A Little Bird Told Us: How Real Estate Pros Can Use Twitter

Use Twitter creatively to increase your clout and make community connections.Ah Twitter. It’s the awkward middle child of the social media family, in the shadow of popular big-brother Facebook and glamourous younger-sister Instagram.

So why do we bring it up? Because there are over 326 million monthly active users. Despite its quirks, Twitter deserves a second look.

Whether you’re a broker or an agent, Twitter may be used strategically for networking, microblogging, and mastering your local niche. Here’s what to consider if you’d like to include Twitter in your marketing strategy.

How is Twitter different from other social media?

When Twitter launched in 2006, it was a different world: it was called “twttr,” tweets had to be 140 characters or less, it was ad-free, and hashtags didn’t exist yet.

Twitter as since evolved into a real-time news source and microblogging (aka short-writing) platform with sophisticated features like Moments, trends, live video streams, and search. Twitter users are familiar with these trademark features:

• Brief format (280 character limit)

• Easy engagement with other handles (@tagging)

• Participating in organized or existing conversations (#hashtags)

• Sharing content from others (retweeting)

• Focus on real-time, newsticker style

• Most profiles are public (not private or locked)

• Ads and analytics are now available.

These features make Twitter the go-to place for events, news, and community engagement. That can be a sweet spot for real estate professionals.

What’s the catch?

Here are a few reasons Twitter isn’t always the first choice of social media platforms for agents or brokers:

• Keeping your posts under 280 characters can be a challenge.

• Users generally go to Twitter for news or entertainment, not for major purchase decisions.

• Bots and trolls can be a problem on this platform.

• It’s one of the least-used mainstream social media platforms in the US.

• The audience skews urban, educated, and higher-income (which may or may not be your target).

What can a Realtor do on Twitter?

With these things said, there are still plenty of opportunities for real estate professionals to find their voice on Twitter. Here are some ways brokers and agents can use the platform:

Post listings: Although you’re unlikely to get real, motivated leads from such a fast-paced platform, you’ll be able to show your sellers how much extra reach you get by tweeting.

Find neighbors: people in the Pittsburgh area use #pgh, #pittsburgh, and #lovepgh. If they have a public profile, there’s no harm in engaging with them and sharing your love of the community. It’s just a friendly way to connect with people in your area (and increase your reach).

Engage with local leaders: Twitter is one of the few places where you can casually chat with the mayor, or talk to the owner of a new business. You can network with community organizers, banking lenders, business leaders, and local influencers. Use this to tactfully build your clout.

Show your knowledge: Since 71% of users turn to Twitter for news and updates, you can use Twitter to provide market updates, real estate news, and tips. You don’t have to try as hard to be entertaining or clever as on other platforms.

What should I do next?

If you think Twitter could be a good fit for your brand, sign up for an account and give it a try! Twitter’s setup is much simpler than Facebook’s so you don’t risk wasting much time if you end up losing interest. You really only need these three things to get started:

• Your handle (which can be a max of 15 characters long)

• Your bio (max 160 characters)

• Your profile picture (which should match what you have on Facebook or any other social network).

That’s it! Starting on Twitter is pretty straightforward. Once you’re set up, look for other real estate pros in your area (and beyond) for inspiration. You should also look into relevant hashtags you want to join in on. Experiment with hashtags, post frequency, and tweeting with and without content like images, links and videos. Once you’ve tried out a few different things, check back for our next piece on Twitter’s analytics to measure what’s working!

Bottom Line

If you think Twitter could be a good fit for your business, set up an account for yourself (to claim your handle, if for no other reason). Get familiar with its quirks and limitations, and see if you can uncover opportunities. Compared to Facebook, Twitter’s lean setup means it’s much easier to get started and explore different options.