G Dewald
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G. Dewald is Director of Web Strategy for Union Street Media.

Twitter for Real Estate: Who to follow?

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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.

34 thoughts on “Twitter for Real Estate: Who to follow?”

  1. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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  8. 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. 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. 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. 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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  14. It’s hard to explain the direct impact of Twitter for someone just getting into social media. It’s just that Twitter has such a vast reach–it can spin you worldwide pretty quickly if you understand what you’re doing and work really hard.

    dotJenna

    • We totally agree. Twitter is truly a global conversation and it can be hard to wrap your head around. What ever the goal, the approach is the same, make sure what you are adding has value and brings your unique perspective. If you use that as the underpinning of your Twitter strategy you will gain followers and notoriety organically there by increasing your online exposure.

  15. There are so many great resources online for real estate professionals these days – Twitter is one of them.Twitter is a great way to interact with your community and to keep up with current trends.

  19. One thing you can use twitter for is to search for “moving to anytown” and see what kind of responses you get. then follow them and offer to send them local info or restaurant guides.

  20. I am a realtor in Austin and use twitter for marketing. When your twitter accountant is real estate related most of the people that follow you are also in real estate. When you tweet it only go’s to your followers. It doest really do a lot of good if you tweet a description and link to a home for sale to a lot of people in real estate. They are doing the same thing as you which is trying to sell property.

    But then again you have the major real estate companies nationally and globally, and others tweeting homes for sale. I dont think they are expecting to sale but rather rely on a local realtor to pick it up and still get their cut. I could be wrong on that one and I am just speculating by what I see on a daily basis at twitter.

    Twitter also has hashtags you can add to your tweet to target locally. It has helped me more than just tweeting my followers. You can add hashtags like #austin #movingtoaustin #relocating etc… and when you tweet it will go to your followers, but also to these targeted sections people are hanging out at tweeting.

    Most of you at twiiter are aware of this. I thought I would add it for those who are not so familiar.

  21. My apologies. The sun hasnt even come up yet, and the coffee pot is taking forever. Not fully awake yet.(correction)

    “When your twitter account is real estate related most of the people that follow you are also in real estate.”

  23. Great list of other real estate related Twitter accounts to follow; it’s important to follow other individuals in the industry. It’s also important not to be overly pushy and obnoxious when tweeting.

  24. I am not internet savvy and I made a resolution recently to change that. I see that many businesses made leap into online and social area. This post helps me a lot, thanks!

  25. “list of real estate twitterati”. I love it when people think of clever words like this to explain something. I just started using Twitter and am still trying to figure it out. This was some great information that can point m in the right direction.

  26. Yea Twitter really deserves to be given a shot. Facebook is still better to make more developed statements, but as far as numbers and leads go, I think they are about equal. There’s a good article on this blog if you want to learn how to use it better for real estate: http://www.connectionsinreales…..media.html

  27. I’m still having a rough time wrapping my head around Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook and other Social media sites and their usefulness to Realtors but I’m going to make it one of my priorities to learn and use. There’s so much helpful info on this page I’ll be here for a while.
    Thanks,
    Ruth

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  29. Twitter is a great tool for realtors to use. It’s a great place to see what’s being talked about in real time and interact. It takes a little getting used to, but soon most will find how valuable it is.

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  32. It is fun to possess a big viewers and befriend agents across the nation, but do not forget the reason for your advertising. Your goal would be to sell more houses so it does not necessarily matter if Wyatt in England is following you, except they have friends in your town. Perform local searches to start the conversation to real estate experts and consumers.

    Regards,
    Melanie
    homes for sale orange

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