5 Great Ways to Use Twitter for Real Estate

Monday, April 20th, 2009

Bluegreen has recently joined the twitterati and is now on Twitter as @bluegreenland. What is twitter? Twitter is an easy to use, real-time messaging system for groups and friends. Another way to think of Twitter would be to think of it as a text messaging (or instant messaging) service. You can send short text messages (up to 140 characters) to one person or to many people. Everybody who is "following" your Twitter account can see your messages, except for "direct messages" that you can send and receive from other people who follow your account on Twitter.

As a real estate developer of beautiful master planned communities in Texas, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, Bluegreen is interested in networking with other real estate professionals, land-sellers who own 1,000 acres or more, and, of course, those who might be interested in buying land. But those aren't the only reasons why Bluegreen joined Twitter. Twitter lets you to keep in tune with your peers, your competitors, and real estate industry thought leaders. And you can do this all in real-time. The Twitter search feature allows you to search for what people are talking about; we like to monitor real estate and the real estate hash tag to keep up.

If you're in the real estate business, then you might consider joining Twitter and setting up a Twitter account. Real estate brokers can certainly keep in touch with other agents in real-time, which may be helpful. This is ideal for promoting special offers to the Brokers in your area or as a recruiting tool to push job postings out to your colleagues. Just keep in mind that everything you "post" on Twitter is recorded and generally available to the public.

Generally, we suggest that you start thinking and using Twitter in five ways:

1. An Educational Resource
2. A Networking Resource
3. Keep in Touch with Clients, Others
4. Get Notified of Deals, Specials
5. Keep in Touch with Companies

Start thinking of Twitter as an educational resource. Especially in this economy, things are changing often in our industry. Certainly from day to day we're seeing changes, but those changes can even happen hour by hour, as well. If there's something that you should know about, most likely your Twitter friends (called "followers" on Twitter) will notify you. Oftentimes, information can flow faster on Twitter than it can from the "normal" news and media sources that we usually get information from. And if you have a general question about something, asking your "followers" can oftentimes get you an answer faster than searching Google for the same information. Remember, it's all in real-time.

Start thinking and using Twitter as a networking resource. Once you set up a Twitter account, first start following us (@bluegreenland) and then head on over to Twitter search and start searching for your keywords (e.g., real estate, #real estate, Realtor, etc.) and start following others. It's helpful to start talking to, responding to, and networking with others in the industry. Networking on Twitter can really be a good thing: You never know when one of your followers or Twitter contacts or a contact of a contact will know someone you're interested in talking to or networking with. Like I've mentioned before, even questions can get answered quickly.

Networking can be great, but you can also keep in touch with your clients (or potential clients) using Twitter. Update your business card so it has your Twitter account ID on it. We're known as "@bluegreenland" on Twitter. Along with your email address and your mobile phone number, add your Twitter ID. It will show that not only are you "hip with the times", if your clients are on Twitter as well then they will probably "follow you" and you can even talk to them via a "DM" (a Direct Message) using Twitter's internal messaging system.

Don't forget to hook your RSS feeds into your Twitter account. If you have a blog, a company website, or another website that has an RSS feed associated with it, you may want to set up a Friendfeed.com account to add those RSS feeds. You can hook your Friendfeed account with your Twitter account. So, when you post something on your blog or on your website (perhaps a new real estate listing?), your Twitter account will automatically be updated with a link to what you post. For example, if your website has real estate listings, and there is an RSS feed of those listings, then you can coordinate that RSS feed with your Twitter account: so it's all seamless and updated in real-time. Twitter isn't the only social networking website that can be updated like this, many others can be coordinated as well, including your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, as well. And for you real estate folks, don't forget about the ActiveRain Network, which now includes a Facebook feed.

If you're someone who has considered buying land or real estate in Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, or Tennessee, you might want to make sure that you're following us on Twitter (@bluegreenland) so we can keep you up to date on the latest specials and deals and local happenings: and if you ever have questions, feel free to let us know. We'll be glad to answer any questions you may have about the real estate buying experience or anything else to do with real estate. And, of course, if you have any questions related to any of the properties we have for sale, free free to ask us. From time to time we'll keep you updated on the latest specials and "deals" that we currently have. As well as any local events and industry-related news to keep you informed of the latest real estate trends, tips and reasons why you deserve to own land. Consider Bluegreen Communities your online resource for buying land, with Twitter being one of many ways we will deliver to you helpful information about how, where, and why you should buy land.

Keep in touch with the companies that you do business with. Many companies out there (not just Bluegreen), are on Twitter, as well. Twitter is a great place to correspond with the companies that you do business with on a regular basis: and you might even try searching for a company name. Before and even after you do business with a company, see if they're on Twitter: many companies have Twitter accounts.

So, the next time you hear someone mention Twitter, make sure that you have set up an account on Twitter and that you are using it on a regular basis. It really will help your business and your bottom line, especially if you're in the real estate business.

