Twittering For Real Estate Business

By now you have probably heard of a "new" internet tool called Twitter. Twitter is a free, web based social networking application that allows you to connect with friends and associates around the world. In a nutshell, twitter allows you to send out "tweets", small messages 140 characters or less, to a network of followers who have opted-in to receive your message.

Twitter was founded in 2006 by a small group of internet entrepreneurs that included Evan Williams and Jack Dorsey. Williams is credited with coining the term "blogger" before developing and selling the blogging platform Blogger to Google in 2003. Dorsey came up with the concept for Twitter as a way to use text messaging to share a user's status easily among friends. In 2007 the service began to gain steam and started winning awards, rapidly growing its user database.

In April of 2007 the presidential election campaign for Barrack Obama began using the service as a way to connect with the "younger demographic". One year later the @BarackObama account on twitter had the most followers of any user on the entire system. The campaign used the service as a way to instantly communicate ideas, itinerary changes, and campaign trail stops. The results were astonishing, with a single click, a simple 140 character message had the power to instantly be broadcast virally across the country, filling an event or auditorium almost immediately.

The million dollar question is whether this powerful tool can be harnessed, and used to further your Real Estate business. The most important aspect of this service from a marketing standpoint is that the "followers" of an account have chosen to receive content from the account. They are interested and curious in what the individual's message is, and they are paying attention by choice.

The current method of contacting your database electronically is typically via email. Although email marketing can be effective if targeted properly, it has been losing effectiveness thanks to the increase in spam. Think of the pile of junk mail flyers you might find in your mailbox and how easy it is to get lost in the pile - email (especially drip campaigns) can work the same way. They often get filtered out as junk by service providers, before even reaching the desired target. If the message does make it through, it can quickly become lost in a sea of email garbage that the average user gets on a daily basis. Security software vendor Softscan claimed in 2008 on average over 96.63% of all email sent was spam.

So... where to start? Well begin by signing up at www.twitter.com and selecting your username. For most Real Estate agents, it is probably a wise choice to use your actual name - it humanizes your business and allows for authenticity and "transparency". Once you have established your account, it is time to begin finding and developing your following.

Most people find their first few followers from their existing contact base. Keep in mind that any time you "reply" to a message on twitter, your reply will get seen by that person's base of followers. I would suggest finding and following people you share common interests with, and can contribute to the "conversation". You will find that a following begins to develop, especially if you are tweeting out relevant, exciting messages. No one to follow? Feel free to practice and come find me on twitter @debruyndesign.

As you begin to send out your tweets, watch very carefully to avoid overt self-promotion. Twitter is a great marketing medium, but is still mainly a social networking tool. Your website traffic and personal brand will grow faster and stronger by contributing value to the medium and your following rather than by sending out self-promo messages. Blatant self promotion will cause your list of followers to shrink - rapidly.

So what to tweet? Anything that comes to mind! New listings, open houses, foreclosures, links of interest, local events. Some members regularly tweet their lunch meetings, finding that they not only run into others at the restaurant, but by both tweeting and including their user names, they get great cross-promotional exposure on each others network of followers. A witty comment about a hot topic or current local political event can set off a firestorm of traffic, resulting in a large spike of followers.

There is no right or wrong way to communicate with your database, but one of the keys to Real Estate success is making sure that you do reach out to your contacts, regularly. Think about trying out Twitter - it is free, and quite simple to set up & use. The beautiful part of the system is that you are speaking with people who have volunteered to listen. It will get your name out there, and if used properly will help increase your credibility online. A plethora of blogs & websites have sprung up dedicated to the software so there are resources everywhere if you want to learn more. Happy tweeting & stay tuned for more articles in our Social media for Real Estate series!