Internet marketing for real estate: a practical tactical blog

Twitter for Real Estate: Who to follow?

December 2nd, 2008 by G Dewald

Filed Under Social Media | 11 Comments

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You’re starting to use Twitter as part of your online real estate marketing plan. You’re ready to start following people to see what kinds of things they talk about, what topics and brands are discussed. That sort of thing. But where to start?

If you’re interested in data-driven internet marketing or enjoy this blog, follow me. If you’re focused on using Twitter for your business then find other people in your industry that are using Twitter and see how they use it. I’ll give some examples below.

Real Estate Twitter Users to Follow

Let’s face it, real estate professionals on occasion get criticized for being too pushy or too marketing focused. Like the person at a cocktail party who talks very loud and hands out their business card to everyone but doesn’t really listen very much. You don’t want to be that person. Here are some lists of people to follow on Twitter to get some ideas of how others interact.

  • Many of the readers of this blog are in real estate. If you’re looking for a few examples of “good behavior” real estate agents to follow (to see how they use Twitter), There’s a list of ten great realtor Twitterers on Tom Carpenter’s blog.
  • While I’m at it, here is Brad Nix’s list of real estate people to follow.
  • I started a thread at Inman to be a sort of digest of real estate Twitter users. Check that out and add your information in the comment thread and I’ll put you in the list as well.
  • Another compilation, drawn from many of the sources above, but containing profile info and blog addresses of real estate Twitterers as well can be found at HomeValueComp.com.
  • Pat Kitano has come up with a clever scenario whereby you follow one of his Twitter accounts and he follows you back. This creates a list of real estate twitterati because they’re all following his account.
  • There is a list of Real Estate Tweeters at Just Tweet It. It’s an open/unmoderated sign up which makes it fast and nice. Of course, spammy NJ Electronics repair places also get into the list. But it’s there anyway.

This article is part of the Twitter for Business series. If you liked this post you might also like the Using Twitter for Listening and maybe the Twitter for Lead Generation articles. All of these sections are updated  as I find more articles. Let me know if I’m missing a good one out there.

11 Comments

1 Nordaune at Real Estate in Rochester MN

December 2nd, 2008 | 4:48 pm

I like using Twitter as a Social Media tool and as a subtle Real Estate marketing tool … and by subtle I mean just give little update like … My website is getting a new look today … or … I’m very excited about my new listing coming on tomorrow. Unfortunately a fair amount of people use Twitter for strict Marketing … constantly shoving their product in you face. My words of advice … Use it don’t Abuse it!

2 G Dewald

December 3rd, 2008 | 11:18 am

Thanks for stopping by Nordaune!

I think you are dead on about being subtle and giving little updates now and then. For my own use of Twitter the people I follow have a high value vs low noise. I don’t mind if they pitch something now and then as long as the ratio of value to pitches is acceptable.

Of course, what’s acceptable will vary from person to person.

3 Jodi Suguitan

December 3rd, 2008 | 11:16 pm

Just how successful is this type of marketing? I know it must be worth it to some, but what about the vast majority of agents on twitter? I would like to hear some of the success stories and some failures too, just to balance pros and cons….

4 G Dewald

December 4th, 2008 | 10:54 am

Hi Jodi, thanks for stopping by.

The best way to find out would be to ask those that are on those lists. They’re all quite friendly and open. You also might want to check out the Twitter for Lead Generation post. It has a lot of real estate related links in it.

To my knowledge no one has done a comprehensive ROI study on Twitter effectiveness yet. Also, check out the Twitter Naysaying post where I am collecting anti-Twitter articles. I like balancing pros and cons as well. :)

5 Linda Slocum

January 24th, 2009 | 12:12 pm

Twitter is a great way to interact with your community and to keep up with current trends. I agree with Nordaune that Twitter shouldn’t be used just for marketing – that tends to get you unfollowed pretty quickly.

6 Gen Y Kert » Twitter For Real Estate?

February 2nd, 2009 | 6:39 pm

[...] Twitter for Real Estate: Who to follow? [...]

7 Joe Stampone

February 18th, 2009 | 2:43 pm

Great article, I’m working on doing a similar post for my blog, but focusing exclusively on Twitter for commercial real estate professionals. Would love input or suggestions from anyone out there.

http://twitter.com/JoeStampone1

8 G Dewald

February 18th, 2009 | 5:01 pm

Hi Joe,

A commercial real estate list/directory would be great. I’m a little biased because I started the Inman thread, but I think that format is working the best.

The completely open formats allow for spam too easily. Sadly, real estate is an industry that attracts a lot of spam. So some sort of editorial function, if you can remain neutral and not de-list competitors, helps keep the list useful.

Also, having some sort of indication of what people tend to tweet about is also useful.

Let me know when you get something started and I’ll be happy to link to it.

9 Joe Stampone

February 24th, 2009 | 12:14 pm

G Dewald,

Thanks for your input. At this stage I am doing some monitoring of my favorite CRE users and seeing how they utilize Twitter. I don’t want to write a post merely stating the benefits of Twitter, but showing examples and results. I’ll be sure to let you know when I complete the article. Thanks for your support.

10 Mitch Argon

April 4th, 2009 | 1:49 am

I am not sure many people would find my daily real estate activities terribly interesting… showing properties, doing a blog post, returning phone calls, writing offers, etc….

Any agents out there who can attest to tweets on “day in the life” updates being of any real interest to anyone, let alone prospective clients?

11 Sean Walls

August 4th, 2009 | 1:43 pm

Great points! Have a look at this site TwitterMLS.com , it’s a service for realtors to get their listings out to Twitter followers based on the city they are interested in, they already have a big following and a large Realtor user base! Happy Tweeteing!

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