Posted in: Activities, Land Buying Advice, Top Housing Markets
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22 Responses to “5 Great Ways to Use Twitter for Real Estate”

5 Great Ways to Use Twitter | Using Twitter | LandVending.Com Says:

[...] See the original post here: 5 Great Ways to Use Twitter | Using Twitter [...]

John Alexander’s Foreclosure Fortunes Says:

There is a great 5 ways to using the twitter :
1. An Educational Resource
2. A Networking Resource
3. Keep in Touch with Clients, Others
4. Get Notified of Deals, Specials
5. Keep in Touch with Companie

I think its a very best way to use a twitter..

In today’s economic climate, I’ve been considering rolling some cash into real estate investments. After all, what I could save from the stock market decline is really important to me. In researching real estate investment information and instructional stuff, I was getting very frustrated with the huge promises being made, and the get-rich-quick bent of many of the websites and books.

Green Marketing Says:

Excellent article! I was familiar with a few of the ways Twitter can be used and your article helped fill in the blanks.

Thanks!

BOB FAGAN Says:

LOOKS GREAT TO USE FOR MARKETING!!!!!!

THANKS

Moji Okubanjo Says:

Discovering real estate stuff on twitter is good,. I do hope one can have sound dialoque with professionals from time to time. I know that the media has been informing the public that this is the best time to buy, but I am yet to see a huge response. There are still so many houses untouched or has anybody seen any dramatic changes?

bluegreencommunities Says:

Thank you for your comments. In our markets in Texas, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee we are seeing terrific responses from interested buyers that have previously been on the fence. Many of them believe now is the right to buy land and feel that they are getting the best value. But you have to be offering a truly high quality product, which is what Bluegreen Communities has offered for over 40 years.

Jim Baker Says:

Thanks for writing this article, though I’m not in real estate, I been wondering about Twitter and how it can be helpful to my new website. Your article provided a lot of answers to questions I had about Twitter.

Nabeeha Khan Says:

Thats great stuff.. im gonna retweet it..

emmanuel Traub Says:

I like to join in twitter communication

emmanuel Traub Says:

twitteting is great

Whitney Pannell Says:

I will follow you all now on Twitter. I am a realtor in Lexington Kentucky and Love using twitter to promote my listings , open houses and blog. follow me @whitneypannell thanks

Lloyd Chrein Says:

I read and enjoy your blog. I wanted to suggest a site to check out, which might be good for a post on online tools for real estate agents and sellers. It’s called TweetLister (http://www.tweetlister.com) and it just launched last week. TweetLister allows you to post, schedule and manage real estate listings on Twitter, and collect and download contacts you get through those listings. It’s a free service. We’ve already gotten a good amount of buzz, and I would love to read your take on it.

Barbrah Nakamanya Says:

Good imformation on the different ways to twitter

Michelle Minch, Moving Mountains Design Says:

Very thorough and detailed breakdown of how to use Twitter for business. I have used Twitter to great effect in promoting my company. I have actually gotten 3 new paying clients who found me on Twitter. I also “tweet” my blog posts, and if I do it actively it increases visits to my blog. I had over 100 visitors one day last week which translates to 3,000 per month. May be small potatoes to some, but I’m thrilled considering my blog is only about 2 months old. All thanks to Twitter. BTW, you can follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/HomeStagingPro

bluegreencommunities Says:

Thank you very much for your comments. This blog post has been really helpful to a lot of people just getting started with blogging or businesses that have been using Twitter more regularly. I looked at your blog and it is well organized. Best of luck to you. P.S. I think if you added video or personalized webcasts to your blog it would be very engaging.

Angelo Rhodes - ReMax Colonial Homes in MD Says:

Great post! Thanks for the information. I created a twitter account today and will follow you.

Aaron Says:

Excellent article. People are discovering new ways to use Twitter every day. When it comes to real estate, if the agents aren’t using Twitter and other social media to promote a house for a seller, sometimes the seller will take matters into their own hands. Here’s just one example, I’m sure there are many more. http://tweamr.com/sell-your-house-on-twitter/

Seth Says:

Great article, I will put twitter to use for my photowebsite.

richard Says:

how would i use twitter to help me build my business in a patrol service all over the state of texas and closeby states i also do private investigations my website is http://www.onsitepatrol.com thank you richard

Sam Says:

Loved your article. Thanks for sharing some really great practical tips to help us all get the most out of Twitter. Real estate agents are one of the industries that are really leading the way with Twitter!

Burel Tyner Says:

I’m new at this. How do I start a new topic? I haven’t found a “how to” page yet.
Burel

bluegreencommunities Says:

Burel - what are you trying to start a new topic for? This is not a forum where you can create new topics, but a blog site of content relevant to buying land. You are welcome to post comments about any of our land buying topics.