month or year even. What type of things were you trying to market there on Twitter? It certainly can help brand awareness and customer service. Several times I had issues flying and the best way to reach the airlines was via Twitter. Same for my cable and internet services. Thanks for coming by and have a great rest of the week Terinah.
Hi Lisa,
I really appreciate your post and your point of view – in fact, it’s extremely relevant because many of my clients are real estate professionals and i love twitter for them – and your post is apropos, so I’ll be sharing it when I teach my Social Media Classes and when I onboard new clients.
In particular, I fully agree with your DO NOTs and also the top 5 benefits you listed. Great job. Keep up the excellent work. I always love sharing your wisdom with my audiences.
Hi Lynn, welcome to Inspire To Thrive. Glad tohear you will be sharing this one with your classes. I know many realtors around here that do NOT use Twitter and it’s a shame, they really could benefit from it. Thanks so much for your comment and have a great new week Lynn.
Hi Lisa,
Twitter is a mini-blogging platform and can be used to catch a lot of people quickly. But you have done a great job with this post of yours. I mean this is something different and Good.
Keep posting.
Ans thanks for sharing.
Thank you Robin, which of the tips did you like the best? Thanks for coming by and have a great weekend!
Thanks for sharing an extremely helpful post Lisa!
Your proven twitter strategic blueprint, can and definitely should be customized,
so that it applies to practically any business owner and or service providers!
I can readily see a few simple tweaks to your proven strategy, to make them totally applicable to my target market!Thanks!
And thanks for taking the time to point out, what we absolutely shouldn’t be doing as well!
Please tell me you’re available for some paid social media consulting!LOL! Because I can definitely benefit
from your proven expertise!Thanks, this was a very informative and entertaining post!
Hi Mark, you are very welcome. Which ones will YOU be applying to your Twitter account Mark? Of course I am 🙂 Thanks for coming by and for your input on this post Mark. Have a great long weekend aheaad.
Hi Lisa,
Every time I see a reference to that 80/20 rule I say to myself, “No, not again!”
Maybe I’ll write an article some day, but the point is that no follower counts how many tweets out of the last ten include your content. Are they two tweets, or are they three?
No way, get rid of that rule. There are many big brands that are successful on social media plus social media power influencers who don’t care about such an artificial rule.
It’s all about follower’s perception, about being interesting or boring, about being helpful or annoying, and stuff like that.
Posting listings all day long is boring no matter whether the listings are all yours, or 20% are yours and 80% are your friend’s listings 🙂
Hi Adrian, I’d love to see an article on that. I do kindly disagree with you on it though. I think perception is a great point though. I don’t think if perception is great just posting listings will do a lot though. I think one has to do more than just place product in front of people nowadays. Thanks for your input on this one Adrian, it’s always interesting!
Hi Lisa,
1) I’m not sure whether I’ll ever write that article. I’ve decided to refrain from writing that type of articles. As I said somewhere (I think it was Corinne’s blog), if people want shiny stinky things, that’s ok with me, I decided to stop teaching them how to get better things. I’ll give them what they want.
2) I don’t have any problem if you disagree with me, you know it, don’t you? However, reading your comment, I’m not sure that I understand what exactly are you disagreeing with. I do agree with everything you said in your comment 😆
I never said that just posting listings will do a lot. Re-read the last paragraph from my previous comment. That paragraph is supposed to convey more messages, one of them being this one:
if you post 2 listings that belong to you and 8 listings that belong to one of your friends, then you comply 100% with that 20/80 rule that I disagree with. But your ten tweets are boring. This was an example of complying with your rule and being boring. An example of applying that rule and failing.
3) For example, usually I apply this rule to my main Twitter account: 2 out of 12 tweets are mine. It results percentages that are different from the percentages for that 20/80 rule. But my rule is also an artificial rule and I don’t recommend other people to apply it. It’s my rule created for my account, created based on my reasons that I won’t reveal anywhere 🙂
Oh, and if you’re still not convinced, let me give you another example, a very different one… A comedian starts an account where he shares jokes. Jokes are still content, whether you agree or not. If comedian’s jokes are good jokes, do you really think that someone will be bothered by the fact that the comedian doesn’t comply with an artificial and stupid rule and shares only his jokes? No way.
See? In case of the comedian, it may be OK to post only his jokes. In case of a real estate agent, if he posts only listings and still comply with your rule (20% his listings, 80% his friend’s listings), that’s boring. That’s because jokes are different from listings. Different type of content.
It’s all about the type of content, about perception, and way much more. It’s not about applying artificial rules. OK, this is it! 🙂
Hi Adrian, excellent demonstration of what you mean. You painted a good picture of it. Jokes and listings are quite different indeed. But if they had a way to make them interesting it maybe could work. As long as they place nice in the sandbox with other 🙂 Have a great weekend Adrian!
Now I got you Adrian, BORING tweets no matter what rule you follow do NOT work. I would agree with that too 🙂 Secret rules huh? LOL. Thanks for always coming back to explain your point of view Adrian.
I think Twitter is the best social media platform for everybody, for marketers, for realtors everybody. Btw nice article and great tips.
Hi Sagar, welcome to Inspire To Thrive. I agree, it’s a great way to network and meet new people. It’s also a great way to learn more about your customers and competition. Thanks for coming by